Yamaha tracer 900
 

Is this bike any good for long distance travels? Crossing Russia, Mongolia, Stan countries? So I like this bike, The engine, The design and the price. Everything seems good, But the only thing that is holding me back from buying this bike is the ground clearance, It's so low that I'm afraid that the exhaust and the bottom of the bike would get damaged easily.

Anyone have any experience with this bike? Specially regarding ground clearance and maybe any input on it's "off road" capabilities.

The Tracer is a road bike !! It's fast and handles great. On the road. The suspension is made for the road too.

Sure, you could put dual sport tyres on it but as you say, the ground clearance is low .

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That said Bike magazine converted a 700 tracer xr and bounced it around Morocco. Could be worth a read and maybe give u some ideas

It's a great road bike, properly giggle inducing. I'm actually planning to buy one but it would not be my choice for off road use at all. It'll do mild stuff like any other road bike but the design is not suited and it would be fragile in a spill.

light off-road doable like on any bike, but if at all I would go with tracer 900 GT.
Improved and more stable tracer, longer swing arms etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVkE6GiXvfI

As was stated above, it's a street bike so personally I would not take it to e.g. Mongolia :)

I'm waiting (and hoping) that Yamaha will build a sport touring bike that is based on the MT-10 (FZ-10) platform. And I don't mean an accessory parts bin special, which you can already do, but an actual touring bike similar in concept to the Tracer GT, but with much more in the engine department.

It would need a very large tank. The MT10 is a bit of a guzzler. I emptied one in just over 100 miles, admittedly having been riding enthusiastically but I'm not the quickest rider either.

I actually prefer the 900 engine. The 10 has a lot more power, but there's more character in the 900 and it was just more fun back to back.

Nick sanders took the 70 tracer a similar route, look it up :scooter:

Tracer 900
 

I've had my Tracer 900 for 3 years now, so here's some longer term owner observations on the bike for touring/'adventure':

- if you're mainly going to be on the road it's excellent. Stock suspension / traction control / ABS will let you get on packed and gravel tracks if needed. Much beyond that can be awkward due to clearance (including underslung exhaust), road tyres etc. I've gotten into areas where roads were washed away in typhoons, or there was a lot of debris around, and it will do it, but not as easily as some other bikes.

- Default load capacity is 180 Kg. I'm a bit chunky so I take just over half of that. There are some luggage systems by Yamaha, Givi and of course you can make some things work, but it's not as well supported off the shelf as some other bikes for frames. Longer term touring with a passenger and gear might need some working out for that weight. (We manage a few days with a big top box OK when we go two up).

- Electrical system can support some basic devices like navigation aids and phones, but you'd need an upgrade to run electric tyre pumps etc. past 2A.

- As a sports tourer, it prefers higher octane fuel. That may be an issue depending on where you are. 18 litre tank gets me usually 350Km of winding roads.

- Riding geometry is very comfortable for long runs, and the bike lets you sit up and back on straighter roads, but also get over the tank when needed. Wide handlebars make for good handling at slow speeds, but don't stick out too much for other objects.

Given the above, I've had virtually no problems with the bike mechanically for the predominantly road based riding I've been doing on it, around towns, up in the mountains of Japan where the torque really pays off, or when necessary, up on the expressways. If you are a solo rider looking to get a long way on asphalt, it's a great option.

Hope this helps someone. Let me know if there's anything else.