We’re now racking up the miles on our Long Term MT-07 Tracer, with some modifications on the books, as well as a change in rubber. The standard Michelin Pilot Road 4s are a great sport-touring option, but now we’re looking at an option to give the Tracer a little more off-road cred, like a set of Avon TrailRiders.
The Yamaha MT-07 Tracer is capable of taking on some rougher conditions
While obviously the MT-07 Tracer isn’t intended as a adventure-tourer, it has plenty of the aspects that lean the bike in that direction, with the larger adventure/touring styled frame, slightly longer travel suspension and easy power delivery all lending themselves to light off-road duties.
At this point I’ve taken the MT-07 Tracer on plenty of unsealed roads, which let’s be honest can be handled by pretty much anything if you’re careful enough. Obviously there’s degrees of comfort and speed, with the Tracer doing much better than a shorter naked or sportsbike.
Next on the list is a set of tyres with a bit of off-road prowess
Where it does perform is over the considerably rougher sections where you wouldn’t take most motorcycles, with plenty of sand, broken sandstone, gravel and such. In these conditions, standing up on the ‘pegs, you’re comfortable and confident, although obviously the sport touring tyres are a limiting factor if it gets gnarly enough.
The MT-07 Tracer is definitely a road bike however, so going the full hog and getting a set of off-road tyres is likely to leave you unhappy, this is a machine that’ll cover big kilometres with ease on the tarmac, in style and sportily enough to have fun. If you want something dedicated for heavier off-road use, there’s other models from Yamaha that will fit the bill.
2017 Yamaha MT-07 Tracer
You can find our full test on the 2017 Yamaha MT-07 Tracer here, our Oggy Knobbs installation feature, and DNA Airfilter Stage 2 kit write-up here.
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