MCN Fleet: Can I sort my MT-09 Tracer's harsh suspension?

The Yamaha MT-09 Tracer is one of the UK’s best-selling bikes of 2015 and my criticisms are few and far between – but it could definitely benefit from some work to the suspension.

My biggest issue is the harshness from both ends on the typically scabby back roads I spend much of my life riding. Ditching the original Dunlop D222 tyres for excellent Bridgestone T30 Evos helped, but it still wasn’t perfect. So could I get sorted without spending big bucks?

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I called in the experts at Stowmarket-based MCT Suspension, where former British Supersport 600 racer and boss Darren Wnukoski got to work to firstly diagnose the issues and secondly offer two options; both aimed at keeping costs under control with the great-value price of the Tracer always in mind. The first option involves setting up the standard suspension to suit your weight and type of riding. It’s obviously constrained by the range of adjustment available, but this service from MCT costs £115.

I tested the newly tweaked Tracer on the roads near MCT’s base and the result went a long way to curing the way the Tracer skips and patters across sharp-edged road imperfections. For many owners, getting a bespoke set-up like this will be enough, but I felt like I needed more.

The second option is more in-depth, costs £288 and comprised fitting new fork springs, spacers, different fork oil and then adjusting the settings to suit me. Darren left the standard shock in place, with the new settings.

The result is simply sensational and this is the best, most comprehensive and best-value alteration to the Tracer I can recommend to any owner. 

The work involved fitting a pair of linear springs to replace the dual-rate ones, lighter 5W fork oil and reducing the air gap by 20mm. It was hard to get my head around this upgrade being done for less than £300 because the difference is huge. The handling is more pliant, the front feel is improved, high-speed stability is better, there’s less fatigue on long rides because of the reduced vibration and braking feels stronger too. I cannot recommend this work highly enough.

Contact MCT Suspension at 01449-777161 or visit www.mctsuspension.com

 

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