For more information, please visit XDAO.
Recently, the Motorcycle.com staff had the chance to tour the beautiful Ontario countryside to experience the fall colors and to get a taste of what Northern Ontario has to offer. It&#;s a stunning place, and we thank our friends at Destination Ontario for making it all possible. Watch the feature video about our trip here or you can read about our trip here.
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This trip was made possible by our friends at Destination Ontario. Click this link to help plan your trip up North.
When it came to picking out bikes for our Canadian tour, we wanted something that could tour but was also sporty. A lot of bikes made our list, but we eventually picked the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ as a worthy representative of the Sport-Touring category. We&#;re fans of the CP3 engine and the various platforms it comes in, and after putting a thousand miles on a Tracer 9 GT+, we came back with plenty to say about it.
Here are five things you need to know about the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+:
Compared to the Honda Gold Wing and Harley Street Glide that also joined us on this trip, the Yamaha&#;s 492 lbs made the bike feel like a toy in comparison. But even without the Honda and Harley, the sub 500-pound weight makes the Yamaha an unassuming bike to go touring with.
We&#;ve professed our love for Yamaha&#;s 890cc Triple in every bike it&#;s been in and the Tracer 9 is no different. There&#;s nice torque off the bottom and a healthy amount of power up top to really move you along. And once the engine is revving, it produces an addicting intake and exhaust note that leaves you wanting more. It&#;s the very definition of playful. We also appreciated the quickshifter and autoblipper, too. Not having to use the clutch for shifts is a treat, and the exhaust pops for each upshift sound cool, too. If we were to complain about something, the downshifts on our particular test bike felt notchy and unrefined with the autoblipper. We haven&#;t experienced that before on other CP3 engines, so maybe this was a one-off.
Photo by Francis Jun.
The Tracer 9 has a manually adjustable windscreen that&#;s fairly effective at diverting air, but ultimately, the Yamaha&#;s overall smaller dimensions compared to the Harley and Honda we brought along, also mean the Yamaha had less protection from the elements. Is that an unfair comparison? Sure, but those are the kind of straws we have to reach for with a bike we like so much.
This is an especially nice feature on sport-touring bikes &#; both saddlebags are the same capacity thanks to an under-engine silencer. Back when sport-tourers routed their exhausts along the side of the bike, the pannier on that side had to be shaped differently to accommodate, resulting in a smaller case. When you&#;re trying to pack for a trip, you want more space, not less. The Tracer&#;s bags give you that.
Electronic suspension is perfect for sport-touring because you never know what the road ahead is going to be like. We experienced all kinds of roads in northern Ontario and it wasn&#;t until after the ride was over did we realize that we didn&#;t adjust our settings once over the course of the miles we traveled. We didn&#;t feel the need.
And Yes, we&#;re squeezing in a shoutout for the adaptive cruise control. While it wasn&#;t perfect, it sure is a nice feature to have on a touring bike.
If your touring tastes skew towards the sporty end of things, the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ has a lot to offer. It thrives on twisty roads, but is also equally at home putting in the miles on the highway if you need to. At $16,499, you&#;re getting a nice bike for the money that&#;s packed with features to make sport-touring safer and more enjoyable.
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Buying an electric scooter is an exciting time but there are a lot of factors that might depend on your personal use case.
With that in mind, here are 5 things that you should know about before buying your electric scooter.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit tracer scooter.
1. Check the range
At Scooter Hut, we stock a large range of electric scooters with maximum ranges from 25km up to a staggering 150km!
Deciding which e scooter is best for you often starts with understanding how far you plan to travel on a single charge. If your commute is 15kms each way then a 25km range will be no good unless you plan to charge up at your destination to have enough juice to make it back home again.
Additionally, manufacturer stated maximums must be taken with a pinch of salt as these range calculations are based ideal riding conditions. We recommend allowing for 70% of stated maximum range figures when decided which electric scooter is right for you.
2. Check the Battery Technology
Modern high output lithium batteries have incredible storage capacities. At Scooter Hut, we stock scooters with up to 150Kms range (a figure which would have been unimaginable just a few years ago).
Most electric scooters will use some form of lithium ion battery technology with unrivalled capacity and longevity. These packs are actually often an array of Li-ion cells (just like in Tesla vehicles).
Everything that happens to your battery from charging to riding is managed through a small chip called a Battery Management System (BMS).
Not all battery packs are created equal and this is something you'll want to consider when decided which electric scooter is right for you. Battery packs from LG, Samsung, Panasonic, and Sanyo are very well regarded in the industry and you can expect excellent battery lifetime from them. There are cheaper, unbranded alternatives which do the job but the jury is still out on whether you can expect these batteries to last as long as a branded battery from a well know manufacturer.
Riding in lower temperatures (below 0c) or on hotter days (above 45c) can damage your battery and reduce the lifespan of the unit. Additionally, if you aren't using your electric scooter for several weeks it is best to keep it charged up at around 75% capacity to maintain a healthy charge and keep those cells happy and healthy.
If you're unsure of anything related to your battery technology or maintenance, pop in and see our team at your local Scooter Hut store for reliable advice.
3. Check the Electric Motors
Brushless motors are anything new. They've been around since the early 60's but they weren't powerful enough to rival their brushed brethren.
In the 's, new permanent magnet materials paved the way for brushless motors to exceed the power of brushed motors many times over. Brushless Motors offer many more advantages which helped make possible the electric mobility devices we have today including:
The main thing you need to consider when deciding which electric scooter is right for you is the Motor Wattage and whether it has one or two motors. As you might expect, the higher the wattage, the higher the power output of each motor and two motors will always offer more power than just one.
If you have any questions about electric scooter motors speak to our team at your local Scooter Hut store.
4. Braking Systems
Several different types of braking system can currently be found in Electric Scooters. Here is a list of the most common systems, how they work and the pros and cons for each.
Electronic Braking System
This type of brake uses the motor/s to actively decelerate. It is common on most commuter scooters and is often paired with a step brake. This type of braking usually includes a feature called regenerative braking which actually uses your momentum to charge your battery when you brake.
The e-Glide G60, Segway Max, and Unagi Model ONE all use this type of braking system.
1. Step Brake
A feature found on most freestyle scooters, the step brake can also be found on some electric scooters. This is a simple but effective braking solution that uses a foot plate mounted over the back wheel. Pushing down on this foot plate applies pressure to the back wheel and slows you down.
2. Drum Brake
Drum brakes are an effective braking solution that require little to no maintenance. A pair of brake pads inside the rear wheel are pushed out to apply pressure to the wheel. Cheap, effective, and maintenance free, this system is a popular one in commuter scooters.
3. Disc Brakes
There are 3 different types of disc brake system. The first uses a steel cable that runs from your brake handle to a piston at the wheel which applies pressure to a metal disc.
The second is much the same but the steel cable activates a hydraulic system at the wheel which provides firmer and more responsive braking characteristics.
The third type of disc brake is the gold standard in braking for the most part is limited to only the most advanced and extreme electric scooters. Fully hydraulic brake systems dispense with the steel cable entire in favour of a hydraulic system that runs from the brake lever all the way to the brake pistons at the wheel. Zero play in the brakes and the ability to apply 100% of your braking pressure to the wheel make this system the most responsive of all.
The elite Kaabo range of Electric Scooters all use various types of disc braking systems.
5. Check the Portability
Electric scooters come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and weights. Depending on your use case the size and weight of the scooter might play a key part in deciding which one is right for you.
As always, the best advice we can give is to head down to your local Scooter Hut store and ask to check out our range of electric scooters for yourself.
Shop now or head into your local Scooter Hut Store to check out our range of excellent electric scooters.
For more information, please visit electric winger.