General Discussion Forum

I spent countless hours researching my bikes to make sure I bought the right one. I have heard nothing but good things about the new YZ, so I bought it.

Many buy a 450 saying, "Is it fast? I want the fastest out there!"
Answer: Yes! This bike is decievingly fast at the least. It is very smooth, coming on fairly strong on the bottom and getting progressivly stronger as the RPM's rise without ever signing off with just enough notice that tells you when to shift. I like having a bike that pulls a single gear long and hard without having to shift much, this bike does just that. My only real complaint about the engine is that it needs a little more bottom end. It is more happy pulling a gear lower than a gear high, good thing im a revver


Suspension wise, I loved it when it was new. My bike has about 20 hours on it now, and needless to say, the suspension has gotten alot softer.
The forks on this bike is pretty much are amazing in short. They are very plush with good bottoming control. Same thing goes for the shock. However, as I neared 15 hours, I felt my fork starting to loose bottoming resistance and I bottomed both ends fairly easily. I think its time for a rebuild.

I could go into every category here, but I will sum it up.
The stock front tire must go, it sucks. Raise the forks 5mm's in the clamps and it will handle fine, no more front end push. I am very satisfied as I WAS worried about the front end push. The reliability I hear and know is great. I have not even opened up the engine yet, and my bike runs great. I expect to get another 100 hours at least before I have to open her up.
The stock chain is junk, replace it before you ride, the shrouds scratch easily, the tires are junk, as I have never seen such a fast wearing rear tire and poor gripping front. The bike is jetted wayy off from the factory 170 MJ and 48 PJ will perfect her.

In short I love her, but is she perfect for me? Not really. I weight 148 with gear on, and have alot of trouble throwing it around. I want a 250F, of coarse Yami. I feel these new Yami's have a perfect balance of perfection and snarl wrapped up inside.

MXA's review of YZ450F  

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.

yeah, i like MXA for the motcross stuff, but i like dirtrider for the tips and off-road stuff. they bth have their charms. i really think that the YZ250F is the best all around 250F this year. but, then again, as easy as it is to start 250f's now-a-days, a 250 2 stroke is still half the effort. i am torn between keeping my 2005 250f with not the best suspension, but a good engine or getting the 250 2 stroke with a faster engine that may be a little much, but with better suspension. i think i am a four stroke dude now though. it is probably too late for a 250 2stokre  
2005 YZ250F
2006 RM250
Tragedy and hardship are the forge that produce men of steel

Well, I had the chance to ride a 2005 CR250 on the same day as I rode that RM-Z, and needless to say, don't buy a 2 stroke.  

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.

no kidding, the honda CR250 is a slow bike. no offense to its riders, but it has the worst engine in the class. a YZ250 or RM250 are really fast. but i would go for the Yamaha for sure. best suspension, awesome engine, fast.  
2005 YZ250F
2006 RM250
Tragedy and hardship are the forge that produce men of steel

I wouldn't call the CR a slow bike because it's not, but it does have one of the most narrow powerbands of all the newer 2 strokes. Unless you are willing to make it sing and row through the gears under full power, it will bog, and yes it will be slow, but it does make good numbers on the dyno, just very hard to ride correctly.  
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My friend had a 2006 450F.  It was (is) a blast but I still like the 2-stroke.  I like the light weight; easy handling; and abrupt power (thats just me).  It is easier to get the power down and hooked up with the 450 though.

The 2-stroke felt twice as light coming back from a 450F.  Being as I am short that is a big plus for me.

If money was no option; I would also like to have a 450F but since I can only afford one I choose the 250 2-stroke.  
Dave H 2006 YZ250
(2008 YZ 125 son)

the engine is actually very powerful on a dyno, but that dosnt transfer to dirt, where it Really matters. according to MXA, they could never get it jetted right for more than 3 hours if they could at all. i know nothing about carburators. MXA said that only upper percentile(the top 1 or 2 percent) of riders can ride it on the pipe all the time and keep it focused. i will afmit, when in its "band" it is fast. look at what RIcky did with it. but, most cant keep it there consistantly, for very long.  
2005 YZ250F
2006 RM250
Tragedy and hardship are the forge that produce men of steel

Well, the CR wasnt bad by any means, and the rider, a new friend, has quite a bit of money in that bike.
The suspension has been revalved and resprung with new compression springs and oil lockout nuts. Basically, the suspension was pretty amasing on the thing. Also, he is the guy at Dexters(where I work) who builds the bikes and works on them. So he has ported the thing and it has a FMF factory Fatty with an FMF silencer.

It was fast and very smooth for a 2 stroke. It handled great and I could just pin the thing through rough sandy whoops very fast and it never got squarly. The thing I didn't like was, I have the way in corners where it doenst have a linear pull. It just didnt have the tractability I like. I would hit the gas and it wouldn't pull hard enough, so I would give a little tap on the clutch and it would hit the powerband and go crazy on me. I rode the bike long enough to get a feel on it, and I was riding at roughly 85-90% the speed I can on my YZ450. I attribute the handling to the suspension, but for racing, I just don't see how you can accelerate as hard as a 4 stroke out of corners.

Lets put it this way, he has never ridden a 4 stroke before. He was trying to tell me to get a 2 stroke, we raced, and after that, he said lets switch bikes and he got in my YZ and I got on his CR...after he got off mine, he told me this. "Don't get a 2 stroke, stick with your YZ." To me, that said it all...  

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.

Hey, I found something out after writing these bikes tested things...no one gives a rats a$$  

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.

pin_it:
Hey, I found something out after writing these bikes tested things...no one gives a rats a$$

Thats not true, I love hearing about the opinions on bikes, also it gives good reference if you happen to have written something about a bike that someone is asking about. It's much easier to post a link to someones actual experience than it is to ramble on about tests you've read in a magazine. Though the official tests are a good source of information, I think people like to hear what the average Joe's opinion is as well.  
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