How close was Yamaha to winning our shootout last year (March '05)? As close as it could get without being picked as the winner. What lost it for the blue bike? A few small category defeats that ever so slightly held it from the top spot. So if you were Yamaha, how could you fix that?
Simply put, as good as the fork was for '05 (our second favorite), it could have made the bike a clear winner, so the tuning-fork guys changed it. Going to what Yamaha calls the S3 (Speed Sensitive System; get a little more tech in the YZ125 test page 82), fork refinement has been the path the blue team's been going down for a while. We know the YZ loves a good front end and craves a perfect one. The shock got some attention as well, along with the larger shafts and titanium springs on all the YZs for '06. Boosting the suspension performance can work wonders for handling, comfort and even make the motor feel faster though there were minimal changes to the engine.
Getting on it, you find the YZ feels just like last year's bike. You'll be hard pressed to notice the seat (unless you're Karel Kramer) or the slightly thicker front brake lever (unless you're Jimmy Lewis) You won't notice the improvements in the fork by doing the showroom bounce, and the bike doesn't really feel any lighter. It is in riding it that the '06 makes its statement. For the most part, this YZ250 feels very similar to last year's model. That is a good thing.
The Yamaha has not been an outright power king, but it is a master of insane response, crisp jetting and a full spread of power that the other manufacturers are trying to match. The beauty of the YZ motor is how it hooks up so well for being so aggressive. It is the kind of motor that will get traction on the hardest of surfaces, laying down blue stripes on the baked turns and always controllable. Yet in deep loam or sandy conditions it has the snap, bark or boost to pull out of anything and get the front wheel light. Nothing has changed except now maybe the shock and fork are settling the bike on the ground better, getting even more precious hookup.
One good square-edged bump and you feel the new fork doing its thing-especially going into turns where the bike is deeper in the stroke when you hit some more stuff. Last year the YZ was a little harsh compared with the Showa forks, and even compared with the Kawasaki KX's KYB fork. This year it doesn't seem to resist bottoming any better; it is just a whole lot more supple or active. That suppleness stays with the fork everywhere on the track: on slap-down landings, on jump takeoffs, on nose-down landings. The initial part of the stroke is plusher and seems to act as though there is less spring (the '06 250 has one step softer fork spring) or valving acting on the fork when it starts moving. Then it has a very progressive buildup of damping force. Yamaha showed us charts comparing the '05 fork to the '06. The '05 spiked in valving when the speed and damping force became higher, while the '06 built progressively. Plain and simple, this fork works better, especially the rougher the track gets. The width of the fork tubes (i.e., fork pitch) was increased 2mm though the mounting clamps on the lowers changed to keep the same axle spacing as last year. Whether this contributes to another area where the YZ sees some improvement is a mystery only chassis gurus know. The YZ turns across rough, hard ground better than its ancestor did, an area some riders dissed on the new-for-'05 aluminum frame. We'll credit the fork for most of this improvement.