Jimmy Lewis was DR's man on...
Jimmy Lewis was DR's man on the seat for the Extreme Enduro test section. He felt the suspension was too stiff and wanted even more flywheel weight.
If there was a bike that could challenge the KTM's in the two-stroke department easily, the Yamaha YZ250 is the base model for doing that. And unfortunately, we got the base model, not the fully equipped version that might have done the job. That being said, we know the Am Pro boys have a good suspension valving solution and we'd bet a more mellow power setup available, but time must have run out on for getting this bike done because even the supplied parts list was a little more presumptuous than what was supplied. Didn't matter, we rode the bike like we stole it and it was still fun. It showed that even with minimal setup, two-strokes still have a lot of game due to their light handling and great power-to-weight ratio. Yamaha luckily made the necessary changes to the YZ250 back in 1995 that have kept it competitive up to this day, especially as a starting point for a great all around bike. The challenge to the KTM's would come in the YZ's more burly power delivery, stiffer handling character and lighter feel. But this bike was just a motocrosser trying to cross-dress to a party is was slightly out of place at.-Jimmy Lewis
Yamaha YZ 250 moto & trail
I know this is a full on moto bike but I had problems getting this bike to corner the suspension was too stiff. You really had to ride the motor hard to keep up your speed, lots of rpm's needed for little blue. -Dave Donatoni in MX test
I liked the suspension of this bike on the motocross track. I did not however care for the light flywheel feel in this engine. It meant that you had to always keep the engine at high RPM to say in the power band which is not how I like to ride. At every corner of the track and in the tight turns of the trails, I found that I continuously had to slip the clutch in order not to stall the bike and even at that I still stalled it. I spent so much time trying to keep the engine running on the trails that I did not really pay attention to how the suspension preformed. Because of the light flywheel feel I would put this bike number four of my five rides. -Sean Crowley, Novice
For me this bike is always a two-stroke shoot out winner. You can ride really hard at the tracks and trails, but the fast motor and good turning couldn't beat the KTM's this year. Riding this bike mistake free is hard; there is always a need to be clutching it at every turn. Also there is no comfortable ride in this bike, as you are always hopping from side to side.
Want to beat the KTM's? Add a heavier flywheel for a smoother motor and revalved suspension for a more comfortable ride.-Alfredo Macklis, Expert
This YZ felt just like a stock YZ250 MX bike in an enduro test. Too stiff with the front ricocheting off of everything. Needed more flywheel weight too! -Jimmy Lewis in Extreme Test
I really liked this bike, the YZ 250 is the bike I would want under me if I were trying to ride at 100% and every second counted. To me, this is both good and bad; riding that way would subject both bike and body to much abuse. I would not want to spend much more than 80 miles on this bike, the suspension responded really well to my tendency to hit bumps hard and it wasn't too stiff since I'm a big boy. And the bike effortlessly went in any direction I wanted. The motor made good power that was available instantly with a little flick of the clutch. The YZ made me feel fast and gave me confidence to push my limit a little more than I would on some of the other bikes.-Scott Denison
Barry Hawk wasn't used to...
Barry Hawk wasn't used to California's poofy berms, but he still railed on all the test loops.
This was one of the parts...
This was one of the parts of the extreme test where Jimmy was wishing for more flywheel weight.