Now, at first impression you might think it's muffled, slow or lazy off the bottom, but you're wrong. So is everyone else who says this thing is down on power. It's not. It stacks power like firewood and is ready to burn on notice. Riders from beginner to pro will (and have in our tests) gone fastest on the 2008 YZ450F in timed test sessions.
What is it that works so well? It's delivery. It's efficiency. And it's usability. The bike doesn't rip your arms off or spin it's rear. It just accelerates controllably.
As controlled as the power plant is across the board, the suspension and handling has always thrown me off on this bike. I often have more trouble finding a balance between bump-compliance and cornering stability than I do on other aluminum-framed MX bikes. I praise its straight-line performance but can't get the thing dialed in to dive and swoop through corners without precise concentration on my part. Let's be honest here: I'm really complaining that while the bike lets me go brainless with my right hand, I still have to think on my toes and with my clutch in the twisties.
If I can get the front end to commit, the back end to follow and both ends to stay planted as I drift off and think about how my fantasy baseball team is doing, then I'll be completely sold. If anything the YZ450F is consistent. It hasn't done anything surprising in the few hours of testing.
The thing about it "not" turning as well for me is more a feeling of its suspension really working. These forks actually move! The feeling threw me off for a while since I've been in the saddle of more rigid-feeling bikes for the last year. When the Yamaha started moving in the front end I'd panic and release the front brake and thus would begin the see-sawing, unsettled sensation I was struggling with at first. I've found ride height and dragging the rear brake in those ruts a bit ensures the big blue bomber will plant itself just fine. Also, stop shifting down so much, Ziegler! The bike will pull a taller gear and is more relaxed in the turns without a freighter's worth of engine braking.
Mostly, the cornering characteristics are something I needed to get accustomed to. I guess that's why we put 10+ hours on this bike already.
-Jesse Ziegler/5'10"/175lbs/ Vet Intermediate.
I am not really too much of a 450 rider I only race it ounce a year for Mammoth. So I was a little on the timid side about the power of this big 450. After doing a few laps I realized that I was having no problems controlling the bike at all. With such a smooth powerband it made me think that the YZF 450 was a little slow, and lacked power. But by the end of the day I realized that what made this whole bike was a great motor. It was pretty close to identical to last years bike. Suspension, handling and just about everything else on this bike worked together perfectly. I was able to get on the bike and just ride without making any adjustments. Even coming straight off a 250F, there was no challenge in the transition to a bigger bike.-Tyler Ruiz 5'10"/180 lb/Intermediate
If I told you that I had a choice between racing Chad Reed's supercross winning YZ450, Grant Langston's Outdoor National number one bike and a stock 2009 YZ450, which one do you think I would take? All egos aside, I'd choose the stock bike if I were looking for results. Crazy? I had the opportunity to ride all three of these bikes (feature story to come, you'll have to get the magazine for that.) and if I needed to do my best, the stock bike would have been the best tool. It is such a well rounded package, like it was last year, that if you never rode another bike you could not complain about how this bike works. This may be one of the last carbureted full-size motocross bikes and for some dealing with jets is something they do not want to give up. No matter what anyone's reason for thinking about buying the YZ450, I don't know of any reason a rider wouldn't be really happy on one of these.--Jimmy Lewis 5'10"/185 lb/ Senior Pro
Discuss this in our forums