Now, this is where the differences between Yamaha's 250F and its 450F come into play. If you've been reading, you know we were happy with the 2009 450's handling even though we didn't notice much of an improvement with the new swingarm (see the YZ450F test in the October '08 issue). "It surely isn't worse," we said. We never had as big of a turning/handling issue with Yamaha's 450F as we did with its 250F anyway.
On the 250F, this swingarm change seems to be making a huge difference. The new flex character delivered a much calmer bike in the ruts, berms and sweeping flat turns than we expected after riding the same update on the 450. The entire chassis seems more calm and relaxed, and the effort you exert to nail turns is much less.
Equally impressive is the blue bomber's now-confident front-end feel. Thanks largely to Bridgestone's Yamaha-exclusive M403A spec tire, the 250F is less surprising when braking and steering than it has been in the past. This bike requires less steering input and gives you more rewarding corner performance.
This is where the package of improvements really comes together for the little Yamaha. The new front tire holds you in place better. The new linkage and swingarm allow the bike to settle and hold a turn more confidently. The new exhaust system (with a shorter muffler helping to centralize mass), ignition settings, jetting specs and clutch improvements put it all together by getting the power out sooner and with more oomph.
When you start to think about it, the power is helping the chassis, and the chassis is helping the power...so it's all good.
There are also new visible goodies that might influence your buying decision. The new clutch system is complemented by a stronger and easier-adjusting perch. The new seat cover has more grip and is easier to clean. The top triple clamp has bar-position options through 30mm of movement fore and aft, and the bar is clamped through the same bar mounts as the 450F (4mm taller than last year's 250F mounts).
As a package, the Yamaha 250F is looking pretty nice; at least as nice as it has ever looked. And the '09 YZ-F updates seem to be improving its performance even more than they did to the 450. Will this be the year Yamaha is on top of the 250F podium? We'll let you know as soon as we shoot it out with the other contenders.
2009 Yamaha YZ250F
MSRP: $6599; white, $6699
Claimed dry weight: 204 lb
Actual weight (no gas): 215 lb
Actual weight (tank full): 227 lb
Seat height: 37.2 in.
Seat-to-footpeg distance: 20.7 in.
Footpeg height: 16.5 in.
Fuel capacity: 1.9 gal.
| JETTING | STOCK | DR |
| Main: | 178 | Stk |
| Pilot: | 42 | Stk |
| Needle: | NHKR | Stk |
| Clip position: | 4th from top | Stk |
| Fuel screw: | 2 | Stk |
| SUSPENSION | STOCK | DR | |
| Fork - | Compression: | 10 | 13-14 |
| | Rebound: | 9 | 11-12 |
| Shock - | Low-spd comp.: | 9 | 11-12 |
| | Rebound: | 9 | 9-11 |
| | High-spd comp.: | 1.5 | 1.5-1.75 |
| Sag (mm): | 100 | 102 | |
Other notes: Rebound settings on the shock are highly useful for delivering traction in conditions of chattery acceleration bumps. Open up the adjuster a couple of clicks to improve bite at the rear under these conditions.
Opinions
From '08 to '09, the Yamaha YZ250F received some major improvements. We rode the two years back to back to compare them, and the '09 was hands down an all around better bike. The '08 we rode didn't have a tired, worn-out motor, either. We'd even thrown a fresh top end in the '08. Even with the new top end, the '09 was faster, handled better and overall was just a lot more fun to ride.
Although Yamaha didn't make a lot of changes to the motor, the new exhaust system added quite a bit more bottom while still keeping the mid to top-end power. I'm used to riding a 450, and at 180-185 pounds, I'm not what you call an ideal Lites class rider. So whenever I get on a 250F I'm usually disappointed with the lack of power, but not so with the new Yamaha. The new system gets to the power a lot quicker than the '08, and on a 250 that's exactly what I was looking for. The bike was easy to keep in the meat of the power and never really let me down when I was stretching for the bigger jumps. Another nice touch was the completely new clutch. It was very responsive and was actually...almost...I guess I would say crisp. I know crisp doesn't generally describe a clutch feel, but that's how it felt. There was no slop and no guessing where the release was. It was the same every turn, every lap and every time I rode the bike.