First Test: 2011 Yamaha YZ250F - Dirt Rider Magazine

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<p>After riding the 2010 YZ250F all year long, we can understand why Yamaha decided not to make any performance changes to the machine. The only difference from 2010 to 2011 is that the front of the side shrouds are now white instead of black, so we are going to look deeper into the aftermarket side of this 250F and explore the possibilities of some proven upgrades. But even in a BNG year, some of the Dirt Rider test riders swore the stock bike we got to ride this year had been tweaked for some well-liked improvements.Snappy throttle response was one of the things the testers noticed. This bike still utilizes a carburetion system, but the throttle response felt like that of a fuel-injected bike except in some of the harsh hits such as G-outs and hard landings. The power delivery makes a transition from the bottom to mid that is very usable in many sections of the track when you need to roll on the throttle. The shifting on this bike is solid. It hooks into the next gear while power-shifting and never slipped down a gear or into a false neutral, even when staying hard on the gas. Second gear pulls nicely and steadily without breaking the rear end loose, but still has the punch to shoot you out of the corner to the next obstacle. Even third gear pulled hard out of most turns, giving a wider variety of line selections through corners with tight insides and sweeping outsides. On long straights when being ridden wide open, fifth gear flattened out a bit too early, almost like there should have been an extra gear hiding in the gearbox waiting for action. The stock gear ratios favor tracks that have shorter straights that allow you to stay in the sweet spot of the powerband and only dip into and out of fifth gear for short periods of time. There are no power shortages on this machine, so going down a size or two (for the lighter rider) on the rear sprocket would definitely increase the top-end, giving more use of fifth gear. And the clutch has an easy pull which is nice at the end of a long moto. A few riders talked about being inclined to use the clutch more than usual to maximize traction thanks to a lighter-feeling pull.Every test rider had great things to say about the bike’s ability to turn and stick to the ground. Yamaha did a great job providing its 250F with an absolutely stable chassis and a light-feeling front end that makes for easier cornering and gives the rider the ability to aim the bike more precisely in the air. The bike really takes care of the rider, especially on beat-up downhill sections with choppy braking bumps. When entering a corner, the Yamaha allowed riders to start setting up for ruts early. There wasn’t any time spent fighting the bike trying to aim toward a line; it just steadily made its way into the corner with ease. It’s been a while since we’ve ridden a bike that gave us this much confidence in corners.The suspension on the YZ250F is another area where this ride shines. On rough sections of track this bike provides great control and hardly bucks or kicks, allowing riders to actually hold on a little looser and conserve energy. The stock settings lean more toward the heavier riders and the lighter, faster guys. A few of our faster test riders played with the clickers a bit looking for a fine-tuned ride, but in the end they returned the settings to stock because their changes compromised the bike’s overall smooth feel and stability. It could be stiffened up for the faster riders, but even our slower riders said the suspension had an extremely comfortable feel, though a little stiff. We like to think it was just pushing them to be more aggressive. Everything from jump takeoffs and landings to fast, rough terrain was nothing more than another section of track waiting to be attacked, and our YZ250F has had long days of being ridden moto after moto at Glen Helen, Racetown 395 and LACR, which are definitely not the most forgiving tracks.
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Opening up the YZ250F’s breathing prompted us to dial in the jetting with a Works Connection fuel screw. Our novice rider had noticed that the bike was popping and backfiring when entering corners with the slip-on installed. This mod doesn’t improve performance, but it makes it easy to keep the bike in a state of top tune for each day’s conditions.

The ’11 YZ-F is all around fun to ride and has all the positive characteristics you could want in a 250F. Great power, suspension and handling that give great confidence are what riding motocross is all about. Dirt Rider was impressed with the Yamaha and gives props to the crew in blue for making it happen with a carbureted bike that is a serious threat to the fuel-injected models.

Specifications: 2011 Yamaha YZ250F

MSRP: $7,150; white/red, $7,250
Actual weight (tank full): 227 lb
Seat height: 36.9 in.
Seat-to-footpeg distance: 20.3 in.
Footpeg height: 16.6 in.

What’s Hot

Handles like a champ!
New white side shrouds look clean. Also comes in black, white and red (a great color combo!).
Overall, this bike is extremely comfortable and easy to get used to.
This YZ-F definitely does not need an electric start, first kick fires it up!

What’s Not

Still carbureted, when do we get fuel injection?
Fifth gear doesn’t pull as long as we’d like.
The white on the side shrouds will show some signs of wear and discoloring after a while.