R I D E R E V I E W
P90
2020 YAMAHA YZ450F
Our only real complaint with last year's bike was
the overly soft (and thin) seat padding, which al-
lowed your butt to get too intimate with the upper
frame rails. Padding is 10% firmer now.
The Dunlop Geomax MX3S tires have been
swapped out in favor of Dunlop's well-liked soft/
intermediate-terrain MX33s.
Brakes got an overhaul, too. The front features
a new caliper with larger pistons with 16% more
surface area between the pads and rotor. Yamaha
discovered that going to a larger rear disc on the
previous model caused more harm (heat issues
and risk of damage) than good, so it went back to
a 5mm smaller, 240mm diameter rotor. Yamaha
says a new rear caliper hanger is a quarter-pound
lighter. Overall, Yamaha claims the '20 YZ450F is
(Right) The
YZ450F has
come a long way
for the better
when it comes
to turning. (Left)
The YZ's KYB
SSS fork is still a
great performer,
and the updated
front brake offers
plenty of power
and excellent
feedback.
(Bottom left)
A new cylinder
head improves
both engine
and handling
performance.
Yamaha said they also added more flex to the
top triple clamp area and reduced the front axle
diameter by 1.4mm for a claimed 20 percent
reduction in rigidity. And that's not all; the top
engine mount is now steel instead of aluminum,
and the lower engine mount is now aluminum
instead of steel.
Handlebars are positioned 5mm lower and
mounted slightly further forward (away from the
rider). The rubber-mounted handlebar mount
can still be positioned four ways, front to back.
Yamaha even updated the footpegs; they're now
made out of chrome-moly steel and reshaped at
the bottom for improved ground clearance.
