Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

We jumped from a )U1' of a full Ooating rear brake system onto Yamaha's non floater and had problems with locking up the rear wheel. The old cureall was dusted off and applied. We backed off the brake adjuster, yanked heartily on the rod until it was obviously bent upward, and readjusted the brake. The flex in the rotI eliminated most of the lock·up problems, and rider adjustment to the light feel eliminated the rest. Onto the nit-picky stuff, both gootI and bad. that surfaces after about 500 miles. The sticken on the tank, side panels and front number plate refuse to commit suicide at the car wash. You'll wear down the paint on the side panels out long before the sticker peels off. The spoke break-in procedure consists of giving them about four to five hearty rums before you even go riding (don't be afraid - crank 'em) followed by a tiny tighten·up every 300 miles. The tank holds a hearty 60 miles worth of neck stretching fun, but you're pushing if it's 70miles and you've been gassing it. It's a broad baby, a little hard to cuddle with, but it doesn't really get in your way. The White Knight shifts better if you ignore the clutch as much as pos' sible. Just click and gas it. Don't believe the oil spea on the sidecase - put 850cc of oil in the gearbox. Works great unless you extend the suspension and don't 1engthen the kickstand then it comes dribbling out the overflow. The odometer takes some getting used to. When you reset (either to zero at the start, or at course resets) the odo takes the equivalent of half a tenth to click in. We started setting it half a tenth early at the start and resets and it worked fine. Whenever course mile· age was off on the whole course, the Yamaha was consistent. Picky riders swap the unit for a Suzuki or Can-Am odo, or pop for an trick electric odometer. The little toolbag on the rear fender is cute, but we don't trust it. You can stuff a spare tube in there, but we don't recommend tools - ever had your kidneys explored by a phillips head? When we've had back-row numbers in enduros, we've spotted a few out on the trail - mostly last Year's but a few of the '81 bags too. Could be from over-stuffing. It's amazing what some people cram in there. Both fenders are good mud stoppers. you,~ ...... 00 0") ...... .... p.. """ < lined and pointed where you want to go, grab a handful and drop the clutch." It takes a while to get the hang of it, but it· works well and shaves off precious seconds spent trying to wrestle it around. Makes you feel like a jet pilot too ... The gearbox ratios work nicely with the engine's tractor-like powerband, although you1l soon learn to ignore first gear except in the exoeme l(IWties. We started otT the line in the 1ast few enduros using third gear and stiD holeshot the guys who race to the three mile marker. Whether or not youll like the SUIpension depends on where you ride and what class you're in. We found that the stock suspension works fairly well in woods areas for most A riders. The ~ys who consistenly run in the top eight or so in the desert enduros will want something more (lee the side· bar for modifications). Since the SUIpension can be fine-tuned, we did some woods fiddling. On the monoshock we tightened the preload 5mm past standard, and stiffened the damper three clicks past the firm notch. Up front we pulled the forks up 48 millimeters from the top clamp, added an inch of oil and six pounds of air. Set up like this the bike wotks nicely. If the fast guys in the class zero a 24 mph section with time to spare, the IT465 can get in there too. If the class winner drops five minutes the IT with a capable rider wiD drop six, at most seven points with the stock suspension. The bike in stock trim is a gootI handling machine. It actually has the same wheelbase as the Green Ba11erina, Kawasaki's KDX175. But' it's heavier, and the shock is in a different, higher location. The stock SUlpension can cope with the weight of the bike up to a certain point. It can't hold a determined rider back from winning the class, but if the competition is extremely thick (we're talking AA here) you're going to need some suspension assistance. Yamaha automaticaUy put the double leading shoe front brake on this year's IT when they went to the bigger engine. They knew what we found out - something this fast needs great brakes. The fint few miles with this brake results in wide-eyed front wheel lock-ups until you adjust to the disc-like response it offen. It's the fint brake we've never found lacking, despite heavy, hanh use, water and dust. • Specifications MODEL: , 1T486H COLORfSI:, .••.•....• , . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • • . . • . . . . . . . . . . . White ENGINE Type:· ReecI-veIve, 2-.troke, lingle Dlaplecernent: 486cc: Bonllind Stroke:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86.0 x 82.Ornm ~ RatIo: 7.0:1 MaxImum Torque: 38.3 ft.-1b. @ &&00 rpm c.buretor: Mikuni VM38SS IgIlIitIon: . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capec:itor-dlachllrge PrImary kick l.ubricetion: Premix s-rmr.. ,., , TRANSMISSION:•.........•.•............................ 6-apeec:I CHASSIS 0venIII L.ngth: 88.8 In.l22II6Inml 0venIII WIdth:•.................................... 36.0 In.18IOrnml 0vereII H.lght: .............•...........•..•...... 48.2 In.l122&rnml Wheelll ••e: •••.•.....•................•.......... 68.1 in.1141&1nml Ground C.....nce:•................................ 11.8 In.l2I6mml Dry Weight: ..• , ••.• , • . . • . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. Not eY8llebie Fuel Tank Capeclty:.....•.........................•. 3.41111.113.0 lit) Bu.penalon Ifront!: A1r dJult8ble lreer): , ,. AdjUlUlbie monoshock Wheel Trevellfrontl: 10.8In. Irllrl: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11.0 In. Berklllfront!: .. , I ): 14 , .•.•. , , , Drum Drum -nr-Ifrond: , 3.00-21 (......):. , ••.. , •. , , ......................•.....•....•.•. 6J1O.17 PrIce...•.................................................. t2.099 : H you don't like the wiggle action that the front fender does in bouncy terrain, replace it with a Petry or other sturdy unit. Side panels are easy on and off with a screwdriver. You can take the air ruter in and' out with no tools. Even the shock pops off with a combo 14/ 17mm wrencb and a pair of plien. The tank is a single IOmm wrench. The whole bike can be stripped down with a bare minimum of tools in a very short time. Maintenance, other than replacing, worn parts, is minimal. Clean the air filter and brake shoes after each ride and sive it the old tight nut and holt run-through. Feed it Yama1ube mixed at 36:1 (43Occ to four gallons) with 76 Union Supreme or another 91 octane gas. It IIeems to like the standard Champion N-3 rather than the gold plated veniOD. Change gearbox and forlr. oil ~ery four rides. Other than that the bike takes care of itself. Overall the IT465 is going to sell well with a lot of different buyen. The guys who want a fast Japanese enduro machine that works well in most situations will find the IT465 has the grunt to get you there and the ability to take home the big trophies. A lot of guys in the Senior A class are stepping off big bore motocrossen in favor of this bike. It's got the horsepower they want in a more controllable form that results in shaving off seconds because it hooks up sooner. Probably the bigget market is the weekend warrior. Wlille this has historically been an area dominated by YZS regardless of Yamaha's efforts in the IT field, it looks like the IT465 (and we hear the 11'%50) are breaking through that barrier. It's justifiable. Yamaha invested heavily in a team last year and came back with lots of development info that was applied to this year's machine. They backed off on team size this year, leading us to imagine that the bike will be fairly unchanged for the 1982 market. From what we've discovered, it wiD have a pretty solid place in the market for this and next season. It's a gootI buy. • ModHicafions How to . .no it out We set out with the objective of making the bike as capable Of winning as any other machine that rolls to the line in a National Enduro. The only place where we might not have reached that goal was in weight - we'd like to shave off another 15 or 20 pounds but can't find anywhere to do it. Other than that, we think that the modifications here will help you move towards the top of the Open A class a little quicker. Tire. end tube. Dunlop has a very nice set-up that works well in both woods and desert. We used a 3.00 x 21 Kl!l9 up front and a 5.00 x 17 K88s on the rear. The 17 inch rear wheel does limit you a bit in selection (we're getting the 1'1'250 rim and spokes), but there are tires available. The Dunlops are good for an honest 150 enduro miles in the desert and 200 to 250 miles in the woods. The best tubes we've found are the Michelin rubber tubes. Sturdy seams, a nice elbow design in the valve stem and they don't go flat easily. Chain The stock chain stretches initially, then stops for about 100 miles, then starts stretching again - forever. We pitched it at 400 miles and replaced it with a Husky Protlucts 530 O-ring chain. It stretched a bit initially then stopped. It's stiD cooperating nicely after 1300 miles. Suspension The only suspension drawback is when you totally bottom out the rear end. The bottom of the silencer brushes against the rear sprocket. It doesn't do more than leave scruff marks, but it sure sounds nasty. It's worth it. Control. Real Magura Dog Leg levers are about $22 a pair, but they're nice and short and they don't explode when you fall down. We used GSM OW chrotnoly bars ($22.95) cut to 32 inches. They're lower than stock and have a nice bend for woods. Some people are also using last year's stock YZ125 bars. Yamaha has some soft and grabable GP Acces· sory grips ($4.95). We also installed a White Bros. clutch extender to make pulling the clutch in easier. If $8.95 is too much, take your stock clutch arm, extend it about 20mm, weld it back together and bolt it back on. Enduro gootIies included a Coundown Clock ($109.95), Hi-Point route card holder (an oldie we found in a box) and a DG crossbar pad ($!l) cut in half to accommodate the clock. Possibly the neatest trick was to take some height out of the seat (this one's free if you've got some glue and a knife) . Riden with an inseam of 32" or less, often find their feet flapping worthlessly in the breeze when attempting to reach the ground. Pop the seat cover off, and measure 10 inches down the side of the seat from front to back. At the front of the seat measure a 1 ~ " high section in the middle of the padding - don't shave off the top" If you connect all three points you WIll have a wedge in the middle of the padding that is 1 ~" at the front and tapers to a point 10 inches back. Mark the wedge with a pen, cut it out with an electric carving knife, glue the seat back together and staple the cover back on. The seat will be low enough to where you should be able to touch the ground. White Bros. has a slick set-up that extends rear wheel travel to 11.8 inches and made the bike a pleasure to ride. It consists of different valving, elimination of the travel limiter and cross-over primary -spring that makes the fint third of travel nice and cushy, the middle very cooperative, and the last third firm enough for serious get down speeds. We used the standard Thing. that didn't work We tried two different sets of fiberYamaha IT spring in the woods, with the preload backed way off, and the glass reeds and didn't notice any real accessory IT firm spring in the desert difference. It reportedly works great with the preload cranked down. Cost is on the IT250 and the whole YZ line, but didn't do much for our 465. We $118. The White Bros. IT fork kit also went to an aluminum spark arrestor ($79.95) consists of damper rods, to stop banging the stock spark arrestor springs, Bel-Ray 10 weight LT suspen- on the sprocket. It seemed to slow our sion oil and gives 11.8 inches of travel. bike down somewhat, and made it a We topped the oil off at 5.5 inches borderline case at the sound test. We from the top of the tube (when col- went back to stock. The silencen suplapsed), pulled the forks up to 50mm posedly work very well on IT175s, and and pumped in eight pounds of air for there's mixed emotions about their the woods, 14 pounds for the desert_ performance on the 11'%501. •

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