Most of the changes to the YZ80 are made to the engine. It now sports a flat-top piston and has different porting specs.
ca n get used to th em . Th e bik e feels
mu ch mor e co mforta ble a nd it 's easy
to adapt to. The YZ250 feels good.
The YZl25 has a mu ch eas ier-tomanage mot or than befor e. Th e
power band is broad a n d o vera ll
pow er is strong with little surprises.
It co mes on th e pi pe qu ickl y but
co ntrollably a nd pulls hard throughou t th e rp m ra nge. The bike loves
to be screa med.
Sus pe ns io n. lik e on th e 250, is a
100% improvem ent over th e 1987
.mod el, thanks to the new fork. There
is less movem ent up front. It doesn 't
feel as busy as before, which mean s
th e Yam ah a is ea sier to hold onto
a nd less ti ring to ride. Luckil y, ·the
ba ck end has been tuned up to match
th e front end's performan ce. There
is less bottom in g than befor e.
Even though th e YZ490 is little
changed, th e motorcycle feels better
than before; th at , of co urse, is d ue
to th e new ca rtridge fork. It performs
so much bett er than last year's fork
that th e bik e feels easier to rid e and
is easier to COnt ro l. The back end
seemed a little har sh , but sim ple
di aling in sho uld cure that p roblem.
The YZ490' s pow er is as strong as
ever.
_
Both the YZ125 and 250 come w ith rear disc brakes; the YZ490 has
a drum. Gone for 1988 is Yamaha's B.A.S.S. on the 125 and 250.
The powerband on the YZ125 is broad and super smooth . The clutch
has been beefed up by adding one more clutch plate and spring.
16
before. It may stilI climb, but rarely
enoug h to require the rider to back
off the throttle. It's very tractable.
Both th e front brake and new rear
disc brake work well. H owever, we
did stall the bi ke in some tight turns.
Finally, Yamaha changed the bend
of the bike 's handlebars - they 're
a lmo st comfortable now. They stilI
feel a little awkward, but at least you
