Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128010
First Ride 2000 Yamaha YZ250 By Matt Freeman Photos by Beth laRock ' H ad I taken par t in the Cycle N ews 250 cc Mot ocross Shootou t last yea r, the YZ250 wou ld have been my cho ice as the winner. After all , th e sma ll cock p it on the 1999 YZ su ite d my sma ll 5' 9" sta ture just fine, The motor fit my riding styl e and allowed me to ride fast with a smile on m y face, even th ou gh so me of th e o th er bikes in its cla s s ha d meati er moto rs, I lik ed i t b eca u s e it was a smooth package from the insid e out On the ot her ha nd, the most o ften voiced complaints about the 1999 YZ250 from other riders were th at (a) th e motor flattens out on top, and (b) the ergonomics an d the overall feel of the bike is cramped , Their complaints about the YZ cra m p ed my s ty le, but obviously not Yama ha's, beca use w he n th e 2000 YZ250 rolled out of the Yamaha box van at Glen He len Raceway Park, the afor em en ti on ed cha nges w e re made. And they d idn't just stop there, either. From a di stance the n ew YZ look s identical to la s t year's model. There's the obvious cha ng es like the parti al face lift th at th e fr ont fend er, number plate and radiator shrouds rec eiv ed . Th e a irbox w en t from bl ack to w h ite for more efficient engine coolin g, naturally. A shorter silencer is tucked behind the right-side pa nel to cut down on wei ght These are all cha nges that can be seen with the naked eye , but when you break out the magn ifying glass , the fine-tooth comb and a set of riding gear, it doesn't take long to discover why the changes were mad e and why they are such a grea t im p ro ve ment. Th at coo l-loo king white airbox actually coo ls the engi ne enoug h that it makes more hors epower, and the sho rter silencer improves torque and throttle response . And that's jus t the beginning. The n ew s ile nce r , new airbox and new carbureto r give the old engin e a lon ger, flo wing Don't judge a book y s c ver.lt may look s imilar, but the 2000 YZ250 is not the same bike that Jeremy McGrath won two consecutive Supercross champ ionsh ips on. Notice that the new numbe r plate lacks a center mounting bolt Yamaha claims that is so the bolt does not get in the way of all the number "1s" they plan to stick on their new models . powerband with characteristics mor e like a sm all open-class bike than a stock 250cc machine. Compared to the '99, the '00 is a lot easier to rid e in a wid e variety of condi tions. Last year's bike definitely required more use of the clu tch w hen trying to ge t yourself ou t of pr eca rious positions. Drinking from th e new throttle-position-sensor -equipped ca r b u r e to r, th e '0 0 h a s more th an eno ug h power to get ou t of silted , sandy and rutted turns as well as dee p wh oops wit h little d utch action required, if any . Fo r thos e w ho rid e a 250 lik e a 125, don 't fret Even thou gh the' YZ has a lot of brute p ow er, it a lso li kes to b e revved, and doesn't fall totall y from the grace of the rid er if ov er-r ev ved a bit The same canno t be said for the '99, On the particular da y that we tested at Glen. Helen, the track was d ry, hardp a cked , rou gh a n d g rooved, whi ch mean s it could have been a nigh tm are for suspensi on tuning . It wasn't Our three tes t rid ers (160 , 185 and 22 0 pounds) varied in wei ght by a total of 60 pounds and all bu t th e heavies t felt totall y co mfo rtable on th e bike after a 2000 Yamaha YZ250 Specifications, Engine Type Liquid -coo led, 2·stroke Displacement 249cc Bore x stroke 66.4mm x 72mm Compression ratio 8.8·' 0.3:1 Starting s ystem Kick Ca rburetor Keihin PWK38S/ 1 w Power Jet and Throttle POSItion Sensor The new works-sty le Clutch perch (above) gives the rider the ability to adjust the clutch on the fly, while the new carburetor and silencer boosts mid and high rpm providing tons of berm shredding power. Trans mission Constant mesh, Primary reduction Seconda ry reduction Electrical S uspens ion Fro nt Rear 5·speed Spur Chain drive CDI Telescopic fork Swingarm link suspens ion Front·wheel travel Rea r·wheel travel . . . 11.8 in . (300mm) 12.4 in. (315mm) Tires '" '" '" cO ~ ClJ .Q E ClJ i5. ClJ rn 24 A high and low speed compression damping adjustment on the rear shock provides a greater range of adjustment while the new finish in the fork tube internals make for a smoother ride. Both updates improve the overall hand ling of the bike. Fro nt .Dunlop 739FA 80 /100-21 Rear .Dunlop 739 110/90 ·19 Brakes Front 245 single disc brake Rear 245 single disc brake O IA length 85.8 in. O IA wid1h 32.6 in. O IA he ight 51.5 in. 58.3 in Wheel base .. . Gro und clearance 15.4 in. Dry wei ght (cla imed) 216Ibs. Fuel capac ity 2.1 gal. MS RP $5699 . »