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/128076
Shootout YAMAHA YZ115 MOTOR Awesome b ottom , good mi d . I like to rev it ou t bu t it still wants to flatten 'ou t on top . You can avo id that by shif ting soone r. - D.L. Pulls har d ea rly, all the way thro ugh the mid-range a nd on to p. Very smooth and controllable. - CS. Torquey low to top, but on a tra ck like Glen Hele n a motor tha t revs a little higher would be bette r. A change of gearing wou ld a lso help. - j.5. The Yam aha ha s th e best motor. It pu ts out good pow er eve rywhe re. The low-end is good, but the mid and top a re great. - CD. It's not the fastest motor, but it's prett y close.to it. It has the most useable powe r in all ranges of the power hand. It's my favorite mo tor .- M.F. The front is good. The rear is soft. It didn't want to lock up coming in hard on the brak es. - D.L. St rong and nice so lid lever-pull, top notch. - 1'.5. TI,e bra kes feel fine, bu t the YZ has the wo rst and most timeconsuming front-brake lever assembly to replace. - M.F. just plain good . - K.P, CONTROLS/SHIFTING It' s soft and smoo th an d I love it. The pu ll is the easies t out of all the b ikes besid es the KTM's hvdraulic clut ch . - D.L. Clu tch action is goo d . I don't prefer the levers use d . Shifting was a tad on the notchy side , but not a big d eal. - CS. Shifting notchy during full-thro ttle shifts. - j.S. Everything works well . - CD. Clutch feel is mu ch improve and shifting is fine. - 1'.5. d The YZ shifts better than last year's model, but is the notchiest of all the bikes . - M.F. . Average fed. - K.P. ERGOS It's a goo d motor, very usabl e, but it lacks the flat ou t speed of last year's "King 125." - 1'.5. Probably the best overall motor but had a slig h t "bog" when hitti ng big bumps. - K.P. FRONT SUSPENSION Bottoms easily if you ove r jump. - C O. Seemed soft on big hit s. After we insta lled the .42 springs, bottoming improved , - J.5. The fork is too soft and d ivy (for Glen Helen). Once the stiffer sp rings Were p ut in, it go t better. - CS. The sus pension is rea lly soft. It's like drivinga Cadillac, - O.L. TI,,~ fork d oes everything good, but not ou tsta ndi ng. - T.S. Above" werage perfor man ce, some times a little tw itchy. - K.P. REAR SUSPENSION A"'t~SOl~ e trackin g comingout of a bumpy comer. - D.L. Tracks well out of tu rns a nd und er brak ing . A Jittle sha ky in faster sections because the forks squat too mu ch . It go t be tter with the improvement of the fork, becoming a lot mor e sfunle and predictab le. - CS. Very soft on G-<'>ll tS. -).5. Shock is rea llyplus h on braking bumps an d feels really firm. over jum p thin gs it do es >ttom easily. - CD. me fine~tuning, but the new slow-sp eed ail juster . - 1'.5. 24 HANDLING Reall y good. - CD. The b ike was stable, bu t in wh oops it d oes no t-mov e as stra ight. - j.5. Really pretty nice and comfortab le. Not qu ite as so lid as the Kawasaki or Honda. The suspensio n is st ill a little so ft for faster sectio ns, putting more load on the bike. - C S. Soaks up really good and delivers the power to the ground. Still has the softest suspension of them aII. - D.L. Very good as always. Just not great like a coup le of the other bikes . - 1'.5. I can' t com pla in about the handling of the YZ. - M .F. Overall ver y goo d nnd pr ed ictab le. - K.P. CORNERING It com ers really good. I like the corn ers with ruts. - D.L. TI,e bike tu rn s well. It sticks ru ts a nd berms pr etty well and is Strong even on flatt er, slicker turns. - C S. Average, not the qu ickes t to hold a n inside line. - j.5. It sticks in ru tted corners nice. -1'.5. The YZ is the bes t in w ide- sw eeping rums for me, but it 11 not corn er tight as well as the RM, CR or KX> M.F. J had no problem s getti ng the YZ; llin>ugh any kind of qui ckly, - KY. Rad iator sh rou ds catch on boots. - j.5. Com forta ble and roomy with good hand lebar and peg position . My boots catch the back of the shro uds an d the tank. That's pretty annoy ing . Standing to silting is also a little uncomfortable, but not "too bad . >C.S. It feels small, almost cra m ped. J moved the ba rs up and it WdS better . - D.L I'm kind of sho rt a nd small so the YZ cockpi t is the mos t comforta ble for me, even with the new trip le-clamp. - M.F. ltiseasy to adap t to the Yamaha, "ery com for table. - K.P. Wha t do yo u li ke mos t abo u t the b ike ? It's an a ll-arou nd goo d hike th'S!. pu ts out power everywhere. It's a perfect bike for beginners and novices. - D.L. The smooth, reliab le pow er an d good corner ing action . - C.5. The motor is the best trail. Every thing else is average. - J.5. The motor feels solid. - 1'.5: It's e asyto "ide, du e in pa rt to the motor. - M.F. Mid range power. - K.P. What do you li ke least about the b ike? 'Fhe carb bogged and ,it hits the rev limiter. I also didn't like catching m y boots on the radiator shrouds. ~ J.5. ;The soft for ks an d the bo ot-snagg ing problem , - C S. Not really mu ch I guess, except that it feels cramped. - D.L. The fact that it wa sn't the same as last year's. - T.5. When you j um p in to the face of something, the YZ falls of the power band viole ntly. It's not a jettin g problem. I'm no t 1 iUre , ,,,ha t it is . Som e ca ll it the Ya maha bog, I ca ll it ,umoying. - M.F. The ,sIight engi ne!carb uretion bog w hen hitting burn psatcertain !pm - annoying ..ยป K.P . at .dilild make the bike l>etter? pu ll and a seat gripper. - D.L. s an drevalve ehe sus pension . e.s. overrev . - J.S. more Ius;, suspension. - T.S. M