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/128110
~~WBikes P HOTOS BY K IT PA LM ER T h e YZ80 just got b i g g e r. For 2002 , Yamaha gave the YZ80 a complete makeover, as w ell as 5mm more d isplacement. So, the YZ80 is now officially the YZ8 5 . 2002 Yamaha YZ85 It's been a w hi le sinc e the little YZ received this much atten ti o n . Wh il e the b igger YZS were gettin g all o f the are old en ough fo r th e Vet cla ss and w e igh far mo re than a hundred pou n d s. So we left the riding to the new stuff over the yea r s, th e YZ80 was left with the old stuff. But for ' 0 2, kids tha t Yamaha " hired" to ride the all that has changed . N ea rly every part on the YZ85 has been upgraded to " to d ay ' s" standards, so you m ight say that t h e YZ85 i s tru ly a " mi ni" YZ 12 5 or 250. In fact, the 85 actually shares th e exact same footpegs as its b igg er si blings. In a nuts hell , most of the parts on the little YZ ha ve b een modernized , beefed u p or enlarged to accommodate the h ig her -o utput motor. A s fa r as Ya maha offering a " b ig w h eel " version of th e YZ85 - they 're not . But Yam aha does offer all of the more power , hand l es better and is parts (and part n umbers) to turn th e YZ85 in to a big -wheel YZ85. Howev er, it's a big invest ment to do so, as parts alone w ill cost you well over a thousand dollars. Nearl y half o f that e x p e n se i s th e n ew s wi ngarm t ha t you'll have to buy . N ot on ly d id Yam a h a r e c e ntly show us the new YZ85, but they a lso gave us an o n -tra ck d em o nst rati o n of the bike at Glen Helen Raceway. We could 've ridden the little YZ if we wanted to, but all of our staff riders Yamaha will not be offering a big-wheel version of the VZ85 this year, but yo u can buy the parts. The YZSO - now VZ85 - go t a complete makeover f or 2002. A lot of the new technology that went Into the VZ85 was borrowed from the VZ125 and 250. b ikes . The k ids a ll said the b ike has j u st pla in better in eve ry wa y . And , y o u know, k ids don 't li e! A nyway, check out the Tech Ticker box for the list of changes to the YZ8 5 . eN ~©\l:@ll" CRA NKCA SE: The crank case features a new scavenging-port shape and oil seal. CRA NK SHAFT: The crankshaft web shape is changed and balanced to match the new displace ment. PISTON/RING : The piston and ring are larger. Th e piston di am et er has grown from 47mm to 47.5mm. CONN ECTING ROD BEARINGS: The big- and small-e nd bearing s are larger. WATER PUMP: Th e water pump has been redesigned. Th e main change is that it uses an alum inum cast impeller instead of a resin impeller. CLUTCH : T he clutch is all new and beefed up. The hou sing capacity has also been increased from 34 .5mm to 40.8mm . CLUT CH COVER : Like the bigger YZ, the clutch cover features a separate cover for quicker and easier access to the clutch plates. TRA NSMISSIO N: Both the main axle and drive axle have been strengthened. Plus, the six -tooth square spline has been replaced by a 14 -tooth involute spline . Gear rati os remain the same. SHIFT SHAFT: The shift shaft has been modified to im prove shifting action. KICK START LEVER: Th e shape has been changed from an open (clip) type to a closed (bolt) typ e. CAR BURETOR: Th e old roun d -slide-sty le c arburetor has been rep lac ed by a more modem crescent-s haped slide. PWK28 Keihin carburetor. AI R-FILTER A SSEMBLY: Th e enti re air box/filter assembly has been reworked to provide more air volume and easier maintenance EXHAUST SY STEM: Th e exhaust p ip e is all new . T he ru bber mo unts have been repositioned. and the silencer is 20m m shorter. RADIATOR: The radiato r is larger. featuring 7.8m m larger cores, and the louver shape is changes and the number of fins have grown fro m three to four. IGNm ON: The charge coil shape is changed to make it m ulti polarized: both the lowspeed coil and high -speed coil are changed , and the pulser coil shape is cha nged and an outside pulser type is used. COl UNIT : The COl has been changed from analog to digital. (C!hl?ID ~~fi~ FRAME: The entire sub -frame is now detachable and the enqine -mcuntlnq bolts are changed from M8 to M I O. FOOTPEGS : The larger cast-type footpegs are the same as used on the YZ125 and 250. BRAKE PEDAL : The rear-brake pedal is newly designed and now features an O -ring on the boss to reduce the dirt that enters the shaft housing . FUEL CAP: The fuel cap and filler opening is larger. ERGONOMICS: The seat, side covers and rear fender have-been chang ed to provide a flatt er shape. thus improving rider maneuverabili ty. < HANDLEBAR: Th e handlebars are 23mm wider. FORK S: All new. Styled after the bigger YZs. SHOCK: New settings, and the com pression dam ping- valve mechanism is identical to the YZ125 and 250. TIRES: Dunlop D73 9s