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/128349
SPECIFICATIONS 2005YZ250F $5699 Four-stro ke. liquid-cooled. DOHC , single Valves: Titanium (5) Displacement: 249cc .77 x 53.6mm Bore x Stroke: Compression Rat io: 12.5: I Lubrication: Dry sump Keihin FCR37H Ca rbure tion: Clu.t~h Type : Wet. multiple-disc lgnit io n: CDI Kick wlhot start St arting: Transmi ssion: Five-speed Chain: #520 Frame: Semi-double cradle MSRP: Engine Type: SUSPENSION Front: ....48mm twin-chamber, Kayaba inverted Rear: ..Single-shock. linkage. adj. rebound and compression; high- and low-speed WHEEL TRAVE L Front: Rear: 11.8 in. 12.4 in. BRAKES Front: Rear: Floatingdisc, 250mm Disc, 245mm T IRES Front: Rear: O/A Length: O/A Width: O/A He ight: Wheelbase: Gr o und Clea rance: Rake/Trail: Claimed Dry Weight: Fuel Capacity: 80/100- 21 Dunlo p 100/90-19 Dunlo p 85.2 in. 32.6 in. 51.3 in. 58 in. 15 in. 27.I ·degree/4.6 in. 206 Ibs. 1.8 gal. efficient path. resu lting in better feel for the rider's right hand . There are also new and much impro ved wraparound, self-supporting, plastic fork guards. The rear suspension gets so me updates as we ll. Th e swingarrn is said to be significantly lighter (and stronger ), and both the linkage system and shock have been revised . On the trac k, the first thing we noticed abou t the '05 YZ250F was the new fork. It simply feels plusher all aro und and soaks up the nasty slap- do wns and nosedive landings not iceab ly better th an be fore. A co uple of ride rs notice d the YZ's lighte r weight, bu t. ov e rall. the bike do esn't fee l a wh ole lot different t han th e '04, w hich isn't a bad t hing at all. T he motor still mak es good power. re vs ou t to the mo on and is just plain fas t , as usual. If a nyt hing, the 'OS's mo tor fee ls a bit smoother. and the powerband is somewhat mo re linear t han the '04. Basically, if yo u liked the '04' s mo tor, you'll like the 'OS's. As always , the Yamaha is a good-hand ling machine. though a couple of our testers mentioned some headshake w he n diving into the co rners. But that was an easy fix: Although Yamaha recommends setting the rear sag at IOOmm, we found that 90mm gives the yz a flatter stance. thus putt ing less pres· sure on the fork and. ultimately, eliminating the aforementioned headshake . The IOOmm setting, however, works fine for smoother and tighter tracks, a.k.a. Supercross. Getting the Yamaha in and out of the turns quick. Iy req uires little effort by the rider, but we still wouldn't call the yz a "quick" turner. It does. how ever. go where it' s pointed and sticks in the ruts and grooves, but if you get a little lazy, it can rise up on you a little early. Othe rwise . the yz explodes berms with the best of them. The fro nt brake with the new cable routing is noticeably improved over the '04 YZ. It has better feel and excellent sto pping power. The back brake is as good as ever. All of our test riders liked the YZ's e rgono mics, but we did hear some grum bling about t he seat be ing too soft (and narrow) and t he clutch-lever reach be ing a litt le on the hard-to -rea ch side. As far as starting, the yz never gave us any difficulty. It usually took a few kicks initially, but once warmed up. our test bike almost always fired up on the first or second kick. Unfortunately, the yz is still obnoxiously loud. Overall, the YZ2S0F is still the YZ250F but with better forks and better handleb ars , a smoother powerband and less weight. So, yes. Yamaha d id manage to acco mplish the seemingly imposs ible - it made the YZ2S0F better. But is it enough to stay ahea d of the CRF250R and th e KX250F/RM-Z250, wh ich were both already nipping at the YZ's heels? We'll soo n find out in ou r upcom ing 2S0F shootout. But, for now, we can certainly tell you that the new eN YZ2S0F is better than eve r. www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NE WS • NOVEMBER 10,2004 25