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/128630
Meanwh ile , o u r Pr o-leve l t est er wa s com p le tely c o n t e n t w it h the Yamaha' s moto r; he said he cou ld go right o ut a nd race it a t h is local tracks jus t the way it is, "no problem ." He a lso th ought th e YZ had a n ic e hit , made good power overall a nd had the over -rev to ma tc h , wh ile o ne of ou r No vic e te ste rs sa id h e a p p rec iated the YZ's st ro ng bu t not o ve rwhe lmi ng bottom -end and b road powerband , n ot to m ention in s t a n t thro tt le resp onse . T h e Yama ha 's motor s hould appea l to a wide s kill-range of ride rs . Our YZ 2 50 tes t b ik e req ui r ed ve ry lit tl e in t h e wa y ca rb u re tio n c hanges , ju st a fe w turn s o n th e a irscrew to c lea n up a s m all h iccup off the bottom . Not chy sifti ng seems to be a thing o f th e p a st wi th th e YZ. In re c e nt years , th e YZ250 (a nd the YZ12 5 fo r th at m atter ) has be come significantly eas ier a nd easier to s h ift, and the '0 1 co n tin ues th e tr end. C lic k ing up thr ou gh the gea rs is clean and effortless. Lu c k ily, t he c ha s si s is equa l in str en gth t o the Yamaha 's potent moto r. Yamaha made little changes t o t he YZ' s su spension , mainl y impro ving th e forks ' bottoming s ys tem a nd rev amping the damping sett ings . We found the YZ 's fo rk to a gai n work well o ve ra ll, but the front e nd did hav e th e tendency to shake its head a little bit at speed , on rough gro und . Our Pro tester sai d he th ought that the fro nt end felt "fid ge t 1" " a nd tha t t he re was a lot of " m o t io n go ing on up th e r e . " He bumped up th e co m pressi o n d amp in g b y a c o upl e o f c lic k s , whi ch seemed t o hel p . We also ra ised the for k tube s in th e trip le clamps a few m illim eter s a nd th at def in it el y ca lm e d thing s do wn bu t d id no t era s e th a t bus y feeli ng com ple te ly . Oth erwise , t h e Yamaha ' s fo rk pe rfo rm ed a dequatel y for bot h o ur No vice- a nd Pro -le ve l ride rs . Yamaha made no m ajo r changes t o th e YZ's rea r s uspen s ion , o th er th a n lowerin g th e m ountin g sectio n and going to a la rger bump rubbe r, wh ich Ya m a h a cla ims combin e s to reduce weight and improve anti-b ot to m ing. You can see the rubber deposits where the re a r tire kisses the un d ers ide of th e re ar fende r, wh ich th e Yamaha des igners s a y is exa ctly what yo u wan t the YZ's re a r s uspens ion to do . Th is way , you know yo u a re using a ll of th e bike 's re a r-wh e el trav el , wh ile not feeling th e contact. E v ide nt ly , t h e new a nt i- bottom ing rubber wo rks. Overall handling ha s n ' t changed much, whic h is a good th ing . Th e YZ is sti ll stable at speed, a confidence inspiring jum pe r, and a good turner. Yamaha completely redesigned th e YZ's fron t brake master c ylind er / le ve r adjustment system , resul t in g in im p rove d b ra k ing feel and pe rfor mance. YZs in the past hav e a lways had th at vague , spongy fee l with the ir front bra kes , but not anymore. Now , yo u get m o re bra k ing perform a n c e with les s effort , kind of lik e th e Honda 's front bra ke. The rest of the Ya m a ha fee ls pre t ty much like la st year's YZ, wh ich is just fine with us . Th e seat/h andl e ba r/fo otp e g re lations hip is s pac io us , the seat's padd ing is just right (and na rro w), and all of the contro ls are posi t ioned wh er e they sho uld b e . Th e h a n dl e b a rs a re fa irly c o m fo rt ab le bu t are c hea p look ing a nd , from p a st ex pe rie nces , a re n ot very du r abl e . Mor e co m for table and strong e r a fterma rket ha ndl e b a rs will 2001 Yamaha YZ250 SPECIFICATIONS: 249cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder , two-stroke wi reed valve 66 ,4mm x 72mm 9.1-10.6 :1 38mm Keihin wi Power Jet & throttle-position sensor COl. kick start wet. multiple disc co nstant-mes h 5 Eng ine Type : Bore & Stroke Compression Ratio C a rburetion -: Ignition Clutch Transmission Rspeed Suspension Front _ Rear Wheel T rave l F ront Rear _ B ra kes Front Rear ,46mm Kayaba inverted tele scopic forks fully adjustable Kayaba single shock 11.8 in. 12,4 in. 250mm single disc wi twin -piston caliper 240mm single disc Tires Front Re a r Chassis Type O verall Length Overa ll Width Overall Height Seat Height Wheelbase Ground Clearance Dry Weight !claimed) " 80/100-21 -in. Dunlop 739FA 110/90-19-ln. Dunlop 739 semi double-cradle. 27 .2' caste r angle 85 .8 in. 32 .6 in. 51.5 in. 38 .9 in. 58.3 in. 15 .4 in. _.., 216 Ibs. most like ly be yo ur firs t purchase for the YZ. Ove ra ll , t h e YZ2 5 0 ' s b igges t improve me nt ove r la s t yea r is it 's motor, mo re specifically , its long er over- rev . Bra king per form ance is a lso im prove d, as is th e s us pe n s io n 's resista nce to bo ttomi ng . O therw ise , it' s sti ll a Yama ha , but an im prove d one. eN Apart f ro m the Team Yamaha race-replica graphics, the '0 1 VZ250 doesn't look much different than the '00. What you can't see by j ust looking at It is the better over-rev and im pro ved braking. c u e I e n e _ so • .S EPTE M B ER 13, 2000 41