a new bike is expensive enough so we
applaud the Blue Crew for this one.
KYB suspension components on the
YZ have set the standard in the 450
class. The SSS package is plush up top,
has strong mid-valving, and holds up well
against bottoming. The same can be said
for the 2021 model as it is unchanged
from the previous model year. The Cycle
News team has, and continues to rave
about the Yamaha's suspenders.
This year though, the bike just felt big-
ger, taller and wider than the rest of the
competition. It sits up high and testers
noted that it took more effort to get the
bike to lean over and get settled into a
turn. We turned to Yamaha royalty, Doug
Dubach, who happened to be one of our
YZ techs for the shootout. With his ad-
vise, we raised the fork legs in the triple
clamps and ran little more sag to lower
the bike down a few millimeters. We were
pleased with the results as it definitely
helped the "tall" feeling we were experi-
encing and allowed us to coax the bike
into and through the corners in a much
easier manner.
So, an unchanged bike that won last
year is now off the podium? As we said,
the Yamaha tied with the Husky for third,
but fell short only to our low-point sys-
tem. The Yamaha is an absolute beast of
a bike and features some truly state-of-
the-art technology. The pegs are some
of the widest in the bunch and help with
a comfortable rider cockpit, the suspen-
sion is top notch, and overall finish of the
bike is one of the best. Unfortunately, the
YZ450F received no changes when the
rest of the hungry field did. This drops it a
few notches for this year's shootout.
VOLUME 57 ISSUE 49 DECEMBER 8, 2020 P69
