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/1418555
the rear wheel make it even more enjoyable to ride. Gone are the days of a narrow power window and rapid shifts to enjoy the YZ's full badass potential. This bike has vet, intermediate and pro-level performance right out of the crate. As far as suspension, neither of our testers made a single click of adjustment during our day on the YZ250 at Cahuilla Creek. The track got reasonably rough, but the KYB components ate up every bump with ease. We agreed the bike overall stays more planted, and the updated internals in the fork resist the diving and bucking of older YZs. It rides flat and stable. But the lightweight na- ture of the two-stroke, along with the rapid piston pulse and tire spinning, do tend to dance around more than the tractor-like four-strokes. That's the nature of the beast, and it's sort of the best part of rid- ing a two-stroke—it feels alive! The brakes and tires work just as good, if not better than we expected, and overall, it was hard to wipe the smile off our faces all day. Two-strokes are just so damn fun! After riding the 2022 Ya- maha YZ250, my perspective on two-strokes has changed. This bike didn't have that small, pipey window of power that I remembered and didn't require a hand of steel to feather the clutch in every turn. Instead, its long and usable power made it easy to ride fast through every section of Cahuilla's power-hungry layout. The simple two-stroke design feels light and flickable on track, and newly updated suspension components aid in that aspect. Yamaha's resurgence in their premix predecessor shows the two- stroke market is alive and well with no signs of slowing down. In fact, it's more com- petitive than ever. CN QUICKSPIN I 2022 YAMAHA YZ250 P112 << 2022 YAMAHA YZ250 ($7799) >> ENGINE TYPE 2-stroke, reed-valve inducted, YPVS, single COOLING SYSTEM Liquid COMPRESSION RATIO 8.9-10.6:1 FUEL DELIVERY Hitachi Astemo Keihin PWK38S carburetor TRANSMISSION 5-speed CLUTCH Wet, multidisc FRAME Aluminum, detachable subframe FRONT SUSPENSION KYB SSS inverted fork, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION KYB single shock, fully adjustable FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL 11.8 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL 12.4 in. FRONT BRAKE Single 270mm hydraulic disc REAR BRAKE Single 240mm hydraulic disc RIMS Excel FRONT TIRE 80/100-21 in. Dunlop Geomax MX33 REAR TIRE 110/90-19 in. Dunlop Geomax MX33 WHEELBASE 58.5 in. RAKE 27.7° TRAIL 4.8 in. GROUND CLEARANCE 14.2 in. FUEL CAPACITY 1.8 gal. WARRANTY 30 days (limited) COLOR Team Yamaha blue / Monster Energy Racing Edition black You think your 250cc four-stroke feels light? Wait until you hop on the YZ250!