VOL. 50 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 13, 2013 P113
The wait until
November
for the 2014
Yamaha
YZ250F just
might be
worth it.
The YZ's
outstanding
motor hooks
up and pulls
hard out of
the turns.
rough, the bike soaked up what
bumps (mostly braking) there
were extremely well. The suspension doesn't feel overly soft or
stiff, just firm and well-balanced.
And the front-end seemed to offer excellent feedback, maybe a
bit better than the new YZ450F.
Overall, the 250 does feel a lot
like the 450 but a bit more confidence-inspiring, a lot of which has
to do with it just being a less-powerful and less intimidating 250.
The bike also feels light and
agile, and it corners quite well. It
also seems to stay in the ruts better than before and tends not to
stand up as much.
Our only real gripe with the
bike was the front tire. It provided
decent grip on the dry and hardpack, but as soon as it rolled
over anything wet or loamy-wet, it
would give way without warning.
The tire seemed to pack quickly
and lose traction. The rear tire,
however, hooked up well.
Overall, we were very impressed with the new YZ250F,
it seems to be just the bike
we've been hoping and waiting
for from Yamaha the past couple of years.
CN