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/1517587
P94 RIDE REVIEW I 2024 YAMAHA YZ450FX Mud, ruts, roots, and a motocross track gave us just about every condition you could think of to put the FX through its paces. The FX looks and, not surpris- ingly, feels like Yamaha's YZ450F motocross bike. The new-gen chassis is ultra-slim and makes the rider's cockpit feel narrow for easy movements to the front and back of the bike. The pegs, bars, and seat ratio are all spot-on, just like its motocross cousin. Another way the FX keeps its thin character is the placement of the "oversized" tank. With the Yamaha's airbox still at the front of the bike, the tank fills in some "dead space" underneath the seat and down by the rear shock. Yamaha hit a double whammy on this design by saving space up top and keeping the weight of the fuel down near the bike's center of gravity. The fuel light is an - other real-world addition, giving you a heads-up on when to return to the pits (we tested this!). Riding a 450 in the woods is not for the faint of heart, and our West Coast test riders were undoubtedly reminded of this during our trip back East. Arm pump was real as we worked the blue beast through the wet condi - tions, which explains why several top GNCC XC-1 riders opted for the smaller-displacement 350cc machines, at least the Austrian ones. With the FX's powerful new engine and claimed wet weight of 251 pounds, the Yamaha 450FX is one of the most power - ful bikes in its class and is a lot of motorcycle to hold onto in the tight stuff. However, the FX was spectacular on the moto track and through the flowy South Allan Brown from Dirt Rider, which was completely awesome. And that makes me feel like a winner. The Big Buck GNCC course is a nice mix of an open-terrain (for woods riding) racecourse and a few technical roots to keep your attention. A lot of square-edge chop forms during the day, and the holes and bumps are not minor. The soil conditions were prime. There was not a speck of dust or mud, and I barely needed to pull a tear-off all day (I still pulled them all at once, though). I had my favorite Yamaha guys drop the fuel and ignition maps down as mellow as possible and crank the traction control all the way up. And the bike was still a wild pony. It became tractable once the rpm was in the lower mid-range, but right off idle or at the crack of the throttle, this bike rips. I had an arm pump for the entire first lap and did four laps in the race. So, once I could feel my fingers, I tried to calm down and let the bike do the work. Work it did, and I was basically along for the ride. Motor strength aside, the best attribute of the new YZ450FX platform is its chassis. It's easy to manipulate with small efforts and doesn't feel like an old, heavy, angry 450 (OK, it's still angry). I used the finger adjusters on the fork compression a few times on the course to tinker with comfort settings. Since I ignored the gas stop (maybe hoping to run out and enjoy a course-side beer with a spectator), I fully utilized the low- fuel light for about three-quarters of a lap. We learned the 2024 Ya- maha YZ450FX can go 2:16:50.378 on one tank of fuel. Barely. So, was the YZ450FX the perfect bike for me or for those like me to race a GNCC on? No. It's a lot of motorcycle, but I can see its potential in the hands of someone like AmPro Yamaha's Ricky Russell. But, unfortu- nately, I'm just Jesse Ziegler and I'm holding it back a lot. The YZ450FX has way more potential than me. So, here's to racing a West Coast event on this beast soon, where you can open this thing up and let it fly, which I'm looking forward to doing on it and something I expect it will do well. And here's to a new (maybe) YZ250FX bike intro at a GNCC next year! I'll buy the funnel cake. Jesse Ziegler If anyone tells you the YZ450FX needs more power, that person is lying. PHOTO: JAMES LISSIMORE / LISSIMORE PHOTO