2015 YAMAHA YZ450F
FIRST RIDE
P58
offer a real advantage over the
'15 because it would just wear
him out too quickly, whereas he
could ride the new YZ450F just
as hard and fast but without get-
ting fatigued nearly as fast. Sim-
ply put: he—both of our testers,
in fact—easily preferred riding the
new YZ450F over the '14. Our
testers also felt that the 2015 YZ
has more over-rev than the previ-
ous YZ, which they said was a big
improvement.
Engine mapping can be al-
tered via Yamaha's GYTR Power
Tuner, but the motor felt so good
in the standard setting that nei-
ther of our test riders felt any
need to make changes. But from
our past experiences with the
YZ450F, the Power Tuner (which
doesn't come with the purchase
of the YZ450F) is a handy device
when you want to fine tune the
YZ's power delivery for specific
tracks and conditions.
Unlike the Kawasaki KX450F
and the new Suzuki RM-Z450,
the YZ450F does not yet offer
any kind of launch control de-
vice, which we are beginning to
wish that all bikes have.
Little things like the YZ's lighter
throttle pull also makes a big dif-
ference aboard the new YZ450F.
This is a gripe we have with the
previous YZ450Fs—their heavy-
feeling throttle. Yamaha claims
that a lighter throttle return spring
reduces pull by 20 percent. Feels
about right to us.
The YZ450F is the only bike
of the big-bore four-stroke mo-
tocrossers from Japan for 2015
that doesn't come with air forks,
which is the latest trend in moto-
cross these days. The YZ instead
continues to rely on its previously
well-liked KYB Speed Sensitive
System (SSS) spring fork, but we
are not going to knock the bike
(Above) Black rims quickly identify
the 2015 YZ450F from the '14 model.
(Right) The YZ450F has come a
long way the past few years.
