VOL. 51 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 P81
You feel the
slimmer radiator
shrouds right
where you need
it most—at
your knees.
This makes the
YZ feel more
maneuverable.
in the factory riders' race bikes
(most of them now use the Cycra
shrouds). Cycra claims that their
Powerflow shrouds also dramati-
cally reduce radiator, fuel tank
and engine head temperatures
by improving air flow through the
motorcycle. Lower temperatures
means more power.
Another neat feature is that the
leading edges of the shrouds are
tucked in a bit more to reduce the
chance of snagging your boots,
or on anything else that could
ruin your day. Plus, the one-piece
design eliminates the basic "com-
plexity" of the two-piece design.
You don't, however, have to go
all out for the full body kit to get
the Powerflow shrouds like we
did, they can be purchased sepa-
rately for $124.95 and they come
in four colors: Blue, White, Light-
ening Yellow and Black. For this
story, we went with the full Pow-
erflow Body Kit ($257.95) and the
old-school yellow option just to
give our 2014 YZ450F a more dra-
matic, eye-catching look. Micah
Robles of Dirt Digits helped de-
sign and build our custom graph-
ics. Dirt Digits CLICK HERE 2 can
dial you in, too. The full body kit
includes: radiator shrouds, front
and rear fenders, front and side
number plates, airbox cover and
fork guards, all color-matched, of
course.
We had no issues whatsoever
when it came time to install the
full body kit, and the high-gloss
finish of the injection-molded
If we have to complain about
something regarding the YZ450F,
it would be that it feels a bit wide
at your knees – especially be-
tween the radiators and the front
of the seat. For many, this can be
a nuisance. Earlier this year, the
people at Cycra Racing devel-
oped what it calls the Powerflow
Intake Race Systems Body Kit
for the 2014 (and 2015) YZ450F
CLICK HERE 1 which features
what we really care about most
and that is its "one-piece" radia-
tor shroud. One piece, mean-
ing the small black part of the
shroud/airbox cover is integrated
into the lower part of the larger
radiator shroud. It's a pretty slick
design for the YZ450F, because
not only does it dramatically nar-
row the space between your
knees, but it also scoops more
air into the airbox, eliminating the
need to drill holes in the stock
airbox cover that you used to see
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
