2016 YAMAHA YZ450F
FIRST RIDE
P48
Yamaha also joined the
oversized front-brake rotor
wars, tossing away the previ-
ous 250mm rotor for a 270mm
pedal-style disc. The smaller
disc actually worked okay on
the 2015 YZ, but we quickly got
spoiled by the larger-diameter
discs on the other bikes. The
difference on the track is very
noticeable and a big improve-
ment over the former front brake.
It's way more powerful but luckily
just as predictable as before.
The 2015 YZ450F motor made
incredible power, especially off
the bottom. In fact, the 2015 YZ
exploded off the bottom, which
had its advantage and disadvan-
tages. For 2016, Yamaha wanted
to tone down that hit just a bit,
making it more manageable for
the average rider. To do this,
the YZ got revised intake and
exhaust cam profiles and timing.
Yamaha's goal was to smooth out
bottom-to-mid delivery without
Yamaha paid a lot of
attention to the YZ's chassis
with emphasis on turning.
