2016 YAMAHA YZ250F
FIRST RIDE
P46
new DLC-coated piston
pin that is also lighter. The
YZ's ECU has been slightly
tweaked; they tuned it to
be slightly leaner, which
Yamaha says boosts power.
(It can be further tuned via
Yamaha's GYTR Power
Tuner, which is sold separately.) And
Yamaha didn't stop there. They gave
both the crankshaft and cams a new
weight-balance ratio to change
vibration characteristics, and
there are now new two-stroke-
style big-end thrust washers on
each side of the connecting rod
to reduce friction on the crank
balancer. The rod itself has a
new heat treatment process,
and the piston oil sprayer is longer and
has been repositioned for improved
cooling of the piston.
Okay, these engine changes might
not sound all that dramatic but they
do make a difference on the track.
Our test riders could detect a slightly
stronger power delivery from bottom to
mid, which did improve performance
coming out of the turns. In second
gear, the bike pulls harder which allows
you to grab third gear a little bit sooner,
giving you more time to set up for the
next jump or obstacle. The boost in
power is just in the right place and we
Yamaha already
had a good thing
going with the
YZ250F, but they still
managed to make
key refinements that
certainly improve the
2016 model.
A new piston and other engine
refinements put all of the YZ's power to
the ground just a little bit better.
