P154
4
th
PLACE
T
he Yamaha YZ450F has held
the honor of being the Cycle
News 450 shootout champ for
the past two years. Last year, the
KTM came close to beating the
Yamaha but couldn't beat the YZ's
beloved Kayaba SSS fork and over-
all suspension package. Through
all the air fork hype, Yamaha stuck
with traditional spring forks, relying
on the "why fix what's not broken?"
philosophy, which helped Yamaha
earn a lot of shootout wins. For
2017, Yamaha didn't change much
on the YZ450F. It got updated rear-
brake-rotor material that improves
heat resistance, increases durabil-
ity and improves feel. The biggest
change from 2016, however, was
the switch to Dunlop MX3S tires.
The YZ450F engine for years
has been known as simply the best
engine in the class. It has great off-
idle response and torque that pulls
into a massive midrange with the
ability to keep churning out strong
power into the upper rpms. It might
not make the most horsepower in
the 450 class, that honor goes to
the KTM and Husqvarna, but they
make those max horsepower num-
YAMAHA
YZ450F
