VOL. 53 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 20, 2016 P157
bers at very high rpms.
The Yamaha provides
huge power through the
mid, where most riders
need it most. The YZ450F
is the most responsive
engine of the group, so
much that a lot of riders
prefer to use the GYTR
power tuner accessory to
mellow the hit right off idle
to help maintain forward
drive. Clutch action and
pull is very smooth with-
out fading.
Thankfully Yamaha
didn't jump on the air fork
bandwagon a few years
ago and it paid off. Again,
why fix something that
isn't broken? And the YZ's
KYB suspension is far
from broken. It is still the
best overall suspension in
the 450 class. It is plush
while resisting bottoming.
The nastier the track and
the bigger the bumps, the
more the Yamaha shines.
The SSS fork is also easy
to maintain and adjust, a
bonus to being the top-
performing fork.
Now that the Husqvar-
na, KTM and Honda
turn amazing and have
improved suspension, the
tendency for the Yamaha
to stand up in corners is
more evident. The YZ's
vague cornering charac-
teristics used to be much
easier to overlook thanks
to amazing suspension
and excellent engine
character. The Yamaha
hasn't lost any of the at-
tributes that helped it win
the Cycle News shootout
for the last two years; the
other manufactures have
stepped up their game
and provided machines
that are now out-perform-
ing the Yamaha most of
the time. Again, on the
most hacked-up and
terrifyingly rough tracks,
the Yamaha is amaz-
ing. Combining the YZ's
class-leading suspen-
sion with its outstanding
chassis and solid motor
makes an excellent overall
package that used to be
unbeatable. It is the wid-
est feeling bike between
your legs and ranks right
up there with the loudest
exhaust.
Our test riders who last
year voted the YZ450F as
number-one still love the
bike, they just like the im-
proved KTM, Husky and
Honda a little more. The
YZ450F needs to go on
a diet, however. With full
tanks of gas the YZ450F
weighs 15 pounds more
than the KTM 450 SX-F
and 12 pounds more than
the Husqvarna FC 450,
and the YZ, KTM and
Husky all have two-gallon
tanks.
