2018 YAMAHA YZ450F
FIRST TEST
P102
the cylinder rather than in front; that's because engi-
neers wanted further centralize weight.
More and more motocross bikes are coming with
electric starting, as consumers are embracing the
ease of just pressing a button to get those big pistons
pumping. But there is a trade-off—weight. When you
add parts—such as a battery and starter motor—you
also add weight. So, to compensate, engineers had
If It Was Ours…
…We wouldn't make any changes to
the 2018 Yamaha YZ450F right away. The
motorcycle is pretty dang solid right out of
the crate, though we would certainly fiddle
around with the slick engine-tuning app
just to tailor the power characteristics to
our specific needs, and tracks. Clutch fade
is always an issue with 450s and we'd prob-
ably consider beefing up the Yamaha's,
even though we haven't had any issues with
it yet. One tester actually mentioned that
he would consider looking into getting an
aftermarket muffler that actually muffled,
even if it did rob a tick of power. The Yama-
ha certainly has plenty of that and losing a
smidgen wouldn't be a terrible thing.
(Top) The
YZ450F gets
the blues
and lots of it.
(Right) Yamaha
made a big
effort to slim
things up
a bit.
