Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/870143
2018 YAMAHA YZ450F FIRST TEST P104 to find other ways to drop the pounds to keep the YZ at least close to its 2017 weight. One way to do that was to remove the manual kickstarter, which seems like an obvious and logical thing to do, but there are risks—in case the battery dies, you no longer have no backup system. It is a risk worth taking, but Yamaha reduced that risk as much as it could by "over building" the starting system and fitting the bike with a powerful, high-tech and reliable lithium- ion battery. We can report that so far, so good. We have yet to experience any starting issues; so far, starting has been reliable and works we'll, as the engine always lights up right away, even in gear. The YZ450F doesn't use a clutch switch to active the starter button, which means the starter button is always live, so beware. Bump the starter button in the garage, or while loading the bike into a truck, and you'll get a surprise. Yamaha claims that the 2018 YZ450F is actually two pounds lighter than the '17— 245 pounds (wet) versus 247 pounds (wet) of the '17. Our 2017 YZ450F weighed 248 pounds (wet) on our scale. As for the YZ's 449cc liquid- cooled DOHC, four-stroke engine, it has been completely reworked for 2018, with the changes all designed to improve controllability at low-to-mid rpm, pulling power at high rpm, clutch engagement and starting. The cylinder head, camshafts, piston, exhaust pipe, muffler, ignition coil and even the spark plug are all new. There is even a new throttle body. It's been changed from a Keihin to a 44mm Mikuni with 12 injectors. The new throttle body features a push-type knob cold-start system and compact Throttle 2018 YAMAHA YZ450F ($9199) ENGINE: ........................ Liquid-cooled, SOHC, 4-stroke, single DISPLACEMENT: .................................... 449cc BORE X STROKE:.................... 97.0 x 60.8mm COMPRESSION RATIO: ........................... 12.8:1 FUEL DELIVERY: .....44mm Mikuni throttle body STARTING SYSTEM: ........................... Electric TRANSMISSION: ................................. 5-speed FINAL DRIVE: ......................................... Chain FRAME: ............................................ Aluminum FRONT SUSPENSION: .......... 49mm KYB SSS Spring, fully adj. REAR SUSPENSION: .......... KYB single shock fully adj. FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL: ........................12.2 in. REAR WHEEL TRAVEL: ..........................12.5 in. FRONT BRAKE: ............................270mm Disc REAR BRAKE: ..............................245mm Disc FRONT RIM: ................................... 21x1.60 in. REAR RIM: .......................................19x2.15 in. FRONT TIRE: ........ 80/100-21 in. Dunlop MX3S REAR TIRE: 120/80-19 in. Dunlop MX3S RAKE/TRAIL: .............................. 27.33°/4.7 in OFFSET: .................................................22mm GROUND CLEARANCE: .............................13 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ......................................38.6 in. WHEELBASE: ........................................58.5 in. FUEL CAPACITY: ...................................1.6 gal. WEIGHT (Claimed): ............................ 245 lbs. WARRANTY:............ 30 Day (Limited Factory Warranty) COLOR: ................Team Yamaha Blue, White MSRP: .....................................................$9199 (Left) The kickstarter has been removed in favor of electric starting. (Below) A new airbox makes cleaning the filter easier.