2014 Yamaha YZ250F/YZ450F Launch
By: Tyler Duffy
Photos by: Peter Marcelli
First off I would like to the Yamaha Motor Canada for their hospitality. Not only did they provide awesome motorcycles to ride, we were provided with food and lots of water for one very hot day.
Before we actually got to ride the bikes we were introduced to them and the changes that were made in a press meeting where the boys from Yamaha did a great job explaining the updated YZ450F and the all-new YZ250F. We were also greeted by a welcome package! It contained a brochure and a detailed press kit containing basically everything that was said when they introduced the bikes. Once we showed up at the track we were introduced to six bikes (2 – 250Fs, 3 – 450Fs and a YZ250 two-stroke). The four-strokes were all mapped differently (easy with the trusty Yamaha power tuner) making it easy to pick, which one we liked the best. Most of the test riders liked the sand map just because Sand Del Lee was prepped to perfection!
The all-new YZ250F is a power house.
First Impression YZ250F:
As most of you may know, I am a long time Yamaha rider but the 2014 YZ250F is like nothing I have ever ridden before. I had to keep checking the graphics to make sure I wasn’t riding the 450 because it was that fast! It also joined its big brother by reversing the engine with the exhaust port at the back. However, the 250 and 450 now include a wrap-around pipe instead of the coil exhaust the previous 450Fs featured. The Yamaha 250F now includes fuel injection but Yamaha showed they made the right decision by perfecting it by putting a 44mm throttle body fuel injection system with a 10 hole injector, as well as a new air filter design in front of the gas tank (like the 450.), also the gas cap is located underneath the seat! When I first jumped on this bike I had lots of trouble steering from the rear because they moved the steering head 10mm back to add weight to the front wheel, but when the track got a line in it, the bike was so smooth and just dropped right into the rut. All in all I give Yamaha a solid 9/10 on the handling. My only complaint is I did not like to be steered from the rear. Yamaha earned a 10/10 on the motor; it is an absolute rocket. I would also like to add that the mass centralization on the bike makes it the best suspended bike you can get. They have taken the weight and put it in the centre of the bike instead of more on the front wheel like previous Yamaha models.
The 250F feels so light and flickable making it easy to throw around.
First Impression YZ450F:
I had a 2012 YZ450F last year and I had three main problems with it: 1. The bike was way too wide at the rad shrouds 2. It knifed really hard on the front end 3. The 450 Yamaha I had seemed to have kind of a stiff shifting feel to it. As soon as I rode the 2014 450 I noticed right away that they had made the changes and perfected them. They have narrowed the rad shrouds considerably making the bike so easy to ride and easy to corner. Not only did they make it narrower but they also improved the overall design of it, which reduces the air box noise! So no more lifting the gas tank to change the filter; just pull off the three bolts and put it in. They pulled the steering head back 10mm (same as the 250F) so it makes the bike much smoother to corner, plus the mass centralization makes the bike a dream to ride. The shifter shaft has been enlarged by 2mm to make the bike easy to shift. That eliminates the mis-shifts as well as hitting false neutral. Other than that I felt the bike was very similar to the older 450 with hard-hitting acceleration. Also, the gas cap underneath the seat now makes the transition from standing to sitting much more comfortable, one of my favourite features on the new Yamaha.
You can really see Yamaha has worked hard getting this bike a lot narrower and have reduced the air box noise with an improved design
You can see all the big changes Yamaha has made with a fuel injected 250F that retails for $8299 ($8399 for white). You can’t go wrong with this rocket!
As you can see, the similarities between the 250F and the 450F are endless. A lot of the parts are interchangeable.
Overall opinion:
In my opinion, the new Yamahas are spot on! They are sleek, fast, well suspended and easily one of the best handling bikes I have ever ridden. The all-new fuel injected YZ250F is going to be a game changer for Yamaha. The bike, bone stock, is easily the fastest 250F I have ever ridden. This bike modified will be hard to stop. Yamaha has also introduced rubber mounted bar clamps. Although they stuck with their proven Kayaba SSS spring fork, it doesn’t miss a beat through the rough chop. I really like the fact the 250F and the 450F are so similar, which makes the bikes easy to switch if you have one of each; the only difference is the arm jerking power of the 450. I really enjoyed riding the 450 with the sand map because its power is spread out smoothly over the range. I felt the standard Yamaha map to be a little harsh for my little arms, but as I noted before, it is so easy to change maps with the Yamaha power tuner.
I would like to thank the entire MX101 crew for being so hospitable and graciously welcoming us to their fine facility as well as Yamaha Motor Canada for the opportunity to ride their new product.
Yamaha also introduced their new PW3028 to the line-up, which makes it easy to get that bike clean after you ride it!