Yamaha tests

2013 Yamaha YZ250F: If you were expecting an all-new fuel-injected 250cc four-stroke engine, join the club. One thing we do know, the 39mm Keihin-carbureted YZ250F runs better than several EFI 250's from the other brands. 2013 Yamaha…
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By Dennis Stapleton I spend most of my time switching bikes. When I'm testing I get to ride every new bike and when I'm racing, normally in some foreign country, I ride the bike the promoter provides me. I don't spend a lot of time on one…
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w523P012v-M
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The MXA wrecking crew spends the majority of its test time racing and riding brand-new production motorcycles, but early on in each test session every bike gets its day on the dyno. It really isn?t all that revealing because by the time its…
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Let's face it, not everyone is in the market for a 2012 250 four-stroke. That's okay with us. There are many choices when it comes to purchasing a motorcycle?two-stroke, four-stroke, 125, 250 and 450. Depending on your…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2012 YAMAHA YZ250 BETTER THAN THE 2011 YZ250? A: No. Last year, the 2012 YZ250 was changed slightly so that the same motocross bike sold in France could be sold in Texas. Prior to 2011, there were Euro-spec…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2012 YZ125 BETTER THAN THE 2011 YZ125? A: No. The 2012 YZ125 might as well have been sub-contracted out to Xerox because it is a carbon copy of the 2011 model, which was the same as the 2010 model. The 2012…
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Q: FORGET ALL OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS. IS THE 2012 YZ250F BETTER THAN THE 2011 YZ250F? A: Survey says...yes! Yamaha's engineers must have taken MXA 's 2011 YZ250F test to heart (along with the complaints of thousands of YZ250F owners),…
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The plight of the Yamaha YZ125 brings a tear to the eye of every MXA test rider. For 14 out of the last 17 years, the YZ125 has been the best 125cc motocross bike made. Unfortunately, with the advent of the 250cc four-stroke, the YZ125 has…
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There are only three reasons why anyone would want to start an expensive and time-consuming AMA National race team. (1) Winning. The thrill of victory. There's no greater feeling than winning. Garnering victories and championships is…
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2011 KTM 250SX. No offense to Kawasaki, Suzuki and Honda, but they aren?t included in this 2011 shootout because they don?t make 250cc two-stroke motocross bikes ( although Suzuki does sell its 2008 RM250 overseas...and has it listed on…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2012 YZ450F BETTER THAN THE 2011 YZ450F? A: That depends on how you define ?better.? It is quieter and the rims are black, but apart from that, the modifications are of the garden-variety type?new mapping, new…
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The MXA wrecking isn?t totally bummed out when a manufacturer doesn?t make any changes to his new model release. As much as we like totally new bikes, we aren?t big fans of totally new problems. A bike that stays the same is a known…
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Pity the poor fool who enters headstrong and dimwitted into the 2011 motocross fray. For the uninitiated, the motocross world is a confusing maelstrom of conflicting information?made all the worse by the rapid expansion of avenues of…
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Let's cut to the chase, which in Hollywood parlance means let's skip ahead to the action-packed part of this horse opera. You don?t need to be the Amazing Kreskin to realize that motocross racers read shootouts for three…
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NUMBER ONE: 2010 KTM 450SXF There is only one bike in 2010 that can claim to have the most peak horsepower, most top-end rev, best handling, strongest clutch, most powerful brakes, a no-tool airbox and an electric…
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NUMBER ONE: 2009 KAWASAKI KX450F Unlike the other fuel-injected bikes, which stumble at 8000 rpm, the 2009 Kawasaki KX450F keeps pulling to 9400 rpm. The ?09 KX450F has the second most horsepower in the class and decent…
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The Honda CRF450, KTM 450SXF, Yamaha YZ450F, KTM 350SXF, Kawasaki KX450F and Suzuki RM-Z450 are all major players in what consumers might well think of as a $8500 crap shoot. It is the MXA wrecking crew's goal to take the gamble out of…
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Historically, choosing shootout winners is easy for the MXA wrecking crew. We race the bikes every weekend for six months, switch back and forth (sometimes between motos), try every possible gearing and suspension combination,…
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Yamaha took the lead in the modern four-stroke revolution nearly 15 years ago. The YZ250F is the veteran of the class, and it shows in some positive and negative ways. On several counts, Yamaha's components are second-to-none. We love the…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YZ450F BETTER THAN THE 2010 YZ450F? A: Nope. Oh, don?t get us wrong, we love that the new clutch actuation arm has a slightly heavier pull with less free play whether hot or cold. But in the grand scheme…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YAMAHA YZ250 BETTER THAN THE 2010 YZ250? A: No. Although the 2011 YZ250 did get a few changes over the previous year, most of those changes were made to make it possible for Yamaha to sell the same bike in…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YAMAHA YZ125 BETTER THAN THE 2010 YZ125? A: No. Q: HOW OLD IS THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE 2011 YZ125, AND IS IT OUTDATED? A: It's old, but the amazing technology is far from outdated. Yamaha was the first…
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Q: FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS THE 2011 YZ250F BETTER FOR MOTOCROSS THAN THE 2010 YZ250F? A: No. Q: HOW MANY CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE 2011 YAMAHA YZ250F? A: The 2011 Yamaha YZ250F gets a goose egg in terms of the number of quality updates…
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Here's a hypothetical situation. Pretend you?re an offroad racing champion (perhaps you?re the WORCS champion, Endurocross title holder and have won ISDE medals). You?ve been so successful that you are paid a handsome salary, are feted in…
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The last National moto of the year officially marks the end of the season and the beginning of a game of musical chairs. This past off-season will forever be remembered for Roger DeCoster going to the RedBull/KTM team and Chad Reed building…
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Yamaha used to have a race team to develop hop-up products for their race bikes. The only problem was that when Team Yamaha did the R&D, they kept the results secret. In fact, they hid the data like it was the formula for Coca-Cola. Now…
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The YZ310F wasn?t built for a chassis test. MXA left the suspension stock. The motor, on the other hand, was a three-grand endeavor, not including the Hinson clutch and titanium FMF exhaust. A quick look at the specifications of Thumper…
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This is the 2010 Yamaha YZ450F the way the MXA test crew raced it. As a rule, we don?t go for exotic or expensive mods, but if push comes to shove, we will seek competent help (no matter how much it costs). Use MXA 's mods as a guide. Front…
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Home sweet home. The MXA wrecking crew dug it out of the trash heap, lavished it with beaucoup bucks and ended up with a new 2006 YZ250F. This is a bike test unlike any other test that we have done in recent memory. The MXA gang is not test…
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