MXA PRODUCT TEST: GYTR YAMAHA YZ450F EXHAUST:


WHAT IS IT? It’s a full exhaust system for the fuel-injected 2010 Yamaha YZ450F from Yamaha’s in-house accessory division.

WHAT’S IT COST? $699.95 (stainless/aluminum).

CONTACT? Your local Yamaha dealer.

WHAT’S IT DO? In stock trim, the 2010 Yamaha YZ450F is crisp, sharp and powerful from low to mid. Yamaha’s new, four-valve, reverse-cylinder engine is a creative design, but if we had our druthers, we’d want more mid-and-up power. The YZ450F’s awesome low-end power and snappy throttle response aren’t mated to a long pull over the top. Instead, the stock YZ450F goes flat on top. Which is exactly where the GYTR exhaust system comes into play.

If you are old school?very old school?you may remember the heyday of the Yamaha GYT kit. The GYT kit (pronounced Git kit) was a bolt-on hop-up package developed by Yamaha and sold through Yamaha dealers. Once Yamaha began making purebred motocross bikes, the GYT kit disappeared. Now, Yamaha wants to bring it back. GYTR stand for Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing, and the weirdly worded acronym pays homage to the original GYT kit. GYTR offers ported heads, cams, high-comp pistons, a clutch basket and an ignition reprogrammer.

MXA‘s focus was on the $699.95 GYTR exhaust system.

WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things that stand out with GYTR 2010 Yamaha YZ450F exhaust system.

(1) Performance. On the track, the GYTR pipe made a decent improvement to how the YZ450F felt in action. It gave up some low-end power and replaced it with a slower revving, broader and easier-to-use spread. Best of all, it pulled into the top with a healthy dose of power. It moved the peak far enough that the shift points could be held later. Where the stocker was punchy off the bottom, the GYTR pipe was smoother and blended nicely into a stronger top end. On the dyno, the GYTR exhaust produces 53.67 horsepower (at 9500 rpm) compared to the stock YZ450F’s 52.67 horsepower (at 9200 rpm). The one horsepower gain isn’t all that impressive, but this pipe is more about the feel than the statistics.

(2) Construction. This is a well-made pipe. Unlike the typical aftermarket exhaust system, the GYTR pipe has swaged fittings that not only slip over the intersecting pipes, but also use the stock YZ450F pipe clamps (and the junction between the midpipe and the head pipe uses the stock ceramic gasket). Quality stuff. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to recognize that DR.D built this pipe for Yamaha…and they built it to Yamaha’s specs. We tested the DR.D version and felt that it was considerably more potent.

(3) Pricing. We we initially tested the GYTR YZ450F pipe in the February 2010 issue of MXA, we were very critical of the price. At $899.95 we could have bought a full titanium system from Pro Circuit, FMF, Vance and Hines, Yoshimura or DR.D for the price of GYTR’s stainless steel exhaust. After the article went to print, and Yamaha asked us what we thought of it, we told them that it cost $200 more than any comparable stainless steel system. We thought that the price was deal breaker! Amazingly, Yamaha lowered the price by $200 later that day (From $899 to $699).

(4) Sound. Neither the stock YZ450F nor the GYTR exhaust are AMA legal. Both break the 96 dB baseline.

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK? The price was originally out of sync with other stainless/aluminum systems, but Yamaha reacted when the dollar amount became a negative.


We like this pipe, but we don’t love it. The fitment, quality, notching and swaging are very high-tech, but the overall gain in power was only average.


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