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First ride 2016 YZ450FX!

By yz426rdr,
in YZ400F/426F/450F/450FX

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yz426rdr

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Finally went for my first ride today on my Argyll Motorsports 2016 Yamaha YZ450FX!!!! All I can say is WOW!!!! Went to B3 Motocross track and within the first lap was in a total zone with the bike!!! What did I like about it? Where to start....the power is smooth yet incredibly strong and pulls forever!!! In ten seconds I could change the mapping from aggressive loamy to smooth hardback (read: fat, old guy map) with the power tuner!!! I never touched one thing on the suspension and yet we ran a 20 minute moto and I could do anything I normally do with my old bike with revalved and resprung suspension. The transmission on this bike is awesome for what I will use it for. 1st gear is low for those times I am following my 6 year old son on his PW50. 2nd is the same as the motocross bike, 3rd is a little lower, 4th is taller, and 5th gear.....never got anywhere near 5th!!! That hyperdrive gear is going to be saved for when I put this thing on the ice next winter!!! And did I mention electric start? Not sure the kickstart even works as I never pulled it out once. And with the 160 watt stator I can mount and power my 8" HID race light and bomb around the trails near my house after dark!!!

This is the first time I can say that I went out for the first ride of the year and didn't have to come in due to incredible arm pump!!! And I've owned a lot of different bikes, from Honda CRF 250 and 450s plus CR250 two strokes, KTM 250SX and 525EXCs, Yamaha YZ 125, 250, 295 and 325 two strokes, YZ426 and 450 4 strokes.........truly this is the best bike I've ever owned hands down!!!

Can't wait to add a few personal touches to this bike, it's going to be a great riding season with this machine!!! Thanks again Argyll Motorsports for guiding me to this purchase!!!

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Josh137

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You have any plans to ride this bike in the woods?  If so, what mods/additions would you consider?

 

After years on Austrian bikes I am considering this bike but I would like to see how they can work in single track off road races.  I have raced in Alberta, the competition is tough up there!

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yz426rdr

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I have done a lot of bush riding, never have raced off road.  I am planning on attending my first off road race this summer!!!  Most of my focus over the years has been on motocross tracks but as I have gotten older, I have moved to other forms of riding and racing.  As we get winter for 6 month of the year, I started endurance ice racing in 2004 to make riding bikes a year round adventure!!!  Also started what we call snow man motocross races using trellies a few years back, way too much fun!!!

 

So far, I can see where a bigger gas tank would be of benefit and since the IMS units look to fit without changing the width of the bike (fitting below the seat for extra capacity), I can't see why I wouldn't put one on and keep it on full time even for motocross.  The usual hand guards are a must, I know as a motocrosser I was adamant about not putting on full wrap handguards but once i tried them while riding single track, I swore I'd never ride those conditions without them.  After that, about the only other thing I'm looking at is a steering damper as for ice racing, Ifind it just about a must as the speeds can get upwards of 85-90 mph and hitting a hard ice heave at that speed can really pull the bars hard!!!  I would think on lower settings that it would be a plus on a motocross track as well.  After the suspension is broken in, I'm sure that some adjustments will be needed to go from one style of riding to another but with the SSS forks, that's easy to do with just a few basic suspension specific tools.

 

For years I drove my wife nuts going from bike to bike trying to find the perfect all around machine.  I always ran into the same issue with KTMs: great looking machines with lots of cool upgrades and really shitty front forks.  When Yamaha came out with the 450FX, I had a feeling it was the bike I was looking for.  Motocross, off road, ice racing.......even looking into putting a dual sport kit on it and take it on the road or possibly even Supermoto!!!

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yz426rdr

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I never stalled it once and if anyone is going to have problems with that it's me lol!!! Used to ride a YZ426, lost many a race trying to get that pig up and running after a stall out. Honestly thought I was going to in a few downhill then tight switch back sections on the track but never happened. We wil see in more off road tight situations soon. Will let you know.

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Josh137

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I never stalled it once and if anyone is going to have problems with that it's me lol!!! Used to ride a YZ426, lost many a race trying to get that pig up and running after a stall out. Honestly thought I was going to in a few downhill then tight switch back sections on the track but never happened. We wil see in more off road tight situations soon. Will let you know.

 

Right on, thanks for the info. 

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Finchy637

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1st gear does stall easy specially going up rocky nasty hill climb where you can't have to much throttle. I've stalled mine a handful of times in tricky spots that were tight and my back end got bounced of the ground. Another problem I've noticed with these bikes is that is first and second during hill climbs it likes to pull the front wheel off the ground if you aren't prefect on the throttle and seat position. I love my bike I think it's prefect besides the stock fuel tank only getting 53 miles to the tank according to dirt rider magazine long haul testing. They clocked the bikes top speed at 102 miles per hour which is faster than I'll ever need to go on the bike but nice to have. I also had to stiffen the front forks up a bit because once they broke in they were to soft for my riding style which is fast and relaxed. The front end would wash out easily and I would have to fight it to not cause me to crash. Once I stiffened the forks up it fixed it for the most part. One of my riding buddies also has the 450fx and he put a rekules clutch on it and from what he has told me and the short time I used it. It made a world of difference. Also the 3.0 gal tank replaces the plastics around the air box and radiator and the 2.5 gal just take up the empty space under the seat. This bike has the potential to be prefect with very few modifications. I would also suggest getting a better slid plate the stock one does not have the coverage needed. The water pump and clutch cover and hoses into the water pump are easily damaged even by a light fall. I laid mine down going slow down a sandy rocky hill and it put a crack in my clutch cover. My same buddy laid his down around a corner and slid over a rock and it punched a golf ball sized hole into his water pump.

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tomerb

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1st gear does stall easy specially going up rocky nasty hill climb where you can't have to much throttle. I've stalled mine a handful of times in tricky spots that were tight and my back end got bounced of the ground. Another problem I've noticed with these bikes is that is first and second during hill climbs it likes to pull the front wheel off the ground if you aren't prefect on the throttle and seat position. I love my bike I think it's prefect besides the stock fuel tank only getting 53 miles to the tank according to dirt rider magazine long haul testing. They clocked the bikes top speed at 102 miles per hour which is faster than I'll ever need to go on the bike but nice to have. I also had to stiffen the front forks up a bit because once they broke in they were to soft for my riding style which is fast and relaxed. The front end would wash out easily and I would have to fight it to not cause me to crash. Once I stiffened the forks up it fixed it for the most part. One of my riding buddies also has the 450fx and he put a rekules clutch on it and from what he has told me and the short time I used it. It made a world of difference. Also the 3.0 gal tank replaces the plastics around the air box and radiator and the 2.5 gal just take up the empty space under the seat. This bike has the potential to be prefect with very few modifications. I would also suggest getting a better slid plate the stock one does not have the coverage needed. The water pump and clutch cover and hoses into the water pump are easily damaged even by a light fall. I laid mine down going slow down a sandy rocky hill and it put a crack in my clutch cover. My same buddy laid his down around a corner and slid over a rock and it punched a golf ball sized hole into his water pump.

How did holding the forks higher in the stroke keeping the front end from washing out easily?

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jwilson32

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Finchy, what skid plate are you running and does it go up higher in the front than the stoker? I ran in a mud race last weekend and I bet I had at least 10lbs of mud packed between the motor and skid plate from the front tire flinging it in there. I think the Cycra one address the issue too.

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Finchy637

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Finchy, what skid plate are you running and does it go up higher in the front than the stoker? I ran in a mud race last weekend and I bet I had at least 10lbs of mud packed between the motor and skid plate from the front tire flinging it in there. I think the Cycra one address the issue too.

I'm running stock right now. I know what you are talking about we had a very bad mud day and I had the same issue it had about 10lbs of mud caked in there.

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