07 YZ450F Ride Report

[Joe_Jet]

I finally got to ride my 07 YZ450.

I can hear all kinds of noises as the exhaust is ridiculously quiet!!! They all sound normal to me, valvetrain, clutch, and chain. I did 3 motos, 1.2 hours, at Starwest last night; it's a very jumpy supercross style track. All I can say is this bike is absolutely perfect! It has the good traits from all my previous bikes combined, power of 03/04 YZ450, but smoother, flickability and suspension of 04 CRF 250, but much improved, turning of 06 RMZ450, but rails ruts easier, and inviting cockpit ergos of Honda CRF450. This really is the perfect bike. I can't even tell you how stoked I am!!!

[Supafreak_711]

Your making me want one now.... so in 2009/2010 when I can afford mine... im going to return the favor

[sigepmock]

How's your jetting.....I'm getting a little backfire on decel....everything else feels fine, it's just a little annoying. I'm socal too.

Thanks,

Chris

[SoZo]

Drool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[c5speed]

I just bought an 07 yz450f too and I completely agree with everything Joe Jet says about it. Powerful, very smooth, turns like a dream. Perfection is a good word for it, especially in the white. I had a 2003 yz450f before I bought the 07 and compared to the new one it was like trying to ride a tank around. I ride mostly desert and the bike is awesome. The suspension just absorbs everything. Plus its not gonna have any valve problems. It will be my third Yamaha and mine have all been incredibly durable.

In my opinion the best thing about it is the way it handles. I used to ride my 03 with my buddy who rides a 2005 crf250r and I couldn't keep up in the turns, he would just leave me when it got tight. Simply put, on the 2007 the roles are reversed.

[Huckster]

Congrats!! I finally had the chance to ride my '07 as well this past week. I agree with everything you stated except that it doesnt turn nearly as well as my RMZ did. The motor is crisp and very smooth. I have the zipty carb mod and a 50t on the rear and it feels perfect. Its super stable and my suspension, revalved/stiffer springs from FC, is the nicest stuff I have ever had, but the bike pushes in turns. I rode a '07 CRF back to back for two days and the YZ does not turn as well. I liked it better in every catagory, but turning. I have my forks pushed up to the first line and I installed a 952 front tire, but it always felt like the bike was wandering. I am serioulsy thinking about buying 22mm clamps. If I could get it to stick just a bit better, I would be psyched.

[grayracer513]

You'll be disappointed in the 22mm clamps if you go that way. The bike doesn't need them, and increasing the trail won't help it stick. The RMZ turns quicker, but not, IMO, better. The same steeper head angle that makes it cut and hold so well at low speeds makes it skittish and unpredictable in bigger, faster, rougher turns. If you spend some time with your new ride, you'll learn that it is remarkably neutral handling, and very sensitive to minor adjustments and rider input. Tweak it a bit, and move around a little, you'll have the bike doing whatever you want. The payoff in behavior in fast corners is worth the compromise in the tight ones, I think.

[WB450]

I love mine as well. My carb is at Zip Ty right now, can't wait to ride it after that mod.

[King_Air]

Your making me want one now.... so in 2009/2010 when I can afford mine... im going to return the favor

Man, I am in the same boat. Listening, watching, reading all about it but waiting for finances to catch up to the desires lol.

[njracer]

I was able to take my bike up and down the street a few times today (track is closed and it's now snowing) and it makes my 2001 WR426 feel like my CRF50. Anyway, I'm getting a good amount of backfire on decel as well. Is this something that is normal or do I need to change jets? (bike is stock)

Anyway, if all goes well, I'll be on the track next week or the super motard track the week after.

njracer

[Super Dude]

I rode an 07 and liked it for the most part.. the only thing i didn't like is it doesn't have to power hit that my 04 does. My 04 is like twist the grip and hold on!! the 07 kinda felt lazy. Is there anthing i can do to get the 07 to hit like the 04?

[Idaho_Stas]

I was able to take my bike up and down the street a few times today (track is closed and it's now snowing) and it makes my 2001 WR426 feel like my CRF50. Anyway, I'm getting a good amount of backfire on decel as well. Is this something that is normal or do I need to change jets? (bike is stock)

Anyway, if all goes well, I'll be on the track next week or the super motard track the week after.

njracer

Do a search. Lots of info on jetting for the '06/'07s. They run VERY lean in stock form and need to be rejetted... particularly in colder temps.

[grayracer513]

Yeah, they feel lazy. Try to keep up with one. Better yet spend half an hour on one and check your lap times. Then compare that with your best lap time on your '04. Another thing you might want to do is run from a second gear roll on pavement, side-by-side against the '07 with your '04. You'll be surprised. I guarantee it.

[billyo]

Huckster, i do agree with you that the RMZ steers more accurately in the tight corners. however as gray points out, on the flip side of the coin, the trade off is worth it IMO. the YZF is so super stable that you could put a snack tray across your handlebars.

try pulling your forks up even higher. i have mine pulled up about 8mm total. also run 95 mm sag. give that a try. i have found that this yz turns better in the tight corners when you really get forward on the bike.

as for those having the lean popping, i threw in a 48 pilot and thats all it needed...

as i type this, i cant believe its snowing right now here in nj. opening day is 2 weeks away. for us northeast riders, more downtime is not what we need.... i'm so depressed......

[The Italian Stallion]

Congrats!! I finally had the chance to ride my '07 as well this past week. I agree with everything you stated except that it doesnt turn nearly as well as my RMZ did. The motor is crisp and very smooth. I have the zipty carb mod and a 50t on the rear and it feels perfect. Its super stable and my suspension, revalved/stiffer springs from FC, is the nicest stuff I have ever had, but the bike pushes in turns. I rode a '07 CRF back to back for two days and the YZ does not turn as well. I liked it better in every catagory, but turning. I have my forks pushed up to the first line and I installed a 952 front tire, but it always felt like the bike was wandering. I am serioulsy thinking about buying 22mm clamps. If I could get it to stick just a bit better, I would be psyched.

I got 22s for my 06yz450 they helped a little.I was hopeing they would give me the same results as when I put 20s on my 04crf450 but it was not the case.Changing the bars setting the sag a little higher and raising they forks till they poked me in the eyes {5mm past line] and my bike turns great. before this i wasvery annoyed.as the tracks I ride on are hardpacked with alot of downhill off camber turns.The blue RG3S sure do look nice!

[Huckster]

billyyo I have my sag set at 110mm per FC's recommendation. When I ride again, I will try and play around with the fork height and sag. The bike feels great other than then front end tends to wander. I was riding with 2 pros that are very good at setting up bikes and they both agreed. I also have to disagree with both Grey and your opinion of the RMZ. I never had any problems with head shake or high speed stability on that bike on the tracks that I raced at. Most races are won and lost in the turns, especially at the AM level. IMHO the YZ does not turn that great compared to the Honda or my RMZ. We shall soon see if it makes much difference in my results.

[njracer]

as i type this, i cant believe its snowing right now here in nj. opening day is 2 weeks away. for us northeast riders, more downtime is not what we need....? i'm so depressed......

LOL....I wonder if e-town will open the practice track this weekend (it was scheduled to open this past Friday)???

Oh well, I get to ride the NSR50 this weekend with the kart guys if the weather is good and next weekend is the 1st motard practice of the year. I have a feeling the YZ is going to make my WR feel like a slug on the track. Now I just hope all of my motard parts show up this week....nothing like waiting for the last minute.

[grayracer513]

I have my sag set at 110mm

At the considerable risk that comes with disagreeing with people who do suspension for a living, that's your problem. Try 95mm. The difference is quite pronounced.

[rickallen124]

I rode an 07 and liked it for the most part.. the only thing i didn't like is it doesn't have to power hit that my 04 does. My 04 is like twist the grip and hold on!! the 07 kinda felt lazy. Is there anthing i can do to get the 07 to hit like the 04?

Add a yoshimura or DRD pipe and that will wake the bike up. MXA liked the yosh and you know that Dubach's pipe will allways work well on a yamaha

[127]

"Plus its not gonna have any valve problems"

I just wanted to point out that the manual for my 07 has been spot on thus far... Although I haven't had any valve problems - I have been checking them periodically (every 3rd - 5th race-ride or say 10-15 hrs) and I'm glad I have been.

After the intial break in I made no adjustments but since then I've had one intake valve that has been tight two seperate times. My last shim adjustment I went from a .8 down to a .45 --> I'm hoping this doesn't continue but if it does I guess I'll be replacing that valve...

I love my 2007 YZ 450F and I don't have that much bad stuff to say about it - although I would like a better response off the bottom end... I think the mid range hits harder than any other 07 out there.