2010 Yamaha YZ250F First Ride

uh, guys? yamaha? not a great bike? they're winning every motorcycle competition this year.. mx1, mx2, sx, motogp, wsb, wss, 600cc, atv? where's honda, kawi, ktm and suzook? ugly? your just jealous cause your ore sophiscated bikes aren't working...hahahaha..... cry babies!!! I agree that the fender is disgusting. Why is it that Yamaha can't design a nice looking fender these days? They all look like beaks! An when has Yamaha ever been better than Honda just because of the name? Come on...let's get real!Most notable is the new bi-lateral aluminum chassis. This twin-spar design is much like the rest of the Japanese bikes, but the frame spars are very small. Yamaha claims that the vertical rigidity is similar to the ’09, but twisting and horizontal rigidity are much increased. With morning and noon track prep, we never saw any bumps on the Washougal track, which made for a difficult time feeling out the chassis and suspension. However, we were able tell that the 27.5 degrees of rake and extra 3mm of trail combine with a relocated steering head pipe to make a better-handling machine. The steering head is 12mm lower and 7mm rearward compared to ’09. This brings more weight to the front end and the 250F provides more feedback to the rider and better bite – both of which were appreciated on Washougal’s notoriously deceiving dirt. Since the chassis is more cramped, the radiators were forced back towards the rider as well. To keep the midsection from bulging, the radiators were made thinner from side to side, but fatter front to back to keep the same capacity. An additional mounting point was added as well. With the bi-lateral beam design, engineers no longer have to wrap the fuel tank around a backbone. The 1.7-gallon tank is now down inside the spars which helps lower the center of gravity and adds to the Yamaha’s nimble attitude. This bike definitely likes to turn sharply, and, taking into consideration the smooth track conditions, it still feels very stable. There was one square hole on the track and it was in a sweeping right-hander that led up the hill in a to a fourth-gear step-up. We hit that thing lap after lap and the bike never got out of control, but we’ll be looking for nastier conditions in future testing. Light handling takes less effort, and that’s what Yamaha engineers wanted to provide each and every YZ-F owner. “We tried to focus on making this bike the fastest for an entire race,” emphasizes Product Planning Manager, Derek Brooks.

Riding the 2010 Yamaha YZ250F at Washougal MX Park proved to be a terrific match. The updated YZ-F is a very good machine - without succumbing to the fuel-injection craze.

Specs

Engine: 250cc liquid-cooled DOHC 4-stroke; 5-valve
Bore x Stroke: 77.0 x 53.6mm
Compression Ratio: 13.5:1
Fuel Delivery: Keihin FCR MX37
Ignition: CDI
Transmission: Constant-mesh 5-speed; multiplate wet clutch
Fork: Speed-Sensitive System inverted fork; fully adjustable, 11.8-in travel
Shock: Fully adjustable single shock; 12.0-in travel
Front Brake: Hydraulic single disc brake, 250mm
Rear Brake: Hydraulic single disc brake, 245mm
Front Tire: 80/100-21 Bridgestone M403
Rear Tire: 110/90-19 Bridgestone M404
L x W x H: 85 x 32.5 x 51.3 in
Seat Height: 38.9 in
Wheelbase: 57.7 in
Ground Clearance: 14.8 in
Fuel Capacity: 1.7 gal
Claimed Wet Weight: 224.8 lb
Colors: Team Yamaha Blue/White; White/Red
MSRP: Info Available in September, 2009