This week's Classic Steel is look back at the groundbreaking 1998 Yamaha YZ400F

tblazier
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tblazier
Edited Date/Time 2/4/2016 12:56am
The 1998 Yamaha YZ400F

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motomike137
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motomike137 10/11/2012 2:57pm
10/11/2012 2:57pm
It was a amazingly good bike right out of the box. I had a 99 and once I learned how not to stall the damn thing It was awesome.
Sunhouse
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Sunhouse 10/11/2012 3:06pm
10/11/2012 3:06pm
In a few years, Newman will build a time machine and send a robot back in time to kill Yoshiharu Nakayama "T-wan towsan"-style, thus removing all trace of 4 strokes from history.
varagon
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varagon 10/11/2012 3:25pm
10/11/2012 3:25pm
Sunhouse wrote:
In a few years, Newman will build a time machine and send a robot back in time to kill Yoshiharu Nakayama "T-wan towsan"-style, thus removing all...
In a few years, Newman will build a time machine and send a robot back in time to kill Yoshiharu Nakayama "T-wan towsan"-style, thus removing all trace of 4 strokes from history.
Love it!

In 20 years will Yoshiharu Nakayama be know as the man who killed motocross at the local level?
ehr400
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ehr400 10/11/2012 3:40pm
10/11/2012 3:40pm
I loved my '99 other then the fact it weighed more then my 3/4 dodge ram but man was it bulletproof. Rode the piss outta it and never had a motor issue. Bought a brand new '02 CRF 450 after that and talk about a weight difference!

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motomike137
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motomike137 10/11/2012 4:47pm
10/11/2012 4:47pm
ehr400 wrote:
I loved my '99 other then the fact it weighed more then my 3/4 dodge ram but man was it bulletproof. Rode the piss outta it...
I loved my '99 other then the fact it weighed more then my 3/4 dodge ram but man was it bulletproof. Rode the piss outta it and never had a motor issue. Bought a brand new '02 CRF 450 after that and talk about a weight difference!
Yeah it was a porker... I definitely learned not to try to muscle it around the track!
CnCRacing
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CnCRacing 10/11/2012 6:37pm
10/11/2012 6:37pm
Sunhouse wrote:
In a few years, Newman will build a time machine and send a robot back in time to kill Yoshiharu Nakayama "T-wan towsan"-style, thus removing all...
In a few years, Newman will build a time machine and send a robot back in time to kill Yoshiharu Nakayama "T-wan towsan"-style, thus removing all trace of 4 strokes from history.
That is Classic! HaHaHa!
TerryK
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TerryK 10/11/2012 6:52pm
10/11/2012 6:52pm
This thread would not be complete without mention of Doug Henry's full works YZM400. Ultra trickness.



BKoonts
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BKoonts 10/11/2012 7:20pm
10/11/2012 7:20pm
The starting ritual on that thing was a built in theft deterrent, ha ha. After riding my friends 400 my KX250 felt like an 85.
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Wandell 10/11/2012 7:26pm
10/11/2012 7:26pm
Love it or hate it, the 1998 YZ400f is one of the most significant machines in the history of our sport.
newmann
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newmann 10/11/2012 7:49pm
10/11/2012 7:49pm
Sunhouse wrote:
In a few years, Newman will build a time machine and send a robot back in time to kill Yoshiharu Nakayama "T-wan towsan"-style, thus removing all...
In a few years, Newman will build a time machine and send a robot back in time to kill Yoshiharu Nakayama "T-wan towsan"-style, thus removing all trace of 4 strokes from history.
Heh...Laughing Actually, with a time machine I would go back and eliminate the double displacement rules that the idiots at the AMA came up with. The 400 more than got the job done. With refinement and weight loss it would have continued to dominate. Settling on 450cc did nothing more than bring back the open class which had previously died with no support. The 250F? What a great bike.....when it runs. But when it scatters as many have, what a budget killer it is. Not only a budget killer, but also a 125 killer. Made the class extinct and gutted a huge hole in the sport. For that, the powers that be should be ashamed.
Jono
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Jono 10/11/2012 10:00pm
10/11/2012 10:00pm
Is the pulpmx site down?
ga_pike
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ga_pike 10/12/2012 3:18am
10/12/2012 3:18am Edited Date/Time 10/12/2012 3:19am
Would you guys say the WR 500 Bradshaw raced is what pushed Yamaha to develop this bike?
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rallendude 10/12/2012 5:10am
10/12/2012 5:10am
This bike got me back into riding/racing. I took about six years off to get a degree and get married. In '98 when the bike was announced, my brother and I decided to buy two and get back into MX. The bike was heavy and definitely had a starting ritual. But it was bullet proof.

I got a call in '99 or '00 from Cliff White at my home. I about flipped out. He said,"this is Cliff White from American Honda......" I replied, "THE, Cliff White? Former team manager for the motocross team?". Turns out Honda was calling around checking owners of the 400 to see what they thought about the bike, good and bad.

I told him everything I thought and said, "call any time, I'd be glad to help." I just knew Honda was going to call and offer me a test rider job from the excellent input I had given them.
tblazier
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tblazier 10/12/2012 6:17am
10/12/2012 6:17am
ga_pike wrote:
Would you guys say the WR 500 Bradshaw raced is what pushed Yamaha to develop this bike?
Definetely not, The WR500 was a tarted up, outdated YZ490 with newer suspension. I admired Yamaha putting Bradshaw out there on it, but it was really just a desert sled. The YZ400F was probably driven more by EPA fears at the time and a desire to push the envelope technology wise. It was a much better open bike than a 500 two-stroke in the late nineties (because they were all a decade old design by then) but I'm not sure they envisioned it really taking the place of 250 2-ST initially. Of course over time that changed as the bikes got lighter and more powerful. The WR was a cool bike but definitely not a real moto machine.
tblazier
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tblazier 10/12/2012 6:26am
10/12/2012 6:26am


I will say that watching Bradshaw on this thing in person was cool however. I remember when he ripped the holeshot at Budds in '91 on the air hammer and was just wringing the shit out if the thing. The bike made such a distinctive sound you could tell where he was all over the track.

I was talking to Bradshaw and his mechanic Brian Lunnis after the race and I asked them if they thought the bike was a disadvantage out there. Bradshaw said that the bike was plenty fast but would loose a little power at the midway point do to the air cooling. Then Lunnis went on a rant about fat, slow magazine editors that bashed on the bike unfairly and were too slow to know anything anyway. It was classic.
ehr400
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ehr400 10/12/2012 7:50am
10/12/2012 7:50am
What I loved about it was that no one would ask you to want to ride it because most couldn't get it started. My only bitch, other then the weight, was if you didn't get the starting just so, mine would foul plugs. That bike also had some serious engine braking compared to modern 450's.
Orange724
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Orange724 10/12/2012 8:01am
10/12/2012 8:01am
I remember just being in awe when they first showed up at the local race tracks back in 98.

That thumper sound was pretty cool, and they seemed to shake the ground when they landed from the big jumps. Now I know that's from the weight haha.

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Highsider
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Highsider 10/12/2012 9:11am
10/12/2012 9:11am
I was ready to quit motocross at the end of '97 when my wife
bought me a YZ400F for a 25th wedding anniversary present.
I still race today...YZ450F, ofcourse!
baconandeggs 2/3/2016 3:22am
2/3/2016 3:22am
I love reading back through these.

I wanted a four banger so bad when I was last racing in the early 2000's but it never happened. I'm actually glad about this now because to me in a way they have spoiled the sport. You just can't beat the rip and smell of a two stroke and to not see them raced at the top level makes me sad.

I'm back in the game after 12 years and happy to say it's on an 06 RM250. braaap!
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bvm111 2/3/2016 5:28am
2/3/2016 5:28am
BKoonts wrote:
The starting ritual on that thing was a built in theft deterrent, ha ha. After riding my friends 400 my KX250 felt like an 85.
That's hilarious... I was going to write the same thing!

Multiple times my buddy would not be able to start that thing and then ask if he could ride my KX... I just laughed at him! Due to that experience I have never owned a 4 stroke!
baconandeggs 2/3/2016 5:36am
2/3/2016 5:36am
I did have enough experience around them to learn the foolproof way to fire up a hot one.

Throttle wide open, kick it over fully ten times or so. Then the proper start process, worked every time!

My contempt for them only grows more over time, though admittedly they are superb pieces of engineering.
jerry atrick moto 2/3/2016 5:48am
2/3/2016 5:48am
How about one in yellow. heres is my a 98 a bought a couple years ago. in a box. only changes i did are 03 yz450f radiators and exhaust cam. Love riding the old bike and gets lots of looks at the track!!
Before


After




kiwifan
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kiwifan 2/3/2016 1:46pm
2/3/2016 1:46pm
The bike that started it all, never rode one myself but by all accounts and comments above it was a interesting experience
Julian
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Julian 2/3/2016 1:55pm
2/3/2016 1:55pm
just curious --- are there others out there that feel when the mx world was ruled by 2 strokes, there seemed to be development in the bikes over the years that one could see by just looking at the bikes....., then came the 4 stroke revolution and it just seems the bikes look the same year after year, decade after decade.....??
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indy_maico 2/3/2016 2:28pm
2/3/2016 2:28pm
I still can't get over the irony that Yamaha, which made its name in 2-strokes from day 1, decided to go down this road.

Honda was always the 4-stroke company, with Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki being the 2-stroke guys. Soichiro Honda hated it when his company had to bring out the Elsinores to compete in moto.

He must have been rolling over in his grave when Yamaha beat them to the punch with a truly modern 4-stroke MX bike which changed everything.
CASH476
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CASH476 2/3/2016 3:12pm
2/3/2016 3:12pm
Julian wrote:
just curious --- are there others out there that feel when the mx world was ruled by 2 strokes, there seemed to be development in the...
just curious --- are there others out there that feel when the mx world was ruled by 2 strokes, there seemed to be development in the bikes over the years that one could see by just looking at the bikes....., then came the 4 stroke revolution and it just seems the bikes look the same year after year, decade after decade.....??
No, it's just you.
kiwifan
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kiwifan 2/3/2016 3:24pm
2/3/2016 3:24pm
indy_maico wrote:
I still can't get over the irony that Yamaha, which made its name in 2-strokes from day 1, decided to go down this road. Honda was...
I still can't get over the irony that Yamaha, which made its name in 2-strokes from day 1, decided to go down this road.

Honda was always the 4-stroke company, with Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki being the 2-stroke guys. Soichiro Honda hated it when his company had to bring out the Elsinores to compete in moto.

He must have been rolling over in his grave when Yamaha beat them to the punch with a truly modern 4-stroke MX bike which changed everything.
they were certainly caught on the hop! Maybe they thought they were doing enough with their XR range ? I think KTM stole the XR range market.
Nom DeGuerre
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Nom DeGuerre 2/3/2016 4:05pm
2/3/2016 4:05pm
after a succession of old skool Euro 4 strokes, this bike was different and that was in a good way... for me anyway. I don't remember the starting ritual being that bad, too many still tried starting them like 2 strokes. These were the days when people liked the lone 4 stroke or two and it was kool to hear them.

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