Trying to make a 2007 YZ250f turn better

CarlinoJoeVideo
Posts
7332
Joined
11/30/2013
Location
Portland/Los Angeles, CA US
Fantasy
2298th
4/18/2014 5:36pm
You have to consider that the YZ is 7 years older, so a lot more than the triple clamp has changed over the years. The over all geometry, suspension and balence of the bike is what Suzuki has mastered.

A shorter triple clamp will help your YZ turn better but unfortunitly I don't think you will be able to create that same feeling as the RMZ. If you do figure out how, please post the details!
braaap
Posts
470
Joined
1/5/2007
Location
TX US
Fantasy
2090th
4/18/2014 9:04pm
I've had several YZ250F's and 450F's and I can tell you.....I never got them to turn nearly as well as a RMZ. Tried different clamps, bars, tires and lowering radiators. They all helped some but nothing magic.
Turning isn't bad since 2006 but it's just not great.

I stuck with the Yamahas because of reliability and suspension. None better in my experiences.
4/20/2014 11:09pm Edited Date/Time 4/20/2014 11:24pm
This past weekend I had the pleasure of riding a 2014 RMZ250, and the handling blew my mind. I never knew a bike could turn like...
This past weekend I had the pleasure of riding a 2014 RMZ250, and the handling blew my mind. I never knew a bike could turn like that. Currently I am riding a 07 YZ250F and up till now its been my only bike. Knowing that it is older, and the obvious answer to this question is to sell it and get a RMZ. Regardless, do you guys think that replacing the triple clamp or something along those lines, would make it handle anywhere near the RMZ? Thanks for any suggestions!
I ride an 06....pretty similar....probably a bit worse than the 07. I have done a lot of dialing in to get it to turn well. Here are my observations / comments:
1. Get the springs right for your weight. Your suspension tuner know where to start there...
2. I run mine at about 103mm rider sag and 27-28 mm static (I run a little stiff on the rear)
3. I run the forks up 5mm higher than the line.
4. When fine tuning sag you will have to find a balance between front tire grip...and unsettled behavior in the corner. Too little sag, and it will hold in the front...but mid corner (once you sit and gas it) it can get unsettled. It will bite at the front...then stand up when you correct...then you have to turn down...and it will bite too much...and you end up sawing at the bars... Too much sag...and the unsettled feeling goes away...but so does ALL your front grip. The sweet spot is within a 1mm static sag window.
5. You have to vary your sitting position to get it to turn well mid corner out. In hard and intermediate...WAY forward up on the tank...leg above the shroud. Softer dirt or sand and you have to slide back a bit. You also have to learn to adjust your body on the fly (lean forward and back) as it is very sensitive to weight distribution. On the 06....I am always either losing the front or the rear....usually in the same corner. It is a constant battle...
6. Play with clickers a lot on a turn track. A fast figure 8 is best. Fork rebound and shock comp tuning really make a difference in getting the mid corner to exit cornering dialed. Always start with fork rebound adjustments 1st.... More rear compression damping will help with the power oversteer that shows up once you get the front dialed in.
7. You have to use the rear brake to back it into corners and lean a lot and early to initiate turns. It requires very aggressive corner entry with a lot of rear brake. The YZF turns with lean....not with the bars.....when you want to tighten up a turn...lean the bike more. Standing...that means weighting the inside peg a lot. Sitting...that means pushing the bars down and in and overleaning the bike.

I think the 06-08 YZFs are great bikes to learn to corner on...because they have some flaws that can be overcome with technique and body position changes. They are certainly not easy to get to corner well...but that can corner well if you do what is required.
motomike101
Posts
33
Joined
10/27/2011
Location
Santa Carla, CA US
4/21/2014 8:23am
braaap wrote:
I've had several YZ250F's and 450F's and I can tell you.....I never got them to turn nearly as well as a RMZ. Tried different clamps, bars...
I've had several YZ250F's and 450F's and I can tell you.....I never got them to turn nearly as well as a RMZ. Tried different clamps, bars, tires and lowering radiators. They all helped some but nothing magic.
Turning isn't bad since 2006 but it's just not great.

I stuck with the Yamahas because of reliability and suspension. None better in my experiences.
Thanks for the heads up, I figured all those things would help but like you said its not the magic fix. Spot on with the turning isn't bad just not great. Its rather funny I bought my YZ for the same reasons of suspension and reliability, then had the suspension set up for me and it has never been as good as stock.

The Shop

motomike101
Posts
33
Joined
10/27/2011
Location
Santa Carla, CA US
4/21/2014 10:03am
I ride an 06....pretty similar....probably a bit worse than the 07. I have done a lot of dialing in to get it to turn well. Here...
I ride an 06....pretty similar....probably a bit worse than the 07. I have done a lot of dialing in to get it to turn well. Here are my observations / comments:
1. Get the springs right for your weight. Your suspension tuner know where to start there...
2. I run mine at about 103mm rider sag and 27-28 mm static (I run a little stiff on the rear)
3. I run the forks up 5mm higher than the line.
4. When fine tuning sag you will have to find a balance between front tire grip...and unsettled behavior in the corner. Too little sag, and it will hold in the front...but mid corner (once you sit and gas it) it can get unsettled. It will bite at the front...then stand up when you correct...then you have to turn down...and it will bite too much...and you end up sawing at the bars... Too much sag...and the unsettled feeling goes away...but so does ALL your front grip. The sweet spot is within a 1mm static sag window.
5. You have to vary your sitting position to get it to turn well mid corner out. In hard and intermediate...WAY forward up on the tank...leg above the shroud. Softer dirt or sand and you have to slide back a bit. You also have to learn to adjust your body on the fly (lean forward and back) as it is very sensitive to weight distribution. On the 06....I am always either losing the front or the rear....usually in the same corner. It is a constant battle...
6. Play with clickers a lot on a turn track. A fast figure 8 is best. Fork rebound and shock comp tuning really make a difference in getting the mid corner to exit cornering dialed. Always start with fork rebound adjustments 1st.... More rear compression damping will help with the power oversteer that shows up once you get the front dialed in.
7. You have to use the rear brake to back it into corners and lean a lot and early to initiate turns. It requires very aggressive corner entry with a lot of rear brake. The YZF turns with lean....not with the bars.....when you want to tighten up a turn...lean the bike more. Standing...that means weighting the inside peg a lot. Sitting...that means pushing the bars down and in and overleaning the bike.

I think the 06-08 YZFs are great bikes to learn to corner on...because they have some flaws that can be overcome with technique and body position changes. They are certainly not easy to get to corner well...but that can corner well if you do what is required.
Thanks for all these pointers. It looks like I have a quite a bit of fiddling to get this bike fine tuned. The suspension was done for me by Race Tech but for some reason it has never been as good as the stock set-up. I don't think it is anything against Race Techs equip, it might just be I am not riding the bike correctly and the stock set-up allowed for more sloppy riding. That goes right in to what your saying as well with the body position. Some times as the motos go on i can tell my positioning starts to get really sloppy, that's when she gets really hard to turn.

What it seems like is all the triple tree changes and trick stuff helps but until I figure how to ride it the way it was meant to be ridden, I'll be struggling with it a bit.

Thanks again for the solid advice!
4/21/2014 11:49am Edited Date/Time 4/21/2014 11:51am
I used Enzo. They have the 2006+ Yamaha KYB stuff DIALED. One more thing...I also run the rear wheel back pretty far..... I use stock triples....
Arkmx
Posts
1625
Joined
10/6/2006
Location
35 miles west of PHX..., AZ US
4/21/2014 1:35pm
.

Try raising your fork tubes up to 7mm above the top clamp. We did that on our 06 YZ 250 two - smoke and our 2012 YZ 250F. Zach liked it much better and did not effect the straight line stability.

7mm is measured from the bottom or the fork cap (where it meets the fork tube) to the top of the upper triple clamp.

Give it a try, cheap and easy to do!

Cheers!

.
4/21/2014 3:06pm
Arkmx wrote:
. Try raising your fork tubes up to 7mm above the top clamp. We did that on our 06 YZ 250 two - smoke and our...
.

Try raising your fork tubes up to 7mm above the top clamp. We did that on our 06 YZ 250 two - smoke and our 2012 YZ 250F. Zach liked it much better and did not effect the straight line stability.

7mm is measured from the bottom or the fork cap (where it meets the fork tube) to the top of the upper triple clamp.

Give it a try, cheap and easy to do!

Cheers!

.
I am actually at 9.5mm measured the way you describe.
motomike101
Posts
33
Joined
10/27/2011
Location
Santa Carla, CA US
4/21/2014 4:46pm
Cheap and easy both sound really good to me. I plan on trying it tonight and if all works out, riding this weekend. I ll let you guys know how it feels after.
4/23/2014 9:50pm
Cheap and easy both sound really good to me. I plan on trying it tonight and if all works out, riding this weekend. I ll let...
Cheap and easy both sound really good to me. I plan on trying it tonight and if all works out, riding this weekend. I ll let you guys know how it feels after.
I would recommend taking a note book and write down everything you do and the results. That way when you go to a new track you can look thru your notes and make the proper adjustments. Also do 1 adjustment at a time so you can tell if that's what you want.
motomike101
Posts
33
Joined
10/27/2011
Location
Santa Carla, CA US
4/25/2014 8:59am
I would recommend taking a note book and write down everything you do and the results. That way when you go to a new track you...
I would recommend taking a note book and write down everything you do and the results. That way when you go to a new track you can look thru your notes and make the proper adjustments. Also do 1 adjustment at a time so you can tell if that's what you want.
Good idea, just like jetting! All set to ride tomorrow, so we shall see what happens.

Post a reply to: Trying to make a 2007 YZ250f turn better

The Latest