Posts
319
Joined
1/22/2014
Location
Bainbridge, NY
US
Edited Date/Time
10/4/2014 12:01am
The 2015 Yamaha yz250f is a great package out of the box. My bike is 99% stock at the moment so I can evaluate it honestly from right off the showroom floor. Keep in mind that I'm a pretty quick 150lb A rider so take my review with a grain of salt if your riding level and skill vastly differs from mine.
FIRST LOOK: Just looking at the bike you can tell that it's a unique, but badass motorcycle. The fit and finish when walking around the bike is really top-notch. The in-mold graphics are a nice change up from the cheap graphics that normally come on a new bike. The black rims really make the bike "pop" in terms of appearance from the 2014. The Bridgestone 403/404 combo is a nice touch to finish the wheels off. The only thing I think is sort of stupid is the Yamaha branded bars when every other bike comes with Renthals and yes, I know it was a spin off of the old Pro Tapers that used to come on it.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Sitting on it for the first time was a bit different for me since I've been running my mod crf250 for the 2014 season. The shrouds seem a bit bulky where the air scoops are, but I did like how far you could sit up on the seat since the gas cap is covered. After trying to set my sag, I immediately noticed that I couldn't get the sag numbers I was looking for since the bike was oversprung for my weight. I was able to get the static sag to 39mm and tried it out with my fork height at 5mm up in the clamps. I got it broke in thoroughly and I hit the track. Within the first lap, I got extremely comfortable with the ergonomics (even the bulky shrouds).
MOTOR: Right away I couldn't believe how snappy it was off of the low end. It felt torquey like a quick revving 250 two stroke. It has very good power going into the mid range as well. Since I am a revver, I felt that it signed off a little too soon for my taste although the power up top was pretty good for a stock bike. The clutch I can't really talk much about in terms of durability since I've never even gone through an OEM clutch in my life. What I can say about the clutch though is that it had a very positive feel at the lever. On concrete starts, it was very easy to jump off the concrete pad and slip it when need be. I never had to touch the quick adjust dial once on long motos.
BRAKES: With engine power, you want good stopping power, right? For a Japanese bike I felt these brakes were very touchy with minimal effort on the lever. Although touchy, the stopping power itself wasn't enough to get me stopped in time when I was charging into corners. I opted for a galfer 270mm oversized rotor kit since that was the rotor kit on my Honda and that did the trick. The back brake was also touchy. I adjusted my brake pedal position before riding and it was hard to just drag the back brake without locking it up completely. It appeared to be like a light switch.
CORNERS: This is where I had my troubles. My Honda was glued to the track everywhere and had a good idea on how I wanted the Yamaha to react when I corner. With all of the mass centralization and motor design, the front and rear end felt light. Coming into the corners the front end felt very loose and unsteady (back to me saying it feels very light) when I went to transition into the corner, causing me to dab my foot. When I dabbed my foot, the bike would come up about midway through the corner and I'd have to reset my form. On corner exit, the bike was a bit too snappy for how I like it and caused the bike to stand up and jump out of the ruts instead of staying down low all the way through the turn. I talked to KB5 suspension and they had me keep the rear the same, but move my clamps up 10 more millimeters in the clamps to 15mm above flush with the top clamps and that fixed the problem for the most part for me.
SUSPENSION: Kayaba SSS forks, need I say more? The valving straight out of the box is amazing and for the average Joe, there is no need to change it. It soaks up the small stuff really nicely while providing a good cushion on the big hits. I went softer on the clickers because it is a spring rate or two stiffer than I need, but I was able to go through the full stroke with 14 clicks out on compression and 10 clicks out on rebound and be really comfortable. Out back on the shock, it was the same deal, except I was 12 out on compression and 10 out on rebound. On the outer nut, I went 1.5 turns out. It tracked really well coming into turns with no excessive wheel hop in the braking bumps and it felt plush, but firm.
HANDLING: Suspension and handling are two different things. Going back to mass centralization, Yamaha has a really awesome design and was really well thought out. I could dart to where ever I wanted on the track because it felt so light in motion. It was very stable down the straights and got zero headshake even with my forks 15mm up in the clamps from flush with the top clamp. Absolutely no complaints here.
THINGS I WOULD CHANGE:
-The bar bend was not my favorite. It felt too low. I put a Renthal Twinwall 997 bend on all my bikes and it felt way more comfortable in the cockpit.
-I prefer Renthal diamond grips on as opposed to the half waffle stock grips.
-I'd like to take away some of the snappy hit off the bottom for more overrev and top end. A smoother transition off the bottom would really smooth riders out.
-Since I am only 150lbs without gear, I need softer springs to get the most out of this suspension. For me, .46 fork springs and a 5.3 rear shock would do the trick.
-C riders could get away with the stock front brake (and no, not those sandbagger C riders that can throw whips upside down and drag footpegs when they scrub), but a hard charging B rider and above would benefit greatly with a 270mm oversized rotor kit to give it that extra pucker power on corner entry.
THE FINAL WORD: Out of the crate, it is a great package. It has many good things going for it. The valving is great in the suspension, the bike felt very light on the track. The clutch actuation and pull felt great and smooth, the seat was flat and allowed you to get right up on the tank in the corners, and lastly, the motor is its best attribute for a 250f. Just remember that the bike is very sensitive to chassis adjustments. Once you have that set for how you like it, this bike is amazing on all surfaces.
FIRST LOOK: Just looking at the bike you can tell that it's a unique, but badass motorcycle. The fit and finish when walking around the bike is really top-notch. The in-mold graphics are a nice change up from the cheap graphics that normally come on a new bike. The black rims really make the bike "pop" in terms of appearance from the 2014. The Bridgestone 403/404 combo is a nice touch to finish the wheels off. The only thing I think is sort of stupid is the Yamaha branded bars when every other bike comes with Renthals and yes, I know it was a spin off of the old Pro Tapers that used to come on it.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Sitting on it for the first time was a bit different for me since I've been running my mod crf250 for the 2014 season. The shrouds seem a bit bulky where the air scoops are, but I did like how far you could sit up on the seat since the gas cap is covered. After trying to set my sag, I immediately noticed that I couldn't get the sag numbers I was looking for since the bike was oversprung for my weight. I was able to get the static sag to 39mm and tried it out with my fork height at 5mm up in the clamps. I got it broke in thoroughly and I hit the track. Within the first lap, I got extremely comfortable with the ergonomics (even the bulky shrouds).
MOTOR: Right away I couldn't believe how snappy it was off of the low end. It felt torquey like a quick revving 250 two stroke. It has very good power going into the mid range as well. Since I am a revver, I felt that it signed off a little too soon for my taste although the power up top was pretty good for a stock bike. The clutch I can't really talk much about in terms of durability since I've never even gone through an OEM clutch in my life. What I can say about the clutch though is that it had a very positive feel at the lever. On concrete starts, it was very easy to jump off the concrete pad and slip it when need be. I never had to touch the quick adjust dial once on long motos.
BRAKES: With engine power, you want good stopping power, right? For a Japanese bike I felt these brakes were very touchy with minimal effort on the lever. Although touchy, the stopping power itself wasn't enough to get me stopped in time when I was charging into corners. I opted for a galfer 270mm oversized rotor kit since that was the rotor kit on my Honda and that did the trick. The back brake was also touchy. I adjusted my brake pedal position before riding and it was hard to just drag the back brake without locking it up completely. It appeared to be like a light switch.
CORNERS: This is where I had my troubles. My Honda was glued to the track everywhere and had a good idea on how I wanted the Yamaha to react when I corner. With all of the mass centralization and motor design, the front and rear end felt light. Coming into the corners the front end felt very loose and unsteady (back to me saying it feels very light) when I went to transition into the corner, causing me to dab my foot. When I dabbed my foot, the bike would come up about midway through the corner and I'd have to reset my form. On corner exit, the bike was a bit too snappy for how I like it and caused the bike to stand up and jump out of the ruts instead of staying down low all the way through the turn. I talked to KB5 suspension and they had me keep the rear the same, but move my clamps up 10 more millimeters in the clamps to 15mm above flush with the top clamps and that fixed the problem for the most part for me.
SUSPENSION: Kayaba SSS forks, need I say more? The valving straight out of the box is amazing and for the average Joe, there is no need to change it. It soaks up the small stuff really nicely while providing a good cushion on the big hits. I went softer on the clickers because it is a spring rate or two stiffer than I need, but I was able to go through the full stroke with 14 clicks out on compression and 10 clicks out on rebound and be really comfortable. Out back on the shock, it was the same deal, except I was 12 out on compression and 10 out on rebound. On the outer nut, I went 1.5 turns out. It tracked really well coming into turns with no excessive wheel hop in the braking bumps and it felt plush, but firm.
HANDLING: Suspension and handling are two different things. Going back to mass centralization, Yamaha has a really awesome design and was really well thought out. I could dart to where ever I wanted on the track because it felt so light in motion. It was very stable down the straights and got zero headshake even with my forks 15mm up in the clamps from flush with the top clamp. Absolutely no complaints here.
THINGS I WOULD CHANGE:
-The bar bend was not my favorite. It felt too low. I put a Renthal Twinwall 997 bend on all my bikes and it felt way more comfortable in the cockpit.
-I prefer Renthal diamond grips on as opposed to the half waffle stock grips.
-I'd like to take away some of the snappy hit off the bottom for more overrev and top end. A smoother transition off the bottom would really smooth riders out.
-Since I am only 150lbs without gear, I need softer springs to get the most out of this suspension. For me, .46 fork springs and a 5.3 rear shock would do the trick.
-C riders could get away with the stock front brake (and no, not those sandbagger C riders that can throw whips upside down and drag footpegs when they scrub), but a hard charging B rider and above would benefit greatly with a 270mm oversized rotor kit to give it that extra pucker power on corner entry.
THE FINAL WORD: Out of the crate, it is a great package. It has many good things going for it. The valving is great in the suspension, the bike felt very light on the track. The clutch actuation and pull felt great and smooth, the seat was flat and allowed you to get right up on the tank in the corners, and lastly, the motor is its best attribute for a 250f. Just remember that the bike is very sensitive to chassis adjustments. Once you have that set for how you like it, this bike is amazing on all surfaces.
P.S. Yes I know that the 14 is a little different than the 15 although I am not sure how much.
Good write up.
You probably meant "fork tubes", eh?
Thanks for taking the time for the writeup.
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I have the '14 and I opted for the Cycra Powerflow kit and it does feel a lot slimmer, which I like. I can only compare this bike to my '05 YZ125 - never had a 250F before. This is what it looks like with blue Cycra Powerflow, white side number plates & disc cover:
How hard are the plastics to fit? is it easy to get to the Air filter etc?
I'm really considering buying the cyra kit for my 450..
The new MXA did a review and warned to read the instructions carefully.
Easy to get to air filter (see the top photo) just the 8mm bolt in the front by steering stem & 2 allan bolts on the side and
the little square air filter cover comes off.
Underground - thanks for your words, too. I think it looks clean. First I had bought the white Cycra kit, but it was way too white looking. Stock 2014 YZ250F I found fugly with the black radiator intake scoops & the black on the side number plates, so I'm happy how it looks now.
Pit Row
Man, what a surprise, I thought it was gonna be a total turd!!! AmIright??
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