Yz250f "mini 450 torque feeling"?

The straight shot intake definitely helps with the torque factor. 

Where the heck are the 24's?! (Or ANY yams really) at the dealers?! They seem to have lost their way.

So is the super short gearing just masking this and another bike geared like this would be even more 'mini 450' than a Yam? Presumably why the Yam signs off early and needs a fair amount of shifting? The KTM revs out all day by comparison right?

I remember running an 2.5 BMW engine with a 1.8 4 cylinder gearbox and rear end and it felt wayyy torque-ier than a regular 2.5, due to it pulling so easily with the crazy low gearing.

Ktm has 14/51 sprockets stock. You need 13/49 to get 3rd gear close to the Yamaha. Someone would have to test both back to back to tell for sure. The ktm (and Honda and Kawasaki) have higher rev limits than the Yamaha so that plus the gearing will let it rev out further. 

The yamaha 250F power advantage isn't what it used to be.   Other brands have caught up.   

I'll comment FWIW - i have a 23 450 yz and for shits and giggles (I'm getting older) just bought YZ250f for the days i don't feel like getting my arms stretched..... 2nd gear is strong AF but it's short for sure, 2nd rips but u need to be ready for 3rd real quick. Having said this - i'm a big guy 6'7" so not light by any means and this little 250'f can get around corners in 3rd....with the odd flick of the clutch required. I only have a few months on it but for sure i want to try one down on the rear. But if i had to guess on gut feeling........the OP 1st post is correct, the other bikes would maybe feel the same way if geared like the YZ. I'm curious what the majority run for gearing - stock is short for sure right up to 5th  

Dyno's do not indicate part throttle performance.

Comparing gearing between bikes.....

There's this thing called a transmission,  Perhaps you've heard of it.

A bike on the rollers and a bike under you on the dirt are two totally different things. 

The yzf intake setup along with the way the throttle response feels very torquey 

I would go ride one, the dyno graph doesn't mean a whole lot to us average joes lol

Had a 21 yz250f and went to a 22.5 rockstar husky. The husky is stronger everywhere. I had to shift the yz all the time compared to the austrian bike. Off idle on the yam was aggressive and snappy which gave it an exciting character, but as a race engine, it was lacking. 

I went from a KTM 350SX to a new YZ250F and the first thing I noticed was how short the gearing is. The first 3 gears..you almost can't shift fast enough. 5th on the Yamaha is like 3rd on the KTM. But it handles nice, has nice forks. Looks way more roached at 25 hours than the KTM looked at 100 and KTM air filter maintenance instantly wrecked it for everyone else, but I still like the blue bike. I wish Yamaha would build a 350 with KTM's magic mix of rev ceiling, torque & gearing. I'd just give my yamaha card to the local dealer and tell them to deliver me one every spring. 

Oh No no no. 

We cannot have a Japanese 350. it would ruin 450 sales, right??

The Japanese are just too smart to build a 350. Forget that it is what people want, and sells huge for the market leader, KTM.

a side note- if the 350 actually does hurt 450 sales a great deal, is that not proof enough that it is a viable product with considerable demand?????

I bought a 22 yz250f and came from a 21 kx250 that was +1 on the rear. I felt the same as most in this thread. 1-3 is way to short on the yz. Went to 14/50 on the yz and wow !! Whole new bike. You can actually ride in 2-3 now. Turned the 3 speed bike into a 4 speed bike 

I catch heat for this but every time I ride a YZ250F,  I really don't like the motor because I have to shift so much. I ride 350's so I'm used to taller gearing and long pulling power. I've tried to talk myself into one several times but I can't get around how quick you blow through the gears. Going to a 14 countershaft sprocket is an interesting change.

There is probably something to the OPs claim as the YZF does go through the gears quick. A KTM 250SXF, by comparison,  has a very long-geared feel. Also, it just doesn't seem to rev as sharply, but it does pull forever and is a rocket up top. 350s are similar. So I do think there is something to that. However,  there is no denying the reverse-head w that intake also add to it. Even on the stand, you can just feel how touchy and responsive the bike is. At the Factory level, I'd imagine no stone goes un-turned and it can't be coincidence how that bike shot to the front of the pack w/ Star in '14 (when the engine changed.) It can't just be a gearing thing or it would never transfer over at the Factory level. But it's clear those bikes still have the ability to hit anything out of a corner, but still pull up top with the Redbull KTMs.

I know it's not an apples to apples comparison but I wonder what gearing Star and ClubMX use.

Last bike check I seen viral do on haidens sx bike this year was 14/50 it’s what I use and I will say if you have a yz trying the 14 front is well worth the 14$ way cheaper then changing a rear and to me made the bike feel so much better no more having to shift all the time or rev the bike and be out of the power. With the 14 it stays in the low/mid and works great 

My son drove from TN to MS and picked his up 3 weeks ago. 8999 OTD

It has a little less low end (depending on maps) and better mid thru top. The forks are not as good as the previous so we had FC re-valve them at Mini O's. The motor is still king of the 250F class but you need to change the maps.

I’m sure they use a works tranny

Not to drum up an old thread, but from what I'm told is that Yamaha contracts out their tranny's from the same company that makes transmissions for F1 and MotoGP teams. Around $10,000 per transmission. 

A stock trans would probably last about 5 laps ridden by Haiden.