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Sorry if this has been asked, but couldn’t find this topic when I put in search bar.
Coming off a 24 crf450rwe and looking at getting either a 25 Honda crf450r or picking up a leftover 24 Yamaha yz450f and can’t decide what way to go. Loved the Honda besides the front it felt very harsh and felt every little bump in the track so not sure if in 25 that’s fixed or not. Any input is appreciated.
25 CRF 450 much more compliant than the 24 CRF. Not the most compliant bike out there but better.
The yz450 is so freak8mg good. Boring for 2025 because nothing new but that bike is amazing. I could see Yamaha losing some buyers because they didn’t change up the bike too much.
Ended up just putting a deposit on the Yamaha! Guess we will see how good it is lol. Thanks guys!
I think you made the right call. Congrats!
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Rad, give us your thoughts once you get it. I’ve ridden a 25 crf250 and a 24 yz450f. Both amazing bikes! My bike is a 300sx, the yz450f was the most exciting four stroke motor I’ve ever ridden.
Yamaha you’ll be happy
Bike looks real good! Can’t wait to see how it is!
Can we see more of this bike! Looks amazing
Very nice steed
You surely won't be disappointed. I have a 24 and it's the best dirt bike I've ever ridden.
I love my yz more everytime i ride it. the best part is the ability to tune the maps. for a pro or go fast guy im sure its not enough but for vet b/c class weekend warrior like me, its awesome and noticeable.
I figured I’d revisit this thread as I’m sure this is a question lots of people are debating in their head trying to figure out what bike they should get. I also just got a 2026 Crf450WE and just did three days of back to back testing with my yz450.
Spoiler, I’m not gonna help this choice as even though these bikes are very different, I literally cannot say one is better than the other! I’m sorry to any test rider that is forced to rank them.
After 8 years of only riding two smokes, I thought I’d venture back on a 450. I too struggled last May to decide what I should get, a 23+ Yamaha or a 25crf450. I already had a 25 crf250 for my wife and absolutely love it, sharing parts would be nice and I know I love that frame. But I have a 2025 yz250 and I ride/race both bikes back to back every weekend so being bluecru had its positives too.
I decided to just let the market guide me, my local dealer didn’t have a new of either and being 4+ hours from another dealer I had a few weeks to browse marketplace for a deal. I found a 24 yz450 with 4 hours on it for $7500 and jumped on it. Bike was fucking unreal.
I have 60 hours on the yz450 now, coated suspension set up for me, gytr clutch, CRF front brake with stainless line and a full PC exhaust. She’s basically a Yz450 “works edition.” After waiting 2 months for my WE to arrive, I got a call from my dealer Thursday that it would arrive Friday. Naturally I took off work Friday and spent all day prepping our local riverbar sand track.
First test was at the sandy riverbar track. Crf450WE instantly felt amazing, everyone says nothing feels like a Honda because it’s absolutely true. The way you connect to a Honda is simply perfect. After getting used to it and breaking in the track I started to push and “test.” I did 4-5 sessions of 4 lap sprints on both bikes back to back. Although I race my yz250 and yz450 on the same day all the time, I’ve never done back to back comparisons on the same class bike.
Doing this is fucking awesome, it’s so cool to really get to feel where each bike works and doesn’t.
Quick thought on “feel” as bike feel is big to me. As mentioned above, the feel of the Honda is amazing. Conversely after 60 hours on my Yz450, I’m always blown away because to me the Yamaha is such a weird feeling bike. It’s weird because I don’t really feel connected to it, it feels long and like you’re sitting “on top” vs “in” it, but then it just rides so fucking perfect and effortless. Like it’s literally the easiest bike I’ve ever ridden. It’s tracks the ground like it’s glued to it, it never ever steps out, it never does anything wrong. You just get on it and it goes. I always laugh at myself because I’m thinking this bike feels so off but fuck it rides so good.
Feel aside, let’s talk ride. The Yamaha is more stable, tracks flat corners better and again is just absolutely effortless to ride. As all know the motor is spicy and alive, it’s free revving and exciting, I run the hard map and like that it feels fun and spools quick like a two stroke. Suspension for me is 10/10. The Honda is way more effortless to rail the loose sandy berms, with how good the Yamaha tracks a flat corners, the Honda matches that by tracking a berm way better. Plenty stable on the fast stuff but definitely more “alive” than the Yamaha. To me this is more fun. At this track suspension is also 10/10. Zero complaints. The motor is a gem, just gobs of torque that barks off the bottom and keeps pulling. Very different than the yami, think 600hp diesel vs 600 hp gas motor. Both get you there plenty fast, just in different ways. At this track I determined that the yz450 is a better bike, but I liked the Honda more.
I ran some laps times on both and here those are.
Sunday and Today I rode them back to back at my house. My place has hills, steeper jumps faces, bottomless topsoil with good long clay ruts. Even though I’m in California, this is like no public ca track, much more like east coast dirt.
The traits of both bikes of course stay the same here, but now replace sandy berms for long deep ruts. The Yamaha tracks my not rutted corners better and the Honda tracks the ruts like nothing I’ve ever felt. So many times I thought for sure I was gonna over steer in the middle of a rut and the Honda just went perfectly through it. My steep jump face and downhills with braking bumps high lighted the need for stiffer fork springs on the Crf450. Stock to stock the Yamaha 100% works for me better on my track. The Honda fork was soft enough that on my sprint laps I felt I couldn’t push as hard as the Yamaha and I was sure my lap times would not be as fast. However that was not the case, the Honda had faster times. These were laps that I was absolutely sending it to the full ability that my slow vet ass could muster. With the Yamaha being effortless to ride I felt a little more in control vs my sprint laps on the Honda. So then I wanted to see what I could do on the Honda at a 15 min moto pace. I was shocked to see that when I didn’t push to my redline, I could easily turn the same/faster times than my redline on the Yamaha. With stiffer fork springs on the way, I think I’ll be able to push a little harder while feeling more control.
The Yamaha motor is still more exciting and fun on my track but I was surprised to see the Honda was able to pull third in uphill sweepers better than the Yamaha. So how do you pick a winner there?
I’d say my overall conclusion is that the Honda feels better, is more fun and spunky. The Yamaha rides easier and somehow feels a little weird while also doing everything almost perfect. lol good luck deciding. they are both perfect 10’s just one is blonde and one is brunette.
That’s a sweet sand track. I’m guessing it’s not a public mx track but one built by locals out in the woods?
Man those god damn hondas just look so good, to me thats the tie breaker. We currently have 3 2025 crf250's and in my opinion they are probably the most under-rated 250f. My son will be 16 at the end of this year, I think we will pick up a works edition 450 for he and I to share for a little while.
Which ones the brunette?
I’ve been tossing up between these 2 for a while now and still can’t decide. But I prefer brunettes 😂
Kyb tho....... That's the tie breaker for me.
I appreciate all of the info. That was fun to read.
I'm a 250/350 guy but the latest YZ has almost made me buy a 450 now, several times. It's just a lot of bike for what I'm used to but the new gen chassis lets me ride it how I want to ride it (I prefer the old chassis on the 250F though.) It's kind of a shame that after the bodywork update, even though it's more slim it still has such a goofy feeling to it. I do not like how tall it is, the shape of the seat or how you feel so far up above it.
The Honda ergos feel so nice though. Haven't ridden a 25+ up yet (250 or 450) but I assume it's similar as the '22-24. When I think of the attributes of the Honda 450 (the way the power is, the lively chassis etc) it doesn't seem like a 450 I would like as much as the YZ but your write-up makes me think that maybe I would. I do like the 250 but it's a bit give and take on the chassis side for my liking, also.
Pit Row
Weird this popped up this morning. Been a Kawi guy for the last 7 yrs with a yz here and there.
I love the current gen kaw but it doesn’t excite me.
Been toying the idea of buying a Rmz but can’t find a new one cheap enough to justify maybe being stuck with it or giving it away. My local dealer is selling the 25 crf450 for insanely cheap since they had stop sale and have way too many.
Anyone gone from a kx to a crf ?
I have a 26 Honda, Wondering if the FCP cups would help it track through corners more like the Yamaha, getting the best of both worlds?
600 bucks for some bearings is disgusting. Experiment with rear wheel placement (chain length) fork height, and rebound before getting it up the pooper with their pricing.
Excellent writeup by @urbanlift707. Enjoyed that!
I have ridden newish (25s) models of the Honda and Yamaha. I agree with you on the feel of each and the odd feel, yet does nothing wrong feeling, of the Yamaha.
I do like the look of the Honda over the Yamaha!
Yea it’s just a rouge riverbar track on our local river. Floods every year and brings in fresh sand! Around 8 years ago I started haling my skiddy out there and really prepping it, seriously one of the funniest places ever!!
I’m going Honda as the blonde for sure as most would agree it looks way better than the Yamaha.
Mr. Urban, After that concise and detailed shoot out I feel like you should publish a magazine. Maybe call it Urbancross Action. Great information, written in an engaging way ! Fantastic .
Thanks for the kind words! @ML512 I’m ready to accept my testing position at Vital. We can put the parts through their paces at my home track. It tops out at about 72 degrees here in the summer!
This thread and write up is great dude good work!
as a fellow “only owned a 2 stroke” guy, it’s been literally 20 years since I had a 250/450.
Do you feel like you can push harder for longer on a 4 stroke? More endurance or less because of the weighf?
I put a low guts seat on my Yzfx and it helps the weird on top of feeling, so much so that now my other Yamaha is probably getting a low seat in the future.
I actually went full time two stroke back in 2017 because I found that I kept picking my 2006 rm250 as my race bike over my 2015 rmz450. Basically I felt like I was riding it vs it riding me. During longer races when I was pushing and tired I wasn’t worried about 60hp getting away from me.
However now after being on smokers and getting back on the 450, I’m like WTF was I thinking, these things are so effortless to ride. I’m lucky to have an amazing wife that rides, my own business and my own track so I ride 2-3 week, every week. Bike fitness is on point, but yes I do now find that I can ride these 450’s longer than my yz250. I’m not faster on them though, all the races I do have lap times and it’s pretty much always a tossup between the two one which one is faster, but never more than a second apart. I posted it in a different thread a while back but even at Day In The Dirt on a 5 minute 30 second lap time I was within one second on the YZ 250 vs YZ 450.
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