A little love for the YZ

I've had 7 YZ125s and 3 YZ250s. Got my latest after riding the '06 for 19 years. Best bike ever!

My YZ is a workhorse, hoping to relegate it to "practice bike status" next season when I get a fresh one. Admittedly, was not a fan of it my first couple of seasons on it but have acquired a taste for the raw feel of it compared to my friends 250Fs and "higher tech" two strokes. Unless you are at the sharpest end of racing or into hard enduro super heavy, I feel like it's still the most affordable way to race and be competitive.

The piston let go on me late last season after I pushed the limit on time between top ends just a bit too long. Cylinder and rod were good so 5 hours of rinsing metal out of the lower end and new piston later, I was back on the bike. Not saying it was advisable but it was 20-25 motor hours ago and still running like a champ!

This is one of the only pics I have since doing the current gen restyle kit and big tank this spring. Definitely feels more modern than the previous gen plastics/seat.

Here is my 2017 - second one. My favorite parts: it works, feels great, is easy to work on, does not change much, reasonably priced, and tons of knowledge and parts available.  

You got anymore pictures of this thing?? Never been a fan of the all black look but this looks pretty sick!

Lovin this thread. I’ve owned YZ’s my entire life. My family ran a Yamaha dealership in small town Iowa in the 80s. I’ve always been partial to the yellow & black style. Some day I will convert mine to that scheme. 

My current is a 2021 YZ125

I'm really not a fan of all black either, but went for it anyway! Turned out sick, but the next set of plastic and graphics will probably go back to blue.

Who are the f*gs that downvoted this? 😆

My 2005 YZ250. Bought new September 2004. Many different looks over the years. 

I just came.

Given the bike and user name that tracks.

😂

Such a pure form of motorcycle.

Pretty cool/interesting now that the 2026 YZ125 and YZ250 both share the same carb, main jet, needle and clip height. And both are running better than ever.

Just about all of you have an aftermarket pipe. Can you's add what it is, do you like it and what aspect of the rev range it changes??

Im still running stock coz im a basic fuck and always thinks if it ain't broke dont fix it. But I also dont wanna be missing out!

That is fucking bad ass, sir. 

One of the 250s

You can go back to swatting away mosquitos and posting in non-moto.

It was kind of a compliment, bud.

Stock pipe is really good. Great all around power.

The FMF fatty is practically pointless. Adds a small bit bottom and takes away a bit of top. The least change over stock out of all the pipes.

Regular PC has massive top and zero bottom end. I'd like to see it dyno'd against the champ pipe because I believe its peak is still higher. Really hard to ride for someone like me who doesn't wind it out everywhere.

Bill's is significantly better everywhere over stock. Maybe only slightly off bottom, but picks up very noticeably through mid and top.

PC Champ pipe is similar to Bill's, with slightly less bottom and a tad more top. Though, in a weird way the Bill's feels like it has just as good over rev. Stretching the gears out between those 2 pipes is very similar.

If that's truly the case, my apologies. Perhaps my sarcasm meter and humor monitors are busted.

It’s true, and I can relate!👍

Love theYZ’s!  I’m old school and prefer a 2 stroke over a 4 for sure.  This one popped up used at a Honda dealer, and I’m pretty sure it was never ridden, so I grabbed it and got all my parts swapped over to it.  Nice to be on a freshie again!

Haha! 
That’s hilarious with the YZ490’s killer reputation!

BUT…I can assure you, by the time I had acquired the bike and started riding it!? I was shocked and thrilled to find the bike had all the correct updates & mods to make it a surprisingly easy to ride & very pleasant vintage bike! I got it from a really nice & very knowledgable vintage racer down in Houston who had already sorted the bike and done all of the right mods before he decided to sell it and focus on his next vintage project! 
(Carb was well sorted/properly jetted / had the double base-gasket setup to lower compression etc!)

I regret to THIS DAY selling it for, you guessed it… the EXACT same reason the guy I got it from sold it … to finance and complete another vintage project of my own! I sold it to another vintage racer who is riding/racing the bike to this day while I am left to wish I’d had the foresight & deep enough pockets to NOT sell it! 🤪 👍❗️

Love the YZ, mainly because I dont need to go buy the new one every 3-4 years

Here’s my ragged pile and some drawings

Great story!! I bet it was a beast-but with manners. 😉

I rode one that was uncivilized and un neutered and that mofo was a wild horse that refused to be broken in.