Have you ridden a yz450 aka Blue Pig?

mattyhamz2 wrote:

And I gave my honest opinion about my 14 YZ450 and got down voted :laugh: A lot of dudes in here are drinking the white and...

And I gave my honest opinion about my 14 YZ450 and got down voted A lot of dudes in here are drinking the white and orange Kool-Aid.

OldYZRider1 wrote:

Well what comes around goes around. When KTM’s had the non-linkage PDS suspension they got bashed on here for years due to their lackluster results in...

Well what comes around goes around. When KTM’s had the non-linkage PDS suspension they got bashed on here for years due to their lackluster results in the hands of the pro’s. Like the YZ450 its performance was mainly a problem for SX, many riders found them adequate for their riding needs, me included. So who can blame KTM owners getting a few shots in.

So heres mine. It took KTM a dozen years to address the PDS “issue” and put in the linkage. I guess the results speak for themselves. Yamahas held on to this 450 design (it does seem to work well on the 250) for close to a decade now but it took them 20 years to dump the five valve head design so they may still flounder around with this design a few years longer.

mattyhamz2 wrote:

I wasn't around for that. I was a bit too young at the time for the early PDS stuff and didn't start lurking here until 2013...

I wasn't around for that. I was a bit too young at the time for the early PDS stuff and didn't start lurking here until 2013.

My thing with all of this is, sure the Yamaha might not work for some people, but it works well for others and is plenty capable of winning an SX title with a capable rider. I would say the same about the Suzuki. James won on the damn thing after it had been around and somewhat the same for 5+ years at that point. They had the rider. James also won a few races on that so called "POS" Yamaha. Little did we know at the time he was having concentration issues, but to most here, it was the bikes fault and still is. Put Tomac, Roczen, Marv, Ando or Webb(now that he is training properly) and they would win multiple times a year on the Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, KTM, Husky or Kawasaki. Yamaha and Suzuki just haven't had those riders. Barcia is a step behind and is inconsistent, AP is in his first year and Reed is possibly in his last season at almost 37 years old.

I don't care what anyone says about any of the bikes, they are all capable of winning with a top rider in the saddle.

Denn700 wrote:

Webb has said he liked the Star 450 that he rode. Maybe the problem is Factory Yamaha would not let him set the bike up like...

Webb has said he liked the Star 450 that he rode. Maybe the problem is Factory Yamaha would not let him set the bike up like he wanted. Reed said the factory bike was the worse he ever rode. You would think these teams would learn. I remember hearing Kawasaki tried to make Tomac ride RV’s setup when he first moved there and he had to go over his boss’s head to get the bike setup like he wanted. Suzuki also wouldn’t let Alessi change the setup on his bike. It was setup for Chad Reed.
My only experience is from what I have owned. I had a 2016 and a 2007. The 16 was a big bike and I am a short guy. I don’t gel with it. The suspension was the best stock suspension I ever rode on but for me I would race the 2007 over the 16. I loved that bike.

nick610s wrote:

I think what you are overlooking as far as supercross goes is that Yamaha has ultimate control over the parts on the bikes, travis Preston helps...

I think what you are overlooking as far as supercross goes is that Yamaha has ultimate control over the parts on the bikes, travis Preston helps develop for the USA but factory Yamaha doesn’t let them change a whole lot. Which they need to allow he team more flexibility. Saying that you can see how much better the Honda has gotten for roczen and seely.. It wasn’t that great in 17-18’ our both of them on their asses. KTM has a better development cycle because their main business is motorcycles, the PowerSports side of the Japanese brands is a small spec on their radars. So we get incrementally better bikes every 4 years.

Yamaha’s came leaps and bounds since the last gen bike, I had a 15 yz450 and a 17 yz250, got back on a Honda and all it wanted to do was throw me to the ground. So I bought an 18 YZ450..

I’m a 6’0 vet B’ish rider And I’m 38. The Yamaha fits me like a glove and the suspension/motor package is hard to beat. It’s stable, turns pretty good (even better with premium tires). Needs to lose a little pork but I can lose 3-4 lbs going to a TI exhaust and I’ve already lost 3.5 lbs switching to Hoosier tires.. that puts me within 10 lbs of a Ktm. Which I think feel like they are from another planet. I’m at 74 hours with zero problems.. putting in a new top end this week to freshen her up a bit.

mattyhamz2 wrote:

Sure, Yamaha might be limiting how much the riders can change. I won't argue that. But what other factory team can say their bike won and...

Sure, Yamaha might be limiting how much the riders can change. I won't argue that. But what other factory team can say their bike won and has been finishing in the top ten at almost every round with as many stock parts as the Yamaha? Yamaha is trying to show that they don't need all those fancy parts to be competitive at the pro level.