Transmoto Exclusive - 2014 Yamaha YZ250F Ride Impression

David Pingree/Scott Champion

Matt Francis

Scott Champion’s first impressions of the all-new 2014 Yamaha YZ250F at the American pre-launch.

For the brand that reintroduced high-performance four-stroke motocross bikes to the modern world a decade ago, Yamaha has been losing ground in recent years to their competitors in the 250 division. The once mighty (and only game in town) YZ-F had become the one 250 that wasn’t fuel-injected, and the engine was basically a refined version of the five-valve powerplant introduced in 2001. For those reasons, the 2014 Yamaha YZ250F is long overdue.

Just looking at the bike you can tell this is not a reheated version of the 2013 model. It is a true little brother to the all-new YZF450 and is a very cool-looking bike. It features the four-valve reversed engine and wrap-around exhaust that the 450 has, as well as the fuel injection system that it has been lacking for all these years. When we kicked it to life, the first thing you notice is that the bike has a mean growl to it. It sounds a lot like race bikes I’ve ridden over the years, only this thing was bone stock! The model we got to ride was a pre-production unit, but Yamaha USA’s Tim Olsen assured us it was exactly the same bike that would roll off the showroom floor in a month’s time (which will be more like November in Australia).

On the track, the new chassis felt amazing. The feel is much slimmer, lighter and more nimble than the previous model. Yamaha focused on centralising the mass of the machine, and the geometry numbers that the nerds down in the engineering department came up with were spot-on. I’ve always liked the way a 250 can be thrown around compared to a 450 but the YZ250F seems to be even lighter feeling than usual. The engine was also a massive improvement over anything Yamaha has ever offered. The hesitation of the carburetor and the slow-building power of the past are long gone. This thing hits immediately, pulls strong through the middle and screams up top. It likes to be ridden hard and seems to be happiest when you are revving it a little more. The suspension works well, a trait that Yamaha has carried throughout their four-stroke history. They made the decision to stick with a conventional KYB fork design rather than the PSF air-fork and separate function designs of other manufacturers and I’m okay with that. There are still bugs with those other systems and this product is tried and true. I loved the way the bike handled once we got the sag dialled in, and adjusted a few clickers to get the bike to settle into the turns a bit. The shock is redesigned and works harmoniously with the front of the machine.

The brakes and finish on the Yamaha are excellent, typical of a Yamaha product. My overall impression of the bike was that it is going to be a competitive machine with any of the other brands. It is far and away better than the 2013 Yamaha YZ250F and absolutely capable of winning races for riders of any skill level.