For 2009 / 2010 model year Yamaha has finished the atv aresenal. Having introduced the YFZ450 in 2004 there had to be a starting point and a finished product. The YFZ450 would make its mark in the Cross country market as well as the MX or moto side of atv racing. For Yamaha, being the self proclaimed best selling sport atv in the year 2009 we should have known that a final and more advanced product would be supplied soon. In late 2008 the YFZ450R made its way to the market and its job was to corner the racing venues across the USA. With a wider stance and a super tunable feature filled chassis this was surely going to be the greatest atv Yamaha had and surely they were to be exhausted by the end of the model year 2008. Well just this month we were treated to another product from the Yamaha garage and it was just the icing on the cake for woods racing enthusiasts and trail ragers across America or the world.

The new YFZ450X is what all the fuss is about these days. Starting with the same great frame in the YFZ450R as well as the engine there were features that needed changing to make this bark buster better for woods racing and trail riding. The main changes are in the overall size and width. The YFZ450R is over 48 inches wide while the new YFZ450X is over two inches slimmer at 46.1 inches in total width. The challenges with handling and steering correctness were a concern but with a caster change of merely one degree from 5 to 4 this would be handled. The frame of the YFZ450R also had a newer design that would bring the upper and lower A-arm mounting points closer together. This will not only give more front travel but it also helped when the two inches were taken from the front to get the YFZ450X ready for tight woods. Using the same 11 degrees of rake also helps in the completion of this frame design. The shocks on this new YFZ450X are KYB engineered and are 36mm’s shorter. The shafts are Kashima coated with an increased oil capacity that yields less shock fade and more durability. Counting the high, low compression adjustments and rebound as well we found a very user friendly shock set up that is suitable for the average racers needs. Being a larger rider I feel the springs could be a bit stouter and with some adjusting the shocks are suitable for my needs.

The engine in this YFZ450X has been taken from its wider bretheren the YFZ450R. The design is the same with 5 titanium valves and a heart stopping single cylinder liquid cooled power plant. The fuel injection is fed to the engine through a Mikuni 42mm throttle body but delivery of the fuel is where the first differences are found. The Fuel mapping for the new “X” model is tailored for the woods racers and rider specifically. This makes the power very responsive on the bottom and through the low to mid range of this models power range.

The high end of this engines power is still impressive and there’s no need to worry about not having enough. Riding the Yamaha YFZ450X in tight woods is something to get used to. The power is incredible and the ability to lug this machine is easy even if you want to run a gear higher than normally suitable. The transmission is adequate for this job and having ridden in third just to tempt the low speed stroke of this motor it only took a blip of the throttle to wake the engine up to rage.

Moving into the chassis is our next step and with the ability to tailor the machine to almost every rider’s size was a great item included in the YFZ450R last year. This has been transferred to the YFZ450X to the delight of every rider like myself who is tall and needs the longer reach to the bars. Starting with the bars we found that the steering stem mount has two sets of holes to mount the clamps in. The forward set will give the rider 10mm more reach for those long arms. Turning the clamps around in this forward mount will give up 10mm more and doing this does not effect the handling of the machine. I chose the forward mount and loved the machine even more after a few miles in the trail. The next great feature is the Pro-Taper bars that replace the normal steel bars. This gives the bars flexibility and they are also adjustable forward and rearward to further customize the ride position. Just one more example of why Yamaha is on the top of this game. Other items such as adjustable levers including brake and clutch as well as the foot brake makes tailoring the YFZ450X simple.

Overall the new YFZ450X is what most woods and open trail riders need to go racing on the weekends or just play around at the local ORV park. This package with a little tweaking made this rider smile again and again.