What can you tell about a test/press bike after 6 months of being hammered and dragged through the ringer by every Tom, Dick and Hand-me-down without a license? I was soon to find out as I was given the opportunity to ride the official 2014 Yamaha YZ450F press bike six months into its life, to see if life on the prairie was all just herding sheep or if it was Apaches with arrows and war paint! What I discovered about the bike and myself was a little bitter sweet.
At first glance the bike looked in good order. There were the scars of war, of course, but all the limbs where there and facing in the right direction to fight another day. This particular bike is becoming Cameron Petersen’s personal training bike. He races superbikes for Yamaha and knows a thing or two about riding faster than the common man dares. He got it after it was taken to the desert by the Bark SA crowd for an Easter egg hunt, before that it was here and there and ridden by more people than the town bicycle. Anyway, Cameron hasn’t had much time on the bike and is still trying to undo all the little “personal preferences” the previous testers/riders had made.
So what are we left with? Is it a pile of parts held together with spit and sticky tape? No, not at all and, to be honest, this 2014 Yamaha YZ450F is still looking mint and feeling very solid. You know journalists ride it like they stole it (pardon! -Bill), but this Yamaha is commendably standing strong.
The brakes are powerful and felt solid, handlebars had a great bend and no crash-induced twists. The lessons learned from the previous model are evident in small things like the quarter turn fasteners for the air box and the wrap around exhaust pipe for a better centre of gravity. Well done Yamaha on your build quality, it shows…
I must admit I never touched the suspension settings; the bike felt planted and set up perfectly for me already. The track was beaten up from the racing the day before but, for me, it was like riding on a feather mattress. I noticed the forks had the usual clicker settings and, with the air filter sitting where the petrol cap should be, the rear shock is left all exposed and very easy to get to. I know this is the area that Cameron has spent most of his time on, so it’s testimony to the suspension components that they can handle a lean, mean racer and then manage to soak up my girth without fuss. That’s 2 out of 2 so far Yamaha.
Now before riding the bike I was told that this motor was a near on 60bhp fire- breather that could rip your arms off and beat you over the head with the soggy end which made me scared beyond belief. Was this the actual case? Not when I got on it for my first warm up laps because this bike made power for sure but it was as smooth as silk without any sign of any rude behaviour. Maybe this new 450 motocross technology has really become so refined that someone like me can ride the bike and feel completely at ease. Then, thanks to the Yamaha faithful at the track, I was introduced to the Yamaha Power Tuner; a harmless looking tool that looks like a motocross version of the iBod. There is a coupler just behind the front number board where you plug this little sucker in. Now you’ve access to the fuel mixture and ignition timing at various throttle positions. I was then duly informed I had it on the smooth baby’s bottom, floral blouse power setting so, after a few clicks of a button, I was back to “Standard settings”… “Sweet baby cheeses and mother of rice, what have you become?” I asked screaming as this new 2014 Yamaha YZ450F suddenly became a national winning trench-digging monster and I loved it! Remember this bike has no modifications, no unobtainium exhaust pipe, no massaging of the head work, no purple minions polishing the ports, just plain old off- the-showroom-floor standard. Yet with a simple tool you can fine-tune this bike’s power for any given track on any given day. Deep sandy track? Going on an outride with friends? The perfect mixture will be there somewhere. Fantastic stuff, that’s a clean sweep, 3 out of 3.
My time with this R87,900 bike was far too short; I was only getting my head around the speed that this bike can generate and how to ride it smoothly, and effectively, when the sun started to set. Whilst driving home I had some home truths to deal with. As much as I loved the bike and, trust me, it’s good even six months in, I don’t have the skill set to properly manage this Yamaha YZ450F beast. Yes, I get tunnel vision down the back straight but the rest of the time I felt my senses were being completely overwhelmed by speed and power. Note to self, this bike demands respect, it’s a race bike that wants to win and will climb over you to get that win. Sadly, at my age and my skill level, I would be quicker on the baby brother, the Yamaha YZ250F, which isn’t good for street cred but very good for my medical aid.
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