First Test: 2009 Yamaha YZ250F
Jean Turner | August 5, 2008
2009 Yamaha YZ250F The YZ450F was already the first ’09 motocrosser on the scene, and following not far behind is the 2009 Yamaha YZ250F. We got our first chance to swing a leg over the new blue thumper today at Perris Raceway in Southern California. But as early releases so often mean, the YZ250F comes with little changes. Nonetheless, it still sent us home with something to talk about.
Like the YZ450F, there are only minor changes to the ’09 YZ250F. The YZ250F has shared changes with its 450F big brother including a new swingarm, lighter rear hub and more adjustable cables and levers. Adding to that is a new clutch (new basket and plates). If you’re wondering (like we were) whether or not that means the new YZ still has the same smooth action and the same light pull at the lever as the ’08, rest assured, the answer to that is yes. Overall, there are no drastic changes to the 2009 Yamaha YZ250F which isn’t a bad thing in our eyes. The ’08 was one of the top picks in our 250F shootout. The chassis is plenty stable with plush fork action. The motor remains vastly unchanged, leaving the power delivery smooth and strong from top to bottom. We were hoping to see the ’09 receive a little more over-rev, since the YZ250F’s mill tends to sign off a little soon.
Cycle News tester Jason Abbott takes a first spin aboard the new YZ250F at Perris Raceway. On the whole, we couldn’t find much to complain about with the new YZ. Perris Raceway offered a jumpy course with plenty of bumps and ruts to give us a good feel for the suspension, but a few more weeks of testing at different tracks will provide a more thorough test of of the new swingarm and chasiss geometry. Watch the pages of Cycle News for the full first test of the 2009 Yamaha YZ250F (and the 450F as well) where we’ll give a more thorough report of how much the minor changes change the overall package of the new YZ250F.
