2016 Yamaha YZ250: QUICK SPIN

It still is, really. Four-strokes are just as awesome, they’re just different and a lot more mechanically complicated, but I’m still a big two-stroke fan, and a big fan of the Yamaha YZ250, one of the few remaining 250cc two-stroke motocrossers that is still being offered in the U.S. (KTM’s 250SX  and Husqvarna’s TC250 are the other two.) Just because two-strokes are simple to work on isn’t the only reason why I like them so much, though, they’re also extremely fun to ride—when it gets down to it, really, that’s the real reason.

The YZ250 hasn’t changed much since the early 2000s. It’s basically the same bike but it has seen some worthy updates in the last 15 years, probably the most notable when it got an aluminum frame in 2005. Ten years later, it got another decent update. Yamaha gave it more modern styling, bringing it up to date with Yamaha’s current line of four-stroke YZ-F motocrossers. It got a complete makeover in the make-up department, dressing it up with all new plastic—fenders, side panels, radiator shrouds and front number plate. It also got a new airbox and seat cover. Mechanically, it was fitted with KYB’s latest version of its Speed Sensitive System (SSS) fork, regarded by many—and us—as the best out there. It’s the same fork found on Yamaha’s current YZ four-strokes but revalved specifically for the lighter and quicker handling two-stroke. It also got larger titanium footpegs.

A year later, 2016, and the YZ250 got a few more styling changes—black rims and a gold-colored chain. Yamaha says it also got revised suspension settings; we’ll take their word on that.

The YZ250 is just a great bike all around. Still. It’s ultra light (about 20 pounds lighter than the 2016 Yamaha YZ450F), powerful and handles great.

Four-stroke riders might not like the YZ’s snappy power delivery, but long-time two-stroke riders will love it, saying it’s actually smooth and very controllable. It has good torque, hits hard but controllably in the middle of the powerband and just takes off from there. It revs to the moon until it just quits making more power; it doesn’t fall on its face. The bike just feels snappy, too. Again, four-stroke riders might think that the YZ250 is “hard to ride,” but not us two-stroke aficionados.

Shifting the YZ’s five-speed transmission is a snap, and the clutch is tough and has excellent feel. Pull is light, which is a good thing, because you do slip the clutch on the YZ, but that’s nothing against the YZ, it’s just how you ride a two-stroke.

Even though the YZ uses “old-school” carburetion—in this case a Keihin PWK38S carburetor—throttle response is excellent. After all these years, Yamaha has the YZ’s jetting down pat, running a 40:1 fuel/oil mixture with Yamalube R synthetic two-stroke oil and 91 octane pump gas. We never saw signs of exhaust drool. Our bike was always ridden near sea level; heading to Mammoth MX? Bring jets.

The YZ’s suspension is just about as good as it gets, at least right out of the crate. The SSS forks are just plain superb and the back end tracks straight. It takes something pretty nasty to upset the back end. And when you do, it usually doesn’t take much correction from the rider for it to get happy again. Both front and rear suspensions are plush, but don’t bottom easily.

Getting the YZ in and out of the turns isn’t a big deal. It turns quickly but doesn’t really like to stay in the ruts. The YZ prefers soft and sweeping berms, but overall the YZ turns well.

The YZ’s brakes are okay; they just don’t have that confidence-inspiring power that some of the bigger and more sophisticated four-strokes do. Luckily, the YZ is a lot lighter, so you really don’t need brakes that can stop a 747.