YAMAHA YZ250FX
Yamaha’s XC-specific YZ250FX delivers grunty
performance and a sweet chassis... and Yamaha
NZ has some run-out deals for a bargain price.
WORDS: JOCK MCLAUCHLAN, BEN WILKINS
PHOTOS: GEOFF OSBORNE
W
ith the new 2020 Yamaha YZ250FX
just around the corner but not due
in the country for quite a while
yet, we thought we’d take another look
at Yamaha’s current 250cc cross-country
machine. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden
the 250FX, so it was nice to re-stock the
memory banks on how Yamaha’s XC-specific
four-stroke 250 boogies. Yamaha has a few
of these on run-out at the moment which
can be picked up at a decent discount, and
there’ll be some secondhand machines
coming up for sale shortly too when riders
make space in their garages for the 2020
models.
As a reminder, the FX model isn’t just the
48 KIWI RIDER
YZ250F MX machine with different springs
in the forks and shock – although it does
have that. There’s a wide ratio six-speed
gearbox, larger fuel tank, side-stand, softer
springs and suspension valving, an 18-inch
rear wheel and the motor is retuned to have
a smoother power delivery at the bottom
end. All these things tailor the Yamaha to be
a pure cross-country weapon, and a great
option for those who don’t want to go with a
European machine.
Before you even throw a leg over the
Yamaha you can see it’s an attractive, nicely
made and well put together machine. It looks
like a big bike though – it’s tall and appears
a little bulky around the airbox. Fortunately,