I
recently had the opportunity to jump
over The Ditch for the day and head to
Yamaha Park4MX for the media launch of
the 2020 Yamaha YZ450F. The facility offers
near perfect riding conditions, and having
the circuit prepped by Cheyne Boyd (ex-pro
racer and Yamaha Park4MX owner) made
testing the new YZ450F so much fun. Massive
tacky ruts, some loamy berms and perfectly
sculpted jump ramps gave perfect testing
conditions for the heavily revised 2020
model.
UNDER THE HOOD
For 2019 Yamaha has delivered one of the
most potent engine packages on the market.
Check the boxouts for detailed changes on
what’s happened in the motor, but there’s a
lot of new stuff.
I think a great detail is the adjustable
ECU mapping switch, which for me was a
came the
road legal
big change on the tacky Then
soil when
exiting
XR650R
which
was
corners. In Map 1 (when the blue light is just a
everywhere...
not illuminated) the engine weapon
is so strong
and
I
still
miss
it to this that
day
torquey right through the power delivery
around the Park4MX track I used only third
gear for the entire lap! When you select Map
2 (blue light illuminated) it becomes quite a
different machine, with the engine delivery
being a lot smoother, and with much more
useable power. At my current level of fitness,
I found Map 2 allowed me to ride the bike
harder for longer, especially when exiting
corners where I was able to really climb onto
the throttle and maximise what the big 450
was willing to give me.
KIWI RIDER 57