2016 Yamaha WR450F First Riding Impression

The WR450F is Back

Yamaha’s 2016 WR450F has taken a huge leap forward. The previous version 2012 to 2015 was based off a fuel-injected old-style 5-valve motor and a more current YZ250F chassis. It was a bit of a confused ride revolving largely around a motor that never felt tuned, that effecting the way the bike worked as a whole on a negative way. The upgrades from 2015 are to basically throw the old one away and start with something that works, the 2016 YZ450F and YZ450FX. The WR gets the new stiffened YZ chassis with thinner engine mounts like the FX, the new YZ linkage, spring rate and tripleclamp offset alterations. On the engine side of things the cam shapes and timing are identical to the ’16 YZ with a specific WR-spec ECU that is tuned to meet emissions compliance.
The first thing we will tell a rider is that the WR was designed to be a competition enduro racer and an aggressive trail riding bike. Yamaha tuned the WR back from there so it was totally legal to ride off-road in any state in the US, even California. For that there is a throttle limiter and some sound baffling parts in the intake and exhaust. Here the bike makes just enough power to be ridden as a trail bike should if you are just getting started riding.
We tested our bike in a setting where we used a YZ throttle stop and took a small restriction out of the muffler and a baffle out of the intact tract. This alters the sound output a little but it still meets green sticker noise requirements.
The first thing a rider will notice is that spark arrestor muffler is very quiet. And it really lets the rider hear the frontal and forward intake sounds. The throttle response is super crisp and the engine feels very lively. The clutch pull is light and the engagement is smooth as Yamaha has put some time in dialing in the plate spring/combination to achieve this. Plus have it last when in abusive riding. First gear is plenty low which is great for those same tough trail conditions where you need traction at low speeds.
Power is definitely tamed down from the YZ and FX in ferocity and how hard the bike pulls if you just roll it on. The best way to describe the overall spread is that it is linear and at every point it feels 10-20% less power than the YZ or FX at the same RPM. But the throttle response is just as good and when you twist it the WR responds. If you need the same power as an FX, just rev the WR a little more. There was never a time where we felt the WR was lacking power and once you learn to rev it a little more you have the same wheel-lofting, back-end sliding peppy ride that these Yamaha’s are known for. It climbed every hill we pointed it up and accelerates just as fast as the tire will handle. And we like the Dunlop MX51 tires on this bike.
One thing for sure is that the WR has a very light flywheel feel. Here it does not have the chug-chug way down low of previous WR’s but the bike resists stalling quite well. Basically if the throttle is on at all, it is difficult to get the bike to stall. Zero throttle and it is easy to stall. As you step through the gears, unlike the FX you do not feel the gaps and the first-to-second change seemed less drastic, maybe since we rode it in a lot more first-gear trails where we appreciated the low-range feel. The spread is plenty wide and fifth pulls into the 90’s for sure, we have not had the time to top it out on flat ground. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th spread id perfect for flowing trails and the power spread is so long-winded that there is two gears for every speed, just depends on how much power you want at the rear wheel.
We’ll be testing the competition ECU shortly but for now we have no issues with the way the WR is running. On the WR250F there was a spot or two where the bike would sputter and hiccup but this is not the case on the 450 or we have not found or noticed it. The biggest advantage for us with the competition ECU will be the ability to use the GYTR Power Tuner to really dial in the power delivery.

The chassis is really good but we are still playing with it to get it just right. For some reason it has a stiffer feel than the FX and that is strange. The front of the bike in standard setting felt stiffer and the rear softer so we are playing with the ride height and settings to get the balance right. We have confidence in the KYB SSS fork and so far small clicker changes have been very effective. Adding spring preload has been helpful as well but we have not found what we feel is ideal just yet. There is definitely some more weight on the WR with the lighting equipment and a steel rear sprocket on board. You can feel it a little bit in the handlebar but it is insignificant when comparing to an older WR, the new bike feels 40-pounds lighter in every way.
The ride compartment is more compact and already our taller riders use to the older WR moved the bars to the forward position in the adjustable top clamp. And it seems riders are getting use to the wider look at the front of the bike and have stopped calling it fat or thick.
As a package the WR works really well for what it is designed for. Riding single track. It is a fun bike, it is sound responsible and it certainly has the potential to transform into a race bike if needed. We are getting a safe 50-miles out of a tank of fuel in desert riding conditions and it is difficult if not impossible to tell when you are getting low aside from seeing the light on the instrument panel. It will be interesting to see if the WR suspension with a little more motor or the FX suspension with a little engine de-tuning is the best path to a single-track racer. And it is direct competition to a KTM XC-W or Husky FE, but the Yamaha needs a little assistance right off the showroom floor. We can say for sure if you want a blue bike to ride off-road and not on a track, the WR is a hit and a huge leap in getting the WR back in line with the YZ.
The 2016 Yamaha WR450F is at dealers now and is priced at $8990. Yamaha was quick to point out that there are plenty of GYTR accessories already available at www.shopyamaha.com, everything from blue bling to complete ported racing heads (plus that Power Tuner). We’ll be riding ours more in order to get you a full and complete test. If you have any specific questions, use the comments below and we’ll do our best to get you the answers.