Story by Trevor Hunter, Photos by Trevor Hunter/Logan Stupin
As we’ve come to learn with Yamaha’s newest generation YZ450FX, it’s drastically different than the previous model and while that has generally been a positive amongst our stable of test riders, it has left us searching for improvement in areas at times. Most of that search revolves around the chassis and improving stability and comfort at high speeds, something more unique to west coast off-road and what we mainly partake in. That’s not to say that some or all of these mods don’t translate to woods riders, but we feel the new bike, at least chassis wise, is in a very good spot for that kind of riding. While we’ve purposely kept a few things stock like suspension, gearing, handlebars, etc, we’ve primarily focused on the chassis and have forgone those changes for the time being. Without further adieu, let us take you through what we’ve come up with so far and you can compare it to where we left off with last year’s finished bike build HERE.
The biggest change we’ve made is going to offset triple clamps. Different from last year where we ran Luxon 23.5mm offset clamps, we’re trying Ride Engineering’s 23.5mm offset triple clamps. We’ll have a more direct comparison between the two later on, but the different offset on both clamps helped greatly with chassis stability at speed and keeping the bike calmer with a flatter, less “see-saw” feeling bike driving through bumps, primarily on decel. The Ride clamps don’t offer as much as cornering precision and feel as the Luxon’s, but the offset change is a big positive and they offer good bump comfort without losing any comfort over the stock clamps.
A new performance upgrade we’re trying is a Spiegler steel braided brake line up front. This line offers more power than stock and retains a firm yet controllable feel. The brake can get very spongey at the lever with the stock line, and some “aftermarket” modifications can leave the lever feel being too touchy for our liking. So far, the Spiegler has been the best feeling setup we’ve tried.We’re continuing to run the Baehr Concepts Dry-Break Cover to keep the Modified Machine Works Dry-Break clean between pit stops with the 2.8 gal IMS tank. It also serves as a safer and more efficient way to keep the airbox cover on when pitting.The lights are our trusty Baja Designs XL80/XL Pro combo. The XL80 is powered off the bike using a WR450F stator/flywheel and we’ve had no issues powering it on the 2024+ model. Modified Machine Works make the light frame for a beefy and secure way to mount and protect the lights.Dunlop’s AT82F front tire is my go-to tire of choice from Dunlop and is one of my favorite front tires on the market at the moment.Some garage fab using a WR450F cable guide bolted to a hose clamp keeps our front brake line in spec with the lights on.Works Chassis Labs’ Soft top engine hanger is one of the best mods we’ve made to this bike. It offers a lot more comfort out of the rear of the bike without losing the planted feeling, and overall calms the whole chassis as we had less pitching once we bolted these on.We’re still running the front engine bracket without the outer plate. We’re still running the same clickers and fork height as detailed in our recent report on this mod and why we went to it for more front end comfort which you can read about HERE.Dunlo[‘s AT82 is one of their best rear tires at the moment as the mini scoop design grabs a lot of dirt and drives forward when the conditions are optimal. Both tires were stuffed with Nitromousse foam inserts.The handlebars are still stock, though we put on a bigger bar pad than what comes stock to feel a bit safer. The Precision Steering Dampener eliminates any headshake at speed and helps calm the bike at speed.
Yamaha’s Cody Lee has joined us for all of the SRA night races over the past year as has helped us to a couple of race wins and the overall championship in the Baja Designs Night Race Triple Crown that SRA GP has hosted.The motor is completely stock including mapping. The engine is potent and works very well for the faster gp style course that we raced. We’ve found some improvements in mapping for more technical riding using the GYTR Power Tuner App.
Stay tuned for more on this bike as we continue to test and compare different parts as we search for the “perfect” setup on the YZ450FX.
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The biggest change we’ve made is going to offset triple clamps. Different from last year where we ran Luxon 23.5mm offset clamps, we’re trying Ride Engineering’s 23.5mm offset triple clamps. We’ll have a more direct comparison between the two later on, but the different offset on both clamps helped greatly with chassis stability at speed and keeping the bike calmer with a flatter, less “see-saw” feeling bike driving through bumps, primarily on decel. The Ride clamps don’t offer as much as cornering precision and feel as the Luxon’s, but the offset change is a big positive and they offer good bump comfort without losing any comfort over the stock clamps.
