2016 Yamaha YZ450FX–Kevin Carpenter

I was instantly struck by the motor. Controllable power, lots of traction and so connected to the throttle grip. And I’m not usually a 450cc guy so this was good. It worked on the track and on the trail. Completely stock the suspension was great. I’m sure I would need to adjust through a full day of riding because I can get picky but I’d have to get more time on the bike to find out.

I really liked the bike on the MX track and thought it would suck off-road. Then on the single track it was really comfortable. I did a full loop with no bobbles which is a great indicator of the bikes stability and agility. The FX seemed tall when I first got on it  but didn’t notice that while riding. First gear seemed useless even in the really tight stuff.  

Electric starting is awesome. I didn’t like that the choke is tucked in above the hot header pipe, better shut it off quickly if you use it.