DMX Tested: Yamaha YZ450F Yamalube GYTR Edition

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By: Scott Donk

The Yamaha Yamalube GYTR YZ450F

Editor's Note: With 2011 coming to an end, and with everyone stuffed with Turkey after Christmas, we thought it was time here to pull out our remaining bike tests and help you guys make your decision about what machine to get to help burn off those extra pounds around the waistline this spring. Up first, we have a special bike that is a 2011 with some pretty cool “items” on it right from Yamaha and GYTR. We had Scott Donkersgoed (now Nick Wey’s Mechanic) take this steed through the leaps before he took off to Cali this fall. We also had some of our DMX test team take it for some laps at our 2012 Dirt Shoot.

The GYTR YZ450F was a real eye catcher. Photo: Courtesy of Yamaha

Yamaha came out with another 'first' in 2010 with the newly designed YZ450F. There was a lot of speculation as to how well the machine would work, going into that season. Well, here we are at the end of 2011, awaiting the arrival of the 2012 bikes, and I think we can say the YZ450F is doing just fine, earning not 1, but 2 Canadian National Titles along the way.

When the good guys at Yamaha Canada approached us here at DMX about trying out a one-off YZ450 with their own GYTR goodies, we got excited! Not only did they have Yamaha Super Tech, Nick Di Cristofaro, install the GYTR Parts, he also applied a great-looking decal kit from our very own Canadian company, LimeNine.  Thanks to Nick and Brendan.

The Yamalube YZ450F GYTR bike had a replica graphic kit to match the bikes of Denaye Giroux, Shawn Maffenbeier, and the Allison Brothers. Allison Kennedy Photo.

The GYTR Parts List:

Chain – The GYTR chain has holes in the inner links for weight savings and doesn’t sacrifice tensile strength. Rear Sprocket - The rear sprocket has a groove around the circumference to aid in dirt/mud  self-cleaning.   Allison Kennedy Photo.

Rad Braces – Beefy protection; it’s a 'must have!' Air Filter – Accompanied by the GYTR biodegradable air filter oil, this set up allows high air flow but still stops the tiniest dust particles to protect your engine. Clutch Cover – After riding this bike three times, and racing it for two days, there isn’t a scuff mark on the cover. Tough stuff! Intake and Exhaust Cams – Increased mid and top-end power comes with these bad boys. Allison Kennedy Photo.

Slip-on Silencer – FMF helped in designing this piece which compliments the entire range of power. Allison Kennedy photo.

As you can see, there aren’t many engine performance-enhancing parts, but don’t let that fool you. This thing was a rocket!

Scott loved how easy the YZ450F was to tune. Danny Brault Photo.

One of the best parts about the Yamaha is the Yamaha power tuner. It has got to be one of the easiest tuning tools out there. It allows for several fuel and ignition maps to be saved in the unit for quick and easy loading onto the bike; no lap-tops, outside power source, or degree in rocket science needed. I tested with the stock setting, and 3 other of Yamaha’s suggested maps, and ended up fine tuning one of their maps to suit the track and my riding style. It’s so easy, the possibilities are endless.

The track I raced at had several long, fast straight-aways with lots of jumps. I had to retard the ignition a little bit to help tone the bike down. Coming out of the corners and holding it wide open to the top of 4^th gear on a 450 stretches the arms after a few laps! Keep in mind, this doesn’t sacrifice overall top speed or anything, it just changes how it gets there. A smoother power delivery is just what I needed.  The potential this motor package had was unbelievable, and there are so many options to customize the power delivery characteristics to each rider. I was pretty bummed I didn’t get a holeshot, but out of the 4 moto’s I contested,  I was in the top 4 around the first corner in 3! In the other moto, I was first there, but a bit too much front brake had me doing a quick soil sample!

Scott had no problem getting this bike up on the podium at the MMRS national. Danny Brault Photo.

I did a couple things to help the chassis for my personal tastes. I adjusted my fork height to 4mm and tightened the steering bearing preload. The raised forks helped with turning in the tighter corners, but at the same time sacrificed some straight line stability. To compensate, I put a bit more preload on the steering bearings to almost act as a damper for the long highspeed straights. A few clicks in on the suspension and I was comfortable on the bike. I did, for some reason, have an issue with the stock shifter. It felt like the shifter tip was too far away from the foot peg for me (my size 11 Gaernes aren’t new and I rarely have a problem in this department). It’s just a small thing that would take some more getting used to or an aftermarket shifter. Everything else was great! The ergonomics were easy to get used to and the Pro Taper bars that come on the bike were a generic, comfortable bend.

The little package Yamaha put together for DMX was great. This bike does not need much to make it a full race weapon. The minimal amount of parts we had in it was more than enough for me. If you’re looking for more, Yamaha has a full line of their GYTR Parts online at www.Yamaha-Motor.ca  The tuner is a 'must have' for this bike. You can add all the power you want and be able to control it with the tuner...win/win if you ask me!

Now check this video out to see what some of our other testers had to say when we took the GYTR YZ450F to our Dirt Shoot at Motopark.