Union, SC - The growing market
for purpose-specific ATVs has brought many new
choices to the consumer, when shopping for their
ideal machine. Yamaha has listened to their customers
and has offered up a new, powerful machine that
fills a void in the woods and cross-country realm,
the Yamaha YFZ450X.
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2010
Yamaha YFZ 450X (above right) & YFZ450X
Bill Ballance Edition (above left) |
ATVRiders.com was invited to the Yamaha YFZ
450X press intro and given the opportunity to
test out Yamaha’s newest race inspired
ATV in Union, South Carolina, which has been
home to the Big Buck GNCC for the past thirteen
years. Yamaha took the liberty of having a 10
mile loop specially designed by GNCC Racing’s
Lieutenant Trail Boss, Buren Hamrick, which
included tight trails, hill climbs, off camber
turns and even a the legendary Big Buck creek
jump. The course utilized various sections from
previous GNCC race track, so it was basically
the perfect environment to put Yamaha’s
new cross-country quad to the test.
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fleet of Yamaha YFZ450X ATVs waiting to
hit the Big Buck Trails |
When we arrived, the track was a little on
the wet side, with many puddles and some mud,
which is pretty typical of any GNCC race. And
much to our delight, there was no dust to contend
with, making for good visibility. We were excited
to give Yamaha’s YFZ450X a try and couldn’t
wait to get suited up and hit the trails to
check out every aspect of the ATV.
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| The
Yamaha YFZ450R is 48.8" wide, but
the YFZ450X is 2.7" narrower, which
was reduced by shortening the length of
the rear axle & utilizing the orginal
YFZ450 wheel hubs (above left), and up
front, the A-arm width was reduced to
narrow up the front. |
The new YFZ450X is based on the YFZ450R and
will be replacing the original YFZ450, which
has been discontinued for 2010. The YFZ450X
has kept a narrowed up design for those who
prefer to stick to tight trails and woods type
of riding. In fact the new YFZ450X uses the
same rear hubs as the original YFZ in order
to keep it narrow along with a shorter axle.
At just 46.1” wide, the same width as
the original YFZ450, the YFZ450X fit on the
tightest trails that we encountered and its
5lbs lighter weight than the YFZ450R, made it
feel even more nimble than its motocross inspired
sibling in the woods.
