Finally we got a break in the rain, it hasn’t been long enough for the tracks to dry up and there is no telling when Mother Nature is going to kick off again so I took the opportunity to take a long weekend and go away riding on the Yamaha YZ450F Long Term Test Bike, even if the tracks were a little on the muddy side.
My kids have just started riding, my four year old son has just started riding a PW50 and my eight year old daughter who has shown no interest in riding bikes in the past, has after seeing her brother ride, decided she is going to start riding the TT-R50 we got her a few years back.
My sister and I grew up riding and racing motorcycles. Every weekend our parents would pick us up from school on a Friday afternoon and off we would go somewhere in Australia racing and enjoying motorcycles as a family. To this day I am still close with my family. I work with both my sister and my father and sure we have our disagreements but the bond we shared over motorcycles growing up has kept us all close.
We didn’t do family holidays to Bali or anything like that. We spent every weekend together racing motorcycles. I would not change my childhood for the world, in fact it is the same as I want for my kids. Now they are enjoying riding I get to share it with them.
We loaded up the bikes, hooked up the caravan and headed out to Rocky Valley MX Park as a family for a weekend of riding. Once I got the kids off on their bikes I tasked Mum with the duty of watching them while I jumped on the YZ450F and hit the track myself. The power of the YZ450F makes pretty easy work of the sand track, even on the groomed, loamy thumper track the YZ just grunts and digs its way into traction. I have had this bike for over six months now and the torque from this motor still impresses me and makes me smile.
Along with the sand and thumper track there is what they call the “Pro Track”. It’s a natural flowing motocross track with jumps that could satisfy Seth Enslow. There are doubles, step downs, step ups, triple step ups and table tops in excess of 100 plus feet. It’s a track were you need to be on your game as there is little room for error but the YZ450F handled it easily.
There is no question about the power being plenty enough to get over the jumps and the YZ is very stable and predictable on jumps this size. In fact the bike was ready to go straight away but it took me a few laps to blow off the cobwebs before I felt comfortable hitting the jumps.
The YZ is in top shape so there is no immediate maintenance needed or any parts to replace. Instead I’ll be spending the next month riding with my kids and will even get out to the race track for my first race back since breaking my wrist and ribs in January.
2024 YAMAHA YZ450F
RRP
$15,149.00 INC GST
WARRANTY
Three months, parts only
DISTRIBUTOR
Yamaha Australia
INTERNET
SO FAR
TOTAL HOURS 20
MODS THIS MONTH: None
MODS NEXT MONTH: Wait and see
