The poor 2024 Yamaha YZ450FX has sat around for a few too many days this past month. Too much work to get through and a little boy who hates being inside the house – must be my son – really doesn’t leave a huge amount of time to go for a blast on the big YZ. That being said, I have managed to get out for a few weekends and man, there is a serious smile on my face every time I start the weapon up. The sheer grunt and torque this bike produces really gets the blood flowing and it is a really, really good time.
In the short span of time that I have had with the 2024 Yamaha YZ450FX, I have been fortunate enough to have ridden it on a variety of different tracks. My family has had 100 acres on the NSW coast for the last 20 years, and due to some unfortunate circumstances, we have recently made the decision to sell the property. It’s a sad thing to see it go but all good things must come to an end and we will find another farm to build a bike paradise on some day. The memories that I have of the farm and the list of people that have come there to ride is huge, and I have spent years building grass tracks, MX tracks and enduro tracks there. It’s been a slice of moto heaven for a long time, and it’s been awesome to have the YZ in my garage for the final weekends of riding there. We have spent a bunch of weekends up there before the settlement and thankfully, we were greeted with some epic conditions to enjoy for the final few rides.
I can’t tell you how much fun I have had on this bike over those few weekends. The moto track especially has been a blast. It’s fast and flowy, has some decent jumps and weaves its way through the paddocks and trees. It’s about 3m30s long and I reckon I’ve done more laps in the four days of riding there over the last month than I’ve done in the last year. The FX absolutely shines in this environment and again, it’s so much fun to ride. I also played around with the map switch when the track was muddy and that makes a big difference in the slippery conditions. The bike seems more controllable and is for sure easier to manage around the lap.
Onto the enduro loops around the farm and much like the moto and grass tracks, the bike shines when the track is faster and more flowy. With the new 2025 chassis being slimmer and easier to move around on, the bike is definitely more rider friendly amongst the trees. I will say, however, that on my tighter sprint loop, the FX can be a bit too much bike. It’s not so much the power that is too much, it’s more the gearing of the bike that lets it’s down on the tight trails. The gap between second and third is too great and I know I’ve said that I wanted to the put a 52T on the rear, but I haven’t had a chance to do so yet. Honestly, that really is my only complaint about this bike. I hope to play around with the gearing asap.
I still have a few months with the big 450FX in my possession and I’m keen as a bean for some cooler weather and primo tracks. Bring it on!
