ADB Tech Ed Mat Boyd crash tests the long term test bike, the Yamaha YZ450F, and comes off second best.
This month didn’t quite go to plan for myself and the long term test Yamaha YZ450F. I came back from a few weeks away after Christmas with my family and put in four solid days of riding on the long term test Yamaha YZ450F. I had just fitted up all the GYTR gear to the long term test Yamaha YZ450F and the bike was performing really well. The pipe worked really well and I was loving the hydraulic GYTR clutch.
I also fitted up a set of States MX Wheels with a set of Pirelli tyres and Vee Rubber heavy duty tubes. I put in a solid session each day and was feeling really comfortable on the bike. I got the suspension and the mapping to a point where the bike was really smooth and I was really enjoying it. The next step was to give the bike a once over and head to Coffs Harbour for the Stadium Motocross event which kick starts the 2024 season.
I headed up a few days early with my family and spent a few days living out of our caravan at the track and took the kids to the beach and the Big Banana. Track walk went well and I felt confident I would have no problems with the track even though it had a very technical supercross section. I wasn’t to ride practice until the night show so we sat around all day watching the junior races.
This event was run well by many very invested individuals but one thing I disagreed with was only giving everyone five minutes practice. The Pro riders got two fifteen minute sessions but everyone else only got five. The track had a very technical supercross section that caused many accidents throughout the day and night and I can’t help but think this was partly due to riders having to tackle this section quickly with very little warm up due to such a short practice.
I unfortunately cannot use this as my excuse however as I have been riding for over thirty years and although it has been some years I have loads of supercross experience and should have had no issues with this section. I somehow managed to jump off the edge of the track and cartwheel through the handlebars and landed hard on the speedway track before the bike came over and slammed me in the back.
After my crash I got up as I didn’t want to lay around on the ground in front of the crowd and circulated around for another few laps but I couldn’t seem to get my breath back and the pain in my wrist was just unbearable. I went back to the pits and knew something wasn’t right and had my wife cart me off to the hospital where they found I had a fracture in one of my ribs and a fracture in the back of my hand. They also found my kidneys were bruised and my kidney function was down and had to stay in hospital under observation until my kidneys came good again.
The trip back home was a long one as we had to keep stopping for me to rest as the bumps in the Pacific Highway were causing me all kinds of pain. Now I’m back home resting up. My fractures are not too serious and will heal up in a few weeks. The ego on the other hand might take some time though.
I’m just grateful my kids didn’t see my crash as the whole ordeal scared them enough and my daughter is already disgusted in me because I won’t give up riding. None of us ever want to get hurt but I’ve been doing this a long time and we all realise it’s part of the sport but I will heal up and get back on the bike, The best part is the YZ didn’t even get a single scratch, and some say I threw myself under the bike to protect it.
Mat Boyd
2024 YAMAHA YZ450F
RRP
$15,149.00 INC GST
WARRANTY
Three months, parts only
DISTRIBUTOR
Yamaha Australia
INTERNET
SO FAR
TOTAL HOURS: 14
MODS THIS MONTH: GYTR exhaust, GYTR hydraulic clutch, MX States wheels, Pirelli tyres, Vee Rubber heavy duty tubes
MODS NEXT MONTH: TBA