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It seems all i hear is about how 450's are too much, are too heavy, too much this too much that
Myself i find them easier to ride. You can click it in a higher gear and lug it when its nasty and get way better traction than a 250f, and the tons of torque makes mistakes seem lest costly and easier to recover from. I run xc and when my skill runs short and i come to a nasty rut and root infested hillclimb with bikes down everywhere i can drag my legs like a goon and abuse the clutch and let the 450 power claw its way to the top.
Maybe its just me but i find the 450s easier to ride.
Myself i find them easier to ride. You can click it in a higher gear and lug it when its nasty and get way better traction than a 250f, and the tons of torque makes mistakes seem lest costly and easier to recover from. I run xc and when my skill runs short and i come to a nasty rut and root infested hillclimb with bikes down everywhere i can drag my legs like a goon and abuse the clutch and let the 450 power claw its way to the top.
Maybe its just me but i find the 450s easier to ride.
The Shop
As it's been said, had we never gone to four stroke technology, James Stewart would have decimated everyone for years to come. The four strokes leveled the playing field and made us faster with less effort (or skill).
All of this has been repeated, but your post crystalizes the point in a way anyone can understand.
As far as BEING better, thats subjective. Faster yes, technique, fuck no. Rip it and go
I'm a better rider on a 450, the options in how to put power down make me faster and smoother. The ability to carry speed at lower rpm works better for me. Then the option to turn it up and get huge boost when I want it makes me grin..
As far as the dumbing down of skill level I know when I came off a 125 and got a 250F in 2005 it was an absolute game changer for me. After two seasons I went to a 450 and I tried to ride it like a 250F but it wasn't happening, I'd get a hole shot then fade to last place in 450C (out of like 5 riders) whereas the season before I raced my 250F in 450C and could come back from 14th place to 3rd/4th and honestly feel like if I had more laps I could have done better. I put probably 15 hours on my 2007 YZ450F, made me not even want to ride.
In 2008 I went back to a 250F and fell back in love with riding again. I spent 2013 - 2017 on a 450 and it was ok but I went to a 350 this year and its been super fun but even that engine is oddly configured and its taking me some time to get used to it. I can basically ride 85% of most track in 2nd gear. On a 450F I was basically in 3rd 90% of the time and went into 2nd in the tight corners.
I went and rode mountain bikes the other weekend and it was a breath of fresh air. Sometimes I feel like I'm falling out of love with the sport.
I'll do a KTM demo day with all 2018 bikes next week(including the enduros), i'll try to ride the 350 as much as possible.
Pit Row
I know 15 years ago that 450's weren't near as strong as they are now....and with me being 15 years older....the gap ( for myself ) kept getting bigger.
I was getting older....bikes getting stronger , and stepping down a size or two on the bikes , sure as hell helped me.
Bottom line : everyone is different.
with me i noticed that when i quit riding, i got weaker, and when i started riding again as shell of my former self, the 450 felt like a beast. but when i was 18 19 20, i was definietely faster on my 450 than my 250f
With that said my much-faster-than-me brother just sold his YZ450 and bought a YZ250X (two stroke)...he LOVES IT. Says its more fun to ride, etc. etc. (and he's still way faster than me). Summer break is almost over, so we'll see how his results fair on the two stroke when racing season starts up again in a few weeks.
I was going to ask a similar question...seems like half the people say 450's are to much for most people, way to hard to ride, wear you out, to hard to ride, only 4 or 5 people in the world can ride them, etc. etc. And the other half say they are so easy to ride, take no skill, make you lazy, anyone can hop on one and go fast.
So which is it? Are they easy to ride or hard to ride?
Arenacross was easier for me on the 450 because I just left it in second gear. It was like riding an automatic.
125: I'd be nipping at the heels of my other selves most of the moto. I'd be strongest of all of us at the end but probably back a few corners unless bad luck befell the rest of us. 4th place.
250F: I'd be tired. If I stalled it even once (a likely scenario,) my 125 self would be all over me. 3rd place.
250: I'd crush everybody off the start (yes, you read that right.) I'd be loose, fast, and loooong gone within half a lap. I'd be riding hard and using a lot of focus to do this, however, and there's a chance my 450F-riding self would catch me by moto's end because of fatigue. 1st place.
450F: I'd feel compelled to ride hard to keep up with my 250 self. This would give me arm pump and wear me out. I'd still be going fast even when my strength went away, however. Depending on conditions I might catch my 250 self by moto's end. 2nd place.
500: I'd play "Hang on for dear life" for a few laps then crash my brains out. DNF.
however, I am happy to say that with 30 years of experience on all size bikes both 2 and 4 stroke I can ride my 450 the most consistently. As others have mentioned, I can ride it in the meat of the torque curve and flow around the track usually in 3rd gear with consistency and with the least amount of energy expended.
I still love my 250 2 stroke and it is more exciting for me to ride and challenging from a rider sensation standpoint but it doesn't make it better or worse, just a different riding experience!
Some say its lazy to leave a 450 in one gear around most of the track... isnt that kinda the idea? Using the torque to your advantage? Personally i HATE 125s. Even when rapped out they dont want to pull my weight. I remember going to this jump in the dunes after breaking my 450 and buying a 125, it was uphill and i could launch my 450 prolly 80' or so. I hit it with my 125 wide open and clicking gears and forget airing out, the damn bike made it a struggle to even climb its way up to the jump.
Everyone goes on and on about a 10lb difference, and i dont know whether its my low ability, my size or what but i cant notice weight for shit from bike to bike. I always kinda thought that argument was silly anyways, esp for a woods rider. By the time you hit your first muddy area you've collected 10lbs of mud under the fenders anyway
Most in between have the problem of the bike riding them.
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