My father in law bought a YFZ and I rode it yesterday. I was not expecting much more power than my Z.
Man was I wrong, this thing pulled hard though every gear. Had a lot of power and throttle responce. Anyone looking for a new quad, definetly look into a 450 yam. or honda.
I was very very very imressed.

Things I did not like-

Hard seat, at first I thought it sucked, as I rode it I did not notice. Only rode for about 1/2 hour.

Low handlebars- I am 6'4" tall and would almost hit my knees on the handlebars when I turned. Might be able to turn them foreward more.

The pipe sticks out quite a ways on the right side.

The susp was a little stiff, but not bad at all. I Liked that it did not even come close to botoming out like my Z would.

Nothing major, I could definetly get used to theese problems.

 

I rode my best friend's last week. I am majorly impressed. He has it totally stock for now, and is aware of the airbox, spark arrestor, jetting and cam mods, but wants to ride it stock for a while to get the most out of it. Then move on to the mods when he gets bored.

I have an 01 Raptor with a CT Racing exhaust kit, and the rest is totally stock (stock tires / rims, etc). The Rap is very fast and stomps on all the Raptors around. I think the fact that I still run the stock tires makes a huge difference over the other guys with 686's that run spider tracks.... But I know I haven't ran up against a real enthusiast bike.

So I figure I am 45HP+ on the Rap. I know that the YZF has pretty good power right out of the dealership, and another 8-9 hp with the mods (airbox, SA, cam, jetting).

So we raced. I am impressed. Totally stock, I pulled him with a piped Raptor, but not by much. I am hanging my head, because it is going to be no contest when he mods his bike. What a motor. It rocks. (I am a little biased being that I have a YZ426).

Then the suspension. A totally different ride. Feels much wider, and 'cat like'. This has to be the best stock suspended bike ever. (Ahem, never rode a Cannondale, or Gas Gas so there might be a better one there.) Very smooth, very predictable. Rear tires have the right traction, and a great feel for side to side bite. I think I will replace my stock rears with them next year.

Very light, awesome power, fabulous suspension, and the right price.

Wow. Yamaha has thrown down the glove. This sport market is really rockin'. Can't wait to see what Honda comes out with. So far the Yamaha has really made it tough to beat. They listen to the market, and deliver. Quickly. Well done.

Too bad they ignored the market noise around the 1st year Raptors, and left us out in the cold like abandoned puppies. I know more than a couple people that will never buy another 1st year Yamaha, of any type.

Let's hope the 1st year reliability of the YFZ is better than the grenades Yamaha handed out with the 01 Raptors.

Anyone else have a ride report?