Yamaha has been keeping busy lately. After introducing a brand-new YZ450F for 2018, the company is now giving its little brother a overhaul. Here's what's new for 2019 with the YZ250F.
What's new, you ask? Pretty much everything. The little off-roader has been fully redesigned. First big change is the now-electric starter; no need to kick it into life anymore. Welcome to 2018 little trooper. The aluminum beam frame is also brand new and features a new swingarm pivot as well new engine mounts that centralizes the weight and gravity center and provide additional rigidity.
The bodywork has shed some weight in the design process. Seat height has been lowered by up to 0.8 inch and ground clearance by 0.4 inch to increase maneuverability. Additional weight has also been trimmed in the wheels for a total wet weight of 234 pounds. Fuel capacity has been reduced to 1.6 gallons from 2.0.
The engine has been fully redesigned as well with a flight of updated components—cylinder head, piston, and cam profile—for optimized power available at a broader power band. Despite all the new parts, the engine's specs remain the same: a single-cylinder, four-stroke, 250cc, liquid-cooled block teamed with a five-speed transmission and multi-plate wet clutch.
Just like on the YZ450F, the 250 is now offered with onboard WiFi to connect to the Power Tuner smartphone application, a first in the 250cc class. The app connects to the bike's Communication Control Unit (CCU) and allows the rider to tune up to 16 settings on the motorcycle to finetune and personalize its performance. The handlebar height can also be adjusted in four different possible settings.
