BLUE IS BACK

THIS BIKE IS ALL NEW. THERE ISN’T MUCH THAT HASN’T BEEN LOOKED OVER AND TWEAKED.

he YZ 450 has some serious heritage — after all, it’s the original high-performance four-stroke motocross bike. Yet the past couple of models have, in some ways, held onto a stigma of being difficult to set up and have had varied success around the globe at pro-level racing. The bike has won races at all levels and some championships, yet it still doesn’t convince everyone. It is the only bike in the class with the reverse-format cylinder and it just seems that can be enough for some people to be sceptical of the negative effects that design brings to the rest of the bike. The all-new 2018 model is out to combat those issues — it’s slimmer, a little lighter on the scales and it’s had some big weight distribution and geometry changes aimed at improving the bike's handling. Here’s a rundown of what's new and what