Bike Review

2016 Yamaha 250F Off-Road Dirt Bike Review

Author: Aaryn Minerds

Author: Aaryn Minerds

Posted:

Tuesday, December 15th, 2015

8:35 PM

Yamaha Australia certainly lead the way in Australia when it comes to giving the Australian dirt bike media a chance to first throw a leg over their latest offerings each year.

2016 has been no different with the Iconic brand that is celebrating its 60th Birthday, kicking of their celebrations with a 60 years of Yamaha anniversary dinner at the conclusion of their 2016 Yamaha YZ450F launch back in August.

With the 450 well and truly put through its paces by the Australian moto media next in store for Yamaha was the launch of their entire 250 Off-Road range of dirt bikes that took place at the picturesque Gum Valley Track just outside of MacKay in North Queensland.

In a continuation of their 60th anniversary celebrations, we were invited along to get a quick feel for the Yamaha YZ50 and YZF250 Motocross bikes, the WR250F and FX250F and the newley introduced Yamaha FX250 enduro focused two stroke.

It was certainly a big day of riding and while we did not spend a large amount of time on any one bike it was a great opportunity to get a first impression of the entire 2016 Yamaha 250 range.

Below we give a quick overview the updates you will find on this years Yamaha 250 Four Stroke range and our thoughts on the bikes.

2016 Yamaha WR250F

In 2015 Yamaha gave their WR250F a major overhaul, bringing a all new bike to the table that was based of their very successful YZ250F with the rearward-inclined cylinder and reverse cylinder head with a focus on mass centrliasation.

The bike recived rave reviews and after spending two days in the New South Wales country side riding the bike ourselves we certainly walked away impressed with what Yamaha had produced.

One cool and unique thing about the 2016 Australian spec WR250F is the bike is avaliable in the 60th aniversary yellow and black colour scheme.

While there are only minor the updates to the bike that most noticeably help the 2016 engine feel a little less restricted straight out of the box compared to the 2015 model. I was able to spend a little time time on the WR at Gum Valley cutting a few laps on the motocross track and it was the bike I spent the most time aboard in the small trail loop that had been set up.

The power on this years bike comes on stronger and as mentioned above does feel a little less restricted than last years model overall, but in saying that an after market pipe would come in more than handy.

The bike itself feels well balanced while riding, the suspension is certainly plush and while being well on the soft side from my 100kg frame on the motocross track, it felt right on the money on the trail loop, especially through the technical rock section that put my trail riding abilities to the test.

All in all the 2016 Yamaha WR250F is another great all round package that will suit anyone who is in the market for a 250F bush weapon that can be road registered. We were big fans of last years bike (Read Our 2015 WR250F Review here) and the small improvements on this years bike made it that little bit better again.

Overall it is another great package from Yamaha an will perfectly suit those who like to ride a smaller sized bike in the bush.

For more information on the 2016 Yamaha WR250F head to Yamaha Australia by Click Here

2016 Yamaha YZ250FX

Unfortunatley we could not make it out to the launch of the 2015 Yamaha FX250F last year when the bike was first introduced onto the market.

The Yamaha FX falls into a bit of weird segment in the off-road market. The bike is pretty much a race ready version of the WR but is not ADR compliant, meaning that unless you live in a state that allows some form of Recrational registration, the bike will be limited to a pure race bike.

The 2016 250FX which is pretty much unchanged from the 2015 model and fills a small void that has exsisted in Australia.

For a racer who likes to dabble in a little MX mixed in with some Off-Road / Enduro events, the FX could be the perfect answer to finding the one single bike that will do both perfectly.

Jumping from the WR onto the FX fourstoke you certainly do notice the increase in engine performance and the slightly firmer suspension setting the bike comes with. There is no doubt that the engine in the FX feels more lively than WR and while the WR did feel a little soft for me around the motocross track, the FX was spot on and out of the three 250F yamaha four-strokes I felt the most comfortable on around the Gum Valley track.

Out on the trail loop the FX was just as, if not more impressive than the WR with the extra power coming in handy when needing to loft the front wheel into the air quickly.

It is a bike that is going to fit a bit of niche market, a lot like its FX 250 two stroke brother, especially in Australia, but if you are one of those riders who spends their year bouncing between local enduro events and getting behind the gates of your local motocross track, this bike could be just what you are after.

For more information on the 2016 Yamaha YZ250FX head to Yamaha Australia by Click Here

2016 Yamaha YZ250F

Much likes the 2016 Yamaha YZ450F the the 250F gets a few small updates for 2016 with the focus for the 250F being a centred around the powerplant. Updates include a revised the piston , a lighter piston pin with DLC coating, a new oil spraye, a new crankshaft balance and counter balancerand a new ECU setting for increased pulling power and of course the 60th anniversary Yellow colour option.

Moving across all three bikes in the Yamaha 250F range at Gum Valley it became apparent that there was one easy way to describe moving from the WR onto the FX then again onto the YZ250F and that was each bike gets more powerful and the suspension a little stiffer across the range.

For a 250F straight out of the create the Yamaha continues to impress with its overall engine performance. Producing great power from the bottom all the way through while still maintaining a predictical feel to it.

For myself the Yamaha always takes a little time to adjust to coming from another brand as it does have a bit of a unique feel to it. As I have said many times in the past, the new generation YZF's do feel a little wide across the front when you first sit on them, but once you are out riding it is not noticable at all and to be honest the biggest thing to get used to in the sound of the air being sucked into the engine from airbox that is positioned right under the fuel tank.

Since we first rode the new generation YZ250F back in 2013 I personally have been a big fan and the bike has continued to move forward in the right direction over the past two years and is proving to be a popular bike at the grass roots level and is finding plenty of success on the world and national stage in the Pro racing ranks.

Like most of the bikes in the range, we only spent a little time on the 2016 YZ250F at Gum Valley with all riding aboard the race bread machine complteted on the motocross track. As with every time I have thrown a leg over the small bore Yamaha MX bike, I was left wanting to spend more time aboard one and it is a bike that is on the top of my list of a bike I would like to spend a year racing aboard.

Overall Yamaha have every base covered for the small bore dirt bike rider in 2016. From the road registable WR250F that is sure to be a favorite in the bush, the race inspired FX that will suit the rider looking for some middle ground in the Off

For more information on the 2016 Yamaha YZ250F head to Yamaha Australia by Click Here