Another 06 YZ450 Pic

[Satch0922]

This is one Scooter426 took. It was buried in another thread.

[Ga426owner]

That is a good looking bike.............I am a little surprised the engine case skidplate (top) is history - looks very vulnerable to damage - the clutch actuator arm looks substantilly different as well as the cam chain Tensioner

[gonzo]

It looks like it's gonig to be a real pain to get to the carb like another yellow bike I know very well.

[Yak]

Im not sure I understand the reasoning behind the ultra cool ziz-zag airbox and rear number plate junction.

And why did they do away with the grab holes like the 426 had? Those were so good to have.

[Scooter426]

the 250F had a skid plate .... go figure. The new 450F was very cool looking. It was a big attraction in the Yamaha tent. I yanked it off the stand to see how much it weighed and how it felt. If I had a little jug of gas, I would have put some fuel in the tank and rode that baby around the track!

On another note, I was very impressed with the MotoGP riders from the US. I realized midway thru the weekend that I had raced against all four riders at one time or another in the past (as well as Troy Bayliss from Australia). It was really neat to see them out there with the worlds best road racers (and beating them!). Go Nicky.

-scooter

ex-AMA superbiker dude

[Scooter426]

carb access is going to be an issue on these aluminum frames because of the twin spar design (I think).

[gonzo]

That's what's weird about that frame. It's only half twin spar. It goes back to solid towards the top.

[Scooter426]

I did like the old grab holes. It was a pain to lift off the stand. Oh well...

[ThrakenH04]

I did like the old grab holes. It was a pain to lift off the stand. Oh well...

To be honest, those "grab holes" were IMO useless except for sucking in air and an easy access for dust. They were far too high to get enough leverage and i found myself either grabing the fender or the part of the pipe that gets bolted to the subframe.