What Makes The YZ250F So Good? | First Impression of the 2023 Yamaha YZ250F

Presented by O'Neal
New bike season is slowly coming to an end, but not before we took delivery of the 2023 Yamaha YZ250F. Though the model enters the new year unchanged, its current generation platform has earned the liking of many and was crowned the SML 250F bike of the year in 2022. Swapmoto Live's Chase Curtis and Swade Snetsinger spent a day on the blue machine before giving us their first thoughts, check it out!

[@moto3463]

Yamaha’s are my favourite bike

[@jeremy_beckers]

Great review guys. This bike is absolutely beautiful.

[@astreet339]

Chase it’s cool to see you stepping more in front of the camera and doing these!

[@SMLChase]

Thanks Andy!

[@astreet339]

@@SMLChase yea no worries, your doing a good job 👍

[@herbcanter2114]

Incredible bike , it's fantastic everywhere .

[@Drtyyyy]

So funny you say the comment about the forks being too stiff for you. Have a 22 and i was fighting the dam machine.. Thing would not corner for shit bc my lightass couldnt even get close to a full stroke on the forks. Did nothing except re spring the bike... Best stock suspension ive ever rode...

[@yamahakid450f]

Full stroke? You don't want to do that, you want it to settle just past the initial part of the stroke, basically entering around the mid part of the stroke.. if you end up past that in the bottom or blow totally through the stroke, there's much bigger issues lol. Is it standing up or what? A big issue is people braking in the corner, tapping their brakes, or using the clutch and completely ruining their corner.. these bikes don't really need the clutch at all in corners, it'll easily lug and pull out of the corner fine, even in a gear high. Do all your braking before the entry, roll your corner wirh momentum, and roll the throttle on after the apex entering the exit part of the corner. The flatter the corner the more weight youll need on the outside peg, dont dip your inside elbow/shoulder and keep your head and body centered, and sit in the pocket towards the very front of the seat.. the bike will want ti go where you're looking. Another thing is ride on the balls of your feet, keep toes pointed in and knees gripped, toes pointed in are a lot more important than people think. But the main issues i always see are people slipping the clutching like a 125 and holding it wide open to sound fast..just stay away from the clutch, if you have to then shift down, or they charge the corner like a mad man and use the brakes going into the corner or they brake before the mid part due to too much entry speed, which stands them up and/or pulls their front end out of the rut. I can still corner with really stiff suspension, ive ridden A class in enduro tight single track on my freestyle setup cause I didn't have an extra set of forks or shock. i just added some handguards, put the stock seat on, and ran a pre filter for the airfilter cause of the grab holes...It may take more effort to initiate the lean/entry, but with proper technique it'll corner fine, you'll feel a lot more chatter transfered to your hands everywhere when its stiff... and the likelihood of having the rear-end come around on a flat corner goes up with a really stiff set up, but honestly, a stock 250f should be okay for majority of peoples weight. I'd say it's more in the valving, it's probably not right for your speed and ability... I'd get it revalved and while you're doing that go with a lower spring rate. The biggest thing on taking your suspension to have worked on, don't let ego get in the way when asked speed/skill level... most people say their a class higher than they actually are and by doing that you'll never get a set up that's good or in the ball park that just needs fine tuning with clicker adjustments.

[@Jake-rp9cv]

Hey i'm having the same issue with a 19 yz 250f. Stock suspension, 150 lbs, slightly softer than stock clickers and I can't get the bike to use the last 2" of travel on big cases or OJ's. What springs did you go down to?

[@ryanharradine8780]

How will this bike be in stock form for a 6'3" tall rider

[@Kawiboy]

Enjoyed it Fellas ✊💪✌️😉

[@scottmorgan6099]

Awesome bike, thanks guys!

[@jdub264]

How’s the transmission and overall reliability?

[@moneyontrees6]

Wait till next year, you know what's coming.

[@herbcanter2114]

Yup , an all new even more kickass YZ250F .

[@jpesicka999]

Ya I would like it even more if/when it drops some weight like the 450 did.

[@2_stroke_brothers121]

Yeah and you know new designed bikes always have theyr pros and cons the 2024 will first have to proof that its better then the 23

[@TrickRacing]

@@2_stroke_brothers121yep and i found out its worse then the 23. Less stable, less bottom end , and stiffer front suspension . It turns better and is more roomy in the cockpit but they did not improve more then they lost. Stability

[@Cdoles610]

@@TrickRacing so you would prefer the old chassis to the new. I’m 5’9” and I’m not worried about cramped rider compartment but I can get a great deal on a 24 yz250fx which is the old chassis right now or wait for the new chassis. Bottom end is damn important off-road and I keep hearing g about the loss of it in the new gen. I’m doing a 70/30 split off-road single track to moto.

[@troyc333]

It does all those great things for great riders, but for the rest of us. We just look cool leaning up against it at the track.

[@threadoflife]

Should I buy a 2024 with the re design over this?

[@worscohli]

Would you reccomend this bike to a beginner? Ive ridden several times throughout out, but never owned a dirtbike just my bobber. Also the clutch is worrisome, i rmbr shifting being the hardest thing for me on a bike, especially with those boots, is there any specific bike that makes it easier to shift gears?

[@KeepItRoostin]

I love my '23 but I've heard the Honda 250 is probably the easiest bike to ride. Honestly you cant go wrong with any of these bikes even suzuki. (if you find a steal)

[@NotoriousFrmTheD]

Soundtrack?

[@astreet339]

#holeshot