A Yamaha To Bear Hunt With

For our 2024 Yamaha YZ450F test bike/Garage Build we hooked up with Eddie Laret, as he is a former professional MX/SX mechanic turned weekend warrior. We wanted to see where we could improve on a bike that is already one of the best off the showroom floor. The 23/24 Yamaha YZ450F chassis was changed, body work was improved for a more seamless look, the frame was revised, and the engine got an increase in overall power. For a vet rider there is some room for improvement within the chassis and engine. After riding the bike in stock trim, we wanted a smoother engine feel as well as a chassis that needed a little more straight-line stability for a race such as the Mammoth Mountain MX event. We didn’t want to get out of control with engine mods or chassis upgrades, so keeping the cost down was in our mind within this build. We felt with some minor tweaks and a few aftermarket parts from our contributors we could help the YZ450F be more comfortable for a vet rider.