10 worst dirtbikes of all time...

[Marc.com]

The first YZF400 takes my vote as the one of the worst bike ever.
This bike changed the life of many a rider> 
and the guy who was the supposed development rider was held up as a hero.
Noel   

Hi Noel, who was the development rider ?

[All Things 414]

Doug Henry wasn't it?

[motomaniac]

1997 CR250.

Yes that was onebike that I hated.Sold it at a huge loss and luckily lept my 94 .Still got it.

[NR555]

The first YZF400 takes my vote as the one of the worst bike ever.
This bike changed the life of many a rider> 
and the guy who was the supposed development rider was held up as a hero.
Noel   

That's a bit harsh Noel.. I was stoked to be able to race a 4 stroke that could beat the 2 strokes.

What's wrong with the YZ400F?  It was a pretty good bike.  Same with the 250F.  Good from the get-go.  The 426 and some of the early 450 versions were monsters though!

[Marc.com]

Doug Henry wasn't it?

He was one of them, but also I know a couple of people who worked for the factory during testing. I think the YZF400 was a watershed model as its basic design became the standard for all the 4 stroke race bikes that followed. 426 was probably better engine as Yamaha had some field experience by then.

[NR555]

1997 CR250.

Yes that was onebike that I hated.Sold it at a huge loss and luckily lept my 94 .Still got it.

Yep, I rode a 97 back-to-back with my 93.  Good power, but just had this bad 'solid' feeling about it.  Basically no frame flex at all.  You don't realise how much give there is in a chro-mo frame until you ride a 97 CR250.

[motomaniac]

1997 CR250.

Yes that was onebike that I hated.Sold it at a huge loss and luckily lept my 94 .Still got it.

Yep, I rode a 97 back-to-back with my 93.  Good power, but just had this bad 'solid' feeling about it.  Basically no frame flex at all.  You don't realise how much give there is in a chro-mo frame until you ride a 97 CR250.

IMO as well as that solid feeling , I also felt that the power and ergo's were better on the 94.

[EML]

Wouldn't Mikkola have been the test rider for the early YZ and there is the story about him digging a hole during the lunch break and trying to bury it!!

[Husky500evo]

Wouldn't Mikkola have been the test rider for the early YZ and there is the story about him digging a hole during the lunch break and trying to bury it!!

No, that was Hakan Carlqvist in the early eighties.

[motomaniac]

Wouldn't Mikkola have been the test rider for the early YZ and there is the story about him digging a hole during the lunch break and trying to bury it!!

Heiki Mikkola managed team Yamaha for one year after retiring(around1980) and then got away from bikes.Hes an organic vegitable farmer just out of Helsinki.

Doug Henry and Andrea Bartolini were the guys who gave the yz400 their race debuts in the US nationals and WORLD series but like MARCFX said there was lots of testing done by the Yamaha testers first .Doug Dubach was involved I heard.

[basil44]

The YZ400F had a motor too good for it's shitbox chassis, the japs should have used the Husaberg chassis as well as copying the engine-same bore and stroke as 400 Berg, same type of piston design (no skirt ) to produce a fast reving lightweight 4 stroke engine. The japs have always copied the Euros and most of the time made it better! That first 400F put a lot of people in the intensive-care ward, as bad as any 3 wheeler. The story I heard was Yamaha bought a 501 Berg and a 400 Berg to see what made them go so fast and the rest is history!

[E74]

The YZ400F had a motor too good for it's shitbox chassis, the japs should have used the Husaberg chassis as well as copying the engine-same bore and stroke as 400 Berg, same type of piston design (no skirt ) to produce a fast reving lightweight 4 stroke engine. The japs have always copied the Euros and most of the time made it better! That first 400F put a lot of people in the intensive-care ward, as bad as any 3 wheeler. The story I heard was Yamaha bought a 501 Berg and a 400 Berg to see what made them go so fast and the rest is history!

Absolutely correct!, Husaberg were the inovators of the modern 4 stroke motor, the Japs just coppied/ stole their technology, and KTM had to buy it to obtain it.

[JohnnyO]

Doug Dubach was and still is 1 of the main test and devolopment riders for the YZF Yamahas. Henry and Bartolini were the guys that got to race the ultra trick works Yamaha 4 strokes in '97, '98.

[Moto]

If you go back a bit further. It was Husqvarna that really started it all by putting a four stroke top end on an existing two stroke bottom end and developed them for a few years.
 When Husqvarna was sold to the Italians,a group of Husqvarna engineers and riders wished to continue developing powerful lightweight fourstrokes.Husaberg was created and the rest is history.

[mxmaniac]

Doug Dubach was and still is 1 of the main test and devolopment riders for the YZF Yamahas. Henry and Bartolini were the guys that got to race the ultra trick works Yamaha 4 strokes in '97, '98.

The header pipe was a twin pipe set up from memory on the bike Henry rode in sx..