When it was all said and done,...
When it was all said and done, we just had an absolute blast keeping our adrenaline flowing and tackling trails at high speeds with our finely tuned YFZR.
Since I have already punctured a stock tire, I ended up mounting up a set of Kenda's new Kutter XC tires to both the front and rear. With the beefier centerline knobs on these front tires, I was hoping that they would help diminish some of that push that I was experiencing while taking tight slower paced technical turns. For the rear, these tires were a good bit more aggressive and wider than the stockers. On the trail, I immediately fell in love with the new grip I was getting in the turns with these beefy front Kutter's. On the rear, sliding did become a little more difficult, but straightline traction was increased in phenomenal fashion, especially in the moist to sloppy terrains. The only negative to the newer tires were that they were a good bit heavier than the stockers, which probably robbed some power and took a little smoothness out of the ride. But that's often the tradeoff you have to make to diminish your chances for an unfortunate flat. Overall, the new Kenda Kutter XC's were an excellent fit for the type of riding I was looking to do. Be sure to check out the Sept/Oct issue of ATV Rider Magazine to see our long-term test on these tires.
One Creature Comfort
One other item that I robbed off of my old YFZ-450 and that is a creature comfort for me is Fasst Co. Flexx bar. To me, my arms and wrists appreciate the decent amount of give that these bars offer throughout a two-hour cross-country race or a day out riding. They have pretty much become a must in my regular pile of necessary parts and the best part is that they did not cost an extra dime. I already had a set.
Lastly, I decided to mount up a set of my new favorite grips. The ODI grips have locking rings on both ends of the grip, which means you do not have to struggle with grip glue. They mount up in a matter of minutes and have trick looking anodized colored rings to match the color scheme of your quad. Obviously, I went with the blue color. As far as traction on the grip itself, it's phenomenal how well they work. And as far as the grip itself slipping and turning, well, they don't.
Stay tuned as we'll be testing more products on Yamaha's YFZ-450R over the next few months.
 When modding with a pipe,...  When modding with a pipe, it's mandatory to dial in the mapping with a Fuel Management System (FMI) if you want to gain maximum performance. |  Robbing my set of Flexx Bars...  Robbing my set of Flexx Bars off of my older YFZ proved to be a great decision as they make the continuous jarring through your arms and into your body much more bearable throughout a long day of riding. |  When the terrain got a bit...  When the terrain got a bit rough, we were at ease as our Fox Shox helped absorb most of the shock under our feet. |