Yamaha YXZ1000R Ride Review
- Updated: October 15, 2015
photos by Adam Campbell
Some have said they think they might get tired of shifting every time they take their UTV out for a ride, I suppose I can see this side of the debate, but in all honesty after my five hours of seat time in the YXZ1000R I never once wished I didn’t have to shift it. The gas, brake and clutch pedals were spaced perfectly, the steering is clean tight and effortless so letting go with one hand to bang a gear real quick is no sweat. In fact, one of my favorite things about the YXZ is that it allowed me to drive the machine just like I ride a sport quad. Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson said it best when he said it’s just like riding a big quad. Having the ability to wind out each gear, short shift it, stab the clutch or knock it down two gears for a hard 180 — all made me enjoy the machine that much more. What’s more, shifting became second nature and was done without looking. Shifting is also quick and easy since the shifter operates with a short-stroke. Not once did I miss a gear or experience any transmission malfunctions or noises. This is a well-built extremely heavy duty system. Even shifting into reverse was a cinch. Just stab the lever near the wheel with your left hand and push forward on the shifter with your right, much like the Raptor 700R.
I will admit I purposely shifted several times without the clutch. You can do this easily if you match the speed and revs, a lot like a big-rig semi truck. Yamaha has had a reputation for building some of the best problem-free transmissions in the industry so I am going to predict that even this first-year-effort will be a good one for years to come. There were even a few times during hard fast left hand turns that I found myself with my left hand pulling the wheel to the left and my right braced on the shifter, yeah you read that right, it’s certainly not how you’re supposed to drive the machine but nonetheless I’m telling you about it, I continued to pull back on the shifter after it had already shifted up a gear – I’m not saying you should do this too, I am saying it because I found it to be a really sturdy shift system, and I was extra impressed to find that my mistake of bearing down on the shifter doesn’t affect the shift engagement at all.
If you plan to race your new YXZ in the woods, the Rekluse clutch system will be your best friend.
For racing, especially cross country racing, where you need full concentration to swerve through trees and obstacles, I would highly recommend installing the Rekluse Clutch System, which is available as an accessory for $799. My friend and multi-time Pro ATV champion, Shane Hitt, who has owned a YXZ for a month already, said something that stuck with me, “If you think you can shift that thing at 9000 RPM’s running 40 MPH in the woods for a couple hours without hitting a tree, you’re pretty good.” Shane makes a good point, but with a little tweaking I think the Yamaha can and will win a lot of cross country races in the near future. Shane and I both agree that you will have to pick your spots where you can shift and where you can’t afford to take your right hand off the wheel, having the Rekluse Clutch will undoubtedly reduce race mistakes as it automatically applies clutching perfectly 100% of the time without error. This combined with the fact that you can wind the machine all the way up to 10,500 RPM means you should be able to carry second or third gear for long periods of time until you’re in a straight spot where you can afford a quick second to stab up or down a gear. And, you have to ask yourself, how nice will it be to not have to carry a spare CVT belt and tools to change it in the glove box? The thought of never breaking a rubber band again makes shifting even more enjoyable in my opinion, especially if a Rekluse system is added and you don’t have to think about stabbing at a clutch for hours on end during the race. I talked with factory-backed Yamaha racer, Dustin Nelson, who has already raced his YXZ at a WORCS race. Dustin did not install a Rekluse Clutch System but has driven a machine with one and very much liked it. He also agreed that it would be a must-have for east coast racers. Yamaha says it takes about two hours to install the system.
The roomy modern-day cab is very well thought out.
Going into the ride, I figured, with all the manual shifting needed, I would have plenty to keep me busy, and didn’t care much about Yamaha’s positioning of their On Command knob. When I drive a UTV I rarely switch out of four-wheel-drive anyway, so between us I haven’t cared much where a manufacturer put the 2WD / 4WD switch, that is until I started fiddling with Yamaha’s center console On-Command dial location, which also incorporates a parking brake handle, headlight switch, and of course their one and only – and only one in the industry – sequential manual shift lever. Yep, the big mechanical On Command dial, which allows you to seamlessly transition between 2WD, 4WD and 4WD full diff lock settings, is so perfectly located you can’t help but switch it once in a while. This is especially nice if you pin yourself to the seat with four or five point harnesses, (which I highly recommend by the way), as there’s no trying to reach for a switch up on the dashboard. And trust me, pitching the machine sideways in a roost-infested 2WD powerslide is a lot of fun in this machine.
