Yamaha YXZ1000R Ride Review
- Updated: October 15, 2015
photos by Adam Campbell
Yamaha doesn’t want you grenading your front differential like you can on many other machines if you’re not careful, so they’ve created what they call their Spike Torque Limiter System and I love what they’ve done here. It’s essentially a clutch system that prevents the differential from receiving sudden blasts of torque when the front wheels turn faster than the drive train, this can happen while hammering through whoops or if you’re hard on the gas while the front wheels are off the ground. I like that this isn’t an electrical gizmo that retards the motor or some sort of cushion device in the differential itself, instead this is a heavy duty drive-train clutch pack located directly between the front drive shaft and the transmission. Well done Yamaha!
A big reason that this machine has been so looked forward to for about eight years now is Yamaha’s proven track record of making well-thought-out dependable off road products. I was especially looking forward to a durable, well-planned, high-performance Side-by-Side with good attention to detail, proper fit and finish, ease of maintenance and ingenious new inventions. Yeah, I expect Yamaha products to be that unprecedented, and after a long day of hard riding, the YXZ didn’t disappoint me one bit!
I want to touch on a few notables that back up what I said above. It sure was hot in the desert, and having a sun top sure was nice, even better is the fact that it’s not an available accessory, it comes stock on all models. What’s more the top, which is seamlessly integrated into the chassis, doesn’t hinder your view when you’re about to blitz up a big dune. This, combined with the short quick-sloping hood allowed me to see approaching terrain better than any UTV I’ve driven! What’s especially amazing here is the seats are a whole three inches lower than an RZR yet visibility is not compromised.
I’m also big on doors in a sport-performance UTV and love the fact that the YXZ doesn’t cheat you out of the other half of the door. With no half-door I felt more secure in the vehicle. There wasn’t any mud and water on this ride, but if there was it wouldn’t be all over me or my passenger. The doors incorporate automotive style latches and coil style door return springs.
Front and rear plastic is all-Yamaha and really sharp if you ask me. Strange, because I wasn’t loving the look of the machine until I walked up on it in person. The front fenders look YFZ-inspired, this is appropriate as the sleek distinctive YFZ is undoubtedly the best 450 sport quad on the market. The front fenders wrap their way to four LED headlights, an LED tail light is also stock equipment. It’s a wicked-looking front end no doubt, but as much as I liked the look I was concerned that the plastic might overhang too much past the lights, we didn’t have time for a night ride but I was told the little overhang that covers the top portion of the headlights doesn’t hinder light output much at all.
The lightweight cargo bed, with its sleek straight lines, can carry up to 300 pounds and features a water resistant sealed storage compartment. It also has four steel tie-down points that are welded to the frame so you can ratchet down something and trust that it will be there when you go to take it off.
Yamaha was careful as can be as not to get dirt into the engine, and I love them for it. The big high volume air intake is between the two seats in the cab, where it can gulp the cleanest air possible. Meanwhile two air filters are used in an easy-to-get-to, no-tools-needed box behind the seats. Yes, two filters collect dirt so your engine doesn’t, one is a big oiled foam unit, the other a wet pleated paper type. I like this a lot. When you stop and think about it, ATVs can get away with with one good filter, UTV churn and roost a lot more dirt and deservedly need two indeed.
As for the tire and wheel department, Yamaha worked closely with Maxxis to create special-built 27-inch, 6-ply radial Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 radial tires and mounted them to 14-inch cast aluminum wheels. If you get the 60th Anniversary Yellow and Black Special Edition the Maxxis Bighorns are bolted to four really sharp-looking gold beadlock aluminum wheels. I talked with Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson about running bigger tires. He switched to a set of 29” GBC Dirt Commanders and said the YXZ performs great with them. He said 30” tires should be no problem as well.
As you can tell by now I love this new Yamaha, however there are a few little things that I need to get off my chest if I’m offering up an honest review. The main thing is that this machine isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking to just cruise around the dunes or trails and you’ve never ridden, raced or driven a manual transmission before, you would do a lot better with a Side-by-Side with a CVT, perhaps Yamaha’s Wolverine (see my review of the 2016 Yamaha Wolverine R-Spec here). The YXZ is for hardcore pure performance people that want complete control of a machine that is capable of much more than a point A to B commute.
As much as I liked the comfy seats with good side bolsters to keep you tucked in I wasn’t a fan of the reclined position they’re in and found myself sitting up in the seat whenever I was driving aggressively, which is about 95% of the time in the YXZ. The good news here is it doesn’t look like it would take much to modify the seat if you too felt a little too reclined, or perhaps better yet, you could sell the seats on eBay and install a couple race seats, just make sure they look as cool as the YXZ does.
This great cutaway shows the location of the dry sump oil tank.
Yamaha opted to go with a dry sump oil tank, which is well-built and includes baffles to allow proper oil circulation regardless of the angle of the vehicle. This was done in an effort to bring the weight of the engine as low as possible, as I said the result is an extremely planted feel. The car seems to stick to the ground with no body roll, but I’m not a fan of where they located the tank. It’s in the passenger rear wheel well. Although it’s thick, appears durable and it is covered with a plastic guard, I would still be a little nervous about rocks hitting it or its oil lines. If you ride or race in rocky areas you might look into relocating it.
Last on my gripe-list is the fact that you will need to spend $650 for a bolt on alternator kit if you want to run a light bar, stereo or any other accessory that requires significant amps. Also you’ll need to relocate the oil lines in order to bolt the alternator on. I’m told the alternator comes as a kit and includes all you need to relocate the lines.
YXZ accessories are top shelf stuff!
I was told there will soon be over 50 accessories for the YXZ1000R. There are already over 20, fortunately they had a vehicle there that was fully equipped with just about everything that is currently available. All the accessories I looked over were very well made. The fit and finish is just as nice as the machine itself since the accessories were built into the vehicle right from the beginning, no drilling, using self-tapping screws or wire cutting required! These are well made Genuine Yamaha products and definitely worth a look for whatever your needs might be.
The 2016 Yamaha YXZ1000R is assembled at Yamaha’s U.S. factory in Newnan, Georgia and units have already been available at dealers, that is if you can get there the day they come off the truck. I’ve heard that many dealers are selling them over retail price. The YXZ starts at $19,799, while the SE that I tested is $21,599 and adopts Yamaha’s heritage color and graphic scheme and adds the sharp-looking gold bead lock wheels.
Click to my YXZ1000R SE Ride Review here, and to yamahamotorsports.com for more on Yamaha’s hot new YXZ1000R
