Riding today!
So, the weather held out, warmed up but was REALLY freaking windy!! I will work on the video this week, but for now, here are my impressions.
I was riding on a sand track, and as such, would have preferred a pipe that is mid and up in the powerband. The stock pipe is very much a low to mid affair, which I think for most all of us, in most situations, will be perfect.
I have never ridden a bike that carves corners so well in my life! Especially ruts. This bike gave me incredible confidence and more than anything, held it's line really well!
The clutch is very very light, and I have never had a hydraulic unit before (Yamaha 2 strokes) and this was a really cool thing to have on the bike. Obviously, no fade, and I was running pretty hard on it all day and did not hear any of the squeel that some of you have mentioned on earlier machines. Modulation was really easy, and doing rear wheel stands for 180 turns (EnduroX stuff) was the easiest I have ever had.
The brakes are very impressive, and I can say that the new rear brake pedal works great, and is very adjustable. I run everything pretty flat, so stock settings were all I used. Speaking of controls, the stock foot pegs ARE different to the Yamaha ones we have used in the past. I had a pair off my 07 YZ 250 that I put on and the angles are off. They fit in, but they are angled up and forward. The stock pegs are pretty good, but not quite sharp enough.
The suspension was awesome! The new air pressure adjustment for the forks works almost like adding stiffer or softer springs. I ran them at 1 1/2 tight and was pretty happy. At 170 lbs and an expert level rider, the stock springs are too soft. The rear shock was great in corners etc, but in the deep whoops I was able to blow through the stroke pretty easily. All in all, I am very impressed with the components, and think with some fine tuning from STM Suspension will make a great setup.
I was running a 172 main and a 42 pilot and felt a little rich off bottom and mid for sure. I run the bike pretty hard up top, and the main felt ok. Clay said that the stock 175 main and 45 pilot worked well for him at 900 feet, so at 5000' here in CO I think I have plenty of room to lean it out.
Two negatives to note. The transmission was pretty hard to shift into 2nd gear after using 1st and accelerating at wot. I imagine this will get better with time as things find their home. The second is easily fixable, and should be checked by all. The air boot from the air box to the carb rubs on the very sharp edge on the left subframe. Filing the sharp edge on the subframe will stop it from wearing through. In just the day of riding today I have a very noticeable groove in the boot.
The seat is very comfortable and the seat height is just right for me at 5'10". I understand that some people really like the low seat, but I found the 2011 hit it's pegs on rocks etc A LOT, and I will gladly have a slightly taller bike to avoid the pegs crashing into things.
My overall feeling of the bike is A+. I can't wait to get the suspension adjusted better and start enjoying this machine even more this year. If you are waiting to buy a 2012 I would recommend not hesitating any more. They are really good!
