This bike, the 1982 Yamaha YZ-490J, has gotten so much badmouthing over the years - particularly from people young enough to have not been old enough to ride one back then (let alone not even having been yet born) - that it's just about comical.
It's an urban legend among dirt bike enthusiasts. :)
Reading my usual motorcycling message boards this morning brought me to a guy asking that age-old question:
I found a Yamaha YZ-490 [year is not important, believe it or not] for sale.
Should I buy it?
I've read bad things about them...
Well, my opinion is this:
When the 1982 YZ-490J came out, it had a bad reputation for an engine that ran like it was jetted too rich, was heavier than the other competing Open class motocross bikes, and had a newly-designed rear suspension that was not as good as the competition's.
An editor (back then) from Dirt Bike magazine, a guy who is fairly famous amoung these same dirt bike enthusiasts named Rick Sieman, nicknamed Super Hunky, pronounced the bike a complete piece of shit.
In fact, he has since made a Top 10 list of the worst dirt bikes ever made, and the YZ-490 made the list.
I have always believed that his whole opinion is based on that 1982 model, although most people reading his opinions about the YZ-490 seem to take it as meaning that any year YZ-490 is a complete piece of junk.
I know that's not true because I owned and rode a 1987 YZ-490T that was fun to own and ride.
It had no bad manners, started easily, handled well, and made lots of power.
What's not to like?
It's just a case of human nature that rumors will spread like wildfire, particularly by ones that never even swung a leg over the bike and pushed down on the kickstarter. ;)
Off to jerk,
-John
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