They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Power: The '80 YZ 250's low-end power was rather mellow. The power quickly surged into an unbelievably strong mid-range. The bike's engine would wind into the upper RPM range with authoritive power.

Suspension: For its time, the suspension performance was very good. The rear would absorb the big hits, and take up some of the small and medium bumps fairly comfortably. Yamaha never came to grips with the odd handling characteristics inherit with the "DeCarbon" backbone monoshock design. It would hop sideways, or "Yamahop", on sharp, squared off hits when braking. The forks worked very well, and offered a great deal of initial travel plushness. By today's standards, the suspension performance is rather archaic.

Handling: Yamaha's redesigned 250 MX bike was front end light. Due to its fantastic mid-range power surge and overall light weight, the machine was incredibly easy to wheelie. Compare to its predecessors, the '80 YZ 250 turned very well. However, it's not a turn carving fool. The bike's high speed stability is great.

Reliability: Overall, not many YZ owners complained about the bikes reliability. It was a strong runner.

Odds & Ends: The bike was rather low-slung. Taller riders felt cramped on the bike. The transmission was a 6-speeder. This, combined with the bikes light weight, decent suspension, and improved turning ablilities, made the '80 YZ 250 a very versatile and popular dirt bike for its day! If you find one in reasonable condition, buy it! They still make great trail/play bikes!