2024 Yamaha YXZ1000R SS 6-Speed Demo Ride

To get our first impression of Yamaha new 6-speed YXZ1000R SS, we stopped by the demo truck at DuneFest, signed up, strapped in and mashed the throttle. Here’s what our GoPro captured on the ride. 

Editors note: This not our typical way of testing a new model. The lead follow of the demo team is not at the same pace as how we test during a normal session. Our test model was an XT-R model since it’s all that was available and we certainly would have choose Big Horn tires in the sand over the Maxxis Carnage rubber that comes stock on the XT-R. 

THOUGHTS

In the short, sand demo ride, we preferred the Sport Auto mode. It did a great job at holding the RPM’s high under acceleration. In fact, we saw the shift light come on several times just shy of 10,000 RPM. Our tester only felt like down or upshifting at a different time than the computer a few times. Another thing we noticed, is if you are just cruising along at any speed, you could mash the throttle down hard and it would always downshift one or two gears, to give you instant takeoff. That’s not something we remember the Honda Talon’s 6-speed transmission doing.

Overall acceleration felt about the same as the older 5-speed YXZ. We weren’t able to really feel the lower first gear as we couldn’t get into a rock crawling situation. However, every time we rolled on the throttle from a stand still, the transmission shifted from first to second very quickly. We definitely think the transmission would work a little different on other surfaces.

All in all it was a good first impression of the exciting new machine. If you are anywhere near one of Yamaha’s demo trucks,  go on one of their rides. Although our video is only 5 minutes long, the entire ride was closer to a half hour, so it’s a great way to test out any new product.