History of the Yamaha YZ400 1976-1979 / DirtBikeDudeZ

The History of the Yamaha YZ400 from 1976 to 1979 SUBSCRIBE for more dirt bike history and rebuilds. History: Introduced in 1976, the Yamaha YZ400 (YZ400C) was thought to be little more than a repainted version of the Yamaha MX400. However, it incorporated a number of "works" parts that weren't on the MX400. The YZ400C had good performance, but the frame and handling were flawed. In 1977, Yamaha redesigned the frame, engine and suspension. The YZ400D was an improvement over the earlier model, but handling was still lacking because the round swing arm tended to flex when cornering. For 1978, the rear swing arm was replaced with a boxed aluminum swing arm. Suspension travel was increased as well. Out of the whole YZ400 range, the YZ400E is considered to be the best of the bunch. 1979 saw another redesign for the YZ400. The YZ400F (not to be confused with the four-stroke machine of the same name) got improved handling, FIM-type side number plates and a new engine. However, a number of people consider this engine to be a step backwards from the 1978 engine. !!!KEEP ON BRAAAAPIN!!! DirtBikeDudeZ