450 vs 300: 2023 Yamaha YZ450F vs 2023 Husqvarna TX300 Comparison: Game Changers!

2023 Yamaha YZ450F and 2023 Husqvarna TX300 Heritage Edition back to back comparison ride on an old school GP track. 2023 model year 4-stroke and 2-stroke Game Changers! Back to back rides are a great way to get a feel for the different characteristics of each bike. My thoughts on each bike after riding them back to back....

YZ450F Lap Time 2:09.8
The updated '23 YZ450F has great agility, especially for a 450F. The engine has 2-stroke quick response that may be too quick for some riders. I have used the Yamaha Power Tuner phone app to dial back the throttle response. It helped a little but I think this engine can be dialed back more by creating your own map. I opened up the clickers on the moto focused KYB suspension for this old school GP track ride but there was still a lot of damping. For a full on moto focused 450F this bike is a lot of fun on this old school track.

300XC Lap Time 2:10.0
After jumping off the '23 YZ450F the '23 TX300 engine which has a fast revving and powerful engine felt somewhat smooth and controllable for a 55 hp 2-stroke. Power is quick and responsive with almost no engine braking or vibration. I was over slowing for some of the corners - the TX300 is lightweight feeling. The suspension felt plush and comfortable even with only 1-hour of ride time from new and the all new chassis feels compliant and comfortable with a 300 2-stroke engine. The TX300 feels very agile on in motion yet stable and planted on the higher speed sections of the track. I quickly adapted to the lightweight and fast handling TX300 and turned a lap time within 0.2 secs of the YZ450F lap time. Impressive!

Both of these bikes are what I call game changers for the 2023 model year. The 2023 YZ450F Yamaha sets a new bar for agility and unique feeling 450F: more like a powerful 350F in terms of agility. The 2023 TX300 (like the '23 KTM 300XC) sets a new bar for 2-stroke performance with big power and strong partial throttle linear torque. Looking forward to more back to back rides with these bikes!