Dirt bike launches are always a good gig, but the 2012 Yamaha WR450F launch was definitely one of the best I’ve attended in Australia. Normally the manufacturer will fly you and several other journos into a prime location, showcasing enough bikes for everyone plus a few extra for static photos.

At your disposal is also a few primo test tracks and all the food and drink you’ll need to get through a day or two of moto. This time it was different. Yamaha Australia contracted Coffs Harbour Detour (one of the country’s premier trail bike tour companies) to take us on a two-day trail adventure through the mountainous terrain surrounding the Coffs Harbour region.

Just picture 20 riders locked in an ego-battle through slick forest and gnarly single track. As representatives of the industry’s leading magazines and websites, an inevitable cross contamination of rider ability and publication-pecking-order would occur.

This results in thorough testing of the bikes, and, all trail etiquette goes out the window. With big wheelstands, big slides, rude passing manouevers and the occasional high-side, no frame rail is left unscathed, no radiator left unroosted, and every bike’s rev-limiter has been found and tested before the morning tea stop – even if it were by some of the punters hitting a false neutral.

There’s nothing like the bond that forms over a trail tour – it really brings the media together. A lot of mag-slagging and web-slaying takes place at every regroup. Under the peaceful privacy of the forest canopy, we let fly with a bit of honest criticism of each other’s respective media. It’s healthy competition and for every serve of editorial abuse, an equal or greater amount of roost is dished up on trail.

Yamaha are all too familiar with the dynamic between the journos, so they have their own mediator in place to keep it real. Enter Stephen Gall. Picture perfect style, immaculate trail etiquette and enough speed to run with the best of them, Gally is on hand to implement demoralizing passes on deserving riders, or simply help those who’ve fallen back on their bike.

Even MotoOnline captain Alex Gobert was in the thick of it, but mainly because his feet can’t reach the ground to keep him balanced in the slick stuff and he’d spear off into the bush or bin it in a creek. “What’s ‘The Go’ Alex?”, was the only moral support I’d offer while coasting past him in these situations.

The Dorrigo Pub was a great intermission between being sideways for two days on a bike too. The hotel rooms doubled as drying booths for helmets, boots, knee braces and sloppy nylons. With a shower and a few ales under our belt, we’d recap all the trail antics and stupidity over a good country feed. Incorporating a trailride into the launch really was the best way to test the bike in its element too, because we were basically using them as 90 percent of the consumers would.

As for the 2012 WR450F, I’ll be honest in saying it’s best the one Yamaha has released. And it’d want to be with the amount of developments needed to merge the existing motor into a motocross style chassis. I overheard a couple of the more recreational journos say it felt just like the old one, which I think is a good thing.

It’s a success in the fact that Yamaha have not sacrificed the smooth trail manners despite enhancing its racing pedigree. It’s obvious these particular riders aren’t pushing the bike into situations where you really appreciate the extra frame stability and front to rear balance of the bike. The older model was a comfortable sled that would go anywhere and climb anything without beating you up, but it didn’t like getting bucked around in the rough conditions that form in a racing environment.

This is the number one reason all the pro Yamaha boys rode YZ450Fs in the AORC and A4DE last year. The 2012 however, has the underlying dynamic of the YZs when you’re smashing it into bumps, not to mention it has a very predictable and accurate front end. There’s still a bit of weight in the stock bike, but it can resume a straight line after an ugly deflection a lot better than the previous model did.

I’m guessing the Yamaha boys will be more competitive on a race-spec 2012 WR450F than they were on last year’s ballistic YZs, especially during the final hour of the harrowing Cross Countries. I think it’s going to be a good year for the new WR450F, whether in racing or sales.