Yamaha started what it likes to refer to as the “four-stroke revolution” as they were first to release a 4-stroke motocrosser. From the time Doug Henry piloted that YZ400M to victory in an AMA SX event in Las Vegas, Yamaha’s YZs have won countless high-level racing events and established itself as the go-to 450 for many top riders. The four-stroke 449cc DOHC power plant and the frame wrapped around it have proven themselves to be some of the most reliable MXers on the market. Like all factory competition race machines, this example takes a solid proven motorcycle and bolsters its performance for racing via various significant upgrades and attention from an ace mechanic. Phil Nicoletti piloted this exact machine for the N-Fab/TiLUBE/Yamaha team in the 2013 season where he would finish overall in 17th place.
N-Fab has been making off-road accessories for trucks and SUV’s since the 1980’s. TiLUBE Racing is a pro Supercross team owned by TiLUBE that uses competition as an opportunity to promote its dyno-tested powersports lubricants, chemicals, and fuel products. These two companies joined forces with Yamaha Racing to create (the aptly named) N-Fab/TiLUBE/Yamaha team to back two riders in the Monster Energy/Lucas Oil AMA Supercross Championship’s hyper-competitive 450 class for the 2013 season. Phil Nicoletti and Chris Blose – who finished 19th overall – rode for the team aboard YZ450F’s, with Allan Brown serving as the team manager. The N-Fab TiLUBE Yamaha Racing Team would also receive supplementary support from Wiseco, Motion Pro, Podium Ink, Fusion Graphics, Dunlop, Crower Performance, ARC Levers, SDG USA, Excel A60, Ride Engineering, Crank Works, Sunstar Sprockets & Chains, Metaltek, ODI Grips, Dubya, Bermcannon, and CIA Stands.
Phil Nicoletti hails from Cohocton, New York, first developing his name as a determined privateer, building his reputation around the local Supercross circuit. The 28-year-old had a 2008 debut that resulted in a handful of top-ten finishes in the Western Regional Lites Division. In 2010, Nicoletti would bag three top-ten finishes in SX, finishing 8th in 250SX West Region. The following year, #49 would be offered a chance to compete in the supercross series in Australia for Monster Energy Kawasaki. He would finish 3rd overall in the series, but unfortunately as a result of problems with his visa, Nicoletti was forced to return to the States for 2012. He would then sign with Eleven10 Mods, finishing 5th at the 250SX East Region opener in Dallas before bagging another top five in Houston, and a top ten in New Orleans.
After frustrating results on a 250, Nicoletti opted to step into the 450 class, believing his large frame would be better suited to the larger bike. Eleven10 Mods and Nicoletti would eventually go their separate ways, resulting in the New Yorker entering competition as a full privateer. Luckily for Phil, he enjoyed decent success during this time as a privateer with back-to-back 8th overall finishes at Unadilla and Steel City and even scoring a career-best 6th place finish in the 2nd moto at Steel City. The following year the N-Fab/TiLUBE/Yamaha team would sign Nicoletti, resulting in this YZ example that is currently for sale.
This 2013 former Phil Nicoletti Yamaha YZ450 Supercross/Motocross bike is reportedly in great condition and features a full GYTR motor with only 18-hours of use on it, Hinson clutch, Vortex programmable ignition, configurable full Akrapovic exhaust, configurable throttle, fresh Enzo suspension (setup for 200lbs), and a handful of spare parts. This is one of the official N-Fab/TiLUBE/Yamaha team machines from the 2013 season that the current owner purchased directly from the race team. The example has Nicoletti’s #49 written on the frame, and the machine’s AMA MX tech sticker, verifying its previous use in professional AMA competition.
The official Lucas Oil American Motocross Youtube channel made a “Bike Check” video featuring Nicoletti’s 2013 YZ where the team’s mechanic: Joel Monusko, talks about the trick Yamaha. Though it isn’t one of James Stewart’s YZ450Fs, this is nonetheless a factory Yamaha Racing machine, decked out in just about every upgrade imaginable.
Fusion Graphix offers a cosmetic replica kit of Phil Nicoletti’s 2013 N-Fab TiLUBE Yamaha Racing Team, but this is the real deal those graphics kits are based on. This example would make a great display bike, but is also an incredible opportunity for anyone looking to buy an extremely competent MXer for a fraction of what it would cost to recreate.
You can find this ex-Phil Nicoletti N-Fab/TiLUBE/Yamaha team 2013 YZ450 race bike for sale here on Craigslist in San Diego, California with a price of $5,499.