2003 YZ450F ADVICE Needed

[JochenWoern]

I think I bit of more than I can chew by recently purchasing a 1999 KTM 380 EXC 2-Stroke Beast.

I have been dirt biking years ago, but have only ridden street lately, currently I am on a 2010 BMW R1200R.

My 11 year old son got the itch and we purchased a '01 Honda XR100R for him to start out. As I need to get a bike so I can ride with him, I purchased the KTM. After riding it a bit, I am almost a bit scared of it and I do not think it is the right bike to ride along with my son on trails to start him out. The powerband is way too high and aggressive for my taste.

Long story short, I think I need to get something that suits me better and is hopefully a bit less aggressive, so I am looking to trade my KTM with the YZ in the below link.

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/6113436837.html

What are your thoughts about this bike? Will it suit me better than this KTM screamer?

Thanks in advance.

[grayracer513]

Well, if you're looking for something less aggressive, the '03 YZ450F is the wrong place to look.  Their aggressive nature is exactly what the major point of criticism of the bike was, with a few people even pronouncing them as a four-stroke CR500, unrideable by mere mortals.  I had one, it wasn't as bad as that, but it was an explosive handful.

[JochenWoern]

19 minutes ago, grayracer513 said:

Well, if you're looking for something less aggressive, the '03 YZ450F is the wrong place to look.  Their aggressive nature is exactly what the major point of criticism of the bike was, with a few people even pronouncing them as a four-stroke CR500, unrideable by mere mortals.  I had one, it wasn't as bad as that, but it was an explosive handful.

Thank you for this valuable insight.

[Maiphut]

I own an '03 YZ450F and love it for the open, high speed sandy bush riding I do in Australia I have it setup for.

In saying that it's a bit of a handful at slower speeds and tight trail riding. It has a 4 speed gbox.

I can't see it putting alongside an XR100r. 

There would be better options out there, keep looking ?

[tmeyer37]

Depending on your budget and your size I would recommend going with a WR250f/450f  2003 and up I believe. Something with a kickstand and e-start. With a kid starting out there will be lots of stopping and starting and helping him pick the bike up. 

The nice thing about the WR is you can putt putt around with the kid and when it is time to go a bit faster it can handle that as well. 

[Troy Rumsey]

Any WR or CRF-X or KL-X would be a much better option. Either 250 or 450 are much more friendly than the YZ! Good info above! When teaching my boys I had and currently have an 05 YZ450F, the best mod on it is the Pro Motot Billet kickstand, especially why teaching the young ones. Now that my boys can ride, I installed an 03 CDI and it woke up my 05 considerably!

[grayracer513]

4 hours ago, Troy Rumsey said:

Now that my boys can ride, I installed an 03 CDI and it woke up my 05 considerably!

Good move, both in keeping the '05 as it was built to maintain its milder manners when that was appropriate, and in adding the alternate CDI to perk it up.

Which points out something that could be done to an '03: The bike was so severely criticized for its aggressiveness that Yamaha, IMO, overreacted in softening the timing curve on the '05.  In fact, that bike was criticized for being too sluggish and unresponsive, which had to have the engineers wondering if they could please anyone.  The '05 CDI is a snap-in simple way to calm down the '03-'04, but it's pricey if you can't find a used one, and even with that, it's still not all that great a "trail bike" in the common sense.  It would still have the close ratio gearbox, the same light flywheel, and the same low speed turning manners.

[Troy Rumsey]

Well if he ends up with the 03, I would gladly sell him my 05 CDI!