wr450 pros and cons and a lot of questions

[wantmorepower]

tell me all the pros and cons you can think of. i'm really looking into a wr450,but before i buy,i want to know what to expect. i ride fairly mild,but i dont just putt around. i dont care about the wieght; but i do care about the green sticker ability,the 37-39" seat height,and the overall size of the bike. i dont want to buy new. but the real question is: is this bike reliable? if i maintain it and not wring the life out of it, or ride tracks, will the wr survive? for the overall size of the bike,the 39.2 seat height be a problem for a 5' 10" 155 lb rider?

thanks for the help

[Chevy_Cowboy]

As a new owner of a '04 WR450, here's what I've found

Pro's:

Incredible gobs of power

amazing torque that'll loft the front wheel anytime you'd like

Fast enough to scare ya ?

Its blue ?

Con's

You'll regret not buying it YEARS ago.

You'll get less sleep because you read TT and think about your bike all night

I'd say 5'10" is plenty tall to ride a WR, theres quite a few shorter guys (and gals) who ride them just fine, and from what I've read, with strict routine maintenance these yamaha thumpers will run forever.

[WR450F_RDR]

almost 4000 miles on a 03 WR450 with no problems, a very reliable bike. I have heard that Yamaha has lowered the new 450's in comparison to the 03 so a height challenged person should not have a problem ? I also understand the new WR's are green sticker, even though I am in a non-socialist state where it doesnt matter ?

[Treebark]

I'm 5'6" almost 190lbs and have no probs until a off camber technical fumble(Where's the ground???)or dealing with my friends laughing at my take offs and the need to walk it to level ground to get on ?. I've got 1200 miles on mine and the only prob with it has been the need to do the free mods, front wheel bearings going bad at around 900 miles or so, and the E start button poping out when I drop it. I fixed the bearings with no sweat and they didn't cost much and now I put electric tape over the E start to keep the button together. The bike has been a very reliable bike compared to my friends in orange and red. As far as the power it is usable when needed or not and can alway get more with just a few bolt on parts. Would diffenitly recomend this bike, was considering waiting to buy the new crf450x(need electric start for those up hill stalls),but couldn't wait needed something to ride better than the body beater 83 XR500R. I'm really glad I got this considering I was a red guy. Get one you'll like it. ?

[jhteneyck]

I have riden all colors of bike except yellow...dont think I could do it even if ricky is riding one. The blue bike kicks butt in all areas. Good, usable power, easy to work on, parts are redily available and like it was said "it is BLUE!!" You will regret it if you dont buy it now. 2005 WR's are Kalifornika Green Sticker but all years prior are not. ?

[wantmorepower]

well since the 05s are a ripe 7000 once u get out the door with the taxes and what-not. how about a wr426 then? or am i better off with the wr450 (which i'd much rather have)i kinda dont want to shell out that much money,or splurge and worry about it later? is there anyway to make any previous year green sticker?

[Chevy_Cowboy]

I got my '04 for $5700 out the door, taxed, titled and gassed up, I cant imagine the '05s being that much higher.

As for making previous years green sticker... you could always just move out of Kalifornia, the rest of us don't have to deal with the red sticker/green sticker BS.

[Vick115]

I love my 03 WR450. Have over 2,000 miles on the street with it as well as off road. No problems with her at all.

I love this motor so much I also have an 02 YZ426 and an 04 YFZ450 quad.

[Indy_WR450]

You might want to consider a cushioned hub for a lot of street riding. Protects the gear box. ?

[Jim_bo]

-No way to make the 03 or 04 green sticker

-Height sucks. You can take it to a suspension shop to have it lowered, but that will cost you a couple inches of travel

-Very reliable bike. I have ridden the snot out of my 03. Valves have not moved.

-Great bike at speed. Feels top heavy when riding very slow in technical terrain.

Jimbo

[bstanton]

Your description sounds just like my riding style. 1400 miles on my 03 450F and no problems with anything. You can green sticker a 03 or 04 if you want to know how I'm going to do it just PM me! ?

[WR450F_RDR]

You might want to consider a cushioned hub for a lot of street riding. Protects the gear box. ?

Off-topic -Just interested in knowing what you might know Indy_WR450 about using the WR450 on the street? will the tranny hold up to periodic street use without using a cushioned hub? what wheel manufuturer makes a cushioned hub for the WR450? Any info you have would be appreciated.

[DIGITAL_SOLDIER]

The blue bikes kick butt. I sold my WR426 and bought the WR 450. Both bikes are great. You can't go wrong with either. I wouldn't have sold my 426 if I knew the auto decompressor was coming out. That was my only gripe with that bike that it was hard to start. The 450 has more power and electric foot. Both bikes were very reliable and easy to work on. The free mods are easy to do too. It's amazing how poorly the bike runs right out of the crate. With a few snips and some voodoo the bike turns into an animal. It is truly a jeckyl and hyde. My riding buddy that has a DR-Z gave me sooo much crap when he rode the bike brand new. He said his old XT225 was faster. A little tinkering later, he was choking on his words....and my roost. How does crow taste anyways? ?

[Indy_WR450]

The only rear cushioned hub that I am aware of is on the DRZ400S dual sport ( metal tank model). I would start with that stock wheel and modify the spacers, brake mounts and axles as needed to fit the Yamaha swing arm. ?

[mousemeat]

Doesn't Talon make one?

[Jackazz]

Aye, the do. Purdy too.

[jonethumpwr]

good all around bike for the average person. It depends A LOT on where you plan to ride it. It's a little tall if your inseam is less than 30".If you are riding hills and rocky areas the height will kill you when trying to put a foot down and control the bike at the same time, compared to a 250 (2-stroke) This is what you need to know not how tall the person is overall. If your 160lbs. the bike is going to feel heavier to you than it will for a 200lb. rider. I owned the WR450 for about 1 yr.before I test rode a friends CRF450 and I must say. I would have bought the CRF450 hands down if it had an elec. start and I could get a tag for it and could keep the lite weight feel but that isn't possible right now or they would do it. Just remember to add up all the facts when thinking about your next bike. That is why I mentioned the CRF vs WR. I planned on getting a tag for the WR when I bought it but then Florida stopped that and now I'm stuck riding off road only. If I knew then what I know now I would have purchased a KTM525.Only because I wanted to tag the bike. If there was no way to tag a dirt bike and that was not part of the pros and con list I was making then the CRF450 would have been my #1 choice. I think you can see by the number of CRF450's racing vs the other bikes that I'm not alone. But that's racing. Maybe you don't ride that fast/hard and want something else...... Only you can make the decision. Maybe your plans change and riding habits change, will the bike change with you ? Do you need elec. start with the new comp. release ? The old WR426 with the terrible starting steps made me want elec. start for a 4 stroke. Now the new 450 doesn't need it because they added the comp. release and the bike starts so easy. The CRF450 was like kicking a CR125 nothing to it. But you will work harder kicking sometimes than pushing that elec. buttom. Then again you work harder riding a heavier bike 100% of the time vs kicking it 2% of the time. How far do you ride at one time ? Will the small gas tank on the CRF be large enough ? Do you want to purchase an aftermarket tank or keep everything stock looking ? As you can see it's not an easy decision. Good Luck

[Top]

For the people that do own a 04' WR450 I have a question. Will a guy that is 6'1" 235lbs feel huge on it? Thanks! ?

[Chevy_Cowboy]

For the people that do own a 04' WR450 I have a question. Will a guy that is 6'1" 235lbs feel huge on it? Thanks! ?

I'm 6'1" 280lbs and it fits me great (bars are a tad low but thats an easy fix)

[icbush]

6'3" 240lbs when I bought the bike. The size is great.The CRF fotpegs feel cramped to me the WR is roomy. I had a 01 YZ426 before and loved it also. I have raced the complete gncc series this year on my WR and had no problems. I have put it through hell. Valves are in spec and Im still on the stock DID chain and Sprockets. I do ride hard I am 2nd in points 4 stk C first year racing. uncork it and roll with it. Both of my buddies with CRF have had valve issues and dont ride near as much or hard as I do. I would highly reccomend the Yamaha WR 450 but the YZ 426 is still a great bike. I would buy mine back if the guy would sell it to me. I would recomend a YZ 426 over the WR 426. The tank seat and egros are much better on the yz.