Buddy crossed over to Honda after being blue, here is his story

[adaguy]

For Three years my buddy has rode the yz450 without as much as a squawk out of his bike. He has never had to reshim or do any major repair.

Last year he crossed over to the cr450. Having heard the rumors about the valves, he was very religious in the maintenance of the Honda. He also thought allot of the Hondas premature valve problems was due to dirt falling off of the filter into the boot upon removal of the air filter. So every time he cleaned the air filter he also removed the boot to make sure it was completely cleaned.

Long story short he had to replace the valves and head after just one season. He started to inquire to his other cr buddies and discovered that they all couldn’t get more than one season out of their head and valves.

My buddy still loves his Honda but has come to terms that the cost to ride the magnificent beast just costs more.

So am I Honda bashing? No, I believe the Honda is a great bike that is a force to reckoned with, but I don’t like the idea of losing riding time due to the bike being in the shop and also having my wallet eight hundred dollars lighter every year.

My hat goes off to the engineers at Yamaha for allowing me to use my money on fun stuff instead of major repairs.

[djbiker]

i feel the same way about my crf450 i love riding it as much as my 426 but i have never done more than change the oil and fill up my gas tank on the 426 my crf has had new valves springs piston and cam

[TimFurryBalls]

And thank goodness we all know that the valve problems are caused by an overly aggressive cam grind to make up for the single cam design, MULTIPLIED by the fact that some people over rev their engines, don't change the engine oil frequently, and run dirty air filters longer than they should. . .

[Ga426owner]

And thank goodness we all know that the valve problems are caused by an overly aggressive cam grind to make up for the single cam design, MULTIPLIED by the fact that some people over rev their engines, don't change the engine oil frequently, and run dirty air filters longer than they should. . .

and how much $ is invested in that ride Tim?

[dmoney2023]

Wow. I love my 426. It is six years old now and it still runs like a dream. I bought and xr400 back in 2000 when the new four strokes were coming out and I knew I'd have one someday. It was a long wait but it was worth it. I just hope they can do it all over again with the 2006. They are making some big claims with this bike, if they don't live up to it then there'll be hell to pay. But I'll never give up my 426!!!

[grayracer513]

When you take a solid design and build it out of uncompromisingly good materials you get the kind of results that Yamaha does. There's nothing more to it than that.

The CRF450 is a great motorcycle, but the cost of owning one is too high. Reading their forums is mind boggling.

[sirthumpalot]

I've heard of stainless valve kits for the CRF's. Does anyone know if this cures the premature wear problem without noticeable performance differences? It's unusual for Honda to have a motor that requires this much major maintenance; the XR line were darn near bullet proof. I guess they just decided that the performance they wanted was worth the increased maintenance costs.

[Satch0922]

it's all a conspiracy I tell ya!!!!!!!!

Even if they didn't blow up I would not ride a pink...ummm...errr....I mean "red" bike.

[yz_for_me]

...I guess they just decided that the performance they wanted was worth the increased maintenance costs.

Exactly. I think it is/was a calculated decision on Honda's part to go for all out performance and to heck with increased maintenance. Although Yamaha seems to be able to get great performance out of their motors without sacrificing ease of maintenance. On the other hand, Honda can't make enough CRF's as it is, so they really don't have a big incentive to redesign the motor for greater reliability.

[MisterMan]

feel the same.

[btc20mx]

there is only one thing to do. we must ban together and take back our forsaken yamaha rider and forgive him because he has been brain washed into thinking red is better. Send him pm's and emails with an 06 yz450 on it.

[grayracer513]

I've heard of stainless valve kits for the CRF's. Does anyone know if this cures the premature wear problem without noticeable performance differences? It's unusual for Honda to have a motor that requires this much major maintenance; the XR line were darn near bullet proof. I guess they just decided that the performance they wanted was worth the increased maintenance costs.

What I have heard is that with the stainless valves, they start beating up the seats. They have issues with exhaust valve guides because they have rocker arms instead of bucket tappets. And no one is ever going to convince me that it's anything more than the fact that they had a production cost decision to make regarding the materials and quality of the finished piece, and they let the bean counters tell them what to use. Yamaha, it would seem, told the bean counters to find the money somewhere else, and used what the engineers called for.

[Ga426owner]

When you take a solid design and build it out of uncompromisingly good materials you get the kind of results that Yamaha does. There's nothing more to it than that.

The CRF450 is a great motorcycle, but the cost of owning one is too high. Reading their forums is mind boggling.

BINGO BINGO BINGO.................and that is how I talk myself out of one everytime!!!

Thanks again GreyRacer you da man!

[Ga426owner]

What I have heard is that with the stainless valves, they start beating up the seats. They have issues with exhaust valve guides because they have rocker arms instead of bucket tappets. And no one is ever going to convince me that it's anything more than the fact that they had a production cost decision to make regarding the materials and quality of the finished piece, and they let the bean counters tell them what to use. Yamaha, it would seem, told the bean counters to find the money somewhere else, and used what the engineers called for.

again mo money ....thank you thank you thank you..........or should I say no thank you...

hurry up November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SCIENCE]

I have to disagree w/you regarding the CRF. My '04 CRF450R had 60+ hours on it and the valves were well w/in spec when I sold it. Are guys having valve problems w/their CRF's? Absolutely! I think that it's avoidable if you change the oil religiously, and always run a fresh air filter. One of my riding buddy's had valve problem 20 hours in clearly due to lack of maintenance. He liked to change his air filter monthly!

As w/anything mechanical, you have to keep up with the service. That being said, I think Yamaha has a much better design. It still needs to be maintained, but wears better. However, they can't seem to get their bikes to market in a timely fashion. So, a 2006 CRF is my garage!

[s3706]

Yamaha does not like to rush PERFECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grayracer513]

I have to disagree w/you regarding the CRF. My '04 CRF450R had 60+ hours on it and the valves were well w/in spec when I sold it.

60! Oh, my! My '03 has something like 180-200 on it now, and has never needed a valve adjustment. THAT is what we consider good service life. Junior's '01 got it's first valve job early this year at right around 400. 60? Give me a break.

The thing that really bugs me is when people start making the excuse that the CRF's act like they do because of a compromise to high performance. To that, I can only point out that the XR650, the CBR 600 and 1000, and the RC51 do not have any such problem, and their performance levels are beyond dispute. Honda knows how it should be done.

[SCIENCE]

I wish I could get out 100+ hours per year! My point is that there are many, if not most, CRF's out there w/100+ hours that are still running strong. Is the design as maint free as Yamaha? No way! You have to have a religious maint schedule w/the CRF's. Alot of owners are lazy and in return have valve problems. Is the CRF motor easier to ride fast and the chasis rider friendly to all levels? Absolutely!

I really hoped that the 2006 YZ450F would bring me back to blue as I've ridden Yamaha's since the '70's. Unfortunately, Yamaha is taking their sweet time getting these bikes to market. I may only ride once a week, but didn't want to miss out on the fall/early winter riding around here. Hence, I have an '06 CRF in my garage. Yamaha missed a tremendous sales opportunity w/the late release. Yes, most hardcore Yami guys (which I'm still one) will wait. But the guys w/cash-in-hand, who are on the fence will already be riding & racing red, yellow, green or orange for 5 months before anyone throws a leg over an '06 YZF! This has more than one Yamaha dealer concerned!

[gonzo]

Get the best of both worlds and buy the RMZ450. You get the excellent performance of the Honda and the durability of the Yamaha.

[grayracer513]

I wish I could get out 100+ hours per year!

Yamaha missed a tremendous sales opportunity w/the late release. Yes, most hardcore Yami guys (which I'm still one) will wait. But the guys w/cash-in-hand, who are on the fence will already be riding & racing red, yellow, green or orange for 5 months before anyone throws a leg over an '06 YZF! This has more than one Yamaha dealer concerned!

3 hours of riding per day, 3 ride days per month (on average), 12 months a year = 108 hours.

The "late release" was originally scheduled for '07, and in the end, there won't be any left over production.

...buy the RMZ450. You get the excellent performance of the Honda and the durability of the Yamaha.

https://thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=285242

All that, and a manually adjusted cam chain.