WR 450 for Trans America Trail

[Manymotos]

Currently I've ridden the TAT from Tennessee to the Oklahoma on a Suzuki DR 350. I've seen a number of plated WR 450s for sale and I feel sure if I can find one already plated or with an out of state title I can get a tag for it here in Alabama.

My main question is, how do all you WR 450 riders think the bike would do as a long distance dual sport? I'd like to finish the trail on something with a little more power. I know larger fuel tanks are available and that solves the one of the major problem. Do the bikes have any issues that would cause it not to be a good choice? It is strange that I never see these bikes on dealership floors. My biggest problem with the little DR 350 is obviously top end. It's really tapped out at 65-70 mph. This is one reason I'm not really considering the WR 250.

Any input you have will certainly be appreciated.

Thanks

[Stealth13]

Depends how you gear it , I cruise at 60mph but people will do like 16/40 and get them up to 120 mph if they want... Been a good dual sport for me

[Manymotos]

Depends how you gear it , I cruise at 60mph but people will do like 16/40 and get them up to 120 mph if they want... Been a good dual sport for me

A 60 mph cruise is fine as long as there as there is still power there in the event you need to pass while on the street. I have no need to run 100 mph at any time so if it's got the power I don't think speed will be a problem.

[GlennR]

I just bought my WR450 a couple of months ago, so I can't really say from experience how it would do. But from my perspective so far I don't know why it wouldn't be a good bike for the trip. There are quite a few of them that have been plated, but you don't hear much about how far folks travel on them. A lot are motarded, which I'm planning to do too with a second set of street wheels. My bike was plated when I bought it. It has a rear rack and an Acerbis 3.3 tank. My fuel milage is quite poor, about 32 mpg, so I'm hoping some carb work will help get it over 40.

You should check to see how difficult getting a bike plated in AL is, because it might be pretty simple. The Tusk d/s kit is only about $175, and that would make finding a plated bike not an issue. I saw an 07' listed in Hoove, AL yesterday on CL for $2500 (which is unusually low). Also saw a 6+ gallon Acerbis tank for $275 on ebay. I'd highly recommend a seat upgrade. I just bought a Seat Concepts for $159 (free shipping with ADVRIDER.com code).

Also, you may want to upgrade the stator and maybe add a radiator fan. The WR has a kickstarter, which is great to have. Be sure to check the valve clearance as soon as you get one, because they can be very costly to repair if they break.

I've seen pictures of WR450 rally bikes, but don't really know what mods they do. The 5 speed tranny is a downside, but the bike is plenty powerful to compensate. Zillions of DRZ400 guys get by with just 5 gears too. The oil capacity is only 1.2 liters, so you need to consider that.

Overall the WR450 is a huge upgrade over the DRZ400 for me. I've been doing wheelies in 4th gear, which the Suzuki never dreamed of.

[n16ht5]

it would be a great bike IMO. look up my build thread.

[Stealth13]

I just bought my WR450 a couple of months ago, so I can't really say from experience how it would do. But from my perspective so far I don't know why it wouldn't be a good bike for the trip. There are quite a few of them that have been plated, but you don't hear much about how far folks travel on them. A lot are motarded, which I'm planning to do too with a second set of street wheels. My bike was plated when I bought it. It has a rear rack and an Acerbis 3.3 tank. My fuel milage is quite poor, about 32 mpg, so I'm hoping some carb work will help get it over 40.

You should check to see how difficult getting a bike plated in AL is, because it might be pretty simple. The Tusk d/s kit is only about $175, and that would make finding a plated bike not an issue. I saw an 07' listed in Hoove, AL yesterday on CL for $2500 (which is unusually low). Also saw a 6+ gallon Acerbis tank for $275 on ebay. I'd highly recommend a seat upgrade. I just bought a Seat Concepts for $159 (free shipping with ADVRIDER.com code).

Also, you may want to upgrade the stator and maybe add a radiator fan. The WR has a kickstarter, which is great to have. Be sure to check the valve clearance as soon as you get one, because they can be very costly to repair if they break.

I've seen pictures of WR450 rally bikes, but don't really know what mods they do. The 5 speed tranny is a downside, but the bike is plenty powerful to compensate. Zillions of DRZ400 guys get by with just 5 gears too. The oil capacity is only 1.2 liters, so you need to consider that.

Overall the WR450 is a huge upgrade over the DRZ400 for me. I've been doing wheelies in 4th gear, which the Suzuki never dreamed of.

That is bad economy. I can rip on it hard and get 30mpg. Around the city I can get 50

[GlennR]

That is bad economy. I can rip on it hard and get 30mpg. Around the city I can get 50

I haven't ridden it in the city or much on the highway yet. Hopefully it will get better, but I can't imagine seeing it get 50. My carb does need some attention, so that should help too.

[Stealth13]

Depends how hard I drive it, I'm sure cruising at 50mph it will get 60 because I usually get like 5L/100km Canadian if I drive it decently.

Even over the weekend I used a lot less gas than the yz250 I rode with

Edited April 23, 2012 by Stealth13

[GlennR]

Maybe I should just convert my units to liters & km's. I'm sure my bad math would help my milage a bit !!

[Stealth13]

Not sure how many miles in a liter but the Canada mpg is also a bit different than yours

[freeriders98]

A 60 mph cruise is fine as long as there as there is still power there in the event you need to pass while on the street. I have no need to run 100 mph at any time so if it's got the power I don't think speed will be a problem.

I think it would be a great option. I have a 426 that is geared 15-48. Easily pulls right along at 65 and has Plenty of juice left to jump out and pass someone at 80+ I top out at about 95-100.

A good investment would be a Trail Tech Vapor computer. It gives you your coolant temp and rpm, trip, and a bunch of other things. But I have really liked it to keep an eye on my temps and rpm ranges. As someone mentioned a radiator fan. I don't think you would need it. As long as your moving it runs pretty cool. The only time I approach 200*'s is when I am riding off road or sitting at stop lights on hot days. But as soon as you start moving 15mph+ it drops back down.

[GlennR]

I'm planning to get a Trail Tech Vapor for my sumo wheel conversion. The 08 speedo doesn't have a permanent odo, only trip odometers. It will be nice to keep up with my total mileage.

[kawi380]

The wr450 would be an excellent choice IMO. I have an 08wr450 but I also have a 95dr350se.

Honestly for the long trips i prefer the dr over the wr for a few reasons: no radiators, simple low performance motor but geared right does 80mph no problem, cush drive which is much better on the tranny for slab stints, keyed ignition, easy on fuel (mine does 65-70 mpg US), aftermarket racks that mount easily analog odo, speedo, and tach

For the wr the concerns are of course fuel capacity (mine gets about 25-30 mpg US), oil capacity already mentioned is low, and engine temps, no keyed ignition. I think these can all be addressed. The seat on the wr is really hard too compared to the dr. The wr has a solid motor that has loads of power everywhere and is an absolute hoot to ride I have almost 5000miles on the stock topend without a single adjustment made to the valves and I check them religously.

Don't think I haven't priced setting up the wr to do what my dr currently does ? but I like to have different bikes for different uses and the wr is my trail weapon ?

[noosphere]

I'm planning to get a Trail Tech Vapor for my sumo wheel conversion. The 08 speedo doesn't have a permanent odo, only trip odometers. It will be nice to keep up with my total mileage.

I have a Vapor on a '03 250f. Nice unit. Don't count on the tach though. I've had two of them (first one lost it's mind and reported all kinds of crazy results. Was switched out promptly by Trail Tech) but the tach function on both was way off. The temp feature and altitude is nice. I also have a Delorme pn-20 mounted. If I had to choose one I'd go with the Delorme or a similar dedicated GPS unit. The Vapor's recording feature is nice but I like being able to input topo info, not just record where I've been. Most of my riding is at varying high altitude. Your situation sounds different though.

BTW, the Vapor let's you tweak the odometer calibration by going a measured distance. Mine was spot-on straight out of the box with my 21" tire.

[GlennR]

I have a Vapor on a '03 250f. Nice unit. Don't count on the tach though. I've had two of them (first one lost it's mind and reported all kinds of crazy results. Was switched out promptly by Trail Tech) but the tach function on both was way off. The temp feature and altitude is nice. I also have a Delorme pn-20 mounted. If I had to choose one I'd go with the Delorme or a similar dedicated GPS unit. The Vapor's recording feature is nice but I like being able to input topo info, not just record where I've been. Most of my riding is at varying high altitude. Your situation sounds different though.

BTW, the Vapor let's you tweak the odometer calibration by going a measured distance. Mine was spot-on straight out of the box with my 21" tire.

Funny that the tachs don't work. I mainly just need a speedo to the sumo wheels, and want a permanent odo for maintainence. The tach would be a nice thing, but not essential. Don't know if I need a GPS, are they getting "cheap" yet?

[noosphere]

My bad.

Earlier I commented on the Trail Tech Vapor. I got myself confused. I was thinking Trail Tech Voyager, not the Vapor...

[freeriders98]

Funny that the tachs don't work. I mainly just need a speedo to the sumo wheels, and want a permanent odo for maintainence. The tach would be a nice thing, but not essential. Don't know if I need a GPS, are they getting "cheap" yet?

The tach on the Vapor "works" but it does jump around a lot. Is it accurate probably not, but it at least gives you an idea of where you are at.