2014 wr450f

[Woodsweapon350]

The 2014 wr450f has got my attention to become a stable mate to my yz250 woods machine. In the past ive heard that the wr is a heavy, and large feeling machine but the 14 looks awesome and I'm curious to how it performs. I want an aggressive woods ready 4 stroke but don't really wanna have to go orange to get that. I don't mind doing some removal of undesirables and uncorking but I also don't want to spend that money on an xr400 if you know what I mean. Is the wr a good candidate for me or am I stuck looking at an xcf

[thomas liles]

Get the WR! After uncorking and tune you will be happy. I've also got a yz 250 and it's nice to have the best of both worlds 2t-4t. My buddy has a ktm 450 and it's a great bike but just a different feeling machine.

[Navaho6]

The new WR handles great and the suspension is fantastic.  Turns quick but still very stable once you figure out the right suspension settings.  However, it is still a heavy bike, and you can feel it when you're riding fast through rough terrain.  I don't know how much better it would feel with the starter and starter gears removed.  I'm sure some people here will say that it doesn't feel heavy but it's all depends on what you've ridden in the past.  Even with the heft, I still like mine a lot.  For woods riding, it does the job well.  Best of all, it doesn't vibrate like a 2-stroke. The motor is smooth and torquey  Rode a new KTM 250EXC  last weekend and the vibration in the pegs and handlebars was like a jackhammer.

[Hans Schmid]

I have a YZ 250 that caused a DNF on me during a race. I usually race a KTM 500. The race promoter lent me his new WR450 which was stripped down to the bare minimum...The bike was fantastic! The bike didn't feel overly heavy at all. The two main things I noticed was the heavy engine braking (even with a Rekluse) and the front-end did feel a little heavy under hard braking but I attribute that to softer suspension (front). I did have a 2010 YZ250f that the chassis on the WR is based on....Both bikes felt exactly the same, meaning imble and well handling....

[Navaho6]

Last guy that rode my '13 WR last commented that the engine braking wasn't bad at all compared to other 4-strokes he's ridden.  I pull in the clutch and coast a lot, so I don't notice it at all. 

[ozbogan]

For me the wr450 has the most planted front end around, which inspires confidence and inevitably makes you more comfortable at high speed. Im currently on an 07 WR which I am very close to upgrading to a 2014 wr450. Best bike ive ever owned overall. Yea KTMs are lighter and have an all round more race ready package but the difference is where KTM use cable ties yamaha use bolts. Thats a figure of speech for a ktms in my experience with them require constant attention to keep them in new condition. The yammy is robust, reliable and very underrated plus its near $2000 cheaper than a kato

 

go for the wr450!

Edited May 8, 2014 by ozbogan

[Hans Schmid]

For me the wr450 has the most planted front end around, which inspires confidence and inevitably makes you more comfortable at high speed. Im currently on an 07 WR which I am very close to upgrading to a 2014 wr450. Best bike ive ever owned overall. Yea KTMs are lighter and have an all round more race ready package but the difference is where KTM use cable ties yamaha use bolts. Thats a figure of speech for a ktms in my experience with them require constant attention to keep them in new condition. The yammy is robust, reliable and very underrated plus its near $2000 cheaper than a kato

Meh

[Alstar450]

What year YZ are you on now?