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15 YZ450F vs 12 CRF450R - which to buy?

By kaaronc,
in YZ400F/426F/450F/450FX

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grayracer513
grayracer513

Forget the CRF.  Buy the YZ and embrace the beast.

grayracer513
grayracer513

The purchase price is never the total cost of ownership, which will almost always rise faster with the Honda than the YZ450F.

03yzf450-kuke
03yzf450-kuke

Don't get me wrong I love Yamaha's, but IMO if you maintain them, most of the jap bikes are awesome

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Falcon 1

Posted
Posted

All new bikes need mod work regardless of what brand, make, model, color, etc.. Yamaha is no different. 

 

I've owned a YZ80, YZ125, multiple YZ250's and two YZ450F's over the years.. spent plenty of money modifying the engines, suspension, exhaust, and various other upgrades to them dialed in. 

 

To claim "Honda's need a lot of money to be equal to a new Yamaha" is simply not true. I work and ride/race with friends that have new Yamaha's, they are all spending money for mod work on the suspension, exhaust systems, engine, cams, port/polish work, high comp pistons, etc.

 

No different than any other brand bike. 

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rr558

Posted
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Yes I owned an 11 Honda that I did like the 11 Honda better than the 11 Yamaha. It took money to get it that way though. Now fast forward to 14-15 and the Yamaha is a much better bike It's faster better suspended and the clutch isn't shit . From an engineering stand point the 15 Hondas suspension is garbage .

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Emkjr93

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yes I owned an 11 Honda that I did like the 11 Honda better than the 11 Yamaha. It took money to get it that way though. Now fast forward to 14-15 and the Yamaha is a much better bike It's faster better suspended and the clutch isn't shit . From an engineering stand point the 15 Hondas suspension is garbage .

I can't say about the newer Hondas as I don't have one, but I got a 2012 crf450 and I only messed with the clickers on mine and it feels perfect to me. Why does everyone need to modify the engine and stuff to be happy with it? I could understand doing it for woods riding but if your not a pro and your on a motocross track, it's pointless. The pros are just barely able to access the full potential of a 450 and can benefit from the mods but I've been around racing my entire life and my dad was a AMA referee for a couple tracks around my area and I've never seen anyone with any mods do any better than someone with a stock bike. The only time you noticed any difference was when A class came out but other than that, it seemed like everyone wasted money on pipes, engine work, and other stuff like that when the guys riding bone stock bikes were blowing them away.. And they spent less money.. So I just can't possibly grasp any reason to modify my bike with anything aside from graphics and a case guard and a few cosmetic things. So reguardless of weather or not I had a yamaha or Honda doesn't matter. The only thing that matters in the end is skill. And I'm excluding suspension from this Cuz anyone can benefit from great suspension Edited by Emkjr93
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Falcon 1

Posted
Posted

Yes I owned an 11 Honda that I did like the 11 Honda better than the 11 Yamaha. It took money to get it that way though. Now fast forward to 14-15 and the Yamaha is a much better bike It's faster better suspended and the clutch isn't shit . From an engineering stand point the 15 Hondas suspension is garbage .

 

I totally agree with the 2015 450R suspension, specifically the forks being garbage and a bad design. My brother has a 2015 450R, and I have more practice/race hours on the bike than he does. The forks suck, and the rear shock is no better than any other year. My 2009 450R FC suspension is far better than my brothers 2015 stock suspension. However, the FC suspension work was not cheap to get dialed in. 

 

My position is all bikes need some mod work, some more than others.. but none are perfect from the show room floor.

 

Cheers

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Emkjr93

Posted
Posted

My comment was not based on the cost of modification. That will vary based on the personal tastes of the owner. What I was talking about was the cost of maintaining the bike over a period of years.

So what would make the Honda cost more then? The newer years aren't prone to valve trouble that I've seen... They seem pretty equivalent to all the other bikes anymore. Can you explain your opinion?
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rr558

Posted
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My view is the cost of getting the bike race ready as the  Honda needs more money especially the 09-12 . Now I know it's mostly rider ability but all things equal the Honda needs more money thrown at it.   

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Emkjr93

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My view is the cost of getting the bike race ready as the Honda needs more money especially the 09-12 . Now I know it's mostly rider ability but all things equal the Honda needs more money thrown at it.

Why does it need more money? You talking suspension or what? Cuz I haven't spent a dime aside from cosmetics and mine kicks ass lol
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Emkjr93

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Impossible arguement. But i do agree yamahas are the cheapest to own for more than one year. They are just more durable from front to back.

I won't ever knock a yamaha but I disagree about the cost difference, I have to say they're about the same. I've had a yz 4stroke and now I got my crf and there's absolutely no difference so far. But I think it depends more on the maintainence regiment you run. I change oil and stuff every 6hrs and air filter every 3rd ride if it's wet and there's zero dust, and I haven't had an issue. But yamaha is always my fallback brand because they were the first to figure out the 4 strokes so they'll be the first to make them bullet proof
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bigvaportrail

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you can afford it go with what folks are saying and get a "left over" 14' or snag that new one

your honda has lots of goodies however ....

 

I have NEVER swung a leg over a bone stock bike with this good of stock suspension period !

Its really amazing

 

the 14' is kinda stiff compared to my 10' and 11' however your not a little feller so you should adjust it to you and be fine

 

they are very reliable if maintained on an equal basis to any other bike

 

Yamaha would be my choice

Edited by bigvaportrail
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Crusty Cy

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Let's all get along. Again, I drank the red kool aid for over 25 years - even had their street bikes. The Hondas are the only ones I've ever had to push back to the farm or my truck. There's no disputing their factory bikes are great - Eli looks extremely comfortable on his. Problem is, when is the general public going to have some of the advantages trickle down to them? My guess is that time is at least 2-3 years away. Most Honda shops will be shuttered by then. Not too be mean, I'm sure everyone is going to the KTM dealer right now to get their deposits on the 2016's. If they would come with the aluminum cone valves forks, fine. That's not going to happen, and many 2016 owners will be on this site looking for suspension help this August. No joking, stock vs. stock, Yamaha can't be beat right now. I mess my bikes up more by working on them than just riding and keeping parts fresh.

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Emkjr93

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Can anyone give any reason why the don't like Honda or why they think they're so bad? Or is it just a bad luck thing? I've always had Hondas and always had good luck with them.. If someone told me they don't like Honda because they had bad luck, that reason would sound like good enough reason to me but to knock Honda without a reason is just senseless... Why tell the guy not to get one when there's no reason? Everyone says they cost more to maintain but again, they don't have a reason why. So is everyone just going with the luck theory or what? I respect everyone's opinion about it but I'd just like the know WHY?

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pomoco

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Posted

I'm still racing an 06 Honda in the vet class. I've been thinking about a new bike and the Yamaha is the leader for me. I don't want to mess with air fork tuning and everyone says the Yamaha suspension is great. I ride a 15 Honda at the track a few weeks ago. Other than turning ability I was happy to get back on my trusty 06. Not sure what map it was on, but it was a slug compared to my 06.

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