WR or YZ?

[yamahauler44]

does anyone know which bike is more reliable or has better longivity? or are they the same just different?

[cowboyona426]

Same but different... WR comes stock with a lights, odometer, sparky, and wide ratio gears. The 03+ bikes also have electric start.

[642MX]

I think anything blue is reliable.

[yamahauler44]

i guess i dont care about the lights and electic start ect., but i like the weight, and snap of the yz over the wr, but will i be screwed in maintance?

[yamahauler44]

i can always modify a yz for trail work, but reliability is huge.

[cowboyona426]

The YZ is fine, if you can find a used one that has been properly maintained. They are also very trailworthy, my bike is almost exclusively a trail bike and I love it.

[99wr400]

Buy a WR, with the standard mods done to it (basically turned into a YZ spec. engine) and then put on all YZF plastics, seat and tank. You will love it. I ride one, and I think it is the perfect do everything bike. I can ride MX one minute, and then go terrorize the trails a minute. Wide-ratio transmissions and 18" rear rims are the best!

[cowboyona426]

Why buy a WR then have to remove the octopus, change the pipe, remove the throttle stop, remove the airbox lid and snorkel, change the tank/shrouds to YZ, change the cam timing to YZ specs when you can just buy a dang YZ to start with! It's way easier to buy a YZ, change the sprockets and add a decent spark arrestor than to try and YZ a WR.

[sandring]

I have a 2002 YZ426F in PERFECT condition, it has black excel wheels, brand new back tire, fat bars, clamps, the fork seals have just been redone, new bearings in the front and rear, BRAND NEW O Ring chain, new renthal front sprocket, topar guards, aftermarket seat cover, new grips, just did all new fluids, brand new paddle tire. I live in Arizona, if your interested just shoot me an email. Im asking $3000.00 FIRM for her.

Sandring@aol.com

[yamahauler44]

thanks for the input, from the sounds of it it my be easier to make a yz trailworthy than a wr made fast.

[99wr400]

My WR will smoke just about any YZ 400, and will beat a lot of 426's, and will beat some 450's. Just buy one with the living crap modified out of it, like mine. My WR is for sale make a offer if you are interested, if not, it's no big deal.

[99wr400]

Why buy a WR then have to remove the octopus, change the pipe, remove the throttle stop, remove the airbox lid and snorkel, change the tank/shrouds to YZ, change the cam timing to YZ specs when you can just buy a dang YZ to start with! It's way easier to buy a YZ, change the sprockets and add a decent spark arrestor than to try and YZ a WR.

Or to convert a YZ to a trailbike, you only have to split the darn cases and put it an extremely expensive WR transmission. All the WR mods besides cam timing can be done in under an hour, and the cam timing can be done while you have the seat/tank/shrouds off (shrouds are identical with the WR400 and YZF400, know because I switch between WR and the YZF seat/tank combo every once and a while, but the seats are different) the cam timing takes maybe an hour and a half at the most. 2 and a half hours of work vs. about 8 hours of work to change the transmission, I'd go with a WR. Close ratio transmissons suck for trail riding.

[cowboyona426]

Really? You can't ride a close ratio trans on trails? Funny, I've been doing it for 5 years! Change the gearing to 13/52, add handguards, a sparky, and radiator guards, and you're done! That takes way less time than doing all the BS to the WR to make it a YZ.

[99raptor]

Depends on the trail! Tight trails with rare trips into the upper gears the yz is good but western stuff[hi-speed desert] you may wish for 5th. I know I have on my yz450f.As far as dependability they are probobly equal.

[cowboyona426]

The 00-02 YZ's do have a fifth gear and work fine in the trees or in the dez... trust me, I've been riding one for 5 years.

[inte]

I bought an '02 YZ 426 not too long ago & set it up for desert. Added radiator guards, Promotobillet sidestand & spark arrestor, big bashplate, brushguards, Protapers, steering damper, desert tank, Trailtech endurance computer... lighting kit coming soon perhaps...

Most fun bike I've ever been on. Snappy. Fast. Everyone I ride with slobbers over the thing. I've only ridden KTMs before getting this thing - love it. Awesome bike.

Good.

Like it.

Mmmm.

YZ.

[rosterbirdboy]

I am looking at purchasing a 450. I currently have a 98 WR400 and am looking to upgrade to the 450. I am in the same situation which version do I purchase. I live in Michigan and ride trails only. I have did all the mods to my WR400, even the cam timing didn't seem to make a large difference except for the bike had less engine break in the turns. The difference in weight for 05 between to two is 24 lbs (according to Yamaha specs), that is a lot of weight not to toss around in the woods all day. I am wondering what mods if any need to be done to make the YZ a trail/woods bike? Is the extra gear and smaller tire make that big of difference? I know I need a spark arrestor but other than that is is ready to go? The Wr needs two many mods and carb jetting it seems like a lot of work to make it go like it was meant to. I guess the other down fall is it is more difficult to make it street legal if you wanted to.

[cowboyona426]

I would get the YZ, with a gearing change or at most a flywheel weight you could make it an awesome trail bike.

[evo rider]

a yz is an uncorked wr stock, there is no advantage to having less power with a wr. Instead of suping a wr up with expensive time consuming mods, supe a yz with minor add ons like radiator guards and such and what you have is a trail bike that likes motor cross.

[Slowmotion426]

Yz...