yz 400f to a yz 490

[azdragoon]

Sorry to post another "what's faster thread" guys, but I just bought a clean 400f, and this is my first of the performance type four strokes I've had. I am very impressed with the amount of power and the hook up this bike has. Twenty years or so ago I had a pig of a bike, a 1982 YZ 490, and was wondering if anyone has ridden with someone that had one, and how do they compare on power. Obviously the 490 has more ponies but loses most of them in wheel spin. Can the 400 hold it's own with it's tractionable power delivery. Just kind of wondering as its been SO long ago on the 490.

[speddie3]

A buddy I rode with had a big 600 something suzuki from way back when. Yeah it had power but it would take him a while to catch up. just seemed like the new power was much more "peppy" than the old one and mine just had more get up to it. We never went wide open on a straight away so I don't know how it would hold up, but for what I saw it do I was kinda dissapointed for its size.

[clutchinoregon]

i had a 86 yz 490 that i can honestly tell you would SMOKE the 400. ( drag race ) in a DRAG RACE it would SMOKE the 05 yz 450 i currently have. this 490 did have the complete port job and a number of other things done to it to make it more rideable.someone musta been using it for the desert as the gears were super tall,real handfull on trails.i also earlier this year had a 89 cr 500, that bike was bad too, but i think the ol 490 woulda taken it too in a straight drag

[99wr400]

Real CR500's (85-86) are faster than YZ490's. Your ported 490 may be a different story, but stock the 500 would win hands down. Thumpers are no match for a Big bore 2 stroke, anyone who says otherwise is a blatant liar. Those bikes make insane power that would literally rip atleast one of my arms off if the bike had enough traction and didn't wheelie. (I have a few ripped up/stretched tendons in my shoulders)

[yfzut]

i had a 93 wr500 and now have a 02 426 and i like riding the 426 better but my wr500 would kill my 426.

[00YZ426FMRCD]

I remember riding a YZ490 quite a few years back. My underwear is still somewhere in the woods of North Carolina...

[azdragoon]

OK, thanks guys. Its been years since I rode the 490 and it was when I was 17 and invincible ( or thought I was). I guess I don't remember how fast it was. thanks,Matt

[yam314]

I still think my 1980 YZ465 was faster than anything I have owned since.Including an 84 IT490 and my 04 WR450.Or maybe it was "the older I get, the faster I was"!

[kizzle426]

Real CR500's (85-86) are faster than YZ490's. Your ported 490 may be a different story, but stock the 500 would win hands down. Thumpers are no match for a Big bore 2 stroke, anyone who says otherwise is a blatant liar. Those bikes make insane power that would literally rip atleast one of my arms off if the bike had enough traction and didn't wheelie. (I have a few ripped up/stretched tendons in my shoulders)

They make insane power, but they're only good for dunes riding. Anything else and they have horrible centers of gravity and too hard of a hit in the powerband to be manageable. Also newer 4 strokes have torque at the bottom that the 2 strokes don't, so the power delivery is on an even curve. I used to ride my dad's '87 CR500. Man I hated that thing. They're great for thrills, but not very practical. Freaking terrible on a track. I'll take my 426. Just thought I'd throw my point of view in.

[RCannon]

The 82 yz 490J was a very special bike. The engine may have been faster than the yz 400 in outright horsepower, but if you remember right, the power was almost impossible to use. The 4 speed transmission gave a top speed of 38 mph if the bike was geared to work anywhere else.

I sure hated mine. It was so special that I did not own another yamaha for 15 years. When I went to buy one, an 1997 YZ 250 "J" I almost backed out of the deal after I noticed the bike had a "J" in its description. The shop knocked off another 100.00 and I bought it.