Newbie with some questions

[shoboat90]

Hey Everyone,

New here as I have just purchased an '02 426.....boy do I just love it!! Couple things though....are there any other fluids you recommend I change other than the engine oil right now? What's the recommended/popular oil for these things? Do I need to have the valves checked/adjusted? If so, what would that cost? Anything else I should look out for or do before I really get into this thing?

Thanks in advance for the replies and help

jim

oceanside, ca

[flintlock28]

I have an 04' 450 but they are very similar....

Regarding oil; you'll get a thousand different answers as to which is the best. As long as you change it often, along with the oil filter, you'll be fine.

I recommend changing oil every 8 or 10 hours of trail riding, or if you race, after every race or every other race. I use Yamalube 20w-40 (not sure if your 426 requires the same viscosity) Other's will recomend Rotella, Amsoil, etc.

The main thing with oil is to NOT get any oil that has "friction modifiers" in it. Oil manufacturers add these modifiers for better fuel economy/less friction. The problem is that our bikes share the engine oil with the transmission. So if you use the oil w/ friction modifiers, you will get clutch slippage. I'd just use the Yamalube for now, and then if you want to spend hours on here reading oil posts, feel free.

Get yourself a Scott's Stainless Oil filter....they are about $ 65 or so. They filter better than the paper one's, and they are re-usable. You just clean them with Carbuerator cleaner or other cleaner's, and re-use. They will last for years, as long as you don't smash them with a Hammer. Stock (paper) filter's are about $ 11 or $ 13 at the dealer, so do the Math over a year or so, and the Scott's will pay for itself.

Get yourself a Manual (the Yamaha one is very good)....it will give you Ton's of info/spec's. I'd try $bay first, since the dealer's charge about $ 60. Got my 04' off $bay for about $ 15.

I'd check the valve clearance, after getting the manual....good thing is that you got a Yamaha, which probably has the longest lasting/least worry free valvetrain.

Depending on how often the previous owner maintained the bike, I'd be on the safe side and regrease the Steering bearings, wheel bearings, and swingarm bearings. I like Bel-Ray Waterproof grease. Also change the fork oil, unless previous owner did it recently.

have fun

p.s.....Oh, by the way, don't use a pressure washer anywhere near any of the above mentioned bearings, when cleaning. Don't ask how I know this.

[shoboat90]

Thank you very much for the information!!!

[rexbond007]

you can try get manual here to download

http://www.yamahaownershandbook.com.au/index.php

i would also change the brake fluid, and like flintlock said re grease the swingarm is a must.

[shoboat90]

regrease the Steering bearings, wheel bearings, and swingarm bearings?

Personally, I don't think the manual is all that great.....the pictures aren't very clear to me. How do I get to the aforementioned bearings mentioned above?

Also....in regards to changing the oil. Per the manual, I need to remove the exhaust to change the oil filter.....is this really the case? Is there a better picture somewhere that shows the location of all the plugs I need to remove to drain all the oil?

Sorry for all the silly questions....but thanks again for the help.

jim

[Ga426owner]

I would change oil and flush out all the existing brakefluid and refill correctly to build up some better brake pressure as well as give you start on when this was changed. I would also check all bearings/raeces and repack with fresh grease - wheels, steering upper/lower and linkage and shock bearing as these are usually a higher wearing item on a older bike..then go enjoy

[shoboat90]

I would also check all bearings/raeces and repack with fresh grease - wheels, steering upper/lower and linkage and shock bearing as these are usually a higher wearing item on a older bike..then go enjoy

Thanks for the advice.......but how do I go about doing that? See my previous post.

Not used to working on my own stuff.....however, I need to learn in order to save some money.

[jayh300]

on the 426 the exhaust should clear the oil filter.

my 400 would not, so I put a 426 head pipe on it and it looks like it will clear

[Crabtree426]

Welcome aboard newbie. A good product for all bikes is Summer Seal Savers for your forks. I think the website is www.srcinc.net . They work great. I also bought a powernow for my bike and thought it was well worth the $99 I spent. Yamalube or spectro oil for me but there are many to choose from. Good luck.

[YZ426F Rider]

Not used to working on my own stuff.....however, I need to learn in order to save some money.

Yep, either that or be prepared to write lots of big checks! The Yamaha service manual is one of the best there is, and I have not looked at one but I have heard that the Clymer manual is pretty good.

Servicing the bearings is not really rocket science but you should know the proper torque specs for putting things back together, especially for the steering head. But the basics of it are to take stuff apart until you can access the bearing you are going to service, clean off the old grease, and reapply new grease. That is oversimplifying it but realistically that's what it boils down to. You should be able to do a search on the subject and get lots of info.

Welcome to TT!

[Leelandc]

I also have a 01 YZF426 and I am currently using Motul 300V 100% synthetic oil but it is pretty expensive for an oil change for me ( $20cdn a litre plus tax). So i don't get to change my oil as often as i should. So i am just wondering if i should keep doing what i'm doing or switch to a cheaper oil and change it on a normal basis like i should. Someone told me that if you go to a cheaper oil its not good for a bike thats amune to the expensive stuff. not sure if it true...but any info on what i should do would be nice. I don't race my bike or anything, I just drive on the trail with it, but might go to a few races. People say that once you go synthetic, stay synthetic....what do ya think?

thanks alot!

[GENE426]

Post some pics of your bike

He is my 02 yz426 I sold a years and a half ago

Loved that bike