Are newer WR450`s more powerfull than my old 03`?

[OlaGB]

I`m wondering, how much faster is the newer WR450`s (05-08) than the old 03` i had before?

Wich one is the fastest? 08?

If i`m buying a new bike, i want something faster than the 03 i had..

My bike had great exhaust, km cams and JDjetting...

[amaaaron]

i have an 05 wr450 and i believe the only difference between mine and urs is the compression ratio.

if u want ur bike faster white brothers make a 490 big bore kit and u can buy a new cam if u do that ur bike will fly.

[OlaGB]

Well, i sold my 03`.. If i`m getting a new bike again, i want something more powerfull than my old bike, without spending xxxx bucks tuning it..

Seems like i`ve got to look around for other bike brands to get that ?

The WR engine was great in the woods, but to weak when commuting on-road..

[Nostalgic]

The 450 weak? You are the man!

[amaaaron]

well the next thing you could do is get the ktm 505 witch there cool bikes but the ktm is gonna be heavier in the woods. and i have a lot of friends who race and i hav always heard ktms are sweet when u first get thm but there quick to break down thats just my opinon though.

but other than that ur not gonna get any thing more powerfull than the wr unless u were to go with like a dual sport 650 but that things gonaa be a real bitch in the woods.

[JSanfilippo]

The 03's had the old head design (higher compression) and a YZ intake cam. Apparently the 03-04 engine was an nasty animal once uncorked (midrange hit). The goal with the 07 was smoother broader power (like CRF/X, KTM XC) and that was accomplished by using a narrower head pipe and completely different cams than the YZ. It still has more snap in the mid range and up top than both engines from what I've read...I think thats just the nature of the five valve head.

Its a fast, powerful engine. But the power delivery doesn't have any surprises in it. 47 hp uncorked and about 50hp with a good pipe is not weak by any stretch of the imagination.

[AnthonyB]

@ olawr450f

If you're refering to the top end speed then you're correct, (remembering that it wasn't designed as a cruiser), but a 16T front spocket will sort that out if that's what you're after? Nonetheless ... I would hardly call it "weak" ?

Having decided some 5 months ago that it was time to finaly replace my ol' 82 XR500R, went ahead and tested what was available at the time ... and settled on an 07 WR.

I admittedly was initially a lil disappointed with it, as even after modifying the WR fairly extensively ... found my old XR still whipped it on straight line acceleration & top end ... and then we discovered the culprit ? .... the wrong CDI had been installed. suffice to say that I am a now a convert ... and highly impressed with these beasts!

In my opinion, this bike now is a lil' like my old Maico 490 AND the XR500R, (both also extensively modified), rolled into one with a lot of spare change to boot! ... It's almost overpowered, having a wonderfully smooth and predictable power delivery from an idle through to revs that I thought were reserved for the domain of "two smokes's" ... as to handling ... I could write a book on that too! ...

Phenominal beast! ...It's a true multi purpose bike, of which the Honda, Kawasaki, Aprilia, Suzuki & KTM's all fall way short

Methinks you should maybe look at a Harley for your "needs"?

[Solo]

How much power do you need? I rode an 06 WR 450 the other day and then hopped back on my 400. There was no discernable power difference. The 450 had a little more low end grunt. This was also on trails where I hardly ever get the chance to pin it.

[jpoehls]

? Anthony B, glad to see your coverted. We were worried after your initial XL500 results posted in that thread.

Like you said, the 07 is a screamer. What I find amazing is that this bike is stated to redline at 12,000 rpm's (i have not been remotely close yet). I have the hour/rpm meter installed and the bike feels incredible at 7,000 RPM's (like a missile!). If I brought it close to the top end...holy cow, that would be scary.

The handling and first gear of this bike is what set sets it apart. I was riding at a place called five mile near Eagle Mountain, Utah. I was riding with five other people (06 KX 450 (4 stroke), 05 CR 250 (2S), 03 KX 250 (2S), 03 RM 250 (2S), and 93 WR 500 (2S). We all approach a tall steep climb. At the top it was hairy, steep, and tons of loose large rocks, ruts, and, and a 10" sharp rock line about 3/4 of the way up. As we approached the rock line, we had to slow down, turn, lean, and reposition the bike and pick a line over the rock line (that also had a lot of loose rocky, sandy gravel in fornt of it). All the riders (except myself and one other) stalled their bike and had to walk their bikes up about 20 yards to get restarted. Myself (07 WR450), and the 93 WR 500 (2 stroke-air cooled) passed them at this part of the hill and made it up without stalling at that part, and cruised to the top. It was hairy. When we got to the top, we were all out of breath. The other riders MX bikes were too tall in first gear and the two strokes could not handle a steep RPM drop, and gas back on.

When we took our helmets off and rested, they all removed how well my bike tractored up the hill, especially against their lighter 2 smokers. Let me tell you I am an average rider, and 2 of the folks that stalled were better than me. The WR makes you a better rider with its features. That same first gear is great for going down steep hills too...less braking and better control.

For off road, the 07 WR450 is king.

[erickdj]

For off road, the 07 WR450 is king.

Well said, a fully uncorked 07 wr450f is King of the trails. It's VERY powerful, but somehow the power delivery feels silky smooth, well, that's until about 1/2 throttle, then it's time to hang on!! It will tractor through the tightest nastiest trails without breaking a sweat, then when you hit the open areas it's time to open that throttle and enjoy the high speeds provided by the wide ratio transmission. ?

[AnthonyB]

@ jpoehls

Never mind that you were worried ... I was @#$%-ed off when I took delivery of my WR, as it was nowhere near the performance of the one I had test ridden to make the call on buying one in the first place!

The Yammie agents concerned admitted to the corking of the exhaust and the throttle stop ... and advised that I leave it like that whilst breaking the bike in, (which I did for +-1 hour of riding) , and then I removed the pipe restriction and throttle stop, and it was still a @#$% .... so did the rest of it, tried a few pipes, (ended up making my own ? ), modded the airbox ... still @#$% , so I removed the head and gave it the once over with a cam change ... still @#$% ... and then the first clue to something being wrong ...

I slotted the CDI sensor, (and advanced the timing) .... hmmmmm .... an improvement ...

... and then of course there's the infamous "back to back test" with my old XR, (of which I'm sure you can imagine what my thoughts were after that!) ... a 20+ year old bike whipping the so called latest greatest????

That sent me off ranting to the agents, XR and WR on the trailer, me thinking that I'd been conned ? , that the WR demo model had been tweaked substantually and the standard / normal WR's were just plain @#$% ...

Needless to say, and in their defence, after proving the lack of performance, the agents replaced the faulty / incorrect CDI and I now have a screaming beast of note! ?

I have to say that on some wierd level, I am a lil' disappointed in that I never got to ride the bike with the proper CDI prior to doing all my mods, as I have no real benchmark of before vs. after ... save for the grey, (gray?), wire mod, which was fairly substantual!

What is also funny now, (after the fact), is that I bought two TTR230's at the same time, (for my son and my girlfriend), and they too got tweaked along the way ... Interestingly enough they now perform much the same as the WR did prior to the CDI replacement, and .... they run neck and neck with the XR500R! in a straight line ?

Let's see what happens when they, (and my WR), have their fuel injection fitted ?

So what more can I say that hasn't already been said in this thread ... BRILLIANT Bikes (even the TTR230's)... and if you find them underpowered, then check;

• a: your CDI and/or
  
• b: your right hand, (you're not twisting it far enough!)
  

[ophir]

My 426 has as much power and hit as my 450.

[AnthonyB]

Then your 426 has been tweaked or your 450 lazy .... LOL ?

[OlaGB]

Are we riding the same bikes??

In the woods, the power is plenty...

When i`m at 80+km/h, the bike is to weak.. I almost had to pull the bar`s off the bike, to make it wheelie in 4th gear, and that`s not enough power

When pulling it up in 3. gear, shifting to 4. and 5. gear, i had to balance it to the extreme, not to let the wheel down again above 100km/h..

This isnt about "what bike wheelies the fastest", its about explaining how strong it (didnt) feel..

It had enough power in 1. 2. and 3. gear.. 4. and 5. didnt cut it for me, when riding fast gravel/asphalt roads..

Well, guess i`ll have to look at 650 bergs or some other pos brands then ?