04 yzf450 questions

[JamesNad]

i'm looking to buy a 04 yzf450 and i never knew it had a 4-speed trans in it, i have ridden plenty of bikes but never one with a 4 speed in it,

my question is, how is the 4 speed???

and wondering what you guys think about it???

i'm mainly going to be riding trails, dunes, ice.

[Crazyzilla]

Ive ridden my buddy kyles 4 speed, and trust me. You dont even know its there. Its actually kinda easier, because there is less shifting invlolved. And the bike has such monster low end that it doesnt notice if your in any wrong gear. Sweet bike really. And theyll run for 350+ hours with no issues. Good stuff.

[TIG88]

I went from a 6 speed to a 4 speed, and trust me, its not a big deal. With that monster of an engine, you can lug through the gears. I ride trails only. You might wanna look into a 13 tooth front sprocket. It really helped me out.

[grayracer513]

In the 4 speed, low gear is about the same, and 4th is about 2/3 the way up the gap between 4th and 5th on the 5 speed. So, it does lack a little top speed, but at the same time, it's not like the bike just has one gear removed. The spacing between each gear is wider than the 5 speed, too.

Riding one in the desert I geared it up to a 15/49, and switched back to a 14/59 other times when that seemed too high. That worked OK, and I did miss having 5th sometimes. Overall, I like the 5 speed better, but on the track the YZ 4 speed is not a handicap.

[shuehauls]

Yeah,I love the 4 speed,I only ride mx so I don't know how it would work on trails

[kain522]

On a track, you'll never miss the extra gear. I've found that second and third get me around 95% of the tracks I've ridden. On the trails, the lack of a 5th gear hasn't been a problem thus far, although 4th seems to be a bit too close to 3rd. Kind of like 3rd and 5/8ths instead of fourth. It's nothing a little gearing can't solve.

[joethunder]

I had an the 04, it was a really good bike. It was mostly ridden at a fairly fast mx track- mostly 3rd gear, it was fine. I did ride some trails and with stock gearing it was a little tricky on some of the really slow technical climbs, but the power made up the for the lack of a really low gear.

[JamesNad]

and also how hard would it be to lower the bike alittle bit??? maybe 2 3 inches

[grayracer513]

Here's the problem: you have 12" of suspension travel, so you need a minimum of 12" of ground clearance with the suspension extended. The rear wheel is nominally 27" tall, plus 12 is 39" for the absolute practical minimum height of the fender. Making it lower and making it work is tough.

[FinchFan194]

I have an 04 and love it although I am planning on switching it out for a 2010 next spring it is still a great bike if I can afford to keep it and buy a new one I will do that. I run 14/47 gearing it makes for some clutch abuse in really tight trails but for the most part I love the extra use out of 1st on single track and the bike gets really good traction with higher gear ratio as 03's and 04's are notorious for rear wheel spin.

Good luck!

[bakeray]

My kid has a 03. After riding it, it doesnt need more than 4 speeds

[JamesNad]

well the thing is i have short legs and a long torso, so it makes it kinda hard to start the bigger bikes and to get going on them, sounds kinda funny but it really sucks cause i get bored on 250 2 and 4 strokes and love ridding the bigger 450's.

so anybody know how i could lower it just alittle???

shave the seat, smaller rear tire, raise forks, internal shock mods???

[grayracer513]

You can find lowering links if you look for them. Maybe someone has a source for you. Sliding the forks up little, and shaving the seat foam will also help. 642MX lowered his wife's 250F with some success. If he doesn't pick up on this thread, PM him.

[jjj109]

I had an 03 and a 04. My 2004 had the seat shaved and lowered subframe. It help for sure. My rear tire would hit the under side of the fender but only on the biggest G outs . I tried all kinds of gearing. But like Grayracer said 15/49 combo works probably best for desert and high speeds. I like just running a 51 or 52 tooth rear sprocket for just motocross though. Pulled 3rd gear starts all day with that set up and rode my local tracks in 3rd and 4th gear. Never touch 2nd or 1st on motocross track. also had 4oz or 6oz flywheel weight on the motor def help out for sure:thumbsup:

[JamesNad]

well pick her up today and mainly stock besides bars, moose hand guards, and a different seat. i raised my forks up th where the nut on top is like a 1/8in from the bars, and loosened the rear pre load like a 3/8 inch cause it was set up for a 190lb rider and im only 140lb. that got the seat height around 37in, i can sit barely tip toed on it and kick it over pretty easy.

the owner said it had a gel seat on it??? so he said i might not beable to shave it???

and the valves are in spec, needs a new chain and sprockets but other then that its a pretty clean bike i will get some pics up soon

[FinchFan194]

Congrats!