Pro's and Con's - 2004 YZ450F

[BBdirtbiking]

I may be getting a 2004 YZ450F, so could anyone please give me the scoop on this bike, I will be doing some research after work, but I would like to see what you all think of it.

Here is the ad: "this is an awesome bike with tons of power and well taken care of. pro taper bars, oversized pegs, always ran full synthetic oil and changed every 8 to 10 hours, powder coated black excel wheels, powder coated triple clamp foot pegs and kick start, new DID chain and front sprocket, new levers, Dr. D slip on and header, valves just checked last season. Awesome bike always very well taken care of. Starts second kick every time and have never had any problems."

And some pictures:

Please help me out with the pros and cons, as it looks like a good deal and want to get it before its gone!

Thanks,

BBDirtbiking

[BBdirtbiking]

Found my first con: No fifth gear? That is rather odd. I am used to European bikes with a sixth, so only four is strange. But what I intend on doing I do not need a fifth, single tracks and possibly fire roads. No more highway for me, trading my plated bike for this.

[BBdirtbiking]

Anyone know if you can calm this bike down for trail riding, I read that it is a very fast bike and first gear is tall. This bike okay being lugged for periods of time, please help me out here guys. Never owned a Yamaha or a Motocross bike, I am a virgin for both, Lol.

[Just_a_trail_rider]

I now have a wr450 (05) which is the same as the yz450, but with estart, a wide ratio tranny and about 30+ lbs of fat.

The tall gearing can be addressed with a sprocket change. But, the torque on this bike will be amazing. You will be able to lug it. You'll need to go down a bit on the gearing, but probably not too much.

Replace the cams with the WR cams. That will noticeably take some snap out of it and make it a bit easier to ride.

Get a throttle cam.

Just ride it. I think you'll be ok. Its a yamaha, so it will be amazingly sturdy and reliable if you do the recommended maintenance.

Get the heaviest flywheel weight you can find OR an autoclutch (dyna ring or rekluse)

[BBdirtbiking]

I now have a wr450 (05) which is the same as the yz450, but with estart, a wide ratio tranny and about 30+ lbs of fat.

The tall gearing can be addressed with a sprocket change. But, the torque on this bike will be amazing. You will be able to lug it. You'll need to go down a bit on the gearing, but probably not too much.

Replace the cams with the WR cams. That will noticeably take some snap out of it and make it a bit easier to ride.

Get a throttle cam.

Just ride it. I think you'll be ok. Its a yamaha, so it will be amazingly sturdy and reliable if you do the recommended maintenance.

Get the heaviest flywheel weight you can find OR an autoclutch (dyna ring or rekluse)

Thank you for the information on the WR cam and stuff. Do you know if I can rig electric start onto this bike. I loved it on my VOR, having both electric and kick start.

[BBdirtbiking]

Scratch the electric start, sounds to me like it sucks on the WR and that the YZ is an easy kick.

[grayracer513]

The E-start cannot be added to an '04 YZF without spending about $2500 (most of a WR bottom end)

[BBdirtbiking]

The E-start cannot be added to an '04 YZF without spending about $2500 (most of a WR bottom end)

Not to say you are wrong, but I am sure I could get a bottom end for a lot less, not that I would. Guy insured me it is a two kick almost every time, I will find out tomorrow.

[grayracer513]

The estimate was using new parts. You could obviously do it for less with used stuff. The point is that you need a different crankshaft and crankcases to start the conversation.

[BBdirtbiking]

The estimate was using new parts. You could obviously do it for less with used stuff. The point is that you need a different crankshaft and crankcases to start the conversation.

Hahaha, yeah I figured you were talking new old parts. Yeah, not worth it in the long run I am thinking. I got a power full right leg. And the 13 lbs less on the bike, might be nice on the single track. Used to my bike, which is 261 lbs. This bike it what, 220 lbs. not to bad.

[BBdirtbiking]

Well, if the current owner is down to trade, and I find there is nothing very wrong with the bike, I am definitely going to do it. I have read good things and it has the suspension I like and the carburetor I like, here is to hoping.

[davidl9999]

Here is the ad: "this is an awesome bike with tons of power and well taken care of. pro taper bars, oversized pegs, always ran full synthetic oil and changed every 8 to 10 hours, powder coated black excel wheels, powder coated triple clamp foot pegs and kick start, new DID chain and front sprocket, new levers, Dr. D slip on and header, valves just checked last season. Awesome bike always very well taken care of. Starts second kick every time and have never had any problems."

The way I look at a used bike is:

What's there is there - as long as I can see it. It doesn't do me much good to be told that there are internal goodies that I can't verify without taking the bike apart. This includes checking the valves - unless the seller is willing to go through the routine in front of you.

Never trust the valves - plan on replacing them and the timing chain and doing a valve job right after buying the bike. Have some extra $$ in case the thing dies before you get around to checking them. If nothing goes wrong, then you'll have had some extra $$ around for nothing. The rub is, if they're "in-spec" when you buy the bike, you don't know if they've been moving and the guy just shimmed them last week. The real bitch is if one breaks before you put a few hours on the bike to check the lash again. ?

Never trust the maintenence unless there's an hour meter on the bike and the guy has records. If the oil is clean now, the previous quart may have been in there "a while" and you might not know what was in there.

(look around the garage a bit if you can. If the guy says there's a quart of motul in there and there's nothing but yamalube bottles tossed on the shelves, I'd be suspicious of pretty much everything I'm being told about the bike).

If it's a 2-kick bike and the engine was warm when you went to kick it (twice), it might be a 50-kick bike when cold.

Then again, some sellers are just plain honest and fair deals can be had. ?

[BBdirtbiking]

The way I look at a used bike is:

What's there is there - as long as I can see it. It doesn't do me much good to be told that there are internal goodies that I can't verify without taking the bike apart. This includes checking the valves - unless the seller is willing to go through the routine in front of you.

Never trust the valves - plan on replacing them and the timing chain and doing a valve job right after buying the bike. Have some extra $$ in case the thing dies before you get around to checking them. If nothing goes wrong, then you'll have had some extra $$ around for nothing. The rub is, if they're "in-spec" when you buy the bike, you don't know if they've been moving and the guy just shimmed them last week. The real bitch is if one breaks before you put a few hours on the bike to check the lash again. ?

Never trust the maintenence unless there's an hour meter on the bike and the guy has records. If the oil is clean now, the previous quart may have been in there "a while" and you might not know what was in there.

(look around the garage a bit if you can. If the guy says there's a quart of motul in there and there's nothing but yamalube bottles tossed on the shelves, I'd be suspicious of pretty much everything I'm being told about the bike).

If it's a 2-kick bike and the engine was warm when you went to kick it (twice), it might be a 50-kick bike when cold.

Then again, some sellers are just plain honest and fair deals can be had. ?

Yeah man, I know the routine when it comes to buying used bike. My last used bike spun a rod bearing couple hours after getting it, that was lovely. By the sounds of it, he does not ride this bike a lot. He told me that he has a 250 that he rides off-road and wants a street legal bike to get to work with, I can believe that. But you never know. The good thing about these Yamaha's are that the parts are not to bad. I am coming off a Italian bike that isn't produced anymore, so I am used to over the top expensive parts.

[eazrider]

I bought an '04 new in late '03. I had a problem with it stalling because of the tall 1st gear and added a flywheel weight..it helped bunches. Later, I bought new a WR transmisson (5 spd) and loved it. After that, I installed a Rekluse clutch, and, seriously, if I had done that first, would not have put the 5 speed in. You can gear it tall enough to have acceptable top speed, and the Rekluse makes the tall low gear a non issue. I also removed the flywheel weight, as the additional mass of the Rekluse AND the weight made it feel a bit "doggy" out of the corners. Pick up the bike, install a Rekluse, and have fun....electric start only adds weight and slight bit of convenience...not necessary. I have had mine since '03, and it STILL has not required a valve adjustment, and I ride the heck out of it...

[BBdirtbiking]

I bought an '04 new in late '03. I had a problem with it stalling because of the tall 1st gear and added a flywheel weight..it helped bunches. Later, I bought new a WR transmisson (5 spd) and loved it. After that, I installed a Rekluse clutch, and, seriously, if I had done that first, would not have put the 5 speed in. You can gear it tall enough to have acceptable top speed, and the Rekluse makes the tall low gear a non issue. I also removed the flywheel weight, as the additional mass of the Rekluse AND the weight made it feel a bit "doggy" out of the corners. Pick up the bike, install a Rekluse, and have fun....electric start only adds weight and slight bit of convenience...not necessary. I have had mine since '03, and it STILL has not required a valve adjustment, and I ride the heck out of it...

Yeah, only problem with getting a Rekluse Auto Clutch is I have no money, lol. They are about what, $400 new? I dunno if I can afford to spend that much of my tuition money lol.

I really do want one, have only heard amazing things from them. Might be able to find a used one for a decent penny, here is to hoping.

I am just really hoping to get this bike tonight. I cannot stand not riding, and I want a bike that I am not afraid to go out and drive hard.

[cadesdad]

I had a 03 yz450f, nastier than my 85 cr500! I installed a 10 ounce fly wheel weight and went down 1 tooth (higher gearing) on my rear sprocket. Even though I used it for trail riding, the higher gearing took away some of the hit and the 10 oz. fww really smoothed out the power. Best mod after suspension!

[betts]

a buddy just offered his to me for $2000. dont know much about the bike. i want something for trails and fire roads. where i ride there is some slower sections that you have to lug the bike a fair bit. is this a bike i can lug through some of the slow stuff?

just getting back into off road stuff. had a 04 CR250R 2 smoke that proved to be to twitchy last year, had an ungodly amount of mods mind you. and am on a klx 300R this year, it works just missing some of the fun factor.

is it worth picking up the yzf? i'll llikely keep the klx either way, but dont wanna waste my money on something i can't use in the woods

[BBdirtbiking]

a buddy just offered his to me for $2000. dont know much about the bike. i want something for trails and fire roads. where i ride there is some slower sections that you have to lug the bike a fair bit. is this a bike i can lug through some of the slow stuff?

just getting back into off road stuff. had a 04 CR250R 2 smoke that proved to be to twitchy last year, had an ungodly amount of mods mind you. and am on a klx 300R this year, it works just missing some of the fun factor.

is it worth picking up the yzf? i'll llikely keep the klx either way, but dont wanna waste my money on something i can't use in the woods

You know, judging from this thread I created and the hits I have gotten on it, yes... Lol. I am excited to hopefully get mine on Sunday. It sounds like a Rekluse clutch would make this thing amazing at everything, they usually do though. With the rekluse you can lug it to the point that it would stall without it. I probably, when/if I get mine, I will put a flywheel weight on it; or, depending on the price difference, I might just scrounge up some cash for a rekluse auto-clutch.

On another note: Has anyone fitted a hydraulic clutch to one of these bikes. It should be a universal deal I think, but I am so used to hydraulic and enjoy the feeling of the hydraulic vs. cable clutch so much better, but I could probably adjust... Lol, I am just being picky now. ?

[mkporn]

Here is what I would suggest as this is what I did with my 04 when I got it... Install a Stealthy Flywheel weight (13oz), cost was about a $100. Make the gearing 14-51. A tapered head pipe if you can find one (I can't remember who the mfg was that I got mine from), run Water Wetter or a good coolant product or addative and stuff a radiator cap with a 1.5 bar pressuer rating instead of the 1.1 bar that comes with it. (I think I stole one from a KTM as it fit and ran a higher rating) and make a small puck jug for the overflow, it doesn't need to be much bigger than about 6-8oz in size and can be easily mounted with the overflow tube run into it (don't forget to vent it with a small pin hole).

I rode mine in just about every condition imaginable and the only time I had an issue was in 90 plus weather and having to be just off idle in 1st for a couple miles. It would dump a little bit of coolant, but that was what the puck tank was for....

The flywheel weigth will mellow the nasty hit down and turn it into a pretty amazing traction monster, the 51 toth made first a little lower which helps in the low speed stuff and it didn't take a huge amount of the top, I would say it dropped 6-8 miles an hour off top speed, but the stock bike top speed was in the upper 70s anyway so not a big issue unless you are ricky racer and like to go as fast as you can on open fire roads....

[tachnem]

I've had my 03 yz450 for two years now and finally have it to where it's great for trail-riding/singletrack. In stock form it is way too tall for the tight woods. I added the 8oz DrD FWW first and that helped some, but the biggest help for me was going 13/52 on the sprockets. I've also added the Clarke tank, lowered the stock pegs, higher bars, Pirelli MT43 and a WR 18" wheel in the rear, handguards, the zipty APS and a kickstand and I'm loving it.

I contemplated going to the rekluse or the wr450 gears, but after gearing down the sprockets I'm right where I need to be. Not to mention how much cheaper it was!