2011 YZ450f

[Mighty_Whitey]

Hey TT'rs. I bought my first thumper back in 04' (04 yz450f) and you all shared in my excitement. One thing i'll never forget, after posting up a picture of her before touching dirt, was someone saying to enjoy her like this because she will NEVER be the same. Back then, I couldn't fully understand or appreciate the statement. Since then, i've bought an 06' and remembered that comment and truly realized it to be true after the first ride; all the little scratches, nicks and dings...it's amazing the thing isn't vaporized into dust after a full season of SoCal MX Racing, but I was bummed that I hadn't really captured that moment with photo's, etc.

Anyway, I just bought a 2011 YZ450f SE and decided to bust out the 50MM 1.8 lens and take a bunch of pictures of her before I got her dirty. To those that don't ride it may look like i'm trying to pull off some close cropped artsy fartsy shots here, but to those who ride, you may just appreciate all the little details of a shiny new bike...because she will never be the same. :-)

http://douglasredding.smugmug.com/Action/Motorcycles/2011-YZ450f-SE/14809835_mhLwY#1104782065_X9ZsC

Cheers,

Doug

[brentn]

Thx for the shots, now I know that the white lower radiator plastics on the new models is textured just like the 2010's...

I bought mine brand new in sept, paid cash, was so happy, never had a new bike before. I never took any pics of it when it was perfect, and I sorta regret it.

My first ride out I was in a quarry and some of the rock basins were flooded with old poured and poorly mixed cement.

The liquid soapy surface sprayed on the swing arm, the front of the engine, the front of the frame and permanently stained the aluminum!!!

I was a little choked, just cause it would have been nice to only have small scratches on it after my first ride.

The clutch cover wears nice on these models, only the outer ridges of the design are worn off instead of like the older models where half of the cover is worn off after riding.

Have fun with it!

[SEOINAGE]

yeah nice photos, even after two rides my bike has major black boot marks on swing arm and other blemishes.

[tech24]

The SE is pretty sharp looking its my first time seeing it, thanks!

[YamaLink]

So nice!

Reminds me I should take a few pics.....and upgrade my from 8 year old 2.0 megapixel camera.

[cowboyona426]

I kind of liked the unique shots, its a nice change from the shots of the bike from the side, front, or rear we've all seen a million different times. But you should have bought the blue one ?

[Lit Kite]

No way! I love the Black and Red! That thing is beautiful!

Have you ridden it yet? What do you think? Is the air intake sound bothersome or no big deal? Where did you get it and what kind out out the door final price did you get? I am on the hunt for a new bike at the moment and I keep going back to your exact bike! That thing is so sweet!

[Mighty_Whitey]

Cowboy462 - actually, my plan was to buy the blk/wht model for the black Excels then immediately slap the factory blu/wht plastics on her. This way when I sell her in 2-3 years, I can slap fresh factory plastics back on. As it turns out, I really like the way she looked in this color so i've ordered the usual DecalWorks backgrounds to match the color and my main sponsor, Dr.D Racing, has a team graphic in wht/blk/red so that works and will go on the bike. i'll post up pics in a few days when she's stickered up. I'm not liking the way my 2 year old Gaerne's are wearing on the airbox plastic and swingarm. The decal kits are more for protection than anything.

Lit Kite,

I've only put one full day at a local track. Four heat cycle motos:

#1 - 1/4 to 1/2 throttle for 8-10 minutes

cool completely down

#2 - 1/4 to 1/2 throttle for 10-15 minutes

cool completely down

#3 - 1/4 to 3/4 throttle for 10-15 minutes

cool completely down

#4 - fill tank and ride her like I stole her.

Ride impression? Well, it's too soon to say. I've put about 200 hours on two race motors on my 2006 (the black bike in the pictures) and my 06 has been completely dialed for me with offset bars, ENZO suspension, etc. So to compare a bone stock bike to that is completely unfair. I will say that right out of the box I can turn this bike better and the motor is so much better than my 06' race motor (high comp. piston, race valves, carb mod and race fuel) that it's feels like a completely different class. Yes, EFI has much to do with it but geez...it's crazy fast EVERYWHERE bone stock.

The sucking noise in the airbox is VERY annoying to me. Annoying to the point that I will put a DR.D pipe on the bike 80% for the noise and 20% for the performance gains. It doesn't really sounds like a sucking noise by the way, to me, it sounds like someone is holding a wet rag over the exhaust pipe and the exhaust note of the bike is flat, dull and annoying (my $0.02).

I can't say where I got it because I got a bro deal but my OTD price was $8,400.

I've already done an oil change and air filter change and the oil change was awesome, not having to deal with a head pipe (i have the DR.D lowboy head pipe on 06) was splendid.

The airbox was cool looking but having to remove 6 bolts and peel the bike back like layers of an onion was weird. Not so much annoying but different.

I'm putting the DR.D on her next week, full system.

Installing a +1 tooth rear sprocket (TAG)

ARC levers

Braided front brake line

and after about 10-12 hours the suspension will go to ENZO for springs and valving for VET Expert rider, and that's it...race her for about 90-100 hours before a new top end.

Anyway, I open my garage every damn day now for a week just to stare at her and I smile like a goofy kid every time I see her.

Cheers,

Doug

[Lit Kite]

Thanks for the honest, insightful and very helpful feedback. I think I might go the way of the blue beast! (or red/white/blk in this case) I am excited to try something other than a Honda to be honest. Have a great season on your new ride!

[Mighty_Whitey]

Thanks Lit Kite. Good luck with whichever brand you choose. They are all so good these days...you really can't go wrong. We are so spoiled! :-)

[HRC]

Thanks for the honest, insightful and very helpful feedback. I think I might go the way of the blue beast! (or red/white/blk in this case) I am excited to try something other than a Honda to be honest. Have a great season on your new ride!

I know what your talking about ! ?

[Mighty_Whitey]

race numbers installed. next week is DR.D pipe and ARC levers...

http://douglasredding.smugmug.com/Action/Motorcycles/2011-YZ450f-SE/14809835_mhLwY#1113902996_cuBkJ

?

[Scrubba]

i disagree with that theory "it will never be the same"

If you maintain your bike like a pro. replace damaged parts, detail washing after every use, maintain the frame, etc. you will still have a relatively sharp looking bike all year long.

Maybe it might not be the same, but with good mods and maintenence, it could even be better.

dont be a skwid.

[Mighty_Whitey]

and there's "that" guy...thanks for posting up Scrubba dubba. ?

[Pmason718]

Great Pics! I'm glad you posted those. I'm looking to pick up the same bike same color

[Pmason718]

what stand is that your using and which decal kit (numbers) is that

[powers450f]

Nice I am thinking I would of rather went with the blue but the old style color is starting to grow on me. I haven't got to ride mine yet.

[Pmason718]

Nice I am thinking I would of rather went with the blue but the old style color is starting to grow on me. I haven't got to ride mine yet.

Nice. I think that's the best color for 2011. The blue is ok, I think it would look better with black rims