Rekluse or new bike?

[Orlandorider]

I have a 2004 yz450f and it is in good shape. The 2004YZs are 4 speeds and it is not difficult to stall it around corners. I was considering getting a newer yz with a speed or possibly trying a Rekluse clutch. I would be looking at an 07 or 08 yz. Any suggestions?

[RiderX]

Buy both! LOL! The Rekluse would obviously be cheaper, and will solve the stalling problem. That is unless you can get a good price for your bike and find a steal on an 07-08. I love my Rekluse.

[Hurricane]

If your bike is in good shape and you are happy with it you might aswell keep it. I had to look for a couple months to find a decent 06 or newer YZ450 in my area at a decent price but there are a ton 0f 03 to 05 yz's around here and really cheap. For some reason they just don't sell good in my area but I don't know if that is wide spread or just my area. If you want to avoid taking the hit on your bike then buy the rekluse, down the road it will become a selling point when you do finally get a new bike.

[hotnanas]

i love my rekluse so much in my 426 that I had to put one on my 250f also.

[eazrider]

I put a 5 speed in my '04 because of the awkward gearing issue with the 4 speed: gear it tall enough to go fast, and low enough to go slow and it never seemed quite right with the 4 speed. After I installed the 5 speed, I also installed a Rekluse....I think the 4 speed would have worked fine, if I had put the Rekluse in before I swapped trannys....

[ttr250dude]

A Rekluse will fix the stalling but with a 4 speed its more of a band-aid fix. I would get a bike with a 5 speed. Yami of course ? I'd be willing to bet $$ that getting a 5 speed will fix your problem. Or like eazrider did, throw a 5 speed in there. The 4 speed, due to the big gaps in ratios, in hard to gear properly for any specific riding. Gear it low for single track and you'll run out of top speed for other riding. Gear it for wide open stuff and you'll be stalling in tight stuff. Either get a 5 speed bike or put a 5 speed in your currents bike.

[grayracer513]

FYI: the first three gear ratios of the '03-'05 4 speed are virtually identical to the first 3 of the '06-'11 box. Just having the 5 speed isn't the answer. If you convert it to a WR450 5 speed, that's another matter, since it's a wide ratio.

Referring to the Rekluse as a "band-aid fix" is not at all accurate.

[eazrider]

With my '04 4 speed and the Rekluse, I think I could have geared it taller for more reasonable speed in the faster stuff, and the Rekluse would have handled the resulting taller low gear without a whimper..

[ttr250dude]

In that case, try a heavier flywheel and taller gearing and work on clutch technique. I ride primarily tight technical single track and I rarely ever stall with that setup. (rocks, logs, rutted tight climbs, river beds, etc.)

[Just_a_trail_rider]

Even with a new bike, you will still need the rekluse. The question is...do you or do you not want a new bike?

[ttr250dude]

I don't think a Rekluse is a necessity. In some cases that may be very convenient, but if people managed to get by before they were available, why couldn't they get by now?

[grayracer513]

I don't think a Rekluse is a necessity.

It's not a necessity. Neither is spending an entire day on technical trails without killing the engine once by mistake. All without giving the clutch a thought. Not necessary at all, but pretty damn cool, all the same.

[dgcars]

I could live with 'only once'. It's the 2nd and 3rd time thats a pain in the butt

[ttr250dude]

I could live with 'only once'. It's the 2nd and 3rd time thats a pain in the butt

What becomes a pain in the butt?

[dgcars]

Stalling....

[ron_m]

The really bad part about stalling is if the bike is extremely hard to get kick started again when it is hot. I never experience this with any of my bikes, but I have witnessed some riding buddies go through this on a very hot summer day and they were extremely frustrated. A Rekluse solved their problems. Now they are very happy with those same bikes.

[Just_a_trail_rider]

In that case, try a heavier flywheel and taller gearing and work on clutch technique. I ride primarily tight technical single track and I rarely ever stall with that setup. (rocks, logs, rutted tight climbs, river beds, etc.)

I don't think a Rekluse is a necessity. In some cases that may be very convenient, but if people managed to get by before they were available, why couldn't they get by now?

You're a stud and the rest of us are spodes. When we grow up, we wanna be just like you.

But until we do, gadgets like the Rekluse sure make things a lot easier.

[Orlandorider]

I never thought about changing the gears. Is that hard or expensive? I do a lot of work on my own bike. I can do a clutch or a top end. Where do I get new gears??

[grayracer513]

I never thought about changing the gears. Is that hard or expensive? I do a lot of work on my own bike. I can do a clutch or a top end. Where do I get new gears??

Are you talking about the transmission gears? From Yamaha:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2761046#post2761046