Picked this gem up for $800

[scrubbin627]

Ive got to get a decent rear tire to. Worn out 756's are junk!

[Justin]

Im running Applied 24.5mm if I remember right. That and proper boingers/sag makes a HUGE improvement!

[grayracer513]

Im running Applied 24.5mm if I remember right. That and proper boingers/sag makes a HUGE improvement!

Suspension setup is critical, indeed. Are you sure your clamp set isn't a 22.5? That was the Applied set I had on my '03 for a while. Stock is 25mm.

[Justin]

Yeah that could be, I just looked on their site and only saw 24mm, I remember mine being 1.5 less than stock. I thought my 06 was 26mm, I guess I need to check my part numbers! =)

They did have a tighter offset option but didnt recommend it on the 450, only the smaller bikes.

I just run whatever Applied recommends, they have test riders who are much better than I am, so I trust their recomendations more than my booty dyno. I can say that even 1.5mm made a noticeable difference!

[grayracer513]

Applied had a couple of them for an '06. 24 was the one their blind test selected as the best for that year model, and also the one Doug Dubach liked. Different for steel framer like the one the OP has, though.

[scrubbin627]

Good info. Ill probably service the suspension first to make sure its working right. Some clamps are definitely on the wish list.

[2grimjim]

You have an '03 or '04 machine. I can tell from the forks. The 10th digit in the VIN will tell you what year it is. The '03-'04 YZ has a better cylinder head casting than the '05. Yamaha tried to tame the power of the '05 by reducing the volume of the intake port and using a milder timing map program in the CDI. The cams were the same on all '03-'05's. The '03 was brutally fast and the '04 not much different.

Before you make any commitmentments on tripple clamps you want to make sure what year your machine is and what size forks you have. The '03-'04 machines had 46mm forks and the '05 had 48mm. The forks are completely differents beasts.

$800 is a smokin' deal for a machine that runs! I just paid $700 for a nice, clean 2005 YZ250F that needs valves.

[scrubbin627]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I am 100% sure now its an 04 with the 48mm forks. The first year for the bigger forks was actually 2004.

So far Ive been very pleased with the motor. This thing rips! I rode new bikes up untill 2009 and now being on something older Ive been really surprised how well it still works. Even with the jacked up suspension.

[2grimjim]

Not to be argumentative, but you have the old style 46mm rubber-bumper open cartridge fork (I've rebuilt LOTS of them). The 48mm fork used the re-routed CR Honda style front brake hose and one-piece fork guard (no guide bolted to the upper tube). The upper fork tubes are also a different diameter on the 48's.

Just trying to save you the grief of purchasing triple clamps for the 48's only to find out they won't work.

[scrubbin627]

Not trying to be argumenitive either but this is a 2004 YZ450. The 10th digit is a 4. They came stock with 48mm forks.

http://motocross.transworld.net/1000020568/features/first-impression-2004-yamaha-yz450f/

http://www.tracksideinc.com/new_vehicle_detail.asp?veh=8219

[J_YZ2fittyX]

geesh, 800 bux? How desperate were they for cash, lol. I paid $800 for an 01 WR250F and thought i got a good deal, LMAO...not too confident in that anymore, rofl.

[scrubbin627]

geesh, 800 bux? How desperate were they for cash, lol. I paid $800 for an 01 WR250F and thought i got a good deal, LMAO...not too confident in that anymore, rofl.

It was an older guy Ive known a long time. He was going through a divorce when he sold it to me. Funny thing is a week later decided to stay with her

[2grimjim]

Not trying to be argumenitive either but this is a 2004 YZ450. The 10th digit is a 4. They came stock with 48mm forks.

http://motocross.transworld.net/1000020568/features/first-impression-2004-yamaha-yz450f/

http://www.tracksideinc.com/new_vehicle_detail.asp?veh=8219

The info they have posted is incorrect (like that's never happened before). Check your forks with a set of calipers. I was a mechanic at my local Yamaha dealer for 3 years and have been wrenching on bikes for 30 years. Going by the photograph you posted, you have 46mm forks.

[grayracer513]

The info they have posted is incorrect

So is yours. The '04 YZ450 was equipped with 48mm open bath KYB forks. They were used one year, then moved to the WR450 when the first 48mm twin chamber fork (AOSS) came out in '05. The brake hose reroute took place on the '05 model.

[2grimjim]

Ok, I was wrong, they are 48mm, but they were one year freak KYB open cartridge type. They have nothing in common with the 48mm fork used in 2005 on the YZ and they are not the same as the 2005 WR fork either. The WR's used the rubber bumper untill '06 and the YZ went back to the lock collar in 2004. The WR also got the updated rerouting of the brake hose and one piece guards that the twin chamber forks got in 2005.

[scrubbin627]

Put some graphics on over the holiday break. Next is going to be new grips and a back tire. Grand total so far $940

[eflyguy]

Looks great and one heck of a deal.

In starting mine, I begin by pushing it through to the next compression stroke. About one time in four, it will start during the push through, with an obviously effortless push on the kick crank. I live for the times it does that for an audience. You should see the looks....?

It astounds me how easily it will start sometimes. I guess that big piston is still sucking a lot of air and fuel with that single stroke. It's such a good feeling when you pull the bike out after it hasn't been run for a week, and it starts on the first kick..

..a