2008 WR450F with 2006 YZ suspension and cams

[FORMA MOTO]

I restarted this thread, to get into more detail on specifics.

The bike is now done, but not done.....

The YZ suspension valving is way out of balance, so they will have to come off next week to be altered.

The front is way to stiff, and the rear is way to soft.

It's rideable, but not balanced. The front deflects, and the rear wallows.

I have 6.4 Diverse spring in the rear, and .54 KYB spring in the front (YZ length, which is about 15mm longer)

The hot cams "YZ-lift" cams are quite noticable once you open the throttle and let the revs up.

In 1/4 to 1/2 throttle you just barely notice, and off-idle response is just like an un-corked WR, which is a very good thing......very very torquey and great throttle response.

I can tell the Accelerator pump needs more fine tuning, as there is a very small bog, only noticeable on pavement.

One thing is for sure, she sure looks good.

I plan to do a real ride tomorrow, to get a better idea of the suspension limitation in really coarse sand, and really large whoops.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Krannie

[270winchester]

yep, looks real good. what gas tank and what muffler are you running? What fuel do you run in her?

I have a fi model. Happy so far. Need to order a tank. Stock suspension screwed all the way out, then 6 turns in all the way around is current settings. I am 200 lbls with gear. Did I say tour bike looks good?

[FORMA MOTO]

yep, looks real good. what gas tank and what muffler are you running? What fuel do you run in her?

I have a fi model. Happy so far. Need to order a tank. Stock suspension screwed all the way out, then 6 turns in all the way around is current settings. I am 200 lbls with gear. Did I say tour bike looks good?

IMS 3.2 tank

FMF 4.1 Ti

Fuel? Only premium/91+, in all motorcycles, always.

Edited March 31, 2013 by Krannie

[gcally]

I really like the start/kill switch. Are they from highwaydirtbikes?

I am currently putting together a dual sport 07 WR and I am using the sicass racing kit but I would like steal your idea on the start/kill switch.

I already have their LED rear turn signals and they are awesome.

http://www.highwaydirtbikes.com/HDB_Shop/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=ts_rear

Edited March 31, 2013 by gcally

[FORMA MOTO]

[FORMA MOTO]

I really like the start/kill switch. Are they from highwaydirtbikes?

I am currently putting together a dual sport 07 WR and I am using the sicass racing kit but I would like steal your idea on the start/kill switch.

I already have their LED rear turn signals and they are awesome.

http://www.highwaydi...how&ref=ts_rear

Yes, Highway dirtbikes bar switches.

I wish they made a good DS bar cluster switch set up

[SurfaceToAir]

Any idea if that light has high and low beam? And if so, do you know if the plug for it is the same as a 2008? I would like to put that on my 2008 450X.

Looks good!

-Dustin

[FORMA MOTO]

Any idea if that light has high and low beam? And if so, do you know if the plug for it is the same as a 2008? I would like to put that on my 2008 450X.

Looks good!

-Dustin

I've seen several X's with this headlight.

The stock bulb is a standard H4 size, so the X will slip right in, I think.

The H4-HID I installed has no high/low.

[FORMA MOTO]

[FORMA MOTO]

OK, rode it again today.

- changed fork mid-valve stack (modifications to both rebound and compression)

- stiffened compression and rebound stacks in the shock

- fixed all lighting issues, new rear turn signals (not permanently mounted yet)

- mounted Endurance computer on custom bracket

THIS THING ROCKS!

It's fast, it wheelies like crazy, and it turns perfectly.

The suspension appears to now be very balanced, both under acceleration and braking.

Can't wait to get it out on a real ride.

It's impressive....!

Edited April 6, 2013 by Krannie

[beezer]

Does the e-start work with the cams?

[gcally]

I am very interested to see how the YZ forks work for you on a real long test ride with all types of terrain.

I am getting ready to take my 07 YZ forks and WR rear shock over to Pro-Action. There original home office is less than 5 miles from my house. Did you have someone setup the YZ forks or did you do all the work yourself? I hope Pro-Action can get these thing working good on the first shot.

[FORMA MOTO]

Does the e-start work with the cams?

Yes, flawlessly. The bike starts, idles, and runs, just like stock. Literally, just like stock (fully uncorked stock, that is).....until you turn the throttle past half way, then the revs build, and the front wheel paws the air.....!

[FORMA MOTO]

I am very interested to see how the YZ forks work for you on a real long test ride with all types of terrain.

I am getting ready to take my 07 YZ forks and WR rear shock over to Pro-Action. There original home office is less than 5 miles from my house. Did you have someone setup the YZ forks or did you do all the work yourself? I hope Pro-Action can get these thing working good on the first shot.

I had a ProAction set up with my stock forks, and it was the best I was able to get the stock forks after several tries. Still bottomed at high speeds though....

If you go to Pro-action, just be sure that they actually tune the fork, as in modifying the shim stacks for the mid valve, rebound and compression.....not just put in the 'pro-action' variable bottom valve, which is NOT the issue with KYB forks. It's the mid-valve that needs the work. The bottom valve on the 2006+ YZ forks (SSS) have perfect bottom valves already....

I had the front and rear sprung and valved by AS Racing in Santa Clarita.

They did not get it right on the first try. It was pretty far off. It was easy to notice in a 5 minute ride.

I had them go one level stiffer on rebound and compression in the rear, one softer in the front, with the clickers at 12/12: right in the middle.

I don't do my own motors or suspension any more.

All that icky oil and stuff....

Edited April 7, 2013 by Krannie

[FORMA MOTO]

Update # leventy-zillion:

Well, turns out there is NO accelerator pump linkage spring upgrade in the carb like the PO said there was.

I am going to start a picture thread on how to replace the linkage spring, how to inspect your apump system, and to upgrade with the R&D powerbowl, and how to quickly adjust the squirt.

Stay tuned.

The TPS is waaay out, and I will try to adjust it, in but past experiences I just end up unplugging it for the smoothest result.

I suppose the Dynatek is an alternative, but it will have to wait.

R&D Powerbowl II is on it's way. Just like the 2007's, the 2008 has terrible partial throttle steadiness on paved roads.

Something to do with the needle jet and gas frothing, I am told.

It only happens about 3 or 4 minutes into a steady throttle run. If you bounce the bike up and down, it goes away for a minute, and then comes back.

The PB Ii has always cured this in the past....

YZ suspension is still pretty far off. It's just fine for really fast fire roads and really slow technical, but the rough terrain above 3rd gear, it is not tracking the terrain closely enough.

I am going to back off the rear high-speed compression by 1/2 turn, and try again to get a balance of keeping the rear end up (more low speed compression) , and having the rear wheel still remain on the ground as much as possible.

The forks have so much stiction, they act like they have reduced travel. On the pavement, they don't even move, most of the time....making transitional rut-repairs a real fun time... and they don't even feel that stiff when you pump them.

Once you get going however, they do work very well. Very plush, very predictable. I have yet to take them on 45mph whoops.

FMF pipe is waaaay to loud.

A good 10db louder than the Dr D on my X. I pulled the can to re-fill it, and it was already filled.

I am shopping for a different pipe ( Leo Vince looks nice, or the Dr D).

*** THE FMF 4.1 Titanium slip-on will go up for sale, if anyone is interested. It's almost pristine in appearance. $ 180.00 !!

The cam's are GREAT. The bike is a rocket! The bottom end appears to be exactly the same as the stock cams, but let the rpms get up around 4500, and thing pulls HARD.

It's tons of fun to drift the thing around fire roads!

Don't like the GPS steering damper.

It only damps one way, which makes for feedback I am not used to, and I keep over compensating.

It will go up for sale too, as I don't want to have to re-think too much when jumping from bike to bike.

I had that problem with the KTM.

Completely different set of muscles to steer the KtM.....

Overall, it's all heading in the right direction: a bike that can be ridden very, very slow, over rocks and sand, and still JET up to speed, and handle the fairly rough stuff, without being a big fat Cadillac to do so.

[n16ht5]

great work, you answered my suspension dilemma! I was trying to figure out what I want to do with my stock 07 forks.. looks like the answer is the SSS swap with a revalve.

I am going to ask for a PBII when more fun money comes my way, I couldn't get rid of that slight bog on the street cracks either. Forks are the priority right now.

as for the exhaust, I have tried quite a few on the WR... the Leo Vince was definitely the nicest by a long shot. I regret selling it. I swapped for a Lexx mxe just for the trail saver super quiet tip (~88db) for the local secret stash trails. If I were to do it over again I would run the Leo Vince but fab a super quiet tip for it. Quality is very good in the Leo.

[gcally]

Thanks for the update. All your research is really going to really help when I finally get the chance to work on my new 07. I have a pile of parts waiting to go on I just have not had the time to get it done.

This is what I have sitting on the shelf for the carb setup.

Power Bowl 2

Merge Racing accelerator pump spring

JD Jet kit

JD air fuel screw

Yamaha AIS removal kit (the bike already had it installed from the dealer)

Carb questions…

What AC pump spring are you going to use? I bought the Merge Racing one before I got the Power Bowl which also came with a spring. Surprisingly the two springs fell like they have different levels of tension to them. The Merge Racing one seems to be stiffer than the one that came with the Power Bowl.

Are you using a Main Air Jet #110 that comes with the AIS removal kit? (Which goes into the hole that didn't have a jet originally) Per JD Jetting he said to remove the Main Air Jet when using one of his kits on the WR.

What needle are you using? I am considering selling the JD jet kit and just using a Keihin needle.

Suspension question…

Do you think the current setup for the YZ forks are working better than you WR forks setup by Pro-Action ever did?

[gcally]

I am going to ask for a PBII when more fun money comes my way, I couldn't get rid of that slight bog on the street cracks either. Forks are the priority right now.

When you go to buy the Power Bowl 2 look around on the net, I got mine for around 160 shipped.

Edited April 16, 2013 by gcally

[gcally]

FMF pipe is waaaay to loud.

A good 10db louder than the Dr D on my X. I pulled the can to re-fill it, and it was already filled.

I am shopping for a different pipe ( Leo Vince looks nice, or the Dr D).

Full Akrapovic system for a 09 YZ450 Should bolt on the WR fine. $480 Shipped is very tempting.

http://www.ebay.com/...00b9cea&vxp=mtr

Coming from road racing for the last 10 years, I have used just about every exhaust manufacture out there and Akrapivic is hands down the highest quality exhaust that you can get. Leo Vince is a close second.

Edited April 16, 2013 by gcally

[FORMA MOTO]

Thanks for the update. All your research is really going to really help when I finally get the chance to work on my new 07. I have a pile of parts waiting to go on I just have not had the time to get it done.

This is what I have sitting on the shelf for the carb setup.

Power Bowl 2

Merge Racing accelerator pump spring

JD Jet kit

JD air fuel screw

Yamaha AIS removal kit (the bike already had it installed from the dealer)

Carb questions…

What AC pump spring are you going to use? I bought the Merge Racing one before I got the Power Bowl which also came with a spring. Surprisingly the two springs fell like they have different levels of tension to them. The Merge Racing one seems to be stiffer than the one that came with the Power Bowl.

I FORGOT THAT THE NEW POWERBOWL TWO COMES WITH THE SPRING UPGRADE, BUT YES I WILL BE USING THE MERGE SPRING (on its way)

Are you using a Main Air Jet #110 that comes with the AIS removal kit? (Which goes into the hole that didn't have a jet originally) Per JD Jetting he said to remove the Main Air Jet when using one of his kits on the WR.

NO, I USE A 100 AIR JET

What needle are you using? I am considering selling the JD jet kit and just using a Keihin needle.

I USE THE NCVS NEEDLE ON THE 3RD POSITION

Suspension question…

Do you think the current setup for the YZ forks are working better than you WR forks setup by Pro-Action ever did?

WAYY WAAAAY WAAAYYYY BETTER THAN THE SMART PERFORMANCE OR PROACTION STOCK FORK UPGRADE.

I THINK THE STICTION ISSUE IS BECAUSE OF THE SEALS AND BUSHINGS USED, AND WILL EVENTUALLY SUBSIDE.