Is the wr426 the right bike?

[Jigggawatt]

I want a bike I can dualsport a little ,motocross a little and trail ride a lot. I'm #230 and a experienced rider.

Thanks for any help JIM

[MiniMadMan50]

Personally I won't ever ride my WR426 on a track ever again. And I'm over 50 pounds lighter than you. It was plain and simple too heavy, and didn't have enough getupandgo coming out of tight corners.

On the trail, it's a BLAST. I haven't dual-sported it (too many crazy drivers out there), but I imagine it would be fun. Stock gearing might be a little low for the street, so you may wish to drop a tooth or two on the front sprocket if you ever do any extended amount of street riding. Good luck! ?

[Jigggawatt]

Thanks for the info.I wanted a dual sport just to connect trails in the mountains without getting in trouble. I coming off a xr650r and had a crf450 before that,whats the top gear like/speed wise on the wr?

[PBDBLUE]

I am in the process of Dual Sporting my '01 WR426 right now (got the plate just cleaning up the install a bit). I think it's going to be an ideal DS for me. My intention is 80-90% dirt/10% street. Sounds like that's what your after as well. I have been riding the WR4xx's a long time and can tell you that they are great do-it-all bikes. They do require a bit of tweaking to get the performance up but there's a lot of info here on how to do that. MX is probably their weak point as they are heavier and lack power without the mod's. I've tweaked on my '01 and it will flat blow away a stock YZ. The potential is there. I typically run 14-48 gearing (depending on conditions) and in that configuration it will do somewhere in the mid 90's (GPS and Trailtech verified) and still has a pretty reasonable 1st gear. The weight will be difficult to drop if you're going to keep it in DS trim. The gearbox is a bit wide for MX as well. Other than MX I think it will make a very trailworthy DS.

[wrkaholic]

I would say yes to your question. I had a built XR650L before I got my WR426. The free mods, jetting, and the YZ timing make the 426 very fast and powerful. I am a power nut and for the first time, I do not want more power. I am 6'1", 245 lbs. and I love this bike. It is not heavy! A XR650 is much heavier. Make sure to get rid of the stock steel muffler. You will save 4 lbs. going to an aluminum muffler. In my opinion, the 426 is the best compromise between a CRF450 and the XR650R. To a large degree, the 426 with a few small mods can hang with both bikes in their own element. How many bikes can say that? Some KTMs maybe, but, that is it. Good luck with your purchase

[Math]

I'm not a killer on the bike but I wish to say that my WR 426 is the best bike I have ever ridden. I've tried XR650R and L, XR400, KDXs, full mx bikes... but my WR remains the top one. I dual sport my WR with the use of two rim sets and it's quite fun this way because you can put the street set to go to work and put the knobbies on week-ends. The bike is a bit heavy for MX I think. It is a good jumper to my opinion (I dont do real big air though). The problem is that it will be a bit heavy compared to those lite mx bikes on a track... In this situation a liter bike would be more fun but I guess you don't want to race a dual sport on the track so... riding around is just OK...

In your situation, I would say that 14-47 or 48 is just fine. I do a lot of road with the bike so I'm with a 16 t front sprocket but it is too high for the trail... I plan on using a 15 next year.

[r1superstar]

"I want a bike I can dualsport a little ,motocross a little and trail ride a lot. I'm #230 and a experienced rider.

Thanks for any help JIM"

Yes the WR426 is great for those things you are thinking of doing. I have put mine to the test on SX tracks, MX tracks, dunes, desert and trail riding. It is a very capable jumper.

I'm not a killer on the bike but I wish to say that my WR 426 is the best bike I have ever ridden. I've tried XR650R and L, XR400, KDXs, full mx bikes... but my WR remains the top one. I dual sport my WR with the use of two rim sets and it's quite fun this way because you can put the street set to go to work and put the knobbies on week-ends. The bike is a bit heavy for MX I think. It is a good jumper to my opinion (I dont do real big air though). The problem is that it will be a bit heavy compared to those lite mx bikes on a track... In this situation a liter bike would be more fun but I guess you don't want to race a dual sport on the track so... riding around is just OK...

In your situation, I would say that 14-47 or 48 is just fine. I do a lot of road with the bike so I'm with a 16 t front sprocket but it is too high for the trail... I plan on using a 15 next year.

The WR426 is heavy but not too heavy for MX. Remember it's 90% rider 10% machine.

I love my WR426 ?

[Disco]

Hey there-

I am considering the same question. I've heard nothing but good things about the WR4xx, so I am making the move to pick one up. HOWEVER, when I stopped in the dealership to see what the fuss was all about with this new WR450, the sales guy simply told me to get on the 450 and kick it over a few times, simulating starting. It was VERY easy, just like a two stroke. Then he took me outside to try the same on a WR426. I couldnt even get it to kick over. The sales guy said you have to be "trained" on how to start the 426's. Armed with that information, I am pursuing a WR450 I think. Has anyone else experienced the same starting problems with the 426? Granted, I'm 180# and I used to have a hard time with my XR600, but I believe the compression ratio is higher in the Yamaha.

Anyway, best of luck in finding the right bike.

D

[PBDBLUE]

I have owned every generation of WR4xx (400/426/450). Each has been a significant improvement over it's predecessor. I've had a 450 for about two months now and can say it too is a significant improvement over the 426. Even though the scales say it weighs about the same it rides much lighter. The estart will spoil you and you will never want to give it up. The auto compression release has a side benefit of allowing easy bump starting (something pretty hard to do on the 400/426). Having said all that I would steer clear of the '03 WR450 as it had way too many problems with the starter/woodruff key. The '04 has significant changes to the starter drive and though it's too early to tell for sure appears to be a much better design. Bottom line if you can afford one get the '04 WR450. ?

[Woodzi]

The 426 is very easy to start if you use the decompressor and follow the drill. I had an XR 600 before the 426 and the 426 is much easier to start. I don't think I have ever kicked it more than three times except when I have done something stupid like not turning on the gas.

As for MX, the more your track looks like a supercross track, the less you will like it. I have ridden natural terrain tracks where you couldn't imagine having a better bike. On the other hand, I have been passed through man made whoops by novices on MX bikes who are much slower than me everywhere else. Overall, it's fun being 38 years old and passing guys half your age riding MX bikes with an enduro bike with turn signals and a street licence plate!

All the WR's are all very capable, versatile and reliable bikes. You will not be disappointed.