Trick out '07 WR 450 or upgrade to new

[rwhitaker]

My 07 WR 450 has been a great bike but it has been through a lot of hard riding. I still love the bike and it has been very reliable and still takes me anywhere but it's not up to par with the new bikes. Should I refresh this old beast or just go with newer technology. I've ridden my 07 basically stock with free mods and FMF exhaust. Any thoughts? By the way, I have ridden a 300 2 smoke and I was. Very impressed!

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

If you can afford a new(er) bike , do it .

How many miles / hours on the WR .

[DirtSmoker250]

There are lots of bikes if you wanted something lighter and with more power.  Like ITS CHOOKEN said if you can afford it go for it.  If you liked the 300 two stroke then I would stick with that.  More power in a lighter bike.

[joey330]

If you have the pockets get a new one. No use in dumping 300 here 400 there 500 here 100 there into an old bike .. because after are year you still have an old bike. Just a year older with more money and some new parts. Then you spend another 300 here then there.

Get a new one because in the long run. You will have bought a new bike just on parts etc.. save up if not and just do what is needed to ride and maintain.

[FORMA MOTO]

The 'newer' bikes have smaller cockpits, if that matters. 

 

It did to me, so I built a 'new' bike ground up using the '08 WR.

[rwhitaker]

2 questions. The new WR has the old style 5 valve motor - how much better is it than my 07? For the KTM 300 how often does it need maintenance and would it be more expensive to maintain over the WR? Reason is my 07 has been absolutely bulletproof

[FORMA MOTO]

2007-2014 are the same 'motor', with different fuel systems, and varying differences in the head porting.

 

Stone cold reliable. The most reliable ever made, so far.

[RockerYZWR]

It's pretty much the same engine but fuel injected on the new WRs as your '07. The weights aren't much different, but I believe the triple clamp offsets are. I've not ridden a newer one, so I don't know how differently it handles. The greatest benefits you get with a new WR are SSS forks and FI. I bought and rebuilt some SSS forks and am happy with a carb, so it'll be a good while before I buy a new WR for sure.

[rwhitaker]

Yes I think with a suspension build it's going to feel like a new bike. I will also do the top end and clean up the head/valves and a new cam chain to freshen up the motor - it's inexpensive when you can do yourself. Think I'm talking myself into staying with old bike unless the new ones are a lot better????

[RMK800]

2 questions. The new WR has the old style 5 valve motor - how much better is it than my 07? For the KTM 300 how often does it need maintenance and would it be more expensive to maintain over the WR? Reason is my 07 has been absolutely bulletproof

I have a brother and two friends who have 300 XC's. They have all done a top end to their bikes. They seem to do them about every two years depending on how much you ride.

[FORMA MOTO]

I have a brother and two friends who have 300 XC's. They have all done a top end to their bikes. They seem to do them about every two years depending on how much you ride.

 

Two years ???!!  

 

More like two months. 

 

You get 50 to 100 hours MAX on a KTM two stroke top end. Waaaay less if you are a pro (maybe 10 hours).

Just because they don't blow up doesn't mean they aren't way worn out............

 

Some of the KTM 2st guys I ride with change them out at 50 hours, which is about 8-10 rides/weeks.

[rwhitaker]

That's what I thought I would be doing 5 top ends a year!! I can go with 1 a year on my Yamaha My 2 sons race also so I know all about maintenance which makes it more important for me to have a tough reliable bike

[SteveThe Snakes]

I like the 07-11's a lot. Just fix the suspension especially the forks. Also a very reliable bike capable of lots more HP and many more years of riding.

[KennyMc]

For $300, the best suspension fix for the '07 WR450 is to get a pair of '06 YZ450 forks ?    They bolt right up without any mods and the ODO still works.  For me, I wasted $$$'s trying to get the open bath forks to be forgiving in the slow, rocky stuff but also have the bottoming resistance I needed for the high speed, whooped out shit the CA desert has.  Just didn't get there, FOR ME.  Best $300 mod I have spent.  Then the YZ timed Hotcams for the WR with a mild port job to the head, that get's a double ?  ?

 

The YZ forks, cams, slight port job and a .5 bump in piston freshened my bike up and made it ride like a completely new bike.  I did the motor work last year in 2013.  That was the first time ANY work was done on the motor.  I had not even CHECKED the valves.  The Yami motors have been proven to be pretty close to bullet proof.

[de450f]

I love my 13 450f. Never rode an older style tho.

Sent from the back woods of vt via patchy Internet

[DirtSmoker250]

That's what I thought I would be doing 5 top ends a year!! I can go with 1 a year on my Yamaha My 2 sons race also so I know all about maintenance which makes it more important for me to have a tough reliable bike

 

I have two 2 strokes so I can always have at least one bike going at a time.  Ones a RM125 and ones a YZ250.  The RM125 I recently did the top end so it is good to go but the YZ250 could use one. 

[080]

Two years ???!!  

 

More like two months. 

 

You get 50 to 100 hours MAX on a KTM two stroke top end. Waaaay less if you are a pro (maybe 10 hours).

Just because they don't blow up doesn't mean they aren't way worn out............

 

Some of the KTM 2st guys I ride with change them out at 50 hours, which is about 8-10 rides/weeks.

Agreed, but that statement covers all manufactures 2strks not just KTM. A pro track guy can go through a set of rings on a cr500 in 15-20hrs.

[DirtSmoker250]

There is also a lot of variation in the time people go for top ends.  A lot of information out there but no one really ever agrees on a set number of hours because a lot depends on how hard you ride. 

[080]

There is also a lot of variation in the time people go for top ends.  A lot of information out there but no one really ever agrees on a set number of hours because a lot depends on how hard you ride.

Exactly..

- Level of rider

- Number of hours

- Type of riding

[080]

Yes I think with a suspension build it's going to feel like a new bike. I will also do the top end and clean up the head/valves and a new cam chain to freshen up the motor - it's inexpensive when you can do yourself. Think I'm talking myself into staying with old bike unless the new ones are a lot better????

Like TheKoolAidMadeMeSick said, the newer one has a smaller cockpit and does feel smaller when riding it so that could be a pro or con???? Otherwise I would suggest the newer one working better in the singletrack and the older one a better pick for faster trails etc. They are not night and day different so both can handle both applications just fine.