What did you do to your YZ450FX today?

[NorCal]

Ok my computer somehow cut my last post short.

Main complaint has been the wide ratio transmission, I ride a lot of moto and the wide ratio is killing me. With that being said I have a friend who was nice enough to to the homework and he claims (I hope he's right) that the YZ trans will just drop in. My plan is to keep the tall 5th if it'll fit for transfer roads when I do ride off road.

 

The other thing for winter will be another revalve and softer springs if I can manage to drop from my porky 245lbs to my goal of about 200 lbs.

 

Along with that, yesterday I spent some time talking about chassis setup with Matt from Checkpoint Offroad and his experience with the FX's the 7mm longer rear shock makes the bike a bit too much of a stinkbug unless you ride a ton of tight single track, which I don't do so with his recommendation I'm going to add a 5mm shim in the shock to lower the back about an inch.

 

I agree with you on the wide ratio transmission not doing you any favors on the moto track. It seems

too gappy. Even on tight trails I don't like it. Keeping the regular YZ trans, with the X 5th would have been ideal for

me.

[mxrider4life847]

I live mostly between 2nd-3rd while I'm at the mx track. Mostly 3rd, but requires more clutchwork. I have a heavy 2 stroke background so this seems to come natural. There are a couple sections at different tracks that require 4th to clear a triple and a nasty step up.. I can hit them in 3rd, but it's ugly. However, I have no complaints with it on the mx track. I've adapted to it well.

Meanwhile, my FX has been sitting idle for 4ish weeks now. Seems like it's been months! In the process of building a new house and this has pretty much consumed every second of extra free time. The good thing though, is once I'm done... I will have the luxury of opening my shop door and riding my 7 mile XC track, whenever I want.

[mxrider4life847]

Does anyone have a rekluse z start pro on their FX?

[grayracer513]

Not in an FX, but I have one on my '06 and I love the thing.  I still think the operation is smoother than any of the EXP stuff, and better suited to off-road. 

[mxrider4life847]

Not in an FX, but I have one on my '06 and I love the thing. I still think the operation is smoother than any of the EXP stuff, and better suited to off-road.

Good deal. I had one on my yz250. And after getting used to it and getting it adjusted out nicely, I loved it. It really helped with my weak left wrist, lap times were a little quicker, and noticed long race fatigue went down greatly. Anxious to give It a go on my FX.

[FORMA MOTO]

New 4mm michelin front tube and Golden Tyre 216-11 tire.

[Awags20]

Hey guys, just picked up a 17' today. Excited to get back on the dirt

[Steve Stifler]

I picked up a new 2016 yesterday. Going riding with my buddys on monday and I cant wait. This is my first 4 stroke dirt bike, but I still have the ole 99 KX 250 for my 2 stroke needs. 

[Awags20]

Had a blast riding yesterday and today. This bike is great. However the suspension definitely needs tuning. Front tire does not like to plant in a corner. And I suspect the springs are too soft for being 6' 3" and 260. Can anyone recommend some good spring rates for woods riding?

[FORMA MOTO]

Had a blast riding yesterday and today. This bike is great. However the suspension definitely needs tuning. Front tire does not like to plant in a corner. And I suspect the springs are too soft for being 6' 3" and 260. Can anyone recommend some good spring rates for woods riding?

 

Yup, way too soft.

You are slamming into the botom valve too soon, loosing traction.

 

260 street clothes, or 260 geared up?

 

Sounds like .52/6.3 to me

[Awags20]

260 just me. Can I get away with just swapping Springs or am I looking at valving too?

Edited October 29, 2016 by Awags20

[blbills]

I'm also looking for some spring rate advise. 

 

After swapping out the OEM fork seals I installed an O-ring around one of the fork tubes to measure how much travel I'm using.  Come to find out even on the trails with the compression almost all the way in I was using all but the last .5 in of travel.

 

I weigh 185.  The racetech calc shows that .45 is what I need (which happens to be stock) but that is for a 450F not an FX.  For a swag I added 20lbs to my weight to account for the difference between the two bikes and got .47.

 

Any suggestions?  I don't really have any complaints on how the suspension feels but a little unnerving that I'm using all the travel just trail riding.  I do occasionally take it to the track but the primary purpose of the FX is mountainous single track.   Thanks!

[Awags20]

Today I did about a 50 mile ride. 7 years off the dirt, I am not conditioned like I once was. Really drained me. But it was a fun time. Need to raise the bars and drop the pegs I think. I am just too cramped to be comfortable sitting or feel in control when standing.

[SteveThe Snakes]

Today I did about a 50 mile ride. 7 years off the dirt, I am not conditioned like I once was. Really drained me. But it was a fun time. Need to raise the bars and drop the pegs I think. I am just too cramped to be comfortable sitting or feel in control when standing. 📎20161030_125754.jpg📎20161030_112159.jpg📎Snapchat-336722416.jpg

Try Fastway pegs in the lowboy position. Then put your bar mounts in the forward position in the triple clamps.

[blbills]

Try Fastway pegs in the lowboy position. Then put your bar mounts in the forward position in the triple clamps.

And add the $30 Tusk 1" bar risers.

[SteveThe Snakes]

And add the $30 Tusk 1" bar risers.

I don't use bar risers due to the extra leverage it gives the bike to flip on big hills. But it might work well if there aren't too big of hills.

[blbills]

I don't use bar risers due to the extra leverage it gives the bike to flip on big hills. But it might work well if there aren't too big of hills.

IMHO a small price to pay for rider comfort the rest of the time.

[RichDawson]

I'm 6'4, and I tried the bar risers and bars in forward position and have since gone back to stock. This bike just feels real good as is. I did put tall seat on, and have not regretted that, but otherwise, bars and pegs are stock.

[RMK800]

Today I did about a 50 mile ride. 7 years off the dirt, I am not conditioned like I once was. Really drained me. But it was a fun time. Need to raise the bars and drop the pegs I think. I am just too cramped to be comfortable sitting or feel in control when standing.

I'm about 5'10" I found the bars too low when standing, which I'm doing 60% of the time. It felt like i was putting more pressure on my back. I went with the Windham bend. This is a taller bar for riders and less sweep. I was worried because I see guys like 6'4" using them, but I've really liked them over stock.

I do have them in the forward position with my Scott's, but I find with this bike you have to sit more forward for the front to feel totally stable at faster speeds. I did have my forks up 4 mm, but I actually put them back to stock and feel like it's more stable. These have 22 triple

Clamp in them anyways, so turning shouldn't be a huge issue

Edited November 1, 2016 by RMK800

[grayracer513]

I use the Windham bend also, and I'm about 5'10".  I originally put them on my son's YZ450 because he's 6'4".  When I came to the conclusion that my own bars (Henry bend) were too far back for me to comfortably stand for long periods, I switched to the Windhams myself.  They're a little tall while seated, but they work, and between the extra height and how far forward they move your hands, I can stand in a fairly relaxed posture and roll along the desert for miles at a time much more comfortably and with better control.