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XR650R vs. 525MXC vs. WR450F

By BadlandZ,
in XR600R & XR650R/L

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BadlandZ

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I own a 2004 Yamaha WR450F. I have convertered it into a dualsport. I am worried that I may want to trade it in soon for a 2005 bike.

Let me explain why somewhat:

A) I blast down the freeway about 2 miles (at 75mph speed limit) to commute to work, once in a while when I ride in to work.

? On weekends, I do 10 miles of road (45 to 55mph) to get to the trails I ride (very technical, averaging 5mph for 20 t 50 miles. Getting there sucks, but better than putting a dirt bike on a trailer or in a truck. Once there, the WR450F is ok, sometimes I wish it was lighter on the tight technical stuff. Sometimes I wish it was more MX or SX for suspention work out I give it.

C) I’m a BIG guy, 6’3” and 270lbs. Stock suspention cranked to it’s max doesn’t quite handle me.

D) The stock gas tank is slightly on the small side. I know this is an easy fix with an aftermarket tank, but it makes me wonder if THIS bike was really meant for the kind of riding I do.

E) There isn’t a single time I ride that I don’t thank my lucky stars for that magic E-Start button!!!

F) I live in Southern Arizona. It gets to be 40F (4C) some mornings when I go out, and up to 120F (49C) some afternoons when I am riding. Water cooling is a must. Sometimes I think the WR is close to overheating, I ride SLOW, and there isn’t a lot of air moving over the radiator. Maybe it is just my paranoia, it hasn’t overheated yet, but, it scares me.

But, I guess I sometimes wonder, a Honda XR650R or KTM 525 MXC Desert Racing.

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qadsan

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To get the most from your bike, at a minimum you'll want new springs front & rear. You'll need this with any new bike you get (KTM, CRF, YZF, XR, DRZ, etc) because all these off road bikes come with springs meant for a 165 to 175 lb rider.

A larger fuel tank would help your range.

There are things you can do to minimize overheating. I have 3 XR650R's and with the way they're setup, none of them will boil over at a stop light or on the tightest of trails or in the dunes at 100F+ outside temp.

Some bikes are easier to start than others and a lot of it has to do with setup, maintenance practices, starting technique, etc. All my bikes usually start in one or two kicks when the engine is stone cold, and it only takes one kick when hot or after it's been dumped. The only time I might have to kick more than twice is when the engine is stone cold and the outside temps are below 40F and then it sometimes might takes an extra kick or two.

Check out this article for comments on various bikes including the WR450.

http://www.cagivausa.com/Media/CycleWorld/cw-6-04.pdf

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brrpr

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vs Husqvarna TE450 vs Husqvarna TE510!

Just to follow up on the article....there IS one bike better than the TE450 Husky.

Its the TE510 Husky. Its mellower in its hit. Even easier to ride. Just as bulletproof. Gear it for the woods, or put on a 16 tooth countersprocket and pull up next to the BRP...

Its the lightest full size at 261 lbs.

Its super quiet!

Its the most hp of ANY stock off-road bike..51hp.

Its full of features like Excell rims, Magura clutch, floating disks, O-ring chain, etc.

The valve train design and components are the best in the industry. Substantially better than what the new Hondas have. Unlike the new red, green and yellow 450's the TE's both has been around awhile and the bugs -- they were minor -- are worked out.

At $7200 MSRP its right there with the jap bikes. The new 450X is $6900

If you want the best all around bike...buy the bigger Husky.

as for 'how long will they be around'

Husqvarna is the worlds oldest motorcycle company. several months older than Harley... they recently got US$77 Million cash infusion from partner Proton. Proton as in Moto GP V5 Proton with a certain famous american road racer family running the R and D show...Watch for some VERY exciting stuff from that group in the near future.

Husky is back!

www.husqvarnausa.com ...

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brrpr

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KTM 525 only 248lbs...LOL...thats a good one!!

....with out 12 lbs of air in the tires, with out any fork oil, without any engine oil, without any fuel...not sure if thats with acid in the battery or not... ?

I'm talking real weight...not the bike weight lies bike manufacturers shove down our gullets..

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texmirage

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Get a 650R or the ktm both are great bikes but the ktm is lighter and has about the same power if not more and it has electric start. Whichever one you chose Im sure you wont regret it. ?

are you saying the 650 has about 50 HP??? I always heard they were around 35hp.

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qadsan

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Stock bikes are roughly around ~36 to ~38 HP from what I recall. Just like the Yamahas as of late, the Honda XR650R comes all corked up. Once you uncork it (jetting, removing airbox plugs and drilling out exhaust tip), you'll be sitting around the 44 to 46 HP range. The additionon of an Edelbrock pumper carb and Honda's HRC tip will bring you to ~48 HP. Purchasing Honda's HRC kit which includes a new cam, high comp piston, and supporting hardware will bring the bike into the low 50's HP range. A 680 kit will push you past the mid 50 HP range. While you might think the HP is unimpressive, take a look at the torque numbers and compare them to the KTM 525, CRF450, WR450, etc, and pay attention to where in the curve the power is made. The 650r is still extremely competitive & very reliable, which are two of several reasons why it's still winning a healthy number of off road races against the modern day bikes. The 650r has been extremely competitive in Baja for both privateers and sponsored teams. If the bike was really that underpowered or that unrelaible or handled that bad compared to everything out there, Honda would have dropped it long ago and chose a different weapon. There's no doubt it's a much older design compared to everything else out there, but it's still winning lots of big off road races and was successfully used again just a few weeks ago at the Parker 250, which you can read about at the following link.

http://www.cyclenews.com/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=7030

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brrpr

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all bikes make a lot more HP when un-corked. The Husky has a very very quiet muffler--put on a tuned megaphone, bore out the 39mm FCR, and open up the airbox---easy 55 hp.

Clip the pink wire, and do the same mods on the WR and you will bring that bike to life as well.

But for sure the 650R is the torque king, and the most reliable bike--except for the footpeg that falls off!

My full blown 680R race bike with Kibblewhite valvetrain and edelbrock carb is lucky to make 55 hp. No way a 'only uncorked' 650R will show 50hp on the same dyno...

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6fiddy

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my xr650 was dyno'ed at 49.7 hp at the rear wheel with no engine mods at all. just exhaust, air box, and jetting. 44 ft lbs of torque as well. i find the brp impressively light feeling even though its around 275 lbs. So what, like im gonna get 40ft of air? I just like haulin' ass with my hair on fire roosting everything behind me! ?

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huntmaster

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If you want the best all around bike...buy the bigger Husky.

as for 'how long will they be around'

Husqvarna is the worlds oldest motorcycle company. several months older than Harley...

Actually Triumph is a year older then Harley or Husky. But I would rather have a TE-510 for the dirt then either of them! It does sound awesome from everything I have heard so far.

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miguelitro

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none of the bikes mention come anywhere close to a XR in terms of reliability.(yeah thats a period)

it is good that some of those other bikes are lighter cuz those of us with XR's will save on gas, even though we all have enough to go further than the others, while towing you out.

just my(highly biased though rooted in reality) opinion

later

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