Rode a YZ426 and my WR450 this weekend; please advise

[kincade]

Hi all; I'm hoping I can get some feedback from you as I'm a bit confused on my experience this weekend... One of my good friends has a 2002 YZ426f and I have a WR450 (2004). This weekend we rode at the dunes in central Utah, and we traded bikes for a little while. My observations:

-His 426 pulled out of every gear much easier; it would not bog. My WR needs shifting quite a bit more, as it tends to bog in the higher gears. His description was that the midrange on his bike seemed much fatter.

-His 426 seemed much more stable than mine; my bike tends to dart around a lot (more headshake???), his seemed to float on the sand much better. His didn't make you 'fight' the bike, mine seems like it takes a lot more effort to keep it in a straight line.

I'm a bit confused, and a little bummed to find I liked riding a bike that cost 1/2 mine much more.

So, is that typical of a YZxf vs a WR? Here are the mods we have done to our bikes:

YZ426f- protapers and top triple clamp, clipped 'blue wire', PB header and ti-4 14" pipe.

WR450- JD kit, zipty fuel screw, grey wire mod, opened up airbox, barnums airbox lid, twin air filter, PB header, Q2 pipe.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated; I'm relatively new to this sport, and still trying to figure out a few things!

[fastenuf4u]

kincade,

I always heard the WR's had their timing retarded by 1 tooth to possibly get the bike to "lug" more in the woods or something. You can advance your timing by one tooth (I know someone will post the link), this could even things up a bit. The WR's also have different spaced gears which could have affected you in the dunes. Just my 2 cents.

[kincade]

Fastenuf - I thought that the timing could not be done due to the autocompression cam? I thought that w/ the later models, you have to replace the whole cam?

[cowboyona426]

kincade, you can YZ time, but you have to buy a YZ cam. The main reasons for what you noticed are probably gearing and weight. Your WR with a battery and starter is going to have a little more weight to throw around in the sand. Also, the close ratio vs. wide ratio gears means the YZ has less of a "gap" between gears, so it's not going to require as much time to get into the upper revs compared to the WR gears. With a little setup, you'd probably be just as happy with your bike in the dunes.

[adaguy]

What you are experiencing is very normal for your bike. It is valved for trail riding, which means when you are in sand it will plow and wallow, also the WR is timed so you have more bottom end but sacrificing the top end which again is fine for trail riding but sand hills will eat your lunch. I personally think the wr is a very fun bike, but I think a wr with a yz cam will give you a big ol boner.

[kincade]

Thanks for the posts guys; by 'valved' I'm assuming you mean the shocks??? I always thought the WR was valved the same as the YZ, with a few small differences in the cam, lights, etc????

Do you guys think that the YZ cam will destroy the 'rideability' of the bike in the regular old trails? Or will it still be pretty controllable?

[yzf450jack]

The WR still have the throttle stop in there I did not see if it was removed That bike will be a turd with it un cut. In the sand you need to stiffen up the shock and fork The wr is on the soft side it will dive and head shake and the WR is a wide gear box he needs to gear it down

[kincade]

Ooops, yes, it does have it removed. Forgot about that mod!

[cowboyona426]

I think you'd be a lot happier if you YZ timed your WR, but then again I ride a YZ.

[kincade]

Well, I may very well try and YZ time my motor soon; if I do that, do you guys think that I might see a large change in the low end? Specifically, do you think it will make it harder to ride on trails, etc?

[cowboyona426]

I don't think it will make it any harder to ride on trails, it will just change the delivery a little bit. I ride my YZ almost exclusively on trails and I have no complaints with it.