Yz or Wr. Trade or not?

[MTRSPORTDAN]

I am wondering if I want to get rid of my yz426 and get a Wr426. Or if someone would want to trade plus some money because the wr has better resale. Or!!!! Should I stay with my yz? I love my 426, you can't beat the reliability. But I am starting to ride a lot of desert and Baja. My bike is great for desert and the trails in mexico, but 1. I want a light, and 2. I can't stand how it vibrates at about 80-85mph on the highways. I am geared at 15/44. All the guys I ride with are on xr650's and those things are like cadillacs on the highway down there. Is the 5th gear on the WR that much nicer for the highway? Any help would be great. Should I keep mine and do a light set up on it or try to find a WR? I would like to stay with a 426 though.

[dmoney2023]

I love my YZ426. I ride MX, trails and dunes, so it is perfect for me. It sounds like the wr might be better for your situation. I don't normally take my bike up to 85 for extended periods of time so that would not be a worry for me. Maybe you should look at a xr650. They are pretty awesome bikes too, although I'd never give up my 426. But for what you are doing maybe that is the way to go.

[MTRSPORTDAN]

I know what you mean. I really don't want to give mine up. It runs circles around the xr650 on the trails but when the straights come in to play they walk away. Thanks for the input.

[Hick]

The WR 5th gear is about 13% taller. So it is quite a bit faster on top. But if it were me I'd much prefer the close ratio for high speed stuff. First gear on the WR is next to worthless for anything but tight woods.

I never raced my 426 in Mexico, but 15/44 is pretty tall, I doubt any 426 will go too much faster regardless of which 5th gear is in there. Although, for comparison's sake, you would only need to go 3 or 4 teeth down on the rear of a WR to roughly match the top speed of your YZ w/ 15/44 (assuming enough hp to pull that).

I dunno. Have you tried fitting a 16 tooth counter? I would think it will pull slightly taller gearing, like 16/46 or 16/45...

Still, you are not going to get all that much more top end out of a 426 regardless, you will never be able to match the top of an uncorked and regeared big XR.

Keep in mind the WR is much heavier than your YZ, and if the one you swap for is all stock (not likely, but...) it needs quite a few mods to get the weight and engine performance into the YZ's ball park.

My two cents, hope this helps.

[MTRSPORTDAN]

I am ok with the top speed but I don't like the way my yz vibrates at those speeds and I am not comfortable holding it open like that on the highways. It's o.k. when I am on a trail but drives me nut when I am just cruising down a road. Is the wr 426 that much heavier than the yzf 426. That was one reason I was thinking of staying away from a wr450 because of the battery and electric start.

[tp3dxf]

One of my dez race bikes is a 01 WR 426. Great dez machine very reliable and plenty fast for my skills. I still run 14/50 stock gearing on my WR. The fastest I have had it is 89 mph across Soggy dry lake bed. It started to hit the rev limiter after that. The bike felt fine no real vibe problems.

The WR 426 will never hang with a XR650 as far as top speeds go. But as you already know the 426 engine is great. Your going to be adding some weight because of the light's but not that much. The WR also has a steel rear subframe. Sounds to me like the kind of riding your doing is better suited to the WR. But unless your running some slower tighter stuff the XR is hard to beat in the wide open.

[Hick]

I am ok with the top speed but I don't like the way my yz vibrates at those speeds and I am not comfortable holding it open like that on the highways. It's o.k. when I am on a trail but drives me nut when I am just cruising down a road. Is the wr 426 that much heavier than the yzf 426. That was one reason I was thinking of staying away from a wr450 because of the battery and electric start.

Vibration? You should ride my KX5

From what I understand, the WR450 is w/in a few lbs. of the WR426, a considerable accomplishment considering the added battery and starter.

Both WRs can shed a few lbs fairly easily.

As for the 426 vs 426, I think the WR is a good 15 lbs. heavier, but I'm not sure. If that is accurate I would think about half of it could come off very easily, the stock WR 426 exhaust is a true boat anchor, you may save 6 lbs. right there by going to aftermarket or at least 5 lbs by getting a used stock YZ unit.

But, again, they are nearly identical, and if you gear the WR tall enough to run fast but w/out taxing the motor, it probably won't pull it, and by that point you will have ridiculous gaps in the WR gearing. In other words, to get a 426 into the 90+ mph neighborhood (please, no "top speed" arguments from other posters, we've had enough of those, no?), you really need to be near your peak power, which means rpms, which means vibration.

But if I were you I would try fitting a 16 tooth to the YZ before anything else, you will likely have to ditch the case saver, but this may be the change/improvement you are looking for, or at least be a compromise you can live w/. Cheap and easy enough to try....

Hope this helps.

[MTRSPORTDAN]

I will try the 16 tooth on the front and try to make it work. What do you think on the reaer sprocket though? Should I leave the little 44 tooth on? Thanks for the help.

[Hick]

I will try the 16 tooth on the front and try to make it work. What do you think on the reaer sprocket though? Should I leave the little 44 tooth on? Thanks for the help.

Hmmm.

16/44 is pretty tall, but would make for a very noticeable change (15/44 to 16/44).

I would go ahead and try the 16/44.

That is super duper tall. If you can deal w/ the spacing and super tall first gear then maybe this will be a good compromise for the long stretches of high speed roads.

[Hick]

Just make sure the 16 clears everything with the chain on it, and, as stated, you will probably have to ditch the case saver.

I'm pretty sure a guy I raced w/ ran a 16 tooth on his 426, but I've never tried to mount one.

[MTRSPORTDAN]

Thanks for all the help, Dan

[Ga426owner]

Dan I have to chime in here. I had both a 2002 426 WR and YZF. The WR is substantially heavier than the YZF and you will be able to tell this as I did. I had to put a different IMS gas tank and seat to help it turn better...as well as put it on a diet by removing as much weight as possible. I would explore if you can get rid of the vibration - on the YZF - although this may not be possible - you can get RG3 triple clamps that will help as well as Steering stabilizer or fasst bar inserts.

There is always the KTM 450/525 XC......

[Hick]

Dan I have to chime in here. I had both a 2002 426 WR and YZF. The WR is substantially heavier than the YZF and you will be able to tell this as I did. I had to put a different IMS gas tank and seat to help it turn better...

Thanks GA, that is a good point about the ergos. The stock WR 426 tank is right in your lap, I've ridden a few w/ the stock tank but never owned one and completely forgot about this. I'm over 6' and couldn't stand the riding position w/ the stock tank.