07 Crf450r Or 07 Yz450f

[Honda28]

07 Crf450r Or 07 Yz450f

I am undecided which bike to get.... Honda has best motor with good suspension... And I hear Yamaha has the best suspension but has a turning problem....I can get either or for $6700 OTD.... I kno I cant go wrong with either of them...I also herd that Honda is more maintanance than the yamaha...let me hear your opinions people.........

[06_450 Rider]

Get the Yamaha.. u wont be dissapointed. IMO Yamaha has a better motor and suspension, because ive rode both. If u bought the honda, it would probably be in the shop most of the time due to valve problems and other stuff. I recently had the same decision as you, and i bought the Yamaha. Definately one of the greatest decisions ive ever made!

[Mike McCutcheon]

Either one is a great bike. I have the YZ and really like it. Corners just fine and is stable too. Both have good suspension and are fast enough for any of us normal riders. I do like the YZ's reliability history over the Honda.

[grayracer513]

Sounds like you read a lot of magazines.

> There is no question, or even an argument, that the YZF suspension is the best available right now, so that's one.

> Honda's reliability has improved a lot, but the YZF has always been solid, and hasn't gotten any worse lately, so that's two

> In '03, all the mags, and thus most everyone else, said that the Yamaha engine was too aggressive, and should be more like the Honda, which was so much smoother and more controllable. As time went on, Honda changed to become more aggressive, and the YZF sought to emulate the smoother nature of the early Hondas. Yamaha has now perfected the art of building the velvet hammer, and now all the mags are suddenly saying that the Yamaha should be more aggressive, like the Honda. It is to laugh. IMO, that's 3

> There is no turning problem. Set the YZ up right, and it handles far better than the CRF, which by the way, still has the tendency to suddenly loose the front end mid turn that no one ever writes about for some reason. Four. Looks like a sweep.

[TRIPLE NICKEL]

Get the Yamaha.. u wont be dissapointed. IMO Yamaha has a better motor and suspension, because ive rode both. If u bought the honda, it would probably be in the shop most of the time due to valve problems and other stuff. I recently had the same decision as you, and i bought the Yamaha. Definately one of the greatest decisions ive ever made!

Pick a color. Both are great bikes:thumbsup:

[Huckster]

I have had the opportunity to ride both. I own the YZ and really like it. I would say that its as good if not better in every catagory except turning. It does not turn as well as the CRF IMHO. The suspension is great, the motor is really good and the bike is stable. For $100, send you carb out to ZipTY for their mod and it will be amazingly responsive and clean. The YZ also feels much lighter than the CRF. It almost feels like riding a 250f and it will not tire you out as quickly. Either way, pick a color and you will have a great bike.

[El Marko]

CRF. The Honda will have more resale value down the road, there's a zillion aftermarket products for it, and the privateer pros overwhelmingly choose CRFs over anything else.

[grayracer513]

The Honda will have more resale value down the road,

Not here, they don't. They're like belly buttons; every body has one. They all think they should be worth a lot, but the market is saturated, and the price has to drop to actually sell it.

Try to find a deal on a used '06 YZ450. Mostly, the problem is that they just aren't for sale. The ones that are are not being given away.

The number of privateers choosing the YZ450 over anything else is increasing rapidly, too.

[Alex_YZ450F]

> There is no turning problem. Set the YZ up right, and it handles far better than the CRF, which by the way, still has the tendency to suddenly loose the front end mid turn that no one ever writes about for some reason. Four. Looks like a sweep.

I noticed the same problem with my friends 05 CRF. Ironically I was dead set on the Honda, but after riding his I decided it was worth it to wait for my 06' YZF. It was well worth the wait and I have been happy with it ever since. Oh, and to make it turn better just change the front tire, I like the Dunlop 756 the best, and slide the forks up to the first scribbed line.

[TRIPLE NICKEL]

Not here, they don't. They're like belly buttons; every body has one. They all think they should be worth a lot, but the market is saturated, and the price has to drop to actually sell it.

Try to find a deal on a used '06 YZ450. Mostly, the problem is that they just aren't for sale. The ones that are are not being given away.

The number of privateers choosing the YZ450 over anything else is increasing rapidly, too.

If the last statement is true,looks like Yamaha is going to be in the same boat as Honda. Just another belly button:busted:

[grayracer513]

Hondas will always sell well because they are masters of marketing. They have been ever since 1961 when they first got here. It really never has had much to do with the quality compared to their competition, although in general, it's good. But there will always be a segment of the market that will buy a Honda rather than anything else, just because of the established market image they have created, whether the particular bike is better or not.

In '05, there was no question that, in spite of certain mechanical issues, the CRF450 was the best in its class by a significant margin. It wasn't perfect, of course, but still the best. But that changed in '06. The '06 CRF was better than the '05, but not as good as the new YZF, and it still isn't.

I bought YZF's instead of CRF's when they were clearly not in the same league as the Honda overall purely based on their durability. If they were still the same steel framed bike they used to be, I'd still buy one, although the decision would be harder. But now, I don't have th give anything up to get the kind of extraordinary toughness the YZF is built with. Now I can have it all.

[dwnlowx]

yamaha has better chance of re-sale over honda (at least i hope so) but really i have seen a ton of honda 450 around 2200-3000 for low hour hondas and its hard to come by a yami 4 stroke around here

[TRIPLE NICKEL]

Well I guess if you say the YZ450F is better, it must be:p

[squad56]

the yamis are soooo reliable. i have an 04 yz450 and have owned it since new. i just checked the valves on it after 3 years and they were still spot on. and the new ones really do feel like. hope to see ya on a blue thumper!

[hutcher]

I'm the lone blue bike in my friends sea of red, but I can tell you my friends (Honda die-hards) LOVE the way my bike feels in the whoops and over jumps. The YZ feels much lighter and more stable. The Honda - I think - is a little easier to ride in really tight, technical tracks, but everywhere else I choose blue. Basically choose between the Honda motor which hits hard in mid range and the Yamaha which pulls more evenly throughout the powerband. BTW, Red fades to pink but blue is ALWAYS blue!

[almostinvincible119]

The valves arent that much of a problem with the Hondas as people make them out to be. On the 450 that is, the 250f is a diffrent story. But once it gets time to replace, you gotta have the seats cut. The Yamaha has a better suspension but the Yamaha motor is kinda lazy feeling. The Honda has a great front brake and useable power in stock form. Both bikes are great but the 07 Yamahas I've ridden, the shifting seems to be really stiff and unrelenting. If you want a great package, get the 06 Yamaha 450 and pull your forks up in the clamps, my 06 turns just like my 07 from this mod. Or you can get the Storm link for the 06 that raises the rear of the 06 just like the 07.

[H 17 Racing]

I bought a 07 yz450 and my friends with hondas wish they would have got a yamaha instead of a honda. I have no problems with corners. All you have to do is set the suspension up right.

[motox100]

I'd go with the one that has the best local shop support. Nowadays all the bikes are so good the vast majority of riders will turn pretty much identical lap times on all of them.

[adaguy]

I am one Yamaha amongst a sea of Hondas.

When I come in from a moto I sit and drink water.

My buddies come in and are always messing with there throttle tube and cables, also they are always tightning there spokes for some reason. And some buddies arent there because there bikes are getting there valves done.

I ride with three pro riders and like clockwork they have to have there valves done twice a season.

Now that being said, when the hondas are running they are great, but for me I would rather drink water after my moto.

[WB450]

The valves arent that much of a problem with the Hondas as people make them out to be. On the 450 that is, the 250f is a diffrent story. But once it gets time to replace, you gotta have the seats cut. The Yamaha has a better suspension but the Yamaha motor is kinda lazy feeling. The Honda has a great front brake and useable power in stock form. Both bikes are great but the 07 Yamahas I've ridden, the shifting seems to be really stiff and unrelenting. If you want a great package, get the 06 Yamaha 450 and pull your forks up in the clamps, my 06 turns just like my 07 from this mod. Or you can get the Storm link for the 06 that raises the rear of the 06 just like the 07.