What did you do to your WR today?

[still2smokin]

  :D  

 

 

[RockerYZWR]

RockerWR450-You are so lucky with the weather, it has been miserable here in SE Missouri, tomorrow our high is supposed to be 16F with more snow. BTW how's that Tusk front brake working out, any improvement?

The new brakes are great! Not "night and day" or anything, but a definite and noticeable improvement and now I can do 2 finger stoppies. This weather is crazy - it was in the mid-60s down at the dunes east of Roswell today. Loaded up with a couple of buddies this morning and we were riding less than 2 hours later. It was perfect out there today!

....riiiight up until I got back to the truck to down some Motrin because my knee was killing me and noticed my left boot and the whole bottom of my bike on that side was covered in oil and sand. Bad news.

Took a closer look and my freaking drain plug had come out and was gone. I just changed the oil yesterday and must have spaced on tightening it all the way. I'd ridden it right after the oil change and it sat in my garage over night with no leaks at all. Well it came out at some point and I believe I rode about a mile with no oil (based on looking at buddies Gopro video). I had noticed sand sticking to my boot earlier, but it didn't register that something was wrong. Sh*t.

It sounded and ran great the whole time on the way back to my truck all the way until I hit the kill switch. After I saw the problem, I immediately loaded it up and watched my buddies ride the rest of the time.

Got home, cleaned everything up, added oil, started and ran until warm with nothing abnormal sounding. Drained that oil and went through it carefully in a clean drain pan. I found 5 or 6 tiny (roughly 1x1 mm) metal shavings, but otherwise it looked and smelled OK. Refilled with fresh oil, warmed it up and took it for a light, low RPM ride around the block through all gears. All was normal. Drained oil and found no shavings at all (cleaned out drain pan really well). I think it survived this, but I do wonder how it'll affect the longevity of the motor.

Edit: after further looking at the oil from the second drain with a flashlight and the lights out, I can still see some very tiny shavings sparkling in the oil.

So what did I do to my WR today? I almost killed it in about the most dishonorable way possible! And ruined an otherwise great day of riding and earned the Bonehead of the Year award all at the same time. Btw, then one of the buckles on my left boot broke. New boots from Christmas, too - O'Neal RDXs. But that only happened because I was already having a rough day.

Edited January 21, 2014 by RockerWR450

[firedog55]

The new brakes are great! Not "night and day" or anything, but a definite and noticeable improvement and now I can do 2 finger stoppies. This weather is crazy - it was in the mid-60s down at the dunes east of Roswell today. Loaded up with a couple of buddies this morning and we were riding less than 2 hours later. It was perfect out there today! ....riiiight up until I got back to the truck to down some Motrin because my knee was killing me and noticed my left boot and the whole bottom of my bike on that side was covered in oil and sand. Bad news. Took a closer look and my freaking drain plug had come out and was gone. I just changed the oil yesterday and must have spaced on tightening it all the way. I'd ridden it right after the oil change and it sat in my garage over night with no leaks at all. Well it came out at some point and I believe I rode about a mile with no oil (based on looking at buddies Gopro video). I had noticed sand sticking to my boot earlier, but it didn't register that something was wrong. Sh*t. It sounded and ran great the whole time on the way back to my truck all the way until I hit the kill switch. After I saw the problem, I immediately loaded it up and watched my buddies ride the rest of the time. Got home, cleaned everything up, added oil, started and ran until warm with nothing abnormal sounding. Drained that oil and went through it carefully in a clean drain pan. I found 5 or 6 tiny (roughly 1x1 mm) metal shavings, but otherwise it looked and smelled OK. Refilled with fresh oil, warmed it up and took it for a light, low RPM ride around the block through all gears. All was normal. Drained oil and found no shavings at all (cleaned out drain pan really well). I think it survived this, but I do wonder how it'll affect the longevity of the motor. Edit: after further looking at the oil from the second drain with a flashlight and the lights out, I can still see some very tiny shavings sparkling in the oil. So what did I do to my WR today? I almost killed it in about the most dishonorable way possible! And ruined an otherwise great day of riding and earned the Bonehead of the Year award all at the same time. Btw, then one of the buckles on my left boot broke. New boots from Christmas, too - O'Neal RDXs. But that only happened because I was already having a rough day.

Dude, I feel your pain.  But I think you dodged the bullet with your engine.  Those 5 valve engines are bullet proof (as you have proven).  It's real easy to become distracted doing an oil change, something you've done a thousand times before. 

 

Good news about the Tusk brakes.  I recently installed Braking wave rotors, sintered pads, stainless steel lines and fresh DOT 4 fluid on my bike and it made a difference, mostly on steep down hills.  Before I felt the front brake fade, not so much now. 

 

On another note, the RDX boots, I have a pair also and with very little use I had buckle and strap failure. I'm not impressed with them.

 

I spent the better part of yesterday cleaning, lubing, adjusting after my foray into the mud.  I finally found a complete '07 headlight (a link from a helpful TTer)  for my '06, I'll post some pics when I get it mounted.

 

Don't be too hard on yourself, you'll never forget to tighten the drain plug again.

[firedog55]

  :D  

 

 

Thanks for posting this video, I'm so envious.

[06gixxer1k]

I just bought an 05 this past friday and I immediately cut the airbox, rejetted, changed the oil, replaced the spark plug, and cleaned the air filter. It already had the gray wire mod, throttle stop trimmed, GPR stabilizer, and Procircuit exhaust. I took it out for a ride Sunday and it did great.

[12wr450]

Bought a 12 wr450f brought it home installed dual sport kit, ims 3gal tank, gytr fmf pipe, comp ecu, cut air box, installed no toil air filter, gytr alum skid, gytr brake clevice, oversized front brake, cut bars down 1 1/8 on each side for those tight trails, and fit bark busters, tm design works chain slider and case saver, and installed a rekluse.Now time to ride

Edited January 22, 2014 by 12wr450

[Tyson29]

Replaced the battery, Changed oil and filter, Cleaned the Air Filter.

 

 

 

[RockerYZWR]

Dude, I feel your pain. But I think you dodged the bullet with your engine. Those 5 valve engines are bullet proof (as you have proven). It's real easy to become distracted doing an oil change, something you've done a thousand times before.

Good news about the Tusk brakes. I recently installed Braking wave rotors, sintered pads, stainless steel lines and fresh DOT 4 fluid on my bike and it made a difference, mostly on steep down hills. Before I felt the front brake fade, not so much now.

On another note, the RDX boots, I have a pair also and with very little use I had buckle and strap failure. I'm not impressed with them.

I spent the better part of yesterday cleaning, lubing, adjusting after my foray into the mud. I finally found a complete '07 headlight (a link from a helpful TTer) for my '06, I'll post some pics when I get it mounted.

Don't be too hard on yourself, you'll never forget to tighten the drain plug again.

Thanks man, I hope it does prove to be bulletproof! Time will tell. Too many oil changes to count on all my cars, trucks, and bikes through the years, and that was the first time that happened. Checked that box, I guess.

So for the RDX boots, the aluminum release lever on the left side ratchet strap is what broke off - really the pin that holds the lever in broke and the hinge that the pin slides through bent open. It's really a dumb design - why didn't they just go with a buckle? But that side has constantly been much harder to release than the right since I started wearing them. So MC Superstore was willing to take them back, but when I got home from work, I bent the hinge back and tried a bunch of stuff to fix it. Finally came upon a big steel cotter pin that I cut to size and bent just out of the way. Works perfectly and the boot is good to go! Which is great because I really like the boots, just not that dumb, unnecessary ratchet strap. I doubt the same piece will break again.

[KTMsSuck351]

The new brakes are great! Not "night and day" or anything, but a definite and noticeable improvement and now I can do 2 finger stoppies. This weather is crazy - it was in the mid-60s down at the dunes east of Roswell today. Loaded up with a couple of buddies this morning and we were riding less than 2 hours later. It was perfect out there today!....riiiight up until I got back to the truck to down some Motrin because my knee was killing me and noticed my left boot and the whole bottom of my bike on that side was covered in oil and sand. Bad news. Took a closer look and my freaking drain plug had come out and was gone. I just changed the oil yesterday and must have spaced on tightening it all the way. I'd ridden it right after the oil change and it sat in my garage over night with no leaks at all. Well it came out at some point and I believe I rode about a mile with no oil (based on looking at buddies Gopro video). I had noticed sand sticking to my boot earlier, but it didn't register that something was wrong. Sh*t. It sounded and ran great the whole time on the way back to my truck all the way until I hit the kill switch. After I saw the problem, I immediately loaded it up and watched my buddies ride the rest of the time. Got home, cleaned everything up, added oil, started and ran until warm with nothing abnormal sounding. Drained that oil and went through it carefully in a clean drain pan. I found 5 or 6 tiny (roughly 1x1 mm) metal shavings, but otherwise it looked and smelled OK. Refilled with fresh oil, warmed it up and took it for a light, low RPM ride around the block through all gears. All was normal. Drained oil and found no shavings at all (cleaned out drain pan really well). I think it survived this, but I do wonder how it'll affect the longevity of the motor. Edit: after further looking at the oil from the second drain with a flashlight and the lights out, I can still see some very tiny shavings sparkling in the oil.So what did I do to my WR today? I almost killed it in about the most dishonorable way possible! And ruined an otherwise great day of riding and earned the Bonehead of the Year award all at the same time. Btw, then one of the buckles on my left boot broke. New boots from Christmas, too - O'Neal RDXs. But that only happened because I was already having a rough day.

Unfortunately the same thing happened to my WR. The motor was trashed to. It sucks. Lol

[Unsp0kn]

Not today, but this weekend.

 

 

Getting amped for the snowbike races this Saturday!

[RockerYZWR]

Unfortunately the same thing happened to my WR. The motor was trashed to. It sucks. Lol

Did the motor seize on you out of oil, or was it similar to my situation?  Right now, I've changed the oil four times since it happened and everything seems normal so far.  Still starts/runs/sounds fine with no perceptible loss of power or any other problem.  So far...

[Navaho6]

The WR will be fine.  Not much you can do now anyway.  A rebuild might be a waste of time and $. 

 

From an article I read recently:

 

"Stefan Merriman rounded out the week in eighth place outright and fifth in class. Merriman worked hard all week and the toughness of the WR450F was again out to the test when Merriman hit a tree stump on day two, ripping the radiator from the bike and leaving a huge whole in the engine cases.

With next to no oil, and coolant leaking like a fountain, Merriman nursed the WR450F to the next work period, repaired the damage and the machine ran flawlessly for the rest of the event." 

 

In the video (9:12 - 9:54) he says that he completed a test section and rode another 11km without any oil or coolant!  Put new cover on, new radiator, filled her up with fluids and kept racing.  This is one of the fastest guys in Australia, too.

 

http://youtu.be/aANqbsJKfoU

Edited January 23, 2014 by Navaho6

[RockerYZWR]

Nice - thanks for the video. If he can ride for 11 km at race pace with no oil or water and have his bike survive, I imagine a mile or so at "my knee is killing me" pace with little/no oil is not a huge deal.

[firedog55]

Still frigid here in Missouri, so I put some more useless bling on my old WR, and one useful part.

The useful part. TM Designworks chain guide.

Pretty parts. Rear brake clevis.

Axel blocks.

I got a gift card for Rocky Mountain ATV/MC so I had to use it. I got a complete '08 headlight coming, should be here soon. If it doesn't warm up soon so I can ride this thing I'm gonna be broke.

[RockerYZWR]

Went riding today out at our local sand track and dunes - great day of riding. My FMF Megabomb has been burning holes through my pants on the right knee, so I made a heat shield for it when I got home with some aluminum I had laying around. It's ugly, but it was cheap and it works. Hopefully it'll hold up for awhile.

[de450f]

Almost started a bush on fire with it. Stopped to see where I can extend my new loop and looked down i was parked on a bush that didnt loose it leaves an it was starting to burn on the head pipe.

[revyrider]

Had my best day of snowbiking yet!

Edited February 3, 2014 by revyrider

[TE300]

I changed the oil (Yamalube), cleaned the air filter (notoil) and tightened my axle that was loose for some reason. But I really came here to ask for advice on some parts I am trying to get soon.

So far here are the accessories I have installed:

Seat concepts gripper seat

Acerbis 3.3g tank

Moose Bibs front and rear

Pirelli MT 43 Trial Tyre on rear

Sunstar 13 tooth front, 51 tooth rear, O ring chain

Faast Flex Handlebars

Boyesen Clutch Cover

Boyesen Water Pump

Rekluse Clutch

Acerbis bark busters

Tusk SS oil filter

 

I have perused the forums and and still undecided on the brand for the following upgrades:

Radiator Guards

Skid Plate

 

I will be putting on new bearings and left hand rear brake when I get around to it

[Brdave]

On Superbowl Sunday traded my well used 02 exc400 for a like new, 500 total miles, but not running 06 wr450. It had been sitting for 2 years. The previous owner told me that it had clutch issues, a dead battery, dirty carb and a leaking shock. 

 

Today I:

 

Checked the battery and found both cables loose. Charged the battery and, after checking to make sure it had fluids, bike started up but wont run without the choke on, pretty sure the pilot jet is clogged.

 

Checked the shock, no leaks but the fork seal is leaking.

 

Looked at the clutch. Someone had replaced the clutch lever and the pivot hole was too tight for the through bolt causing the clutch to not completely disengage. Drilled out the pivot and clutch issue is resolved. 

 

Tomorrow I plan on pulling the carb, clean it up and install a new pilot jet. Pull the dust seal off the fork and see if i can slide in the old seal cleaner and se if that will fix the leak, if not them pull the forks and take them in for new seals. 

[LucasLeader]

Went riding on Saturday after having a little rain during the week.