Anybody swap forks on a 07' WR450?

[Island Boy]

You do not have to change the triples. It is a direct swap. I talked with a guy lined up next to me at the 100 National H&H and he had just pulled the forks off his 07 YZ 2 weeks before. Too bad they are hard to come by. I need some.

Like I said, Ebay man, got a brand new pair of 07 YZ SSS forks for around 500 bux. They are over 2 grand from Yamaha!!!

[ThompsonV311]

Like I said, Ebay man, got a brand new pair of 07 YZ SSS forks for around 500 bux. They are over 2 grand from Yamaha!!!

Yeah I have been looking on ebay, but haven't seen any from 06 and up in a few months. But also not ready to spend $500 for them either right now. Christmas killed me! I have mine re-sprung and re valved by Noleen, but still get that dreaded clunk from bottoming them once in a while off the big ones. I'm still winning races so I guess I can deal with it for now.

[SJMC_DON]

I'm still winning races so I guess I can deal with it for now.

Here here:cheers:

I love to here from those of us that are putting the WR up on the podium! I am sick and tired of hearing about the fact that the WR is just a trail bike for the weekend warrior...... Yeah the suspension in stock form sucks, we all know it and now admit it but the fact remains it is a formidable off road weapon and the guys in my class know that at too well

[TheBlackSheep]

Alright Guys, here's a report. I decided to change the springs and get the forks re-valved. Wow! What a difference! The suspension guy said YZ forks would still be a little soft for my weight. The suspension is great. Still rides smooth on the trails and can handle the jumping just fine. Never bottomed out once. Thanks for the replies.

............ bahhh

[Bob Connett]

I am in the same boat with my 07,I am 200 lbs and it bottoms out alot.I tighted up the compression and rebound,added oil,and it helped a bit but wasn't the cure. When you had yours done,did they give you any specs like spring rates or valveing? I am debating to respring it myself or send everything out. Thanx BC

[TheBlackSheep]

I am in the same boat with my 07,I am 200 lbs and it bottoms out alot.I tighted up the compression and rebound,added oil,and it helped a bit but wasn't the cure. When you had yours done,did they give you any specs like spring rates or valveing? I am debating to respring it myself or send everything out. Thanx BC

I am 200 lbs with gear too. I bottomed out everywhere. I too tightened up the compression and rebound. It just started making the back end bounce left and right. Don't waste anymore time thinking about it like I did, just go get them re-sprung! The guy that did mine did give me the spec sheet, but I am at work and it's at home. I'll give the specs tonight. But I do know that the rear spring was a 5.5 and he installed a 6, and the front forks are .49. I am so happy that I have this problem fixed and out of my life, it was so frustrating to bottom out.

........ bahhh

[grayracer513]

The first WR450 had the same fork that the YZ450 had, a 46mm KYB single chamber unit similar to the earlier forks going back to '99 or so. The '04 YZ got a new 48mm SC fork, but the '04 WR kept the 46 for another year.

Then, in '05, when the YZ stepped up to the twin chamber AOSS fork, the WR inherited the 48mm single chamber from the '04. The WR has had that same fork ever since, and pardon me, but, it's inexcusable, IMO.

They aren't "leftovers", either. Holdovers, but not leftovers. The way the Japanese work inventory control, the forks don't exist until right before they get installed, and there is rarely ever any excess stock of anything. It's a shame, if you ask me, and other than the fact that it allows the bike to be made for less, I have no idea why they do it.

But, the 48mm Single Chamber is not a bad fork, and you can make it work pretty well, especially if you send it someplace like Enzo and have it gone over. The problem with that is that it's about the same money as you could spend on a used set of the new SSS forks and a pair of springs, and that setup is better out of the box than most reworked SC's are.

[Bob Connett]

Thanks for the info, it is frustrating to lead the pack all day through the trails,over whoops, and then get smoked when we hit the pit.Any input will be greatly appreciated BC

[nevets mortson]

I had the same problem with my 07 wr 450. In the valve body on the bottom of the forks there is a spring that lets the oil blow through on a medium to hard hit and the fork bottoms. To get rid of it have the forks revalved and have them take the spring out. I did it an it works great.

[Ryan Oborn]

The wr 450 forks are not ment for anything other than a low speed trail ride. They work great in this application. We had to change not only the springs, but had to install yz internals to make the hard bottoming go away. Just revalving and springs didn't work alone.

[Jim813]

my friend fially put the sss fork with no mods done on his 07 wr 450. It helped, but made the bike feel unbalanced with the front riding lower and the rear riding higher, like a stinkbug. If anyone got yz forks, they would have to be revalved. I'd think tha you could get pretty close towhat you want wit the wr fork instead of wasing all that time tracking down a yz fork just to have it shipped out again

[ThompsonV311]

my friend fially put the sss fork with no mods done on his 07 wr 450. It helped, but made the bike feel unbalanced with the front riding lower and the rear riding higher, like a stinkbug. If anyone got yz forks, they would have to be revalved. I'd think tha you could get pretty close towhat you want wit the wr fork instead of wasing all that time tracking down a yz fork just to have it shipped out again

I guess it depends on what you are doing with your bike. In my case I am a desert racer. No matter what the bike I send out my suspension for revalve work etc. I had my 06 YZ done and they were phenominal. I took the new WR and had the same treatment, and it just isnt there. We tried swapping the pistons, various different valving combos, lastly upped the spring rate. The WR forks are nowhere near as good as the sss forks even in stock valving. Did your buddy have the sag set correctly after the swap? Because the YZ forks will not be softer and ride lower in the stroke than the WR forks will. Sure it may not be worth it for the trail rider type but if you're racing competitively at the top of your class you would see that it is well worth it.

[grayracer513]

I had my 06 YZ done and they were phenominal. I took the new WR and had the same treatment, and it just isnt there. We tried swapping the pistons, various different valving combos, lastly upped the spring rate. The WR forks are nowhere near as good as the sss forks even in stock valving.

And they're never going to be. I've seen and ridden some single chamber KYB's that were and absolutely amazing improvement over stock. I mean unbelievably good. But you know what? Stone stock YZ450 SSS forks are better, just the way they come, and they can be made better yet.

You will need to get a set of springs that will set the ride height of the heavier WR in the right place, and for this, custom selection of the spring by a suspension specialist is going to be the only approach that works; there won't be a spring listed for the WR with that fork. Once that's done, and the fork is set up right, you won't recognize the bike from riding it.

[SJMC_DON]

You will need to get a set of springs that will set the ride height of the heavier WR in the right place, and for this, custom selection of the spring by a suspension specialist is going to be the only approach that works; there won't be a spring listed for the WR with that fork. Once that's done, and the fork is set up right, you won't recognize the bike from riding it.

To do this, couldn't you net out the variance in weight between the WR and YZ and then add it to the rider weight when calculating springs for the YZ shock?

[grayracer513]

Possibly, but I think it might be more prudent to ask a human in such a case.

[SJMC_DON]

Possibly, but I think it might be more prudent to ask a human in such a case.

Humans are WAY over-rated:busted:

But then again suspension tuners aren't exactly human either........

[Jim813]

I guess it depends on what you are doing with your bike. In my case I am a desert racer. No matter what the bike I send out my suspension for revalve work etc. I had my 06 YZ done and they were phenominal. I took the new WR and had the same treatment, and it just isnt there. We tried swapping the pistons, various different valving combos, lastly upped the spring rate. The WR forks are nowhere near as good as the sss forks even in stock valving. Did your buddy have the sag set correctly after the swap? Because the YZ forks will not be softer and ride lower in the stroke than the WR forks will. Sure it may not be worth it for the trail rider type but if you're racing competitively at the top of your class you would see that it is well worth it.

he is a desert racer too, he actually thought about prepping the wr for the BITD parker 250, but wouldn't be ready in time. I honestly dont know if he set the sag correctly, he knows how but was in a rush to get ready for parker, which he ended up not racing. I am 100% with you that the sss would be a much better fork, but what i was trying to get at is that you'll most likely have the sss fork revalved too, and should be expecting a skinnier wallet, which you basically said at the end of your post. As for my friend, he is putting them on his 2002 yz250, along with his 06 shock.

[Haro]

The first WR450 had the same fork that the YZ450 had, a 46mm KYB single chamber unit similar to the earlier forks going back to '99 or so. The '04 YZ got a new 48mm SC fork, but the '04 WR kept the 46 for another year.

Then, in '05, when the YZ stepped up to the twin chamber AOSS fork, the WR inherited the 48mm single chamber from the '04. The WR has had that same fork ever since, and pardon me, but, it's inexcusable, IMO.

They aren't "leftovers", either. Holdovers, but not leftovers. The way the Japanese work inventory control, the forks don't exist until right before they get installed, and there is rarely ever any excess stock of anything. It's a shame, if you ask me, and other than the fact that it allows the bike to be made for less, I have no idea why they do it.

But, the 48mm Single Chamber is not a bad fork, and you can make it work pretty well, especially if you send it someplace like Enzo and have it gone over. The problem with that is that it's about the same money as you could spend on a used set of the new SSS forks and a pair of springs, and that setup is better out of the box than most reworked SC's are.

According to what you have posted here it looks like I might be out of luck. So am I really? I have a 01 YZ426 that I was thinking of robbing the suspension from to throw on my 07 WR450. After being on a track yesterday with the WR my wrists are hurting pretty bad... I really liked the suspension on the YZ so I was wondering if I could just save money and use them on the WR when I will be doing HS days? I am not that smart when it comes to suspension and kept the YZ suspension stock ever since I bought it in 00 since it felt awesome especially after coming off of a well used 94 CR250. Any info you could provide me on this swap would be well appreciated. I know I could just get the WR suspension reworked but I am trying to not spend a penny here if I don't have to.

[grayracer513]

You would need to exchange the entire triple clamp/fork assembly, and the fit would depend on whether the length of the YZ stem was right. Then, when you got it all together, you'd probably find that the suspension no longer works as well as you remember because of the extra weight. IMO, it has a good chance of being a waste of time and effort.

Brake hose routing would be one of the little details you'd need to contend with, if the WR fork guards didn't fit the old fork.