01 426 Report

[holeshot]

G-man:

I found the shock on my '00 426 to be very stiff when new. At first, I thought it was improper setup (chain slack), but further investigation proved otherwise ? .

You need to hammer the shock for at least a couple of hours before it loosens up.

Eventually, you'll be able to start it easily, under normal circumstances. Under abnormal conditions (stalling or dumping it upside down on a hill, for example) the beast will always be harder to start than a two stroke.

[This message has been edited by holeshot (edited 11-06-2000).]

[oldxmxer]

Yeah it's hard to start after you tip over or kill it.Rode 2 days this weekend in the Desert and only killed it once.Then I had to rest to get it started.I would have given a thousand dollars right then for an electric start.Next big thumper will definitely have an E-start

[jaybird67k]

I really find this amazing that your bike is hard to start, this bike starts 1st kick every time if the proper procedure is followed. Try to understand where the piston is and what it is doing at the time of turnover. Mine starts first kick even after a laydown.......maybe you are pushing the piston down to far past TDC, when you pull the de-compression lever make sure you have no pressure on the kick lever which can send the piston to far down past TDC. Try about 1 inch down from initial compression. I think the carbs are set for sea level operation at the factory, and I live at sea level so maybe thats why mine starts so easy ???

Just trying to help Dude !

Jason

[James_Dean]

G-Man,

My WR was hard starting after stops when it was new. As it got broken in it was much easier after falls.

A veteran WR owner told me that if it doesn't start in 2 kicks something is WRONG!! So after 2 kicks of not starting, pull the comp release and kick 10 times with throttle closed and hot start open. This is easy enough with the release lever pulled. Then back to an ordinary TDC kick to start it, but make it a good one. This has always worked great. It takes a minute but avoids the greif of kicking and kicking and getting nothing. And getting mad ? !!

Now its no worries !!

James

[G-Man]

Well I've had four rides on her (3 on MX tracks and one trail ride on the Death Trail, click on Death Trail text box) and I've had a few ups and downs. Until I nail this starting procedure when it's hot I will still be frustrated with trying to kick over the beast.

PRO's

1) Engine-Like everyone has said the motor is fantastic. Yesterday on the Death trail I only needed two gears, 2nd revved out more but the engine breaking was great going into whooped out choppy corners. 3rd gear was more torqey and a click stab of the clutch would get the front end over any gnarly obstacle coming out of the tight single track trail corners. At SpeedWorld on Thursday it was real muddy in sections (we've had rain in AZ!!) and I was able to keep it in one gear around the whole track!. Truly amazing.

2) Rear Shock-Don't really notice it which is usually a good thing. I have set the sag twice. Stock was a STIFF 3.25. 3.5 was better and now I have it at 4.0in. which seems pretty good for now.

3) Brakes- The Floating Nissan front brake works great, you definitely need to pay attention, had a close call when applying too much and I lost the front end.

4) Engine Braking- This is something new to me and I can see how it could be an advantage on a dry slippery track. I like it, even though at times I find myself still pulling in the clutch in tight corners.

5) Ergos- Now that I have on my TAG bars with Applied triple clamp, rubber handlebar mounts I am more comfortable.

6) Shifting- Great.

7) Manual- Big thumbs up to Yamaha for providing an excellent manual, those Tech Writer's are doing a great job.

CONS

1) Starting- What I would give for a push button, this thing is a #*%* to start, but it's all in the technique. Starting cold is no problemo, 1st kick. If you stall or crash (yesterday I had two tip-overs in some tricky sections) you better hope the 4-stroke Gods are nice to you.

2) Weight- It's hard to explain but depending on the situation you can feel the extra pounds, I expect to get use to it and it really doesn't bother me. I should get back in the gym though as it does take more muscle to manhandle the beast. But hey it is a 426 so if you expect it to be nimble like a 250, you will think it's heavy.

3) Hardware- What's up with Yamaha using 10mm head bolts on everything? I prefer 12mm, so you can crank on them without fear of rounding them off or snapping.

4) Forks- While there not bad stock, I can see having to dial them in more so I can ride faster longer. I have them seven clicks softer then stock and it seems ok for now. I have a blown fork seal too! Does anyone know if Yamaha will cover this on there 30 day warranty? Also when landing off a big tabletop I was trying to clear I landed on a rock that sliced a hole in my tire and punctured the tube! So I purchased a new one (ugh!) with a heavy duty tube. I'm thinking on trying to salvage the tire (it's new!) by having a HD patch on the inside. Anyone ever done this, you can shove a six-inch scale through the slice.

5) Everyone said how you don't get tired as easy on these bikes, and up until now I find that not to be the case. Time will tell…….

So that's it I'm diggin the rain and the desert right now, and having a new bike is GREAT!

Did I mention this bike is hard to start!!!!

G-Man

http://www.geocities.com/gmann_3000/MotoPics.html

[G-Man]

Thx for the tips guys, can't wait for the weekend!

[Guest Guest]

Im in the same boat with Jason on this, I never have starting problems hot or cold but I also live in the same area that he does. I havent changed jetting but I did raise the clip on the needle 1 notch and made sure that the air screw was 2 turns out, after that no more problems

Norman