i need some motivation as to which i should choose

[dbike]

you guys might yell at me for making a thread like this but, well, here it goes...

i will soon be in the market for a used or possibly new dirt bike and i am frankly stuck between a wr450 and a yz450. my type of riding will be mainly desert and some pretty big trails. BIG is the key word. i will be going to ocotillo, glamis, gordons well, calico etc. and the trails are some huge trails at the end of my neighborhood. hardly anyone knows about them because they are hidden. my point is, it is not a public trail or track.

so now i am stuck between a wr and a yz. i want the yz because its power and its weight but i want the wr because of mainly just the headlight. i just need a push from some of you to give me an idea of why i should choose which.

If anyone can help me out, i would highly appreciate it ?

[07 crf230f]

I would get the wr it wil have enough power plus the headlight.?

[dbike]

I would get the wr it wil have enough power plus the headlight.?

thats 1 for wr! haha

[grayracer513]

Read through this:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8107235#post8107235

[dbike]

Read through this:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8107235#post8107235

i did and it didnt help me at all. everyone on that thread just talked about having a bike in between the two ?

[DMC707]

Electric start makes the WR very tempting for the type of riding you do. Get rid of the fluff you dont need and valve the suspension to suit you. The suspension is not as trick as the YZ's, but a capable suspension tuner can make it work very well for whatever you may need it to do

The E-button on the YZ would make the bike like heaven on earth, but it wont happen. I'm 5'9" (not tall, but not a midget either) and kickstarting my 450 on flat ground is an exercise in pain and shame.

I've contemplated sourcing a WR engine just for the E-button and swapping in my YZ cams and tranny ---- this fantasy rarely gets beyond the browsing stage though

[STROKEDIESEL]

wr.....

[BaileyAZ]

I had a CRF450X and I switched to a YZ450 and don't miss a the e-button. I like the available power, how much lighter, and how it corners better. But, if you don't ride in the mid to high power band, you are better off with the WR. It will have better gearing for chugging along. Just my $.02.

[dbike]

Electric start makes the WR very tempting for the type of riding you do. Get rid of the fluff you dont need and valve the suspension to suit you. The suspension is not as trick as the YZ's, but a capable suspension tuner can make it work very well for whatever you may need it to do

The E-button on the YZ would make the bike like heaven on earth, but it wont happen. I'm 5'9" (not tall, but not a midget either) and kickstarting my 450 on flat ground is an exercise in pain and shame.

I've contemplated sourcing a WR engine just for the E-button and swapping in my YZ cams and tranny ---- this fantasy rarely gets beyond the browsing stage though

ok thats very convincing haha. what do you mean though by getting rid of "fluff" what could i scrap off this thing?..... by how this is turning out, i think i may be going for a wr and do all the basic free mods. that leads me to another question, is getting rid of the AIS necessary? i heard the purpose of it is to prevent bogging. what does it do if you remove it?

I had a CRF450X and I switched to a YZ450 and don't miss a the e-button. I like the available power, how much lighter, and how it corners better. But, if you don't ride in the mid to high power band, you are better off with the WR. It will have better gearing for chugging along. Just my $.02.

hmmm thanks for the comment

[Steel Panther]

Do you want to pay more money for a bike your going to take stuff off of, or less money for a bike your going to add things too?

[dbike]

Do you want to pay more money for a bike your going to take stuff off of, or less money for a bike your going to add things too?

yeah well, i dont know. it just seems that adding a headlight to a a yz is the biggest pain in the ass. the stator alone is near 500 bucks!

[DMC707]

ok thats very convincing haha. what do you mean though by getting rid of "fluff" what could i scrap off this thing?.....

hmmm thanks for the comment

I guess i didnt mean get rid of the "fluff" so much as i meant to optimize it with the carb slide mod, disconnecting whatev.er wire you have to disconnect to get it to run right and optimizing the suspension for your weight and riding style. (if its not already good out of the box) If it has a smog pump, i'd like to lose that if possible, Then switch to a lighter battery --- there have been some really cool advances in battery technology over the last few years

[cowboyona426]

YZ... e-start is for sissys ?

[jayh300]

sissy adding input here..

I really like the WR... Mine is an 06 steel framed, no ais, factory exhaust with pmb.

The best money I put in mine was having the suspension re done.. Smartperformance (davej and grayracer done on mine) I am in the process of putting mine on a diet and at this point everything is coming together.. the cool thing about the estart is if you happen to stall it, like i do, I can clutch, hit the button and never put a foot down..

Oh and the other day one of my riding buds rode up beside me and hit the kill switch on it as we were taking off, no problem..

I have read some on the yz cams in wr's and the estart does not work that great, so do some research on that .. tribalbc in the wr forum races one and he would know..

a light battery is next on mine, as soon as the one i have dies..

for the record my other bikes are all kick only 2 smokes..

[grayracer513]

i did and it didnt help me at all. everyone on that thread just talked about having a bike in between the two ?

The pro/con comparison of the two models should have been of some value unless you just want someone to make up your mind for you.

[dbike]

The pro/con comparison of the two models should have been of some value unless you just want someone to make up your mind for you.

the issue is, i already knew the side by side comparison between the two. my reason for making this thread is well frankly, to make up my mind for me, as you say it. i want to know your guys' input as to which bike would suit my type of riding and what you all would prefer. its more than just a statistical comparison that i am looking for.

[grayracer513]

Well, from my point of view, the problem simply is that neither is ideal to my purposes as is, so it goes back to which one to use a starting point for modification, and what kind of compromises you want to make in the end product.

As an aging desert racer, the WR is beginning to look better all the time. SMART Performance has gotten the matter of getting the suspension to work to the point where the two bikes are very comparable in that regard, so that takes one of the cons off the WR side. The capability to run lights, the wide ratio gearbox, and the e-start would all be pluses to me.

Lower performance is easy to fix, so that only leaves weight as a problem.

[dbike]

Well, from my point of view, the problem simply is that neither is ideal to my purposes as is, so it goes back to which one to use a starting point for modification, and what kind of compromises you want to make in the end product.

As an aging desert racer, the WR is beginning to look better all the time. SMART Performance has gotten the matter of getting the suspension to work to the point where the two bikes are very comparable in that regard, so that takes one of the cons off the WR side. The capability to run lights, the wide ratio gearbox, and the e-start would all be pluses to me.

Lower performance is easy to fix, so that only leaves weight as a problem.

hmm that was put very well. maybe the wr is the way to go

[Just_a_trail_rider]

Lower performance is easy to fix, so that only leaves weight as a problem.

And i would add that weight is a problem only on really long hard rides. I have an 05, and its like riding a cadillac. Heavy, but plush.

if you aren't racing most of the time or riding really agressively, the wr is perfect. That's what its designed for.

[dbike]

And i would add that weight is a problem only on really long hard rides. I have an 05, and its like riding a cadillac. Heavy, but plush.

if you aren't racing most of the time or riding really agressively, the wr is perfect. That's what its designed for.

I MADE MY DECISION! A KX... ? just kidding, im going for the wr thank you everybody! i love this website. it has so much great information. keep it up guysand gals! ?