Yz 426/450 good trail bikes?

[Tevonini]

I am getting ready to buy a new bike and in my area there are a couple 426's and a 450 at pretty a good price but all I do is trails woods and fire roads I was wondering if the yzf line make good all around woods bikes tight trails and such,

My other question is what would I have to do to a 426 or 450 to make it a good woods bike? What's this BK mod I hear about?

And one other question they say wr's are woods bikes is the gearing shorter or longer in the yz's

Thanx for the help

[cereal killer]

Thread on 426's in the woods: https://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/966784-yz-426f-for-woods-bike/

Depends what kind of rider you are. I race a 2008 yz450f offroad and like it quite a bit. i think you'll find the suspension a bit stiff for offroad -especially if you're not a fast rider. I have my compression damping front and back almost all the way soft.

The gearing is tighter in the YZ's. So taller first and shorter 5th. Most people who ride a yz in the woods seem to run a 50-52 rear sprocket to get a lower first gear for crawling through the tricky stuff (i use a 50).

On the plus side the YZ's are lighter than WR's, which is why I choose to race one in the first place. You will quickly come to miss having an e-start though.

Other mods that help make a YZ woods friendly are a skid plate, auto clutch or a heavy flywheel, handguards,

[Tevonini]

Well my gf has a TTR 230 and I have been on and off dirtbikes my whole life I ride a trx 450r right now so I'm use to the kick start but I really wana go back to 2 wheels and in my area I can buy a 426 for about 1300-1700 and a yz450 for about 1600-2200

What exactly do fly wheel weights do?

[cereal killer]

Fly wheel weights smooth out the power and add some inertia to the engine to avoid stalling. If a WR is available for around the same price, I would definitely consider it.

[Tevonini]

Well there is a wr 400 a couple towns over for the same price range but I don't know much about the 400's are they good bikes? And the closest wr450 to me that's actually priced to sell is about a 3-4 hour drive from where I'm at

[LILBIT]

You said tight trail bike and mentioned fireroads. Which is it?

I passed my 250T down to my son when i bought a YZ450. For tight or technical trails i prefer the 250 still. Faster trails the 450 is better. Overlap in the middle of course.

Neither is too stiff if you ride hard and slam into things. Poke along and you'll disagree.

Had 2 WR400s. Not a fan of the handling and they feel very heavy.

[Tevonini]

Ok well a 250 is out of the question? Because about 2-4 times a year we make pismo/desert trips and Ive heard you gota be light on a 250 to have fun in the desert

I guess the question Im asking is me as a 240 pound 6'2" what all do I need to do to a yz450f

Are they chuggable and have good low end and if not what all do I gotta do to get the tractor effect

[cereal killer]

It's a personal taste issue. It going to be really hard for one of us to decide for you. You'll have to analyze what type and style of riding you'll be doing. The 450f has lots of power, so just a sprocket swap should make it rideable in tight woods.

At 240, you're going to want new springs in the fork and shock to get the suspension to work well. If you skip this step, at least make sure you adjust the preload. Otherwise you may already have used up the initial part of the travel before you hit a bump and the suspension will feel extra harsh since you are only using the end of the stroke.

At 250f still isn't slow, but it will probably feel that way in the desert. But is it that important if you're only going a couple times a year?

[Tevonini]

Thank you guys for all your input it is really aperciated:)

[Tevonini]

If any one else has any imput I would be gladly appreciated also I still have about a month intell I can afford a bike with my budget..... Every tip/opinion helps thanx

[cowboyona426]

I prefer the YZ over the WR because I don't need lights and don't want electric start or the weight that comes with it... but that only comes into play when you get into the 450's.

I had an 00 YZ 426 before my 06 and I think out of the box it was a far better trail bike than my 06. 13/52 gearing for tight woods, add some protection and a sparky and ride. This 06 of mine has entirely too much time and money dumped into it and I'm still not happy with the setup.

You should be able to get the skinny on the BK carb mod by going to motoman393.thumpertalk.com, I haven't looked in forever to see if the site is still up.

[Tevonini]

So the 426 is chuggable with a sprocket change.. And it dosnt have to much power cause I've heard they love to pull up in every gear

[Tevonini]

Another question I had about the YZF line, is what years were the 450's green sticker?

[grayracer513]

Another question I had about the YZF line, is what years were the 450's green sticker?

They never were. Everything '02 and back was grandfathered in when the law was rewritten, but '03 and up are red sticker only. That means all the YZ450's are RS bikes.

[mark twiggs]

I race cross country in northern California so the courses vary from desert to single semi technical. I race an 03 Yz 250 2 stk which I love. I don't run a flywheel weight but on the same bike my son runs an 11oz which helps.

I recently rode an 07 450 and was in love. Stock other then the suspension. I rode every rocky technical nasty trail I could find and was very impressed. It chugs up anything but when you get on it what a blast. I stalled in on a hill just to see if it would start ok and take off. No problem. The guy that owned had 4. He had an 06,07,09,11. He said the motors are very reliable and was going to rebuild his 06 that had 200 hrs on it. He ran hour meters on every bike. I want an 06-09 I understand they are reliable and pretty much the same bike. If you buy one you might consider flywheel weight and maybe rekluse.

[LILBIT]

Compaired to an old style four stroke, or almost any 2 stroke, no they don't chug well. Very easy to stall by comparision.

[marv02]

I love 2 Strokes my last bike was a Aluminum framed CR500 great bike but it would vibrate parts loose LOL and for me there nothing like the smeel of race gas with castor oil 2 stroke mix.

The draw back they are ment to be ridden on the Pipe so you will get tire spin it fun but for the tractor no wheel spin for climbing hills ect not the bike for it.

I stopped riding for 4 years then purchased my 2000 YZ426 2 months ago first it was only $900.00 and for just for fun riding single track desert riding what I do 4 Stroke is the way to go.

I still miss the ring a ding ding of a 2 stroke and the less weight of a 2 stroke.

But what I do now adays just for fun when I get the ich to go riding 4 stroke is the was to go.

I ridden the bike 4 or 5 times now and planning to keep the bike for a while to scracth the ich when it happens.

[Tevonini]

Heck yea, I think I'm leaning tword a yz 426 from all the info I've gathered it's a great all around bike that I wont grow out of... And I was looking on line and like it not even that bad to work on price wise... Thanx guys I really appreciate all the great info BD