YFZ450 or LT-R450

[Groves187]

Ok, So over this coming summer i am wanting to buy a brand new 450, I am going to go with eather to Yfz or the Lt-R. But i am having trouble deciding, Now i know the fitment of the bike to the rider has a lot to do with it, But what i am wondering is How these two 4 wheelers compair both Stock and Fully built.

I am planing on using this for MX.

One thing i did read about the LT-R450 is the motor is underpowerd in stock form, This could be a problem if true as i am planning to build this quad up as i go.

Any input would be great.

Thanks, Nick

[woodsrider4ever]

check this post out that should help you out


http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282814

[06YFZ450SE]

I have a YFZ and when it was in stock form I reced all other 450s but the Kaw I beat them all. Now Its moded now it fast. moded are in my sig.

[250r4life]

yamaha has had 4 years to work out the bugs in the yfz... the suzukis havent been out that long, and suzuki never has made a very well built bike...

[whoamack22]

i agree, i own a 06 yfz and the 07's have the oil mod, you cant go wrong the yfz's are tough as nails now, not to mention they ride so much smoother and way less vibration than the later models

[honda250xrider]

stock for stock ltr is more race ready out of the box for mx, if your looking to spend little money into making it race ready go for the ltr all the way

[250r4life]

yah... but include lots of repairs and dont count on suzuki standing by their product...

and youre still gunna get smoked...

[Toadz400]

It really depends on how much money you want to spend and like you said, which one is more comfortable for you.

If I were you I would just find a leftover '06 YFZ for a cheap price and build it up however you want it. I would love to have an LTR just for the out of the box MX factor (width wise) but the problems I've read as far as the linkage problem and cases go I would want to wait to get one until they have all the bugs worked out.

Btw, where in MN are you located?

[honda250xrider]

there is not the problems that alot of people think there are, the linkage problem is fixed, the cases well lets just say there are a few engines that have this problem only and only when they are built motors there where pro-am pro riders that had this problem, to the average joe no one is going to have a problem with the suzuki, both will more or less get the same hp out of the motors, the suspension on the suzuki is very good in just stock form and most will not need to upgrade but a simply rebuild would make it perform flawlessly. The fi on the suzuki is great instant throttle response whenever no bogging. you can find used ltr for fairly cheap, i've seen several go for 5000 that had several things done to it. when i jump the ltr it is very very nimble in the air and to me was very easy to throw around in the air, has a good balance point to make wheelies easy. stock tires are good but they do wear fairly quick but nothing out of the norm. for mx tires.

250r4life- you would be the one to say this as your still stuck on the 2 stroke fad, just because you own certain machines does not make them the best, i feel there are little difference in honda, yamaha, ltr,kaw. simply when they are modded. when they are stock i feel the ltr has the most advantage and the least amount of work to do to make it a mx ready machine. the width stock is killer on this machine. slap some nerfs and killswitch you'll be ready to race out of the box.

[250r4life]

Originally posted by honda250xrider
there is not the problems that alot of people think there are, the linkage problem is fixed, the cases well lets just say there are a few engines that have this problem only and only when they are built motors there where pro-am pro riders that had this problem, to the average joe no one is going to have a problem with the suzuki, both will more or less get the same hp out of the motors, the suspension on the suzuki is very good in just stock form and most will not need to upgrade but a simply rebuild would make it perform flawlessly. The fi on the suzuki is great instant throttle response whenever no bogging. you can find used ltr for fairly cheap, i've seen several go for 5000 that had several things done to it. when i jump the ltr it is very very nimble in the air and to me was very easy to throw around in the air, has a good balance point to make wheelies easy. stock tires are good but they do wear fairly quick but nothing out of the norm. for mx tires.

250r4life- you would be the one to say this as your still stuck on the 2 stroke fad, just because you own certain machines does not make them the best, i feel there are little difference in honda, yamaha, ltr,kaw. simply when they are modded. when they are stock i feel the ltr has the most advantage and the least amount of work to do to make it a mx ready machine. the width stock is killer on this machine. slap some nerfs and killswitch you'll be ready to race out of the box.


youre exactly righht- just cuz i own certain machines does not make them the best... youre right... however, the machines i own are the best, and thats why i own them...

and there all kinds of people having problems with the LTR- not just built ones... ya'll forgot to mention the tranny problems as well... suzuki never has made a solid bike... the lt 250rs were junk, the z400s had a bunch of problems, and the ltrs arent breaking character either...

i dont care- buy whatever you want...

[250r4life]

ps... sounds to me like you've been reading, and believing, dirtwheels...

[honda250xrider]

lol so what makes the machines you own the best? There is no best machine out there, only the machine that fits the rider the best imo, sounds to me like your heavly biased, nope dont even read dirtwheels, are you saying there have never been problems with yamaha's:rolleyes: tranny whine has not been found to be any sort of problem just something that is annoying, add 200ml-300ml extra oil in the case and its gone, to me you seem to put the neg. in every machine other than your what you own. ltr is by far one of the best machines out there to date right now.

so you've heard the cases breaking, how many have you actually heard of breaking? not many

tranny whine, how many have you heard actually have a problem focused soley on the tranny whine.

there have been the common problems that happen to alot of other guys riding different brands, lose 3rd gear and so on, it happens ride hard the machine gets abuse, but does not make one better than another.

[250r4life]

Originally posted by honda250xrider
lol so what makes the machines you own the best? There is no best machine out there, only the machine that fits the rider the best imo, sounds to me like your heavly biased, nope dont even read dirtwheels, are you saying there have never been problems with yamaha's:rolleyes: tranny whine has not been found to be any sort of problem just something that is annoying, add 200ml-300ml extra oil in the case and its gone, to me you seem to put the neg. in every machine other than your what you own. ltr is by far one of the best machines out there to date right now.

so you've heard the cases breaking, how many have you actually heard of breaking? not many

tranny whine, how many have you heard actually have a problem focused soley on the tranny whine.

there have been the common problems that happen to alot of other guys riding different brands, lose 3rd gear and so on, it happens ride hard the machine gets abuse, but does not make one better than another.


did you not read my 1st post in this section? i didnt say yahama doesnt have its problems... what i did say is they have had several years to work out the bugs in the YFZ, and suzuki has not... i also said that suzuki has never made a solid bike... so, with suzuki not building the best bike as it is, and with not having a chance to iron out the bugs, yah, the LTRs have a lot of problems...

no- i didnt dog on all bikes that i dont own... just the suzuki ;) there are lots of great bikes out there (not made by suzuki...lol)...

and no, im not impartial... i bought my yfz in november of 06... obviously the yfz, 450r, and ltr were all available... i was a honda guy, and would have loved to be able to use all my honda items i had for my 250r on my 450r... but the yfz was the best out of all of them, so i got the yfz... the LTR is the slowest, and i think as of yet is the least reliable... wide or not...

the LTRs have had a lot more problems than what you say... dont blame me- i get my info about the problems from the LTR riders... go read in the LTR sections and see all the problems people are having... screw that!!!

[honda250xrider]

the fastest and slowest is kinda a tuff claim, rider is the biggest factor in the case i beleive, me being a former ltr owner with many races under the machine i feel it is a solid bike so to me to hear others say the problems are alot is somewhat touche to me. i have heard of problems yes and seen many, but no more than alot of other machines out there. shift pin relocator is something that is a must. but so is the oil mod on the yfz, so far this thing has been very reliable and is as much as i would expect out of the machine. the ltr really needs to be ridden like a yfz its likes to rev. but in every other aspect from what i've ridden the ltr is on a different level than the yfz stock that is. on a mx track you just cant be the width and the suspension this thing offers.

[06YFZ450SE]

There is a guy in my town just bought the LT-R new and he tryed telling me out of the 450s the LT-R was the fastest. I told him I had a lil ole YFZ450 I run you with. I told him if hes so confidanced about his LT-R let run them in a drag race or the MX track by my house and I told him if he was for sure hes gonna win let put money on this race. who care if the LT-R is 3" wider than the YFZ stock just go buy +3 or +4 A arms. The track has a creek jump and its 1 mile 1/2- 2 miles long 1 lap.

[250r4life]

Originally posted by honda250xrider
the fastest and slowest is kinda a tuff claim, rider is the biggest factor in the case i beleive, me being a former ltr owner with many races under the machine i feel it is a solid bike so to me to hear others say the problems are alot is somewhat touche to me. i have heard of problems yes and seen many, but no more than alot of other machines out there. shift pin relocator is something that is a must. but so is the oil mod on the yfz, so far this thing has been very reliable and is as much as i would expect out of the machine. the ltr really needs to be ridden like a yfz its likes to rev. but in every other aspect from what i've ridden the ltr is on a different level than the yfz stock that is. on a mx track you just cant be the width and the suspension this thing offers.

i dont think the oil mod is a must... especially if youre not going big bore, but if youre already in there to do that, then its not a big deal...
i've heard of lots of guys having lots of problems with basically stock LTRs... tranny wining and tranny grenading are two differnet things...
i've ridden the LTR and wasnt impressed with it, and i know it was much slower...

like i said... people buy whatever you want, or wahtever you wanna read and believe... you dont know me, so obviously it doesnt matter too much what i say

[07250ex]

i hate to say it but the yfz has better suspension then the ltr and its much faster if you want to beat the yfz you need a cherry bomb an exhaust and some shocks

[honda250xrider]

ltr is very plugged up in stock form, remove baffle and airbox along with cbrm and it will come alive, and for the suspension ill have to dissagree on that one, to me the ltr is on the up and up on the suspension with this new quad its up to par with some aftermarket suspension ive ridden on once dialed in, they are stiff from the factory with a few adjustments they fit me just fine. lol trust me 06YFZ450SE on a true mx course you will want that 3-4 inches and every bit of it, go buy the +2 a-arms then go and buy new shocks and look at the money being spent catch my drift, the ltr is a pretty decent machine in stock for for mx racing and this is what it was intended for.

there are some failures with tranny, maybe more than other brands but trust me tranny failure is out there with any quad. most of this is caused by i think just the gears not being smoothed and still have some ruff parts still left from the factory. ltr is new so you will hear alot more talk about whats going wrong but look several years ago back to when honda and yamaha came out and you will find many with problems. its just a due process the talk will go down with time and every year the brands of whatever quad will get better. You are right 250r4life that honda and yamaha have had time to work out bugs, but i wouldnt knock the ltr so fast its a great machine and i feel suzuki is going to have a great year this year showing off what the ltr is made of.

[250r4life]

what quad isnt plugged up in stock form... its the same with the yfz... take the baffle out and take the air box lid off... if you'll notice thats all i have done to mine, and all i need to have done...

im not saying the ltr suspension is bad, but im not going to go say its head and shoulders above the YFZ by any means either... the yfz has great suspension- especially for soaking up jumps...

ok... but youre missing one thing here...
repuatations arent built on what youre going to do...

[honda250xrider]

when did i say i was building a rep for suzuki here? i simply said suzuki is going to have a great year showing off the ltr in nationals. yes many quads are plugged up but im guessing you have never ridden a ltr with baffle out and airbox lid with cbrm, its a complete different animal. im not going to get into a drag racing match because simply put its the driver half the time. Im beating my buddy with a 700r raptor on 300ft drags consisently. to me its hard to say whats the fastest because of the power delivery some feel faster but its just the way the power comes on. honda is smooth, yamaha loves to rev. lets just put it like this stock for stock in drags i think its so little difference there is no need to bicker there whats the fastest, but its a good thing to know what handles well and will take you around the track the fastest. Im not sure if you are a mxer but to me this is what counts. point given you like the yamaha i like the suzuki and i feel it will get me around the fastest as im sure you feel the yamaha will get you around the fastest and this all in all is what we in general like. so what works for someone doesnt work for another. i love the feel of my body positioning on the ltr, on the yamaha i just didnt feel quite as comforable so to the owner of the thread just go ride a few and get a feal for jumping both that is whats going to make the most difference here.

[250r4life]

i didnt say you were building a rep for suzuki... you said that suzuki will have the bugs ironed out (i still question that- like i said i really dont think suzuki has ever made a solid bike) and that theyre going to show what a great bike it is...

and i said- reputations arent made on what youre going to do... and for now the LTR still has quite a bit to get worked out...

[250r4life]

i do have extensive experience with all of them in dragging... and have taken rider capabilities and weight out of the equation...

uncorked and without the airbox lid, the yfz is still the fastest, the raptor 700 slightly edges the 450r i think, and the ltr brings up the rear...

[honda250xrider]

problem is i can argue that any day of the week, dont take offense but to me drags simply do not make a difference to me to many variables. so with them all uncorked the ltr was the slowest? remember now did you plug the cbrm this is like you rejetting your quad for this new setting. i can say ive been several yfz in a drag and your saying different no biggie this is why i dont really have a concern on the drags to me they are just something people do to have fun. riders make the difference on the machine. but i am curious how you eliminated all the variables in the drags, this is very hard to do. i know some great riders but on starts and drags they arent the best. traction plays a big part you start to see where im going, considering the ride time you need to be comforable on the quad and get a feel then same conditions stop watch with same riders etc. you get the drift. like i said earlier the power of all these machines is great and are all about the same until you get into the motor, then the ltr and honda can hold greater hp numbers more reliable from what i've been told from a few friends and engine builders. had a friend of mine blow 2 motors 2 years ago throughout the year racing nationals, he then went back to just having a basically stock motor and still placed top 10 to me this was a big eye opener and tells ya the motor plays a part but the rider is the biggest factor on the track

[06YFZ450SE]

I'd rather Mx race then drag race to becuz its hard to keep the frontend down on my YFZ. Hopfully this weekend I will find out who the better rider/fastest bike is. Where gonna have a stop watch and see who can get around the track the fastest. Where gonna have drag times too.

[Toadz400]

What was this thread about again? I just see a lot of pointless arguing.

I'd still have to say I'd take a YFZ over the LTR as of now. Suzuki doesn't appear to have made any changes to the LTR other than the linkage problem. There's still the tranny whine, case problems, shifter pin, etc.

The tranny whine may not always cause a huge problem but it's still an annoying sound that shouldn't be there in the first place. When they changed the cases they should've been able to determine what the outcome would be with it becoming weak and the possibility of the cases breaking with HP/TQ increases. The shifter pin should've definately been fixed by the the second year. If this is truely their "Out of the box race machine" issues like that should be taken seriously and fixed as soon as possible.

Most of the issues with the YFZ were resolved as the years went by, and the '07's as far as I know are flawless. As for the oil mod, I see it more as insurance as I've seen plenty of high HP YFZ's that have been running forever without any failure from lack of oil. I race MX with a stock '05 YFZ and the only complaint I have is Yamaha needs to upgrade from the cheap bolts they use.

I would seriously consider purchasing an LTR if Suzuki addressed all their issues seriously and didn't just push them aside because problems only happen with a few people and with high HP applications. That's not the right mindset a serious company should have when building a race ready machine. I would also like to see the LTR having a closed-loop EFI system that actually makes adjustments to everything.

[ZukManZ400]

Sorry 250R4life,
I think that I might have to go with the guys at dirt wheels mag. over you, they are great at what they do and I would never second guess them.

PS: got an 03 Z400 I beat the **** out of and the only problem I've had was yahama not coming out with a 400 cause they got thier hands full with problems on the YFZ!

[oldskoolex400]

Originally posted by ZukManZ400
Sorry 250R4life,
I think that I might have to go with the guys at dirt wheels mag. over you, they are great at what they do and I would never second guess them.

PS: got an 03 Z400 I beat the **** out of and the only problem I've had was yahama not coming out with a 400 cause they got thier hands full with problems on the YFZ!


LOL i cant wait to see when 250r reads this, he is going to have a good time with u, welcome to the site!!! :blah:

[sdbrown12388]

Originally posted by ZukManZ400
Sorry 250R4life,
I think that I might have to go with the guys at dirt wheels mag. over you, they are great at what they do and I would never second guess them.

PS: got an 03 Z400 I beat the **** out of and the only problem I've had was yahama not coming out with a 400 cause they got thier hands full with problems on the YFZ!


hands full with problems with the yfz! lmfao, dude what the hell are you talkin about

[250r4life]

Originally posted by ZukManZ400
Sorry 250R4life,
I think that I might have to go with the guys at dirt wheels mag. over you, they are great at what they do and I would never second guess them.

PS: got an 03 Z400 I beat the **** out of and the only problem I've had was yahama not coming out with a 400 cause they got thier hands full with problems on the YFZ!


oh the irony of a suzuki guy saying that the yamahas have problems... im not aware of all the recalls on the yfz, but there have been several on the z400s and ltr 450s... if you could let me know what exactly needs to be repaired/replaced on my yfz, i would greatly appreciate it...

why would you want yamaha to come out with a 400? then that would be one more bike out there to beat you? :huh

i'm too tired and worn out to go too far... but your dirtwheels statment tells me everything i need to know...

by the way.... so according to dirt wheels, which is the best 450? i happen to have a subscription to dirthweels, and have read all their articles, and i couldnt tell ya... why? cuz they dont give anybody a definitive answer... they beat around the bush in their shootouts, and then one month they talk up the LTR, the next month the YFZ, and the next month the 450R... i dont think dirtwheels is full of the brightest guys, but theyre not that dumb- they wouldnt go and bit the hands that feed them...

and i know youre going to say otherwise, but i would be willing to bet you havent ridden all the 450s out there...

[Toadz400]

Originally posted by ZukManZ400
Sorry 250R4life,
I think that I might have to go with the guys at dirt wheels mag. over you, they are great at what they do and I would never second guess them.

PS: got an 03 Z400 I beat the **** out of and the only problem I've had was yahama not coming out with a 400 cause they got thier hands full with problems on the YFZ!

:huh

That's all I have to say to both those comments.

[K_Fulk]

If I was starting from scratch for mx I would go with the ltr.

All you really need is some nerfs, bars, a pipe and revalve the shocks and you have a competitive bike.

I've raced a stock ltr 5 or 6 times while my yfz has been down and honestly I do better on it. And I have twice as much in my yfz. The motor isn't as strong, but I can rail corners better on the ltr.

If I can figure out how to get my yfz to corner the same it would be sweet.

[FoxRacing81]

I have a YFZ and I race MX. If I could do it over again, I'd go with an LT-R.

Love the YFZ, but the LT-R offers much more stock and appeals to me more as an MX racer.

And BTW, anyone who says the stock suspension is better on a YFZ then an LT-R has never rode an LT-R. I love the stock suspension...I know several people who are very fast with completely stock suspension on there LT-Rs. Can't say the same for riders with YFZs.

The only real thing I like more on my YFZ is the power. The instant "hit" from the YFZ makes me feel like I am on my old 250r again. The LT-R is much more mellow, but it is by no means slow.
I dislike the stock suspension on the YFZ. I do not like the tires stock. The seat is terribly uncomfortable (not a huge deal, but sit on your YFZ then hop on a LT-R and its like apples to oranges).

And, probably my biggest complaint, is how much of a pain in the *** it is to work on my YFZ! It takes me a good half hour to change a sparkplug. The LT-R is not much of a repair-friendly machine either, but atleast you can get to things like a sparkplug quicker!