New YFZ450SE owner. What should I know?

[WKY400EX]

I was a Honda guy for the longest time, and have had experience with Suzuki and Kawasaki dirtbikes. Aside from the Houser/Laeger hybrid 426 I had a few years ago, I'm kind of clueless on Yamahas.

I just picked up a slightly used '05 YFZ450SE yesterday with plans of getting back into riding. Seems like a good, solid quad with what little I've ridden so far. All you Yamaha guys out there, is there anything in particular I should know about the YFZ450's, or the 2005 models in particular?

[yamahaman623]

05 is a pretty good year the only bad thing is that some of the 04s and the 05s cranks sieze up but if it was used the crank might be new

[WKY400EX]

Anything else?

[tach13]

the swing arms are different on the 04-05's. they changed them to the honda style which is way easyer to adjust the chain with. you'll find that out.

[banker30]

also the 04/05 is only 439cc if you put an 06 crank in it then it will be a true 450cc.. also on mine if its not upgraded i put an 07 oil pump on it

[WKY400EX]

Originally posted by banker30
also the 04/05 is only 439cc if you put an 06 crank in it then it will be a true 450cc.. also on mine if its not upgraded i put an 07 oil pump on it I knew about the difference in displacement, and have heard about the oil mod, but not about replacing the oil pump. I'll check into that.

[griffin32]

an oil pump will definetley help

[squadie]

On the comfort side -- you might want to get an 06 or newer seat. The 04/05 seat was pretty hard; 06 and up have more foam. Makes a day of riding that much more enjoyable. Catch a good deal on ebay. Just about everybody complains about the stiff thumb throttle. You can buy a softer spring on ebay and/or put on a Honda thumb throttle. I'm happy with both changes.

Two other big impact changes you can make: the exhaust cam mod and an aftermarket rear shock linkage. Most people are real happy with the cam mod. The shock linkage will cut down on the pogo stick action. I got a GT Thunder XC link and it's great.

On the crank issue: it can happen. After mine seized I found several other folks on forums that suffered a similar fate. Big thing is to change the oil very often and use a high quality oil.

[WKY400EX]

Originally posted by squadie
On the comfort side -- you might want to get an 06 or newer seat. The 04/05 seat was pretty hard; 06 and up have more foam. Makes a day of riding that much more enjoyable. Catch a good deal on ebay. Just about everybody complains about the stiff thumb throttle. You can buy a softer spring on ebay and/or put on a Honda thumb throttle. I'm happy with both changes.

Two other big impact changes you can make: the exhaust cam mod and an aftermarket rear shock linkage. Most people are real happy with the cam mod. The shock linkage will cut down on the pogo stick action. I got a GT Thunder XC link and it's great.

On the crank issue: it can happen. After mine seized I found several other folks on forums that suffered a similar fate. Big thing is to change the oil very often and use a high quality oil. Thanks for the input. The exhaust cam mod simply changes the timing to YZF450 specs, right? And as far as frequently changing the oil goes, I'm in the habit of that anyway. Just curious, what are you calling high quality oil?

[banker30]

oil is not really a big deal.. i ran amsoil last year and now im runnin genuine honda so it doesnt really matter.. in 4 years im on my second crank and its had alot of hours on it

[A A R O N]

the crank failures are hog wash.


the 04-05 motors are no more likely to fail than the 06-09 motors. ............unless you don't treat it right. I will say, the 07+ motors, just by hearing stories, seem to be more favorable to your typical rider that has no idea how to take care of their stuff.



It's ALL about how you ride it, what kind of dumb parts you put in your motor to make it faster and MAINTAINING the thing.