Best year(s) for YFZ?

[RIDEREDson]

I've been riding nothing but local MX tracks lately and I need a upgrade from the ol' 400ex. I've ridden a yfz and it felt really comfortable, felt almost dead up like my 400. Anyway I'm gonna get my hands on a yfz. So What are the pros and cons of all the years from 04-08?

[moshachusetts]

are you saying the yfz feels like the 400ex? i have both and dont see that,but thats not what your asking. i know that the 06 and up are the better years and believe that in 08 they made even more improvements. i had a 07 last year and a 08 this year, so far the 08 has treated me great.no problems at all. whereas the o7 gave me lots of electrical problems but i could have just gotten a bum bike. thats just my personal experiences so far. as far as the differences in years, you can do a search and find them all. i dont know them all off hand but i'm sure some one does. even though i havent had any problems with the 08 so far,if i had to do it over agian i think i would have gotten a honda 450r, just because the yfz is known for elec problems and my 400ex is such a relieable bike that i'll never get rid of it. great backup bike or if i just want to go for a ride (not racing) i take the 400 for the comforablilty and plushness of the ride (mine is far from stock tho)
not sure if any of this helped you, but its also hard to get answers on the yfz forum( another reason to go with honda, people seem to offer up their help more on the honda forums)

i'll probably get flamed for saying get a honda , but oh well!

[proctorbc2005]

I absoultly love my 04.

Pro's:
-Cheap,because it is older, if your lucky, you cant get your hands on one for under $2000.
-Tons of aftermarket parts.

Cons-
-"Faulty" oil system. Even tho I never had an issue with mine.
-Smaller CC count in motor due to shorter crank stroke.
-may require some up-front maintenance due to age.

If I had to do it all again I would purchase an 07. Yamaha had most of the bugs worked out by then, and you can still pick one up farily cheap.

As for the new 09 450R I have not ridden one yet, But I hear good things.

What it all boils down to is how much money you are willing to spend. I have ridden my 04 and friends, 06, 07, and 08. All are good strong machines, but as I said before, the 07 would be my pick.

That is my 2 cents.

[JR3]

Originally posted by proctorbc2005
I absoultly love my 04.

Pro's:
-Cheap,because it is older, if your lucky, you cant get your hands on one for under $2000.
-Tons of aftermarket parts.

Cons-
-"Faulty" oil system. Even tho I never had an issue with mine.
-Smaller CC count in motor due to shorter crank stroke.
-may require some up-front maintenance due to age.

If I had to do it all again I would purchase an 07. Yamaha had most of the bugs worked out by then, and you can still pick one up farily cheap.

As for the new 09 450R I have not ridden one yet, But I hear good things.

What it all boils down to is how much money you are willing to spend. I have ridden my 04 and friends, 06, 07, and 08. All are good strong machines, but as I said before, the 07 would be my pick.

That is my 2 cents.

exactly and a huge used part selection to if u chck out ebay or yfz central u could build a complete mx bike with quality parts that people have barley ridden on for cheap

[RIDEREDson]

I didnt mean a YFZ feels like a 400ex but it feels comfortable like one. I've seen alot already with wider arms and stuff for about 3500 to 4000. I've also seen mint stock 07 and 08's for about the same price.

[BakerRacing40]

07 the have the bugs worked out on them and the good swing arm, oil mod, charging system... all that but i've heard that the heads of 04/05 YFZ'S are better.. my 04 still has no oiling mod and stock crank and has never had a problem so far.

so all in all just find one that's good priced with the suspension the way you'd want it and worry bout the engine as you go..

[RIDEREDson]

Yeah everyone gives yfz's a lot of crap. Saying that they blow up if you race them, yadda yadda. I've always thought they looked sick and I've ridden a few different ones and I fell in love with em. They had stock suspension and it even felt good. So I can't imagine after changing that how good they handle. Doing all that stuff to my 400 made it a whole diff machine.

[KENNY HEMMINGS]

The wiring issues people talk about on the yfz are kinda a fluke, when you buy one pull all the plastic off and put the plastic wire covering over the wiring harness "the kind thats on cars under the hood" zip tie it around your harness and then zip tie the harness back to the frame, no more problems! the way the harness is routed on a yfz there a some problem spots where they rub and ground out the wire covering will prevent it from ever happening.
but def go 06-up.

[nicker71]

to keep things simple

04-05 same

06 has all the updates except the updated oil squirter

07+ same as 06 but with the oil squirter

[quadboy-55]

i got my 07 brand new, it was a leftover at the dealership. 07+ comes with the beefed up clutch (one extra clutch plate over the 06) and piston oiler mod.

the 08 got different resivoirs on the front shocks and hi/lo speed compresion adjustments to the shocks too.

[ae13291]

we just got a 04, thing probobly has less then 10 hours on it. it is a very nice quad, i can compare the comfortness to a 400ex. but keep these race quads maintained or they can get damaged quick.

[daddio]

Originally posted by quadboy-55
i got my 07 brand new, it was a leftover at the dealership. 07+ comes with the beefed up clutch (one extra clutch plate over the 06) and piston oiler mod.



Who told you that? The only thing they did in the YFZ clutch in '07 - up, is to use the 5TG-16321-00-00 fibers from the '06 YZ. It's a much better clutch, but it still uses 7 big fibers and 1 skinny one.


And to answer your question.......... You will be happy with a 2006 or newer YFZ. It's worth the extra dough (over an 04-05) just for the round house swingarm. All the other upgrades through 06-09 were very minor and can be done for a couple hundred bucks.

[Dunesurfer]

I have both 06 and 08.
08 has better shocks and the oil mod stock, they started that in 07. My 06 was just rebuilt because of a crank failure, so the oilo mod is worth getting a 07-08. 04 and 05 have rock hard seats.

[BrettOaktree]

i have an 08 i got it brand new in 08 pretty cheap, u can get brand new yfzs pretty cheap now, but yeah its a very well rounded bike and very reliable, i love it