whats the best year to get

[freshkidd]

whats the best year for the trx

[Scro]

04/05 with the updated crank bearings, in my opinion. But, as long as you keep the maintenance up, they are all fairly reliable.

[nskukalek79]

Originally posted by Scro
04/05 with the updated crank bearings, in my opinion. But, as long as you keep the maintenance up, they are all fairly reliable.

x 2

[coreyflipp]

Why is the 04/05 the best years to get?

[nskukalek79]

I like the 04/05 models mostly because of person preference...They have a smaller bore but bigger stroke then the 06 and up which gives better performance in my mind.

[coreyflipp]

Define perfromance. Like the 04/05's will outrun the 06+ in a drag? The 04 I rode didn't start pulling till upper rpms, while the 06's pulled everywhere. I think the 06+ engines are less detuned than the 04/05's. Higher compression, better carb, higher rev limit, more based off the crf.

[nskukalek79]

The higher compression is to compensate for the lack of stroke...If you put a high compression piston in the 04 it is very noticable...I'm not positive but the 06 is probably faster stock but if you do any modifications then the 04 will do better.

I have an 04 right now and most of it's power is the bottom end, then the mid is still pulling hard and it levels off at the top end which is exactly what i want for mx racing. But i also have some money invested into this motor like piston, cam, head porting, and a pipe.

If you keep both quads stock the 06 may be faster but if you modify them both i think the 04 would be the dominate one. So it depends on what plans you have for the quad. They both have their pros and cons.

[MAD450r]

I use to be a trike guy and like to reve the crap out it, so I love the 04 with hrc cam. It beats anything I ride against in drag, but on the track im legally flind so I cant push as hard as some do.

But when I am just riding for fun it is harder to ride the 04 slowly, it wants to rev due to the longer stroke.
I've only rode a few 06 and up models one with hrc, even witht he 06 hrc it didnt pull as hard as my 04 does from half throttle and up.

If you like to put around then it might be better to get the newer year. Or if you get the 04 make sure to change the cam to a hotcam stage 1 for lowend.

I've ridden an 04 with hotcam stage 2 it was better than stock but still didn't pull like mine. I've yet to find another quad to pull as hard. Only thing I rode that came close was a fully built powervalved 310r.

[DnB_racing]

they are all good!!!

if you stroke and cam a +06

or high comp and cam a 04/05

you can make one act like the other,

one big difference is the internal gearing, the 04/05 has a slight lower gear ratio,

the aftermarket has picked up all years of the trx, and there are many setup possibilities, as long as you get one that's been well maintained,any year can be made to do what you want!!just get a good one!

[2muchquad]

as usual everybody has a opinion,i like my 05 with the 02 crf450 cam:D

[4reeds]

Theres a reason they changed the motors from 05-06 and up. I don't think it was to make a slower less reliable quad. When I was looking at an 05 to by I was told not to because they are turds.This from the honda shop.I should wait till the 06. Haven't ridden any other than the 07 I bought so I can't compare first hand. I'm sure they are all great though (its a honda).

[coreyflipp]

That's what I'm thinkin. The 05 I rode didn't have the arm ripping power like the 06's. I believe the 06's engine comes straight from the crf450x. I love the power on my 06, it pulls everywhere.

[Ichoptop]

there is allot "I heard this" type crap in this post.

having raced several of both the facts are"

the early TRX is a better steering and tracking machine due to the shorter swinger and some different angles in the front suspension.

Stock component wise they are the same

Motor wise, the late models did make a little more power but not enough for anyone to actually feel. Both motors are very easy to build great power from. Though they dont have the power that other mfgs have stock but with a few hundred bucks and some time in the garage they are more then ready to hold their own against any other machine.

aftermarket parts are around and plentyful for both.


SO, they both are pretty much the same and for someone to pick which is actually better between early or late it is only personal opinion and not based my anything factual.

[MAD450r]

very nice post, couldn't have put that better. Only thing I'd mention is the gearing change. Alot dont like the 04-05 for trail riding cause the gearing was taller in first and second gear.
I had my 04 from the first wave of release and I picked it up with hrc, was almost a year before I got to ride a stock one and the power difference was night and day. Mine has arm stretching power the stock form of both 04 and 06 was nothing compared to what I was use too.
As for which one was easier to ride stock for stock yes the 06 gearing is more ridable for a trail machine and to someone coming off something like a 400ex.
I did the jump from 416ex fully built and still had to learn to ride completely different than I was use too. On my 416ex I could take it easy or rip didn't matter. The R isn't like that with the 04-05 hrc cam. There is like no power till 1/3-1/2 throttle. From 3/4 and up I have the frontend starting to get light on me.
Im working to fix that though I bought an 07 swinger and had pappy do his magic to it. Now im saving for a new linkage and rear shock.http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/84b4a4fab08d128fa54d3a76431a55954g.jpg http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/b6367ca5418526764005678bd6b4c5a44g.jpg

Those are my trail tires on my R now I also have another set of beadlocks with razr MX's 18's

[reptikes]

Power wise my 2008 trx is night and day different compared to my 04's and 05's.

What i liked most about the 04'-05' was the long 1st gear (you noticed it more than second). Im big on hard/big/crazy hillclimbs and that long first/second gear helped out a lot!

When it comes to the average rider ( i dont race ) they will like the more powerfull running/feeling quad. And my 08' outperforms my 05' easily (for the riding i do).

[Lquad71]

Originally posted by 4reeds
Theres a reason they changed the motors from 05-06 and up. I don't think it was to make a slower less reliable quad. When I was looking at an 05 to by I was told not to because they are turds.This from the honda shop.I should wait till the 06. Haven't ridden any other than the 07 I bought so I can't compare first hand. I'm sure they are all great though (its a honda).
i would tell you to wait for an 06 too if i was tryin to sell quads. the newer they are the more expenisive they are.

[coreyflipp]

Looks like the best thing for this guy to do is ride one of each. I have, and for me the choice was easy, I bought an 06.

[Scro]

The big difference in power delivery between the years is the FCR carb that came factory on the 06+. If you install an FCR on the 04/05 models, you will get close to the same power delivery down low. It's alot snappier off idle.

[Rich250RRacer]

I'm sure somebody is going to bash me and say I don't know what I'm talking about, but from a reliability stand point, I'd take an '04-05 hands down. I own both an 04 and an 07, plus I have a small shop, and it seems that the the bulk of my work is on 06 and newer 450R's. Just this past winter I had seven 06 and newer 450R's in for transmission problems, major problems. I haven't had a transmission issue with an 04-05 since they've been around.

[airmobile101]

Both have their pro's and cons. If you want more arse stock, then go with a 06 or newer. It seems majority of people swap parts between the years to fit them anyways.
But to be fair, its gonna take some engine work for an 04-05 to run with a 06- newer, and the 06-newer is in need of a 04-05 frontend. And the list goes on and on............ You get the point!

[exrider12]

04-05- Pros: Better handling.. "rumored" more reliable.. better tranny.

Cons: Less power, shorter swinger, smaller air filter, no FCR.

06+ Pros: More power, big filter, FCR, longer swinger, more bang for your buck with more power from exhausts and filter.

Cons: Worse handling than 04-05... weak trannies.. e start models kinda suck.

Pick your poison...

[coreyflipp]

Why does an 06 need an 04/05 front end?

[quad2xtreme]

2008/2009 have more power than 2006/2007 in stock form or with HRC kit. 2008/2009 cams have automatic decompression setup too.

[DnB_racing]

Originally posted by quad2xtreme
2008/2009 have more power than 2006/2007 in stock form or with HRC kit. 2008/2009 cams have automatic decompression setup too. are you sure of this? I thought that the bore stroke and gear ratio was the same? I know the head is slightly different and can be modified a little more but besides that arnt they the same??

[quad2xtreme]

Originally posted by DnB_racing
are you sure of this? I thought that the bore stroke and gear ratio was the same? I know the head is slightly different and can be modified a little more but besides that arnt they the same??

I've had a 2006 with HRC and the 2008 with HRC kit. The 2008 is definitely faster. I just got a brand new 2007 engine off the show room floor and put a new HRC kit in it. The 2008 is faster than it too. There are differences in the HRC kits, the carb settings are different between the two. Honestly, I don't know the exact differences but the 2008 runs better.

[DnB_racing]

im not sure but the valves might be different sizes between 07 and the 08 but Im not real sure about this, does anybody know?




EDIT.... I just foung the info on the valves and they are the same size from 07 to 08.... 36mm intake and 30mm exhaust

[DEVINF450R]

My 08 with a CNC'd Dasa head, stock piston, stock cam has more power than my Full race built 05 does...
and the 08 has the 05 walsh front end and walsh savior swinger so the handling is better than the 05 too.
if you get an 05 DEF change the crank bearing! i paid over a grand in parts bc I didnt