Honda or Yamaha?

[gundi]

What is the preferred 450 between the YFZ 450 and the TRX 450R? What pros and cons do you have for both?

[rob-u]

what will you be using it for? the '09 yfz got totally redone. It looks pretty nice.

[Baja D "Diego"]

I've heard nothing but good stuff about the TRX450R over all. Don't get me wrong the YFZ450 is a good race machine. The TRX450R is suppose to be a way more comfortable ride for longer hauls.

[shooei]

Honda does better in desert racing.

[AzDzrtRcr]

Bottom line......HONDA RACES!!! Where's Yamaha??? I think that says it all.

[sbetts1]

What about the new fuel-injected '09 YFZ 450-R?

[co pilot mclovin]

honda is the easiest bike to upgrade and make raceable. go look at the entries in almost any desert racing like score, bitd. i think one year there was nothing but honda and a few other brands like bombardier and kawasaki. yamaha is a good bike but does not have as many parts or companies supplying parts that make it easy to make fast and reliable for desert racing.

[rob-u]

I don't own a YFZ or a TRX, but I have raced baja in both. If I had to choose between the 2 I would go with a YFZ. I've never liked the way suspensions feel on trx450's, especially their rear shock. To me trx450s feel to tall and I just dont like them. I feel more confortable on a YFZ.

I don't think one is easier to build than the other cause you can find as many aftermarket parts for the yfz as you can for the trx and you need the same upgrades on a YFZ as you would on a TRX to make it race ready. I will say when comparing prices on oem parts, honda is a bit less expensive as yamaha.

The main reason why you see most people on trx450s out in the desert is their engine. TRX450 engines have a smoother power and don't hit as hard. YFZ's have higher reving engines with a harder hit witch will wear you out quicker. Also, people buy what the winning teams are using. So if Cafro and Matlock are both using 450r's than everyone else will go out and get 450s.

[CaptinCrash]

Honda for sure

[gundi]

what will you be using it for? the '09 yfz got totally redone. It looks pretty nice.

Taking it to the dunes mostly with some dirt riding. I was really impressed with the new YFZ but not so sure I want to deal with any new maintenance challenges it might bring with new electronic parts and such. Whats the deal with it's new frame? What are the advantages with it?

[rob-u]

Taking it to the dunes mostly with some dirt riding. I was really impressed with the new YFZ but not so sure I want to deal with any new maintenance challenges it might bring with new electronic parts and such. Whats the deal with it's new frame? What are the advantages with it?

It's always hard to say with new quads. Suzuki didn't have any issues when they introduced their EFI LT-r450. Yamaha already got their feet wet with their EFI raptor 700 and I haven't seen any problems with them. Their frame looks pretty cool, I'm guessing they used cast aluminum frame to save some weight. It seems like it already comes wider than normal and with better suspensio sort of like the LT-R comes.

It seems like you wont need to many mods for your quad since you will only be dunning and trailriding. I would lean more towards a quad that will give you the best ride in stock form. I'd go with an LT-R, or a new YFZ.

[gundi]

It's always hard to say with new quads. Suzuki didn't have any issues when they introduced their EFI LT-r450. Yamaha already got their feet wet with their EFI raptor 700 and I haven't seen any problems with them. Their frame looks pretty cool, I'm guessing they used cast aluminum frame to save some weight. It seems like it already comes wider than normal and with better suspensio sort of like the LT-R comes.

It seems like you wont need to many mods for your quad since you will only be dunning and trailriding. I would lean more towards a quad that will give you the best ride in stock form. I'd go with an LT-R, or a new YFZ.

Thanks for your input!

[amr126]

The cool thing about the EFI is it means less time tuning your quad and more time riding. I realized the 45 pilot jet didn't work today when I riding and now I get to go through that rejetting ordeal again. With EFI, it does the work for you!

[Bill]

The cool thing about the EFI is it means less time tuning your quad and more time riding. I realized the 45 pilot jet didn't work today when I riding and now I get to go through that rejetting ordeal again. With EFI, it does the work for you!

The EFI on my Raptor is not self tuning.I had to buy a new MOOSE programmer and re-map the computer.The quad doesn`t have a mass air or 02 sensor so it can`t do it on its own.

[rob-u]

I think what amr126 was trying to say is that an EFI is less susceptible to climate changes than a conventional carburator. An EFI is also much easier to adjust. I have a Powercomander PCIII (I think its the same as the MOOSE Programer) and I love it. Especially cause Powercomander already has a bunch of maps for different part combinations. All I have to do is find the one I need and download it to my PCIII.

[Bill]

I think what amr126 was trying to say is that an EFI is less susceptible to climate changes than a conventional carburator. An EFI is also much easier to adjust. I have a Powercomander PCIII (I think its the same as the MOOSE Programer) and I love it. Especially cause Powercomander already has a bunch of maps for different part combinations. All I have to do is find the one I need and download it to my PCIII.

Yeah thats what I have now too.But they didn`t have a map for my parts combo.So we had to do a custom one by changing a few paramiters.

[rob-u]

Yeah thats what I have now too.But they didn`t have a map for my parts combo.So we had to do a custom one by changing a few paramiters.


Yeah, they seem to have more maps for the LT-R than other quads. The best thing to do is get it on a dyno, but that is a bit costly and time consuming.

[Bill]

Yeah, they seem to have more maps for the LT-R than other quads. The best thing to do is get it on a dyno, but that is a bit costly and time consuming.

Yeah there`s a guy in little rock that charges $250.00 to do a custom map.