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Setting up a WR450

Coreshot

Coreshot

Resident Thread Killer
Location
SL,UT
I've been looking at buying a bike for some time now. I really like the WR450 for it's dirt worthiness, but I'm wondering how it would be for street legal riding. I'm interested mostly in the type of excursion Greg's been doing, but I want a lighter bike that is more motocross oriented. With an aftermarket tank, and the goods to make it street legal, what are you thoughts or concerns about a bike like this? There are some nice tanks (3.3 to 6.6 gallons available from several companies.

My on street riding would be very limited between sections of dirt, but I do want to be able to keep up with traffic and not be a hazard.
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
rholbrook has a sweet 450 he's got setup. I don't know how they handle Freeway speeds, but I can't imagine it'd be any worse than mine is (which does ok, gets a little tiresome after riding 80+ for quite a ways). There's several kits out there to get it street legal, Baja Designs is always the company that pops up, Kurt did a Sicass kit on his KTM, and rholbrook did a kit from a guy up north. Really there are a ton of companies that offer kits to get them street legal. A lot of guys like the heavier pigs because you don't get beat-up as much offroad and on long rides (think of a heavy Cadillac vs. a compact car...it rides like a Caddy is a perfect example :D), but like you, I wanted something a bit lighter. Even mine is a bit heavier than I'd ideally like it, but it does ok. The heavier bikes handle freeway speeds better (having more weight means getting blown around a lot less, which equates to a more relaxing ride) but since your highway miles will be limited, I don't think you'd have any problems. I've heard a ton of good things about the WR450, in fact it was one of the bikes I was considering. I think you would be pretty happy with one.
 
Coreshot

Coreshot

Resident Thread Killer
Location
SL,UT
Doing some quick math with some numbers I found on the net, I came up with 18mpg. Does that sound right? Seems a little low to me, seeing that my 1700cc road bike gets 45-50. I know terrain and riding style would have a ton to do with it, but it still seems low. I was hoping it would be 25-30mpg. What are you guys getting?
 
Corban_White

Corban_White

Well-Known Member
Location
Payson, AZ
The WR is a good bike and fits in with what you are thinking. I do question that train of thought though. To do the type of riding Greg has been doing IMO you want more of a Cadillac type ride. Not so much heavy but definitely not motocross-inspired suspension. That type of bike is great for handling, trails at high speed, catching a bit of air, etc. however you will likely be quite fatigued after any ride approaching 75+ miles. For the longer rides, especially multi day rides and rides loaded down with gear I would look for a more off-road styled bike and less motocross style. Something like a DR or an XR comes to mind. These will be more comfortable on the longer rides as well as smoother on the little bumps. My .02.
 
Coreshot

Coreshot

Resident Thread Killer
Location
SL,UT
Corban_White said:
The WR is a good bike and fits in with what you are thinking. I do question that train of thought though. To do the type of riding Greg has been doing IMO you want more of a Cadillac type ride. Not so much heavy but definitely not motocross-inspired suspension. That type of bike is great for handling, trails at high speed, catching a bit of air, etc. however you will likely be quite fatigued after any ride approaching 75+ miles. For the longer rides, especially multi day rides and rides loaded down with gear I would look for a more off-road styled bike and less motocross style. Something like a DR or an XR comes to mind. These will be more comfortable on the longer rides as well as smoother on the little bumps. My .02.
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My last bike was an XR600R, and I wish I still had it. I am looking to do more singletrack and technical riding, limiting the long haul dirt road stuff, thus the want for something lighter and easier handling. Multi day rides will probably be ones with a hotel bed and cafe food involved, so I don't see the need for much more gear than I would need for a day.
 
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Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Coreshot said:
Doing some quick math with some numbers I found on the net, I came up with 18mpg. Does that sound right? Seems a little low to me, seeing that my 1700cc road bike gets 45-50. I know terrain and riding style would have a ton to do with it, but it still seems low. I was hoping it would be 25-30mpg. What are you guys getting?
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18mpg seems extremely low, if that's really the case, I'd steer clear. You're talking about 100 miles for a 6 gallon tank. My bike gets atleast 50mpg, I have gotten as high as 65 mpg. I think you would go crazy with only a 100 mile range.
 
Corban_White

Corban_White

Well-Known Member
Location
Payson, AZ
Coreshot said:
My last bike was an XR600R, and I wish I still had it. I am looking to do more singletrack and technical riding, limiting the long haul dirt road stuff, thus the want for something lighter and easier handling. Multi day rides will probably be ones with a hotel bed and cafe food involved, so I don't see the need for much more gear than I would need for a day.
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Sounds like you have a good idea of what you need then. I may not be the most reliable source for the MPG numbers on that bike, best get some info from a better source before you do something rash. ;) rholbrook should have some great first hand info. Or perhaps there might be some info posted on thumpertalk.
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Coreshot said:
My last bike was an XR600R, and I wish I still had it. I am looking to do more singletrack and technical riding, limiting the long haul dirt road stuff, thus the want for something lighter and easier handling. Multi day rides will probably be ones with a hotel bed and cafe food involved, so I don't see the need for much more gear than I would need for a day.
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For some reason I keep looking at the XR650R thinking it'd be a fun second bike.
 
Corban_White

Corban_White

Well-Known Member
Location
Payson, AZ
Supergper said:
For some reason I keep looking at the XR650R thinking it'd be a fun second bike.
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I keep doing the same thing! I actually did that before I got my ATK. The main reason I got the ATK was that it was almost 1/2 the price of a similar XR. And it has all the good aftermarket parts on it already. :D
 
R

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
Coreshot, come ride my WR450. In fact, come buy it. We can fill the tank and you can ride it home and back and then we can see how your A$$ feels and then we can top off the tank and see what kind of MPG you get. I love my WR450 and would get another in a minute, I just don't ride it enough because I have too many other toys so there is a lot of competition as far as play time goes. I also have a street legal TTR230. I am told that when I license it next time i will have to add turn signals. Not a big deal with the new LED signals they have out. The guy I bought my kit from already has them and they are nice, small and bright. The part of the kit that took the longest to do was mount the horn and tuck all the wiring in so it is clean and tidy. I am weird about stuff like that.

Look at some of the posts I have made as to the type of riding I do. Farmington Canyon to Bear Lake with some of it being 65 MPH on roads. We top off in Mountain Green, Mantua and Paradise.

The most I have gone is about 80 miles on a stock tank and I wasn't on reserve yet. It all boils down to how you ride it. The rpm is pretty high on the hwys but it will do it no problem. It doesn't have a tach so I have no idea where it is at but it has a lot more throttle left(replaced the throttle stop with the YXF one). I have done all the mods to it and it runs great. I spent a lot of time dialing in the jetting for the type of riding I do. I kept the exhaust stock with the exception of a DR. D insert because I like it quiet but now it can breath. I pulled all the air pump shizz off of it and pulled the rpm limiter as well and punched the airbox. Anyone that has a WR450 and rides mine wants me to make theirs run and handle as well as mine. I also tweaked the handling some too.

Come take it for a spin, you will fall in love with it. My friend has a KTM he is selling, not street legal but close and its geared higher.
 

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Coreshot

Coreshot

Resident Thread Killer
Location
SL,UT
That's a sweet bike for sure. Would love to take it off your hands, but I'm going to have to wait until spring. where are the turn signals? I don't see them. What year is it?
 
Greg

Greg

Strength and Honor!
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I had a WR400 and loved the bike, it was amazing up AF Canyon in the tight single track trails.

IMO... the WR is a great bike, but it's a close-ratio transmission and the bike is built as a trail bike with a 5 speed transmission. It's not comfortable running down the highway for extended periods of time and will feel buzzy at speed. I rode mine from my place in Lehi, up AFC and rode the trails, then rode home. The seat sucks and riding it that little distance was a bit exhausting. They do get some of the worst mileage of the 400cc class bikes, which is surprising.

If those things don't bother you, go for it. I do recommend that you look at the Suzuki DRZ, they are a great multi-purpose bike. Low maint, cheap and easy to maintain and get around 50 MPG.

Another bike that has made gained some surprising popularity is the new WR250R. The WR250R is quickly becoming a Swiss Army knife of bikes... it will do it all with ease and be simple to maintain. I believe they have a 6 speed transmission and the engine is based of one cylinder of the Yamaha R1 sport-bike, it rev's to the moon... 14K RPM I heard? I know the size and power may be a turn-off, but most everyone that owns one loves them. If you're considering buying a newer bike, I would suggest looking at this one.

Here's a great thread on ADVRider about the WR250R-

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329337
 
Spork

Spork

Tin Foil Hat Equipped
Location
Saratoga Springs, UT
Greg said:
...
Another bike that has made gained some surprising popularity is the new WR250R. The WR250R is quickly becoming a Swiss Army knife of bikes... it will do it all with ease and be simple to maintain. I believe they have a 6 speed transmission and the engine is based of one cylinder of the Yamaha R1 sport-bike, it rev's to the moon... 14K RPM I heard? I know the size may be a turn-off, but most everyone that owns one loves them. If you're considering buying a newer bike, I would highly suggest looking at this one.

Here's a great thread on ADVRider about the WR250R-

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329337
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Looks sweet. :greg: Spent way too much time looking at that link... :hickey:
 
R

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
Greg said:
IMO... the WR is a great bike, but it's a close-ratio transmission and the bike is built as a trail bike with a 5 speed transmission. It's not comfortable running down the highway for extended periods of time and will feel buzzy at speed. I rode mine from my place in Lehi, up AFC and rode the trails, then rode home. The seat sucks and riding it that little distance was a bit exhausting.
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The seat is like sitting on a board. Your a$$ does get soar so thats why you wear padded biker shorts.

The DRZ was my second choice and those are surprisingly fast but I swore off Suzuki when they wouldn't warranty my King Quad. Two days over 6 months old and it starts smoking like crazy. Paper air-filter but they said its a non-issue. Funny how they now come with foam filters.

Another fantastic bike is the Kawasaki KLX450R and would probably be the replacement of my WR. I rode one with KX cams and I couldn't believe how it ran. My WR runs good but it wouldn't run with this one.

The turn signals are not on it but they will be next year before I renew the registration.

Call me in the spring and we can talk about you buying it.
 
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