The people on these forums seem awesome, so I figured I'd give my questions a try and see what you guys come up with.

I'm 14 years removed from the sport, but just recently bought an '04 YFZ 450LE. Needless to say, I'm stoked. I've been glued to these boards and YFZ Central's boards this last week trying to catch up on the latest and greatest, and the following are all the questions that I can't seem to find the answer to.


First, I'm trying to build a dune machine for Glamis (I live in San Diego) but still want to be able to ride in most places... which brings me to the pipe.

Every pipe thread on this site seems to have different opinions, which makes sense because pipes are so similar. The main thing I'm looking for is a Dune style pipe with good bottom and mid range, but also have a removable sparky so I can still ride in the mountains near where I live. I hear the Sparks is a great all around pipe for this purpose, but I don't think it has a removable sparky. I'm looking for a full system. Any suggestions on that?

Next is about the cam mod. I've read on this board that the cam mod is advancing the intake cam one tooth. I've also heard that the cam mod is retarding the exhaust cam one tooth. Is there a mix up, or does it not matter which one you pic because in escence you're doing the same thing? I'm not a mechanic, but want to learn to do all my own work.

Intakes. I've read a lot about the ESR airbox eliminator kit with a K&N filter, but am worried about sand getting into my motor in the dunes. Is this, with a pre-filter of course, the best set up for the dunes? Anyone have real-world experience having problems with this?

One last thing is to ask which free mods, if any, I can do without having to re-jet. I recently bought a house as well and am low on the available fundage. I know about the free mods (cam, box lid, baffle, sparky out) but it seems I would have to rejet if I do any of those. I wanted to wait to buy all my mods before re-jetting to save money. If i did want to do all four of those free mods and nothing else for now, which jetting would you guys suggest? I haven't been able to find a jetting thread with just those mods installed.


I know these are a bunch of noob questions that have been covered over and over again, but I just can't seem to find answers with those specifics in mind.

Thanks again for any replies to this, you'll be saving me a lot of time and money!


By the way... even stock, THIS BIKE ROX!

 

Having an exhaust with or without an spark arrester you won't notice much difference when taken out, if your that concerned I'd just get one that has it already installed. The Yoshi full system would be great for this! Most good pipes give gains in the same places so look for one you like all around not just in power, either way you're gonna get the power you want.

The cam mod is retarding the exhaust cam one tooth. This will very slightly take away from the bottom and give quite a bit to the top end. I personally love it, and for the dunes it's even more awesome! It's fairly easy to do, should only take an hour or so.

Dont waste your money on a new airbox, just buy a pro-flow K&N kit and take off your airbox lid. You'll get just as good of performance with the stock airbox. If your worried alot about getting dirt in your engine with the lid off I'd recommend getting the UNI foam filter instead of the K&N. I'd be worried more about the dirt from trail riding than sand, sand shouldnt get in your engine at all even with the lid off (sand particles are to big to pass the filter).

As for free mods, just removing stuff that you don't want would be the best way to go. Like the heelguards and etc...saves you weight, thats about it. check this site out, it has all the info you'd need.

Good luck and congrats on the YFZ!