well considering the YFZ is supposed to be a race ready machine, and the trx450 isn't, id say the yfz for mx.......

 

Hondas are like old telvisions (quasar) quality goes in before the name goes on.Honda has always led and everyone else followed.It took yamaha over twenty years to come to the top,but I do believe yamaha is more interested in quad racing than honda.My current quad is a predator but my 250r is still in the garrage.

 

I've raced both quads on a Mx Track. Both bikes are great. The YFZ has a great acceleration but the Honda's torque and low end grunt to pull out of corner is unbeatable. The Honda is by far more of a realiable quad. Which ever one you buy will not be the wrong choice. By the way, don't rule out the LTZ-400, is seems that both J. Jones and Dustin Whimmer has changed from YFZ's to LTZ's. Doug Gust just handed everyone an a$$ whippin on his LTZ-400.

 

I'd have to say the YFZ is a better "out of the box" racer - I still race mine mainly stock, simply because I don't see the need to spend $4k on it to make it better....I have been racing mine for 6 months and the only things that have failed are the well known and easy fixes.....coolant pump seal and decompression plug. The handling is amazing......the stock shocks are great - not a single crack in my frame or subframe......you can't slap the same old "it's a Yamaha" label on this one, folks....Yamaha did an excellent job.

The 450R is fine - and once you put all the goodies on either racer, I think it just boils down to personal preference - neither quad has a disadvantage over the other one because of what brand it is this time..........

Also - you can't count Pro GNC winners for the best quad......too much money and politics at stake to say the Suzuki is a better quad than all the rest.....the riders, however.......they are awesome. Doug Gust won the GNC's.....not Suzuki.

Just my .02.

 

what year yfz does the guy that keep breakin it ride?? one of the mechanics at my dealer here in Las Vegas said that the older models of the yfz, 03-04, had some weaknesses, but the 05 has some stronger stuff on it. Anyone else heard the same?? cuz i got a 05 about a month ago and i ride hard! nothin is broken, but then again, i am a "smart" rider, i dont just go tryin to bust stuff, and i do prev. maint. after every ride, ie. oil, grease everything that needs it, clean airfilter, wash the thing, you can usually tell when stuff is gonna break or if its weakened at all while your washing it. just take care of your stuff and it shouldnt break. hell i have a 89 warrior that is still completely stock, except for the lights, but the exhaust and everything is stock. it still runs great and everything works just fine.

 

What do you like?
Are you a blue blooder or red blooder? The YFZ is more MX oriented from the factory but here is the long and short of it....(I am saving this to use as a STD. reply to the YFZ v. TRX thread).

MX only the YFZ is better stock.
100% mx riders change EVERYTHING anyway, so cost and color are of no value (what do you like?)
Everyone else will like almost everything about the Honda better but the kicker. (its just softer, smoother, more forgiving, and more reliable (sorry, but its a Honda)). Smart people who are able to kick it over, will prefer the kicker, I have never had a dead battery yet on my Honda.
So it boils down (1) to what do you like? If you don't care, (2)what rider do you like, and what does he ride? If thats no issue, (3)go to a few dealers, see who is cool, who is going to make you feel good. If your buying used, (4)look for the best deal.
Or just wait for the Suzy 450 and make yourdecision even harder......

 

Who are you talking about ?

 

I think he is talking about the guy I race with that keeps breaking his YFZ. He bought it new at the beginning of this year. I have another friend who will be riding one for the GNCCs next year. We will see how long his stays together because he is rough on equipment. He has ridden it some already to try to get used to it - he is switching over from a 250R. He already said that he needs to change the sprockets on it because the factory gearing is all wrong for the woods other than that I haven't heard him say too much about it good or bad..... As far as race ready out of the box, neither Honda nor Yamaha are. they don't come with the tether killswitches which are mandatory to race at every track I ever went to. Neither one of them come with nerfs.. I know this is nitpicky minor things but they aren't out of the box race ready without this stuff. I know that Yamaha was selling the YFZ as more of a race quad than for trail use, so one would think that they would gusset the frames some in suspected weak areas. Honda on the other hand is still using the same frame setup that they have had since the days of the 250R so they should know by now where their frames crack and reinforce those areas. I guess they are the closest you will get to being a race ready quad from the factory - for the money. If you want to spend a little more, both the ATK and Gas Gas are closer to being race ready than any other manufacturer. One of their quads cost around $9,000.... The Gas Gas isn't woods race ready though since it is too wide.

 

A <u>BLUE</u> YFZ450 !!! The blue ones are much faster.

 

That's funny. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
I always thought the black ones were faster if you put beadlock wheels on them... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]