I've rode all three Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki. I prefer the Honda. My friend has had frame cracking issues with his Suzuki. Don't know if anyone else has heard of this. He seems to think it is a common problem though.

 

The ltr 450 is not good. I have heard a number of time of the rear shock mount breaking when jumped. i have heard of another ltr 450 have its frame crack.
When suzuki came out with the 400 it had the same problems.

I am not much of a honda guy, actually i am not at all. but if i had to chose between these quads, it would be a close race with the yfz450 and honda 450r.

 

My point was the ltr450 is faster stock.And your right the rear shock mount does break they had it in dirtwheels but there a companie that makes a replacemeant thats alot stronger.Plus they fixed the problem with the newest set of ltr450's that came out.So they say....I really dont like the look of the 450r's there just to plain.But the new ones look cool with the flames and red frame.I dont like how the 2006 sets compared to an 2004.The 2006 feels like your on top compared to the 2004 450r's.As i said before my older cousin has the 2004 450r hrc.And the younger cousin has a 2006 450er that his dad bought him.Ill give honda ALOT of credit there very powerful.Just i like the yamaha better.

 

did you guys read the topic??? it asked for an unbiased opinion, some of these are very biased (unless you were being sarcastic)

I know you're the one who wants to get one, but for me, most important things are 1) stability (wideness, i dont care if you say a yfz is very stable, its still only 46inches) and 2) suspension travel

both of these go to the lt-r450, so what if it loses lots of drags against stock 450r's and yfz's, i care more about not rolling and being comfortable going off high/steep jumps,

But are titanium valves REALLY crappier than steel valves???? i doubt it, you guys must have been doing something wrong

and for maintainance, if they use the same engines (except for gearing, cams, etc.) i would treat it the exact same way i would treat a 450 dirt bike.

But i will probably never get one of those 450's, i want to wait for the can-am 450 to come out, and since it will be a twin, it will have more room to fit this engine into it -------------http://www.apriliausa.com/modelli/road/modello_txt.asp?id=107------------

its going to EAT DSbusa's!! and it will handle good like a 450 should, most likely be designed to give the lt-r450 LOTS of competition on the track, hopefully it will be just as wide a a DS650 and have just as much suspension travel (12"front, 11"rear)

 

man! calm down a little. they were just saying what they feel about it. no need to jump down anyones throat. and yes titanium valves are crappier than steel. they tulip quickly because they arent as tough and when the yamaha's firt came out yamaha was recomending that the piston , rings and intake valves be replaced every 30 hours. I would say that crappy....

 

This is the most biased post yet! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] lol

SST - Did you just say, "...no need to jump down anyone's throat"?????????

Now I have heard everything [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]


By the way, if you want an unbiased opinion........1) Don't say you want an unbiased opinion, 2) Don't ask for an opinion on the internet.

The forums would cease to exist without healthy bias.

 

Interesting thread, back to answering crackerJack's original question. I've owned 4 YFZ's, and one 06 TRX450ER, and ridden the LTR. The hours that the owners manuals say in regards to replacement pistons is just CYA by the company, and doesn't always reflect what one can expect from their toy. My 1st 05 YFZ was going very strong still when I sold it with 187hrs on the GYTR hour meter. I rode the thing as hard as anyone, lots of duning, but lots of drag racing also. The other 06 YFZ's seem to be giving me the same kind of quality and dependability that my 1st one gave me. As for my 06 TRX450ER, wiith the HRC hop up kit, it actually ran as strong if not stronger than the YFZ's with comparable mods. The power on the Honda comes on a lot sooner, and has a much broader power curve than the YFZ's, so it "feels" like it has more usuable power. As for as the LTR goes, with a Yosh, and cherry bomb, it ran good, but not as strong as my other bikes.

I find with regular oil changes, and valve adjustments, that I can get a good 200hrs on the bikes without any issues of needing "rebuilds". For a smaller person wanting to jump and ride hard, I think any of the 450's are way superior machines than any of the other quads. If I could only have one bike, it would be simply put, YFZ450 all the way, but the other bikes have their good points also. I think it handles better, and is every bit as durable motor as any of the other 450's. I just purchased a 700R, still trying to get the feel of it, but I can already tell its a more comfortable bike to cruise on, but sucks at what I'm used to doing, jumping, sidehilling, and agressive changes in directions... Anyhow can't go wrong with any of the modern 450's,

my 2 cents[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Nice post yfz when I was going to choose a 450 last Aug I wanted a bike that was comfortable ergonomics wise and is reliable just like my ds 650...The bike I liked most was my '07 450r and it was easily more comfortable when compared to the others, but I would put the zuki in 2nd and yamaha last...I am 6'1 and about 160pds and I ended up getting myself the '07 model with flames and red frame...It is much different when you compare it to the 04/05 models and they have changed just about everything...The Honda has proven itself in the gncc races and in the Baja races and I think that is enough info to let you know how reliable the engine is...I am not saying that the others are bad, but I prefer to go with the 450r...The quadracer 450 is very responsive to the yoshi cherry bomb, gutting the exhaust,and airbox mods and you can see great power gains in something that simple just like if you bolted up a Honda Hrc kit...I do not know too much about how reliable Yamaha has been, but I imagine it is as reliable as how well you take care of it...On my Honda I change my oil every 5 hrs along with my tranny fluid, check my filter regularly and keep up with maintanance and check my tranny and other fluid levels before every ride and make sure she is ready to go before I take it out...You will need to take care of a 450, but it is well worth it to keep it running in prime condition...Go to the dealers and sit on them and see which one you like best...The only thing I miss on my 450r is the wide stance and long travel suspension that I have gotten so used to on my ds...If you have any ?'s let me know and if you get the 450r I can give ya some help maintanance wise if needed.

 

alright, i'll take ur advice next time, but why do you say im biased? its my opinion and im passing it off as my opinion, not as a fact. Some people say that 450r's are the best because they havent raced against a yfz or lt-r or a raptor, and vice versa. thats biased.

These topics are turning kind of boring now, the 450's are so similar now im dimensions and power, the only things that stand out are the SOHC on the 450r, the 5 valves on the yfz, the reverse on the kfxr, and the illegalness on trails for the lt-r

other than that, they are very similar. and you cant really get exactly what you want, unless you've had a few hours for each type of riding for each machine.

But why exactly are steel valves better than titanium valves? cuz titanium is lighter and stronger. or is it worse because it doesnt flex as much as steel??? i really dont know, i heard that steel valves do wear out faster than titanium ones. but do titanium valves require more frequent adjustment?

 

i think STOCK ti valves go bad much faster the say, after market ti valves..
but are much more money.... and changing the oil very often make a huge
diff. on motor life on the 450s... and so dose cleaning the air filter after every ride....
but a ton of hours of hard riding your taking a big chance( crank, valve springs, conn. rod letting go)
on these motors... then$$$$$$$$...... IMOA......