Motox,
I have had my 450r for two years and I have a Hotcam Stage two in it. I have had no problems with it and I have not rebuilt it either.
A friend of mine got his 450r just after I got mine and he put a 10.5:1 piston in his last year. His original piston was still in great shape. He races a little flat rack and I don't race at all.
I trail ride alot and ride the Oregon dunes about 5 times a year, for at least 3-5 days each time.
I read a lot about having to rebuild the 450r often before I bought it and I think it was all just speculation.

 

Red400EX, good post.

just curious, how often do you change YOUR oil in YOUR TRX450R? what about your racing friend?

 

I raced both of my 04 450r at bonne terre sand drags for 1 1/2 years and also raced at st joe Ive ran nos in one alot of nitro and meth on the other and never had a problem with eather one of them ..

 

kicknurass, and how often do you change your oil in them?

i would love to take a poll of the YFZ, 450R riders and see what intervals they are using for oil changing. The OEMs' reccomended or some arbitrary interval?

 

I change my engine oil every 12 - 15 hours and the clutch side every other time I change the engine. If I'm down at the dunes for 4-5 days, ridng 5+ hours a day, I don't change the oil until I get home. I don't think this is being lazy, it's just my maintenance procedure.I guess only time (and a lot of it I hope) will tell if changing your oil every 3-5 hours or every 12-15 hours makes a difference.

 

I am who is was talking about. When I pulled the stock piston out, I figure it was at 100 hours. 95 of those riding ti like it was stolen. I might have changed the oil 5 times, at that point. The piston is perfect. If you cleaned the carbon off the top, it wold look brand new. The nikaseal, or whatever the cylinder is coated with was perfet, also. There was just a little ridge at the top of the stroke, but that was carbon, not wear.


I am saving now to go big bore. I will look at the sleeve then, but I bet it will still be in great shape. My engine guy told me, he would take me to 500cc's for $450. I am liking that, and want higher compression, so the 500 is going to be on the way. It might take till spring, but will be worth it.

 

Yes, he is the one of which I was speaking (writing) about.
I am thinking of an Athena 480 big bore with 12:1 piston.

 

All this talk about oil change intervals and no mention of oil type. Certainly a synthetic oil like one of the 4Ts would be a welcome addition when doing a 20 - 30 hour stretch between oil changes. This sould also be considered when deciding the oil change interval of your own quad.
I know engine manufacturers stay away from the mention of synthetic oils, does the Honda manual mention anything about synthetics? I'm curious because I will be buying an 06, 450R soon and I don't want any surprises.