Why did you change your oil right after only riding the quad for an hour? I just bought an 06 450R also, in the break in process, Sparky8370's link to breakin led me to a spark plug color chart... Not sure what that is all about. Just curious... Hope to see you at St. Joe!!

 

whoops, wrong favorite here it is

 

Got it, thanks. It might take me a little bit to read, but this time its the right one.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

First...Congratulations. You're gonna love it!
It must be a heck of a jump from the Kodiak.

If you really think you want more power, I strongly suggest you go to the HRC Kit. I rode my friend's 06 without the Kit, then I bought mine with the Kit installed, and what a difference. Wow!
You get the cam, pipe, a silencer mod, jetting changes, and a wiring harness mod to increase the rpm.
You will pay as much for a good aftermarket pipe than the whole HRC Kit costs.

Secondly, on break-in....consider your warranty. A six month warranty comes with the quad, and you can extend that prettly cheaply. You do not want to do anything that will void your warranty. Follow the book or talk to your dealer on break-in procedure. Also, follow the book on oil. (My dealer told me that most folks feel the synthetic doesn't help much anyway.)

Here's another suggestion.....the book calls for a valve adjustment after about 15 engine hours. Do it. I waited until about 20 hours, just because I was riding at Glamis for a week. The adjustment made a huge performance improvement for me.

 

this article is what you should consider. Look at the evidence. This guy has been an engine builder for major race teams. You really got to check this out. He gives you the scientific theory behind his method and pictures for comparison. It's a really great article.

 

First off, congrats on the new quad. Secondly, if you are looking for more power, yeah get the HRC kit, but i have heard that you need to re-build your top end atleast once a year. so that is what changed my mind about getting the kit. i found that DMC makes the best pipe for the 06 , well atleast a month ago, their numbers were amazing, i would reccomend getting the full DMC afterburner exhaust and the K & N power kit. It's a great upgrade, and if you do decide later to do motor work, the pipe will work great. But again as always everyone has a different oponion, this is just mine.

 

HondaMan440ex, that's what I was thinking about the HRC kit. I've got the exhaust narrowed down to two choices. The Big Gun or the DMC. Do you have the quite model or the competion model? I order a complete set of PRO ARMOR-Nerf bars,bumper,skid plate a-arms guards yesterday. Should look nice when it's done. I'll post some pictures soon. Later[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Hey HondaMan440ex, have you experienced any hard starting problems with your mods? Just wondering, just seeing some grumblings about hard starting '06s... Also do you have some pics of your quad with the pipe? I have not decided on a pipe yet, just shopping around, thinking DR or Sparks... But open to suggestions from real riders and reports from the FIELD! I want to get used to mine stock and break it in beofre I do the mods to it. thanks

 

What did you end up paying...? I passed up an 05' for $5500 new..not sure what final cost would have been.

 

I have the quiet core. i wanted something that wasn't real loud, but still gave me the power. i believe the numbers for the DMC are 17% more torque and 15% more hp. or i love it. i could have gotten an 05 out the door for 5500 but i decided to spend the extra 1000 bucks to get electric start. I love the DMC it sounds great, and i would go for the DMC full exhaust. I will have to post some picutres soon. It start pretty easy, unless it's cold out. but other than that it starts easy.