I was wondering what any of you 05 owners dont like about your rides? I am going to buy one for me and one for my brother and I can get a new 05 5399.00 OTD I Can get the 07 yfz and honda for 6400.00 otd. Electric start is not an issue for me so the 2000.00 savings is looking good Thanks

 

I have an 04. They read the same as 05, except color. I love my 450, it is a great quad. I have modified it some, but every thing needs some help. If you don't want E start save 2K. I have found more people happy with the older 04/05 than I have the "newer" 06/07.

 

I was mainly checking to see opinions from actual owners on any issues they had or didnt have with their 05 quads. A 05 is two model years old now so I was wondering why dealers had so many left over. I also know that I dont care about the fastest quad.... I laugh at how alot of quad riders just sit at jump faces and talk all day about dragging. I ride two wheels so when I ride my quad I go places and beat the crap out of it. The quad that I need will spend its life in the desert wide open, various tracks in so cal and some tight trails but mainley thats my WRs chore. I guess any one of the new quads will work so is it worth + 2000.00 to ride a 06 07 hon / yam vs a 05 honda

 

I would rather have my 05 kick start, rather than a elec. start. I feel safer without it, because what are you gonna do if your cable terminals come loose or something else happens. You're stranded. And thats pretty expensive for an 05. Around here they're about 5k or less. Personally I don't know, but I hear the 450's are great desert machines. Definately Change the exhaust and rejet it if you do get them. It brings so much more life to them. I think the 05's are some of the better 450's. I also read somewhere that the racers who want them would rather have the 05 models. Who knows if that's true or not. Good luck with the decision. Red

 

I have an '04 (same as an '05) and I love it. I have never had any issues with it. I ride the Oregon dunes and trail ride with it.
I have modded it with a big bore, hotcam, port and polish and after market pipe.
I think dealers had left over '05's because when the '06 came out, they didn't discount the '05 enough to sell them out right away. Now they are discounting them more to dump them. A friend of mine bought a "new" 05 last October for around $5,500.00 otd.

 

The 450R is the king of desert endurance racing....that's all I ever needed to know! Mine has been a superb machine!

It is geared to tall for really tight trails, but in the open desert that isn't an issue. I did gear mine down one tooth in front though, because I like lots of low end grunt. Did lose some high end speed.

Loving the kick starter......once you know the drill it starts first kick every time, hot or cold.

I wouldn't keep the stock tires. I went with ITP Holeshot XC's which is a well proven desert tire, on ITP BAJA rims. Widens the quad a little. It is the most stable quad I have ridden at high speed!

A bunch of my buddies have the 06/07. It does have a few improvements over the 04/05's (a little wider, a bit longer swingarm, slightly lower gearing, larger air intake, more motor). Personally, I would spend the extra $1,000 for an 07 if I were buying one right now......

The YFZ is a great quad for the track or play riding, but it isn't the hot setup for the open desert!

 

I just got an 07 which does have updates all around compared to the 04/05 versions but it is an awesome quad...it is geared a little high but when you get into open areas man that thing rips...one thing if you do go and get a 450r don't get a k&n or you can cause dirt to get into the engine and with titanium valves it's not such a great idea[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

If you do get one, come back and check the posts on break-in methods and maintenance. This engine will do best with very frequent oil changes and relatively frequent valve adjustments. Even a little dust will wreak havoc on your valves! This isn't a 400EX where you can neglect maintenance and get away with it...........