I have a 99 400ex and I was thinking about buying a 450r. I want something a little faster and was wondering how reliable the 450r really is. I have been reading some posts and many people seem to be having some problems with the 450r. I'll be riding mostly trails and was wondering if anyone could give me any opinions on the 450r. The reason I want a bigger bike is that I got beat by a stinkin z400, I just can't let that happen.



Thanks Andrew

 

Well you are going to have a reliable bike, but that will last only if you maintain the quad. You need to do oil changes a lot more often and maintain the whole quad. It isn't hard at all, but it needs to be done. I change more tranny oil and engine oil every 5 hours along with the filter, check my airfilter and oil levels every ride etc. You can find some left overs for a good price, but would not recommend buying used unless you know 100% that it has been taken care of. It has also won many races that are endurance and I would think that would be enough info to let you know that they are reliable.

 

Ive got a 04 400ex and a 05 450r, both are reliable,the 450 should have its oil changed more often,it holds less and its harder on it.The valves are alot harder to set,but thats the price you pay for all that power.Ive heard of some problems with the electric start,mines a kick so I havent had any problems. For trail riding you will want to change the gearing on the 450 ,its really high ,I dropped a tooth on the front sprocket and added one on the rear,it works much better in the woods. You wont get beat by any 400's

 

The 450 has an engine that likes to rev, so I don't pick it for really tight trails (keep your EX if you are a semi technical trail rider). Requires a lot of clutch work to ride slowly, and that gets old real fast. It is great for fast trails and wide open country. The best handling machine I have ever ridden!

I have a bunch of friends with over 200 hard a$$ hours on each of their 450's....a lot of those hours being ridden reved out in the dunes. All have the HRC kit. All are fairly will maintained (frequent oil changes and valve adjustments) and use Maxima Extra, ester synthetic oil in both the transmisson and engine sides. No rebuilds in sight. Nobody is down on compression or performance. Pretty good, when everybody said these engines were going to grenade after 15 hours!

The reason you need frequent oil changes with all the thumpers: http://www.belray.com/scripts/future...0-5594ab9a336a