A buddy of mine just picked up a used 05 450r yesterday.

Is there any issues with the 05's or anything to watch for. Its in pretty nice shape and doesnt look like its got many hours on it but probally wasnt the best maintained for the hours that are on it.

Its missing the rear grab bar and tailight. I ordered him a new grab bar but is there anywhere to get a cheap taillight besides ebay?

Any other comments or suggestions of must do things for it are welcome also.

Thanks

 

The only serious issue with the 04-05 450R's are the cranks. They had a pretty big issue with the crank breaking. You can get a new / upgraded crank for around $300 I think. I think the metal they used for the bearings on the original crank was very prone to wearing out, and the later 05's don't seem to have as bad of an issue with it. One of my buddies caught his in time before the crank went out and was able to get the aftermarket and save his bike. Definetely worth checking. Just checked mine (after 3 years of riding amongst myself and one previous owner), and mine was in great shape. You also should get the valves adjusted if the previous owner did not take great care of it. Valve adjustments are scheduled around every 80-100 hours of ride time, but I would suggest doing it more frequently just to be safe and the previous owner probably wasn't too keen on this. I would also suggest checking the spark plug, it requires an irridium spark plug that costs about $15-$20 depending on where you get it, you can not run any other spark plug in it so keep that in mind.. Change the oil and filter as well as the trans oil. I run 10W 40 synthetic by Maxima in mine. I change my oil about every 10-20 hours depending on what type of riding I'm doing. If I am just trail riding, or playing around I'll wait a little longer (20 hours), but if I am racing I chance it more frequently, sometimes not even ten hours since I am running it much harder.

Overall, as long as you are willing to take care of it and maintain it properly, the bike will perform great and you should have no issues with it. Like I said before, the only BIG issue, in fact the only issue I can think of, is the crank.

**If I can find my old tail light I'll mail it to you, just cover the shipping, I'll have to look for it though, I took it off a year ago and have misplaced it.

 

Thanks for the info [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Ya if you find the taillight let me know and I can paypal you some money for shipping and your time. Thanks

 

I have a like new 2005 and it seems to be problem free.....but I wonder why it has an oil cooler in front of the radiator and my '08 dosn't ??