I bought my dad a new 4 wheeler today. I went to buy a Honda since I had had great luck out of them in the past, but the same holds true with my luck on a past Yamaha ATV's. It was a new 04 royal blue Yamaha Wolverine (lucky him). I haven't bought a new ATV in a few years, so I was a little in the dark on the current prices. I paid $4700 and that included the Yamaha PIAA lights with the 55 watt bulb upgrade. He said this setup really put a lot of light out there. The dealer said it had almost 4 times as much light as stock. Is this true? They are putting them on as soon as they get shipped in. I also paid $38 for a diamond plate boot guard and $72 for the diamond plate full skid plate. He said that I should put a White Brothers E series pipe on it and a K&N air filer on it while they install the lights and the skid plate (get it all taken care of at one time). The parts guy said with the two upgrades I should see a 30% power gain over stock. He priced me the pipe at $290 and the K&N at $47. He said I was getting this at dealer cost. Is this true? I really don't know if I should spend the $350 on the pipe and filter, but if it gives a TRUE 30% increase I think I will pay for it. My dad weights in at around 330 lbs, so he definately isn't a featherweight. We will be trail riding only and he generally just cruises around. Would you spend the $350 on the pipe and filter? Any other upgrades you would suggest? I also thought about putting in the full mesh floorboards.

 

I don't know how old your dad is, or how much money you have, but I would not buy the extra parts right now. I't does not sound like dad is a real aggressive rider so I would let him get used to it in stock form. What has he ridden previously? These are not hard parts to install so I'd wait. Your a good son though. Good Luck

 

He's owned the following recently:

300 Honda 4x4
Polaris Magnum 425 4x2 (JUNK #1)
Yamaha Kodiak 4x4
Polaris Scrambler 500 4x4 (JUNK #2)
Honda Foreman 450S

He's not a newcomer, but I decided I would buy him a new one, so he could ride with me. He wanted to buy a KTM 300 EXC like mine, but I didn't think his back would handle it. Hopefully the Wolverine will be a good bike for him.

Anyone looking for some new 04 Wolverine headlights. I will have the factory set for sale after the PIAA's show up.

 

Your a very GOOD son. I think he will like the Wolvy. One upgrade I would recomend is tires. I HATED the stock Dunlops that came new on mine. The side walls seem veryb soft and pinch real easy. My riding pal sold his off his new Wolverine before he ever rode it! Now that's disliking a tire. Goodluck with the new machine. Whats the price on the headlights?

 

I opted for the most expensive set of PIAA's the long range beam. The Yamaha PIAA lights were $170 and the wiring harness was $88 the bulbs were an extra $11 each for the 55 watt upgrade. He told me his cost was around $170 for everything. I'm curious to see how well they do. He said with the dual PIAA 55 watts it would be comparable to about 200 watt regular setup. That is over 3 times as much lighting as the stock setup. We ride in the night and can use the extra lighting.

 

I'd say those will be sweet. Let us know how they do. I may interested in your stock lights. When you get ready to let them go send me a message and let me know how much.

 

Shasta, will send you a note next week on the lights.

 

Just so you know the prices he's giving is not dealer cost. They like you to believe you are getting some great deal and they are hooking you up, but in reality you're getting the shaft. Rocky mountains cost on a wolvy k7n is $30. They dont show an e series pipe though for the wolverine, but im sure someone makes one. Most parts guys work off comission so beware. I know I used to be a parts person at Yamaha. If you can do the install yourself, doesnt take that much mechanical ability you can save money. Also if you were to add the filter and pipe they would likely need to rejet the carbs and that means more money also.

 

Is this exhaust the full system or a slip on? White Bros does seem to put out good exhausts, but I would also shop around. Find a good mag review on 4 stroke pipes and find the one that seems best for him. I prefer a pipe that gives good increases throughout the RPM band. The HMF's look nice as do the Big Gun. My full DG system came on mine, and it kicks ****. It, proper jetting, and a decent flowing foam filter and I can keep up with just about anything on tight trails. As far as the stock tires, I won't go so far as to say they suck. They are good for the sport appeal of the Wolv as they do slide decent and will allow you to get it sideways when you want to. For the trails and mud I will agree, replace them. I got the 25" 6 ply Titan 489XTs and I love them. They aren't too heavy, and not too tall as to take away much of my low end. I still ride the trails in second and third like I did with the 23" stockers. And they kick butt in the mud too. You won't find many obstacles that the light nimble Wolv can't handle that any other bike can. When I'm riding I don't hesitate to be first through the deep stuff - and watching the rest of the pack get stuck afterwards is always fun too [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

The dealer is padding his hp numbers on the pipe and filter, no way will you get 30 %,thats almost a 6hp increase over stock (stock is about 20hp, I think,I'm probably wrong) a more realistic increase is about 5 to 15%. If he just puts the pipe and K&N on without rejetting,you will run lean,probably lose power, and maybe damage the motor from overheating. I'm not saying don't get the pipe and filter, but you can easily do it yourself and save a lot of money. Any Warrior silencer will fit,so you have a lot to choose from.