Just picked up my new 04 YFZ on Saturday afternoon. My first thumper quad. Always had 2-stroke sport bikes until now.

Went w/ the Blue plastic.

Dealer had two 05's in stock Took a look at them to see if there was enough difference to justify increased purchase price. Yamaha is touting noticeable changes on the 05. Not true. I understood the main change was to move the rear brake resorvoir from underneath the rear fender. It's still in the same place. The center part of the seat did have a different non slip type material. The pegs are supposed to be alluminum, but can't tell by looking at them. Other then that, same machine.

Went out Sunday and put about three hours good riding on her. Dirt, mud, hills, trails, jumps, sand, gravel, and water. Pretty much got to see how she would handle most conditions. This machine looks small next to my riding buddies' Raptor and KFX. It almost looks like a 250 class machine compared to them. But looks can be deceiving. The suspension is where this machine shines. Very nimble, light, good handling quad. The Raptor and KFX felt somewhat plush in their ride compared to the YFZ. Put the YFZ in the serious stuff and I think the difference is obvious. Power is good for a thumper. Revved quicker than the other two. Not a bike to idle around on though. Needs to have some revs to keep her going. Almost seemed to have a power band like a 2-stroke in a way.....maybe I'm wierd? Seating is tight and hard. This quad was awesome to jump and thrash on. The handling and weight of it make it a blast to throw around. I'm a little spoiled being used to the power of a Banshee. It doesn't accelerate near as violent as a Banshee. Not that I'm complaining, it's definately a machine to watch out for on the track IMO. It's my understanding the a pipe and the usual intake goodies make a huge difference on them. I will know shortly.

Overall I'm pretty sure I'm going to be happy with this quad. I won't be completely happy until I spend around 2-3k to get all the goodies that will make me happy.

If I were rating this maching on a five star rating I would give it a 4-4.5. Money well spent for me.

Buck

Buck

 

The changes I now of are different valving in front shocks, softer seat alum shifter and brake pedal, fix plug in decompression hole, gripper seat cover.

 

Makes sense. I was looking at the more visible changes that were obvious. The biggest complaint to date was the location of the rear brake resorvoir. Yami said they were moving it yet it stays......?????

Considering what I bought my 04 for I think I am happy.

buck

 

Expect about 6 quad lenghts by the time you click into 5th from a stock to a piped/filtered/ jetted YFZ. Also your low end will improve drastically with the additions mentioned..

 

IT is an absolute BEAST after you put ^^^ on it, i rode a stock one and couldnt get over how little i had to use my clutch on mine it pulls from so low. it doesnt chatter anymore when you put it a gear high.

 

Wow, that's a lot of gain. I guess it makes sense why that 450R was pulling me by about 3-4 lengths the other day when we were riding. He had all the above mentioned goodies and I didn't. We'll see what happens when we compare apples to apples. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Thanks guys,

Buck

 

be careful, i have read rumors that the yfz loses a lot of reliablity when you start messing w/ a lot of add-ons. could be just a rumor.

 

well i would have bought it but it is a steep price and an uncomftroble ride the seet is a frekin rock IMO

 

I think he'll be alright with mods as long as it doesn't involve going into the engine itself.A pipe,proper jetting and filter will net big gains and I don't think you will have reliability issues........JMO

 

I havent heard much about reliability problems with add ons. Internal work can cause problems as with anything that has a motor and you tinker with it. Bolts ons for the 450 are pretty basic though. Pipe, intake/filter, rev box?, flywheel/heavier or lighter. There are a lot of bolt on non performance goodies, and we all know that shiny stuff and strategically placed stickers makes you faster. I've heard good and bad about doing the cam mod and changing pistons. But since it seems to run pretty well with the boltons I have I think i'll leave her alone for now. This too was my first thumper and I'm quite happy with it to this point. I've gotten used to the seat, although I sat on the banshee the other day and I was like OOOOOhhh my god that is one soft seat. Since we mostly ride trails i havent had the opportunity to jump mine much yet. What little I have it has been a good jumper. Spending money on it wont be hard to do. I spent $1000 the first week I had it. I didnt even get to ride it before I had a pipe on it. Dont forget to keep an eye on the decompression plug, and whether or not you need to run with your lights on like I have to.