450 vs 650 dirt or motard

[Neytiri]

Well jeez are you going to beat the living sh1t out of it and change the oil every 20 hours and air filter? I mean if you looked "closely" at the people complaining at reliability issues, are these the type that are maintenance freaks? Or punk kids? I understand reliability is a legit concern, but I think it's really skewed from past data/stories.

Pete from Pete Cycle and Sled is a motorcycle mechanic God, he says the engines need to be rebuilt every 2 years if you're a racer..... meaning you're redlining the bike constantly, ALL the time in every race.....

If you're good about the maintenance things with regards to the bike and you're not Ryan Dungey, then I wouldn't worry too much about maintenance issues ( If buying a brand new bike).

[R7]

Could get the 450 with a big bore kit , full exhaust, PCV, High compression piston setup and you'll be balling.

And kiss your reliability goodby

Get a stock 450, keep clean oil in it, make sure the air filter is always clean, check the valves once in a while...and it'll last MUCH longer than you think.
If you want something less fun and a bit more work to ride...to save an oil change or 2 a season, get the XR
Some can notice the difference in weight with a gallon of gas, couldn't imagine 40-50lbs

[R7]

I guess if I want a 450 someday I'll have to hope the reliability improves or I'll have to get use to tinkering and spending some coin.

I've never owned a honda or suzuki, but I can say the Yamaha 450 has been VERY reliable for me. Also the KTM 525 was another I had great luck with.
I had an 04 YZ450 I bought new, raced lrrs for 2 seasons on it, can't remember how many trackdays..including a double down at VIR, offroad trail riding, and 2 winters on the ice. I put gas in it, changed the oil and filters often....and it just kept going and going.
maybe the reliablity issues are with your choice in brand?

[Slyder]

450/510/600/650 thumpers are all greek to me. I've never even ridden one, let alone maintained one. My friend is big into them for lotsa reasons, suspension travel and you tend to behave because they won't hit 100 mph in first gear. But he keeps beating it into my head that they are extremely maintenance intensive and not worth having. As well as thinking the 650 has more power. I only have one friend into those bikes so I figured I'd toss it out here, as I know a ton of you fellas street, dirt, and race on and off road with them.

And I full intend on having one someday as I mentioned. No I'll not be bouncing off the limiter the entire time I'm on it...but it will get hammered on now and again, no worries there

[Slyder]

maybe the reliablity issues are with your choice in brand?

Could easily loophole / reg the YZ450 too. Cool to hear you hammered the hell out of one and it kept going. So I imagine if you kept yours to streets / trails and off the track it would go 2-3+ times longer without a rebuild?

And I already mentioned having checked out the WR and CRF. Suzuki guy might go stray when it comes time to buy a dirty toy. You also have, or had the SVX5 right? I think I asked you once how it compared to a 450. I was interested in them but got the impression they weren't much better than a 450 and needed lots of maint.

[R7]

Could easily loophole / reg the YZ450 too. Cool to hear you hammered the hell out of one and it kept going. So I imagine if you kept yours to streets / trails and off the track it would go 2-3+ times longer without a rebuild?

And I already mentioned having checked out the WR and CRF. Suzuki guy might go stray when it comes time to buy a dirty toy. You also have, or had the SVX5 right? I think I asked you once how it compared to a 450. I was interested in them but got the impression they weren't much better than a 450 and needed lots of maint.

You won't be going full bore to often on the streets, and I'd say street riding even at a spirited pace is less abusive on those motors than MX riding. Can you ride one 10k miles a season for 5 seasons without a rebuild? No! But I'm certain you could get 15-20k street miles out of the motor if you take care of it. Those that ride Motards on the street probably also notice the oil is alway MUCH cleaner after a normal change interval that if it were offroad ridden.
I have an 08 YZ now going on it's 3rd season. This one has seen just as much offroad riding as trackdays though, unlike my last one. But also a 2 day at VIR...if you know VIR, it's not exactly a motard friendly track Still not a single issue with it, and the valves were checked over the winter and still in spec.

As for the SXV, it's much more powerful than the 450. It also weighed 65lbs more than my YZ450 according to the scale at NHMS. To say the SXV blew the 450 away would be a lie, it was slightly faster on the top end but about equal acceleration. I didn't have my SXV long ennough for any long term issues, but the oil changes were kinda a pain in the ass and expensive do by the book.
If you hop off a 450 MX bike and get on a SXV, you'll feel the extra heft.

[typeone]

As for the SXV, it's much more powerful than the 450. It also weighed 65lbs more than my YZ450 according to the scale at NHMS. To say the SXV blew the 450 away would be a lie, it was slightly faster on the top end but about equal acceleration. I didn't have my SXV long ennough for any long term issues, but the oil changes were kinda a pain in the ass and expensive do by the book.
If you hop off a 450 MX bike and get on a SXV, you'll feel the extra heft.

side note: i finally got mine up to NHMS yesterday... talk about weird! i didnt know wether to foot-out or knee-out it at first... then you let off the throttle, down shift and its like you have the brakes on. ZERO weight to carry you. cant imagine a bike that's 65lbs lighter had soooo much fun.

btw, bike ran great, i was fearing the worst. rode in red group again (2nd time up there) but had a blast, no issues, ran tight. still in love but jesus its expensive to change the oil often. not to mention all the other shit to keep on top of

[Slyder]

I had heard the only Jap 450 that was really unreliable out of the box was the RMZ, but it was also pretty high strung as well.. then got under the impression that all of them were unreliable, good to hear the opposite though. I've also seen a tarded out RMZ450 on the street. Up on RT 17 (app gap) which, I imagine would be a blast to ride a bike like that up there, or Hurricane Mtn Rd in NH.

Well someday, perhaps next summer I'll get one. I just might have to take Doc up on the ride offer though. And my non-NESR friend lives down in Bwastun and keeps after me to come down for dirt riding out in central or western MA. I could probably also get a ripper on his XR650 when he's done with it...then I could try it out in street trim.

Then go buy me a 450 someday

[Kurlon]

...then you let off the throttle, down shift and its like you have the brakes on. ZERO weight to carry you. cant imagine a bike that's 65lbs lighter had soooo much fun.

Heh, that's the reason why I've been advised AGAINST motarding a two stroke, no engine braking at all and everything I've ever ridden has tons of it.

[Chippertheripper]

Fwiw, I still ride a xr600r. It's over 20 years old too. I wasn't in love with my drz, and kind of reverted to something I could beat the absolute shit out of, put it away, and it'd fire right up next time without hesitation. The thing is bombproof. Is it the best machine for the job? Probably not. Is there one perfect bike made for a do it all machine? No way in hell. There are tradeoffs in everything. A 450 should suit you well as long as you don't go nuts internally. Pipe, jets, airbox, the thing shouldn't give you any trouble.