Current high performance 4 stroke bikes……. frustration

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August 31, 2011 at 11:14 am #100418

James Rookyard
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Just having a whinge about the trade off for performance over reliability. I love the way my CRF450X really gets up and goes, has good suspension and is nearly all the things I wanted in a dirt bike.
However, a motor completly destroying itself within 3 years isnt in my wish list. I have never had any dramas with a Honda engine before (I did have an xr200 do a gearbox but it was a 15 year old farm bike).
I would take a trade off of a few more kg’s in thicker engine cases and a slight performance drop for reliable valves.

August 31, 2011 at 11:32 am #207960

Aaron Wilde
Member

The current enduro bikes are race bikes while we used to race glorified ag bikes in the form of XR250 etc. People would spend rediculous coin making a 4T race bike. or transforming a MX bike to a enduro weapon. I saw a CRF 450x engine yesterday with the valve cap completely worn through and the cam half worn down and he did not notice it. It just would not start after he shut it down but it only had about 60ml of oil in it. Yeah they are unreliable sometimes but the alternative now is DRZ . That is why they are the most popular dirt bike at present.

August 31, 2011 at 12:40 pm #207965

mike
Member

Yeah they are unreliable sometimes but the alternative now is DRZ . That is why they are the most popular dirt bike at present.[/quote]

I hear ya Aaron
Lets hope the bike builders are paying attention and start building better engines. Nothing wrong with the drz though. They may not be as quick as some but they are damn good trail bikes.

August 31, 2011 at 1:30 pm #207966

scott bocking
Member

There are always some isolated issues but Yamaha have struck a great balance between performance and reliability with their WR’s.

STM

August 31, 2011 at 4:14 pm #207969

Dean
Member

King STM wrote:

There are always some isolated issues but Yamaha have struck a great balance between performance and reliability with their WR’s.

STM

Engine wise I agree scotty, Gearbox issues let em down, seen it many a time.

Ollie

August 31, 2011 at 5:20 pm #207975

Scott
Member

Ollie wrote:

King STM wrote:

There are always some isolated issues but Yamaha have struck a great balance between performance and reliability with their WR’s.

STM

Engine wise I agree scotty, Gearbox issues let em down, seen it many a time.

Ollie

Can you give me a bit more of an idea of the gearbox issues you have seen many a time?

August 31, 2011 at 5:37 pm #207961

Scott
Member

I guess the reason why I ask for you to have seen so many damaged WR gearboxs you must have owned a few or have mates that have owned them?

I have heard and read all the hype Re WR gearbox’s over the years and I reckon I can count on one hand the number of times a gearbox has totally failed.

From personal experience I’v had 5 WR 450’s through my shed with combined total of around 40,000kms between them. Mates have done 15,000km+ on WR’s and the engines have never been opened. Only one of my bikes had any issues with the gearbox and that particular bike spent 90% of its life in motard disguise with no cush drive being flat changed on the track, simple the dogs gave out from memory on second gear.

There are isolated issues but you need to understand how the bike was used and the maintenance schedules performed. So I agree with STM yamaha have achieved a great balance with the WR.

August 31, 2011 at 5:58 pm #207979

Dean
Member

Yep Ive had my share of WR’s and YZF’s and they are a great bike. I have personally witnessed 2 Gearbox failures on WR’s both 250 and 450. From memory 5th on the 250 and 3rd on the 450. apparently they dont come with enough backcut on the gears. seems like you have had a good run with yours, plenty havnt.

Ollie

August 31, 2011 at 8:49 pm #207980

Matt Baker
Member

Its the age old argument (discussion).

Talk about any bike and someone you know has had a shit time with it, but someone else has had a great run.

Just like anything they all aren’t built the exact same, machines used to make parts wear down, blokes putting them together are hungover or having a bad day etc.

Sometimes you just get a lemon.

August 31, 2011 at 9:59 pm #207962

Scott Southwell
Member

jimmy wrote:

Just having a whinge about the trade off for performance over reliability. I love the way my CRF450X really gets up and goes, has good suspension and is nearly all the things I wanted in a dirt bike.
However, a motor completly destroying itself within 3 years isnt in my wish list. I have never had any dramas with a Honda engine before (I did have an xr200 do a gearbox but it was a 15 year old farm bike).
I would take a trade off of a few more kg’s in thicker engine cases and a slight performance drop for reliable valves.

3 years is not a bad run for a race bike. From what I read in your engine failure thread Jimmy your CRF has seen it’s fair share of hard and fast desert and pony express racing.

I note people are pointing out the DRZ as a reliable trail bike, and it is, but if you were to use the DRZ as a race bike at some of those desert races I doubt you engine would last too long.

September 1, 2011 at 2:22 pm #207983

James Rookyard
Member

Scotty wrote:

jimmy wrote:

Just having a whinge about the trade off for performance over reliability. I love the way my CRF450X really gets up and goes, has good suspension and is nearly all the things I wanted in a dirt bike.
However, a motor completly destroying itself within 3 years isnt in my wish list. I have never had any dramas with a Honda engine before (I did have an xr200 do a gearbox but it was a 15 year old farm bike).
I would take a trade off of a few more kg’s in thicker engine cases and a slight performance drop for reliable valves.

3 years is not a bad run for a race bike. From what I read in your engine failure thread Jimmy your CRF has seen it’s fair share of hard and fast desert and pony express racing.

I note people are pointing out the DRZ as a reliable trail bike, and it is, but if you were to use the DRZ as a race bike at some of those desert races I doubt you engine would last too long.

True, maybe I am expecting too much. It is the bike I reckon they should have been making in about 2000 and its what we got. I dont want to go back to an XR/DRZ style bike. I think I just have to accept that one season out of a new bike is acceptable.

September 1, 2011 at 2:56 pm #207963

mike
Member

You should all get an orange 2banger. It solves all ya problems:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

September 1, 2011 at 7:29 pm #208006

James Rookyard
Member

Yeah, wont be any good from new lol!

September 2, 2011 at 12:43 am #208028

Bob Dowsett
Member

jimmy wrote:

Yeah, wont be any good from new lol!

Thats Gold :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

September 2, 2011 at 12:48 am #207964

Bob Dowsett
Member

There are those that think Wr’s are an ag Bike ………clearly they have never ridden a true ag bike

However to quote a Dr rider that I know (Not DRZ )

Wr’s are more of a Performance Ag bike

At home amongst the cows listening to them bellow (and shit everywhere) or

Jumping the triples and barking at the crowd with a flick of the wrist and listening to the crowd roar
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