WR450 long dist bike?
 

I am planning a trip from U.S. border to belize and am in the process of searching for a machine. does anyone have experience with the new WR450 as a long distance dual sport bike? I know it is more dirt oriented than most which is what i want, the less pavement the better!

I believe i will need a large capacity fuel cell and a thicker seat (the moto inspired seat just doesn't seem comfy) but what other insights do people have?
thanks, luke

forget comfort, what about service interval and load carrying? most enduro bikes need oil changes every few hours or hundreds of miles.

Great bikes, but that's one of the last choices I would make for long-sitance. As Rich said, it's like riding on a 2x4 (and you'll have a real hard time getting the seat wide enough to make it comfy, since ther'es not much for it to rest upon), the power delivery just isn't really nice for extended trips, you'll have to change oil very frequently and the suspension is very stiff, not nice for long trips.

If I really wanted good dirt performance, I'd go for something like an XR600/650 or a DRZ400. - they're much more plush and easier to fit with adventure accessories.

I went out to play on an MX track yesterday. I was on my XR650L with 20% stiffer rear shock, 42 litre tank and 10W fork oil. oh, and road tyres. apart from slip-sliding round the corners, it took it all brilliantly. not as well as my XR400 or Martin's XR650R, but better than Trajan's DRZ400 (road variant) which was bottoming left right and centre.
I'm not trying to move this chat to the Honda pages, but I'd say an XR4/6/6.5R/L would be better for trips than a WR450 or CR450F which came sailing past me yesterday, but then I was on their turf. whatever you get ... enjoy!

yea, that makes lots of sense. i really dont want to be changing the oil every 4 hrs whilst on the road. i guess i was looking towards the WR450 cause i plan to keep the bike for conversion to supermotard when i return, and like the lightweight of it.

I am not opposed to an XR650R at all, in fact i think it is marvelous. though i have trouble believing its ability on a mx track...for me at big, heavy, sloppy forks, heavy, wide, long, heavy. this just from me as i race a YZ250 regularily. but im sure off road its king!

honda seems to be doing well with it in the desert. what kind of mods are done to yours? bags? fuel cell? suspension? seat? others?

im new to this so any advice is much appreciated. thanks again. luke

Martin's XRR has IMS' big tank and soft luggage. I wouldn't say the forks are sloppy, but its big so its going to be hard to handle compared with a 250. it really is good for its size, but Martin does complain that 250's are too easy on tough stuff ... so easy that its almost cheating! I'd say the XRR is a bit radical for most people. I'm no expert, but I'm used to big bikes and the XRR is madder than an axe-man!
big and sloppy nicely describes my XRL tho. it has an enormous fuel tank: 11USG! and long forks etc
Rich

Agree with the others : the WRF's simply are not made for travel ! on road are really not very stable (you pay the good dirt handling) and any weight on the back will made thing worse.
Apart from offroad trips with 4x4 in support or similar use , I think that a heavy travel use will create problems to engine.

Alternatives are heavier and sloppier , but more adapt : Yamaha TTR600 , XR's and DRZ

I'm riding WR400 '1999 and love it. Most of the time we only do day trips, but I have been reading stories on the web, from guys doing long-distance trips on WR. Search on Google.com and see what you can find.

If you are able to ride off-road most of the time, down to Belize, and keep the bike light (soft luggage and only the most important stuff), I would go for it. I changed oil every 600-1000km, and that might be a problem for you.

You might be able to get the WR450 with enduro suspension, and then you will not have any problems with the stiffness of the bike (as long as you keep the bike light).

As an alternative I would recoment you to look at DRZ400; very enduro oriented bike and extremly reliable. You could also look at XR400 if you are thinking about bikes in the 400-450cc range.

Travel save.

Jakob

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kinda sounds like the wrf for long distances might be like going to a gun fight with a knife. i really like the idea of xr650 though. suzukis dont really do it for me...thats why they give u a gift certificate for $200 in tools when u buy one :P

and taking an xrl with street tires and saddlebags to a moto track?!? thats like going to a water ballon fight with a m1 abrams tank. sure enough though, if one wanted to stop for a seista mid-moto it would be nice to pull a nap pad, umbrella, sandwich made by the missus and cold lemonade from the bags.

what is a good long distance tire though? do u run heavy duty tubes or a bib mousee with a innner tube? what about gas quality? i know they all prefer premium, but something tells me thats hard to find while on the middle of nowhere.

how twitchy are we talking about? is it something that a steering stabalizer could help with or is it just inherent for a dirt bike on the street?

would offset triple clamps help more?

thanks again

Hi all
if the wr450f is as reliable as the 400 it will be a good thing,in 1999(i think)an aussie dirtbike mag took two wr400f's brand new and rode the from the most easterly part of oz to the most westerly,5600km in four and a half days,through floods deserts and insane roos,smashing the old record buy three days,they changed oil about every 800km or so,the only mechanical hitch was one screw fell out of the radiator shroud on one bike(the bike that hit the kangaroo)when they got back they pulled the engines down and found they were still like new,so i dont think reliability will ba a drama,and the newies have an electric leg,but to do long distance you need a butt like a rhino
cheers Slugnugget

I think the WR makes a great Dual sport bike. Meaning riding from your garage to the trails.

There are a couple things to consider.

I've become a big DRz fan. Its an incredibly versatile motorcycle. I would only choose the XR 650 over it if the road was very fast with litle to no dirt. Other wise the DRZ is much more capable all around until your start talking 100 mph, which were not.

BAck on topic.
1.) A bike with a little well placed weight is ok. A little weight adds stability on the road and fast straight trails.

2.) GAs quality is a great issue. The DRZ S model has lower compression than the E or kick model dirt bikes to be able to run on lower octane fuel. ALso, the S model has CV carb making it much better at travelling through elevation changes without affecting carburation as badly.

3.) Cush drive. This will dramatically improve the ride and lengthen the life of drive train parts. These only come on bikes that are street legal from the factory.
Point is there are a lot of subtle differences that make a huge difference.

NOw if you were trying to do it as fast as possible and had a pit crew following you the whole way, the WR would be great. lol

Thanks,
TOdd BEllew

What about the good old Ténéré ? Try the XTZ660, it's made for travelling. It'll do anything you want except going very fast straight on the motorway. And when I say anything I mean anything. Nothing will stop it. And it has a real engine. With torque.

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

we dont get the DRZ400s in Oz just the E and the kicker,as far as i can tell the S is a softer U.S only model,but the E has been very popular here,the guys i mentioned earlier did not have a "pit crew" just two guys in a 4x4 that changed oil and tryes while the riders slept.it was a bare bones ride across the country to prove the reliability of the wr400 and shatter a few myths about this so called fragile machine,i also agree the XTZ 660 is a great machine aswell,i owned a 2000 model and it was excellent especially the seat,wide,flat and comfy.
Cheers Slugnugget

Slugnugget, what is that now? A 2000 XTZ660? With wide flat comfy seat and all? They stopped the 660 here in 1997. Can you send details about the latest version?