The big 4.

Clint1991

Clint1991

PR Addict
I know this is a topic as old as the sport itself but since I'm at work on a slow rainy day thought I'd start a new thread. I know how much some people stick to there brands and will never touch any other make and some ride whatever color happens to be a good bike for them. As for the newest models(lets say 10-present since thats most common) what do you think the best bikes are any size and why. Not just anwers like "My whole family rides red so I do to", or "I like green", I want to hear answers about specifics, suspension, reliability, maitnance, etc...
 
I ride yamaha for two reasons. reliability and build quality. I have found that yamahas, at least for me, stay together and have less problems then other brands. I also think that the kayaba sss suspension is the best available on the market today. I ride a 450f not because I need the power but because it requires less maintenance then a higher revving 250f and I really don't enjoy 2 strokes anymore. I have ridden many different brands and size bikes and have found that I'm actually faster on a kawasaki or any 250f. now, in a perfect world I would be on a kx250f but being 34 years old, I look more at dependability then how fast i can go. I'm not riding to make money. 2011 yz450f and I have never even had to shim the valves! that makes it a winner for me.
 
spacecat said:
I ride yamaha for two reasons. reliability and build quality. I have found that yamahas, at least for me, stay together and have less problems then other brands. I also think that the kayaba sss suspension is the best available on the market today. I ride a 450f not because I need the power but because it requires less maintenance then a higher revving 250f and I really don't enjoy 2 strokes anymore. I have ridden many different brands and size bikes and have found that I'm actually faster on a kawasaki or any 250f. now, in a perfect world I would be on a kx250f but being 34 years old, I look more at dependability then how fast i can go. I'm not riding to make money. 2011 yz450f and I have never even had to shim the valves! that makes it a winner for me.
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I deff agree yamaha has had strong running reliable 4strokes, I know people that have abused and neglected the yz's and yzf's of all years and they hold up great. I personally wasnt a fan of the injection set up on the 11 yz450's but I havent heard of many issues. I also can level with you on riding a 450 over a 250 for the reasons you stated, me being a KTM guy found the 350sx-f to be perfect for me for the same reasons. I went from 250 smokers to a 450f and was faster and more confident on a 250f but didn't want the maitnance. Fell in love with my 350. lol
 
spacecat said:
I ride yamaha for two reasons. reliability and build quality. I have found that yamahas, at least for me, stay together and have less problems then other brands. I also think that the kayaba sss suspension is the best available on the market today. I ride a 450f not because I need the power but because it requires less maintenance then a higher revving 250f and I really don't enjoy 2 strokes anymore. I have ridden many different brands and size bikes and have found that I'm actually faster on a kawasaki or any 250f. now, in a perfect world I would be on a kx250f but being 34 years old, I look more at dependability then how fast i can go. I'm not riding to make money. 2011 yz450f and I have never even had to shim the valves! that makes it a winner for me.
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I just bought a 2014 for that reason. I intend this to last for awhile.
 
John250 said:
You can not beat Yamaha or Honda for quality built bikes that hold up.
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I'm a honda/yamaha guy.

2 stroke yz 250: awesome bikes, reliable. STuck to the track like glue. No front end push. Pulled hard off the start. (Got Meister a holeshot with a gate filled with 450's at the inaugeral Battle for Ohio race in 2013, and he ain't skinny ;) . ) Everything held up on that thing, except it's ability to run away from thieves.
2 stroke yz 125: Another awesome bike, raced it yesterday at the gp. Just super fun to rider, suspension is great, and the bike holds up wonderfully for a small bore pinger!
4 stroke yz 450: Suspension is second to none right out of the crate. Takes some getting used to for me anyway. I Need to stop riding it like a 2 stroke. I complain about how I hate it, but really in all reality it's just me. I changed up my riding style at big game on it and the bike wasn't fighting me any longer, it felt like we were riding in unison for the first time.

My last red bikes were 04 Honda 250F and 05 Honda 450F. I punished that 250F at the age of 17 weekly. It held up awesome, had about 200 hours on the bike with maybe 3 rebuilds and it pulled strong everywhere. 05 honda I had about 90 hours on it with no rebuilds and it was solid as well. I changed the oil in it after every 2 rides though. I think that really helps. Bikes love fresh gold oil........and a magnetic drain plug.
 
I ride Suzukis because I am horrible in the corners and they corner awesome. Got a 144 2 years ago and noticed that turning skills are improving. It is easier to make a slow bike go fast than to make a bad handling bike handle. Can't beat Suzuki cornering
 
Yea crutes rmz 450 did handle exceptional.

Hard to say if you can go wrong today with any if te manufactures. They're all great bikes with some seriously competitive r&d. What's your favorite color?!
 
GeorgiePorgie said:
Yea crutes rmz 450 did handle exceptional.

Hard to say if you can go wrong today with any if te manufactures. They're all great bikes with some seriously competitive r&d. What's your favorite color?!
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I ride orange, not saying anything bad about jap bikes. I've owned at least one of every make, some I likes for different reasons over another. I was allways a honda guy though, still have a cr pinger sitting in the corner collecting dust. lol I prefered yamaha for quads though for the rugged dependability, I've never had one let me down. My trx450r was a great quad to but I didn't quite like the handling. When I made the transition to 4stroke bikes I went with KTM because of the out of the box goodies and the exceptional quality of the top end components and I feel more comfortable on a KTM then any other bike, can't explain why. I've had yzf's, kxf's, crf's and liked em but just felt like they were missing something, the little things stock on ktm's have me spoiled beyond return now. Plus Pointview is 5 mins from me so parts are close and readily available and they are great people and always happy to help with anything. I try to support local buisness so that has some influence on it also I suppose.
 
I have a Honda right now and I like it, but my favorite bike was my RMZ 450 that I had. Like what Flyin Polack said, it somehow really helped me in the corners and I felt really fast on it. Mu Honda is nice, but I don't feel as though it handles any where near as good as my RMZ did.
 
I have ran cr's for a long time, still have one. Used to love how light and manuverable they were from like 97-04 but anymore not as big of a fan, probally because I'm about 30-40lbs heavier. lol
 
I've had all honda or Yamaha bikes. Had a KTM 350 as my last bike and really liked it. Had a hard time at first getting used to seeing that ugly orange fender through my goggles lol
If Yamaha ever gets a electric start 350 I'm first in line as them blue bikes are super reliable..
 
loneranger171 said:
I've had all honda or Yamaha bikes. Had a KTM 350 as my last bike and really liked it. Had a hard time at first getting used to seeing that ugly orange fender through my goggles lol
If Yamaha ever gets a electric start 350 I'm first in line as them blue bikes are super reliable..
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They are, can't argue that no matter what you ride. I had an 08 yz450f and that was the easiest starting 450f I have ever rode, one easy kick after sitting and fired right up everytime. Other then the excess power, weight and handling felt like a 250f to me. Traded it to my buddy for his 250f because he fell in love with it for that reason. He had no desire to have a 450 till he rode mine, didn't rip your arms out like my ktm 450. lol
 
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