Maintenance & Technical > KX450F / KX250F
KX450F vs. KX500
tharden:
I just got a hold of a 04 yz450 and I must say it is a pretty sweat ride. It starts easy hot or cold with effortless kicking of the starter. It handles well in real tight turns and has good pour on power. The questing is it my new favorite? No. I can take my 500 and still do circles around it. The 500 just has uncompromisable power that the 450 just can not spit out. My brother rode the 450 and I lapped him twice. I can say the 450 does not vibrate as much as the 500, but I am not bothered by a little vibration.
azracer19:
I feel like a nervous wreck after that DEBATE? anyway I have been trying to decide wheather to build / buy a KX 500 AF... I own a KX 500 now. For the past month our so I have been hitting the local MX track on my brothers RMZ 450. I much rather ride the open desert / race thru the dust hills long sandwashes and the occasional WFO straights. I have been riding many years on the KX 500s some 250s and now the RMZ 450. I weigh in at 165. With experiance in desert races there isnt ANY 450F that will keep up with My 500 ( as long as i can keep up my stamina) . BUT put a 500 on a track or a coarse that requires more then speed the 450F will put the 500 in its place ( the desert ). Now if i was younger and could hold the 500 open for 2 hours I know the 450 wouldnt stand a chance. One thing I did notice is that the 450 takes less effort to ride then the 500, but like earlier stated ( I think ) your dealing with 20 year old suspension versus state of the art suspension. SO IMO the 500 has its place and the 450 has its place. I dont have a clue about an AF 500 in the desert our track but it would be interesting for a non bias shoot out. Just think if the factories ( some of them ) and the AMA didnt kill the 500 what would a 500 be today with all the money and technollogy spent on producing the NEW 4ts. hats off to SH and others that have built an AF 500 , but im sure it could be done better with the right rake/trail...seat height....wheel base....clearance on and on and on....not saying your Afs arent awesome because they are but if done with all the math and proper configuration of building a new bike I am pretty sure it could be built better and probaly would be untouchable in any condition. I myself have never built a bike like you guys are doing to the AF but my dad built us one of a kind race bikes when we were alot younger, the frames were made by a company called VAN-TECH and different parts and engines were used off of all kinds of bikes. I know alot went into building these bikes as it took 2 years to buid one bike...probaly makes no sense........ but ride the hell outa what you have and have fun and fight to keep our riding areas open..
Uzi9mm:
The 500s and 2-strokes in general weren't killed because of the EPA, they were killed because of greed. :x
http://twostrokemotocross.com/2008/10/mxa-shootout-crf450-versus-cr500/
http://twostrokemotocross.com/2009/04/the-epa-vs-motocross/
azracer19:
your right it wasnt only the EPA like I mentioned it was some of the factories....Yamaha..Suzuki ( roger decoster ) etc. Some of the best supercross racers ever, rode 500s and were very fast on them....jeff ward...kiedrowski...stanton..... just to name a few but it is what it is an i think the 450s do have a place there awesome on a track, someone early said to stay out of the rev limiter.....I dont know how that is done because riding the RMZ I was alway on it and the other 450s around me were also, so I can see were maintaince becomes an issue. For those of us ( not me ) who are young enough to make money or at the least get free riding gear and parts its worth it, for the guy having fun I can see why the 2t is better for MX. For me I will borrow the RMZ when iI want to stay competive and ride my 125 KX to have fun on the MX track and will never part with the 500 for a day in the desert...still somehow I have to ride AN AF..a guy can dream
Uzi9mm:
If the info in the EPA vs Motocross article is correct, it says the EPA has nothing to do with regulating 2-cycle engines. In other words, its all the manufacturers and the AMAs corruption. Pretty sad but typical.
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