Tell me all you can about the 2006 YZF450?

buddy of mine has one and rode it a bunch last year. Its a solid bike for sure he changes the oil in it after every other ride cause he's a bit OCD but the bike is solid !

I had the 2008. Someone will have to correct me if I'm wrong but they changed a lot on the YZ450 between either 05 and 06 or the 06 and 07 and it was a HUGE difference from what I understand. How much is the 06 and what can you find an 07 or 08 for? I rode my bike for 5 years with just changing the oil and cleaning the air filter as maintenance. It did finally give up the ghost in December last year but it was 100% solid until that point.

You are correct. From 05 to 06 they went from steel to aluminum frame. Not that it says much, but I remember the 06 won MXA's shootout that year. I haven't ridden one, but I have ridden the 09, which has the same frame. I liked it just fine during my 10 minutes on it. Good power and handling, I don't know how much different the motor would be from 06 to 09, but from what I've seen, they all have solid, reliable motors.

I just bought an 09 about 6 months back. So I did my research online about the yami 450s. Apparently the 06 had the best power spread. It was the most usable, but had a good punch. The 06 CDI box is like gold to yami owners. I finally found one on eBay & put it on my bike. Love it. The power is awesome now. The bike rips so much more all through out the spread. The 09 was a bit detuned because of the exhaust & mapping. But everyone on the Yamaha450 message boards loves the 06. It has the SSS suspension, good usable power & reliable motor. Get a Dr.D exhaust, Dr.D radiator lowering kit & your good to go (FWW if you ride woods). I love my bike. The yamis make great woods bikes because of the smooth power.

I had one for a few years. Not the best turning bike, but stable at speed (seems to be a Yamaha trademark).
Great motor, great suspension, excellent durability. I had to put taller bars on mine to get comfortable on it.

I love mine ! Pretty much a bullet proof engine. I threw a big bore kit on it a couple years ago and retired her to the mountain trails and sand dunes . Still puts a smile on my face every time I twist the throttle !

Just to back up Goon Squad's point about the power, the 08 came with a shorty muffler stock which robbed a couple of horse power apparently. I ride aggressively enough to use all the ponies so I noticed them missing. Kidding. But the muffler did stifle the power some. I was about to grab an 06 muffler before it blew but never got the chance to give it a try with the 06 muffler.

Best arm jerking, rip roaring power every by a YZ 450 F. LOVED mine. Cams are the best and black box best. everbody else will want to buy those parts from you. BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had one, probably the worst turning bike i've ever rode, has a small "sweet spot", I think you can fine tune with with some different offset trees. Saying that I wish I didn't sell it, got it cheap, put some good money in it and thought a new 450 would be different, nope, they all heavy and powerful. Brakes sucked, didn't start worth a shit when it was hot.

I like mine. I kept everything stock except for the levers. I did have to change the jets because it was setup for higher altitudes and had a mean backfire. I might have to replace the exhaust as well. Besides that, it's been pretty solid. One drawback is that feels like you are sitting a little higher on the bike. I've had it setup a few times and can't get that "sit in" feeling. So turning isn't as great, but all in all, I really like mine.

Thank you. Half the bike is new now. When I bought it, it was in need of some TLC. So DirtHammers.com sent me a free Cycra power flow kit for the whole bike & then I ordered my graphics from MotoEFX. I had just put new chain, sprockets, Acerbis disk guard, Hammerhead shifter & brake pedal on, Kenda rear tire, Cycra pro bends, Pro Taper grips, SDG step seat & other small things hear & there. I got the suspension re-sprung & valved for my weight just recently, so I had to do alot to get it where I wanted it. I just ordered the Flexx bars 12degree Enduro bend to open up the cockpit a bit & help out w/ my CT. I bought the applied rubber mounted top clamp from a member on here, which it should be here any min now (its out for delivery), so they'll help give a little more room & the rubber mounts should help smooth out some more feedback I'm getting in my hands.

But the 09 was very choked up from the shorty muffler. EVERYONE that has one said get exhaust. It literally adds 6+ HP off the rip just from an aftermarket muffler. That is how bad that stock can was. I got the bike jetted to. The FMF power up jet kit was still way off. The bike still had HP to be let out. Just w/ the 06 CDI box & the proper jetting, the bike rips everywhere. Its like a different bike now. Its still very usable & smooth, but keeps revving now in every gear.

The only major differences in the 06 & 09 to my knowledge was the fat head pipe, shorty muffler, CDI & larger real axle. The swingarm may be a bit longer to? They still have the same turning characteristics, right past the apex of the turn the bike wants to push on you. In the woods I had alot of close calls from the front end pushing, but after getting good suspension, it has helped the bike alot to settle down.

The 09 turns better than the 06 . Put some 22 offsets on the 06 and your good to go . I put them on my 09 also . The one good thing about the choked up 09 is you can ride it all day and it doesn't wear you out

The '06 was very good. VERY good.