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Houston 2001 heat race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK1L2Ca7Cg4
Rode 15 minutes on the 426 at a practice day and couldn't understand why everyone thought these tanks were the best direction for MX at the time. Heavy, noisy, changed direction with all the speed of an oil tanker. Got back on my YZ and it felt like a featherweight rocketship on rails.
Sorry for the rambling, but I have nightmares and possibly a little PTSD from the YZ 426. My therapist recommends you pay a little more and getting a more current machine.
I remember getting the call it was coming and just dropped my tools to drive home from work, I just stared at it for ages ( it was love).
As for starting from hot - no problem, just pull out the hot start, pull in the decompressor, kick it a couple of times then just go pass top ded and pow she jumped into life!
Failing that find a steep hill, start rolling, pull in the decompressor whack it in 3rd let out the compression and your away.
As for the starting, you can put in the cam from the first 450 after the 426 with the auto decompression gizmo. Dubach Racing did an article on this forever ago.
As far as on an mx track, up to you. It wouldn't be as good as modern bikes, but if people can put around on an xr400 and have fun then this shouldn't stop you either.
They are great bikes, just feels like a heavy tank compared to newer stuff.
But for a desert/dune bike, it wouldn't be a horrible choice if you do the cam swap.
Faster than you think - not that far off today's 450s.
Reliable - if you kept up on maintenance.
Starting - annoying, ok once you learn the procedure, an 03 cam is the fix.
Handling was sketchy until you stiffed up the front and ran extra sag.
Weight - yes, it was chunky,
At the end of the day, it was the bike that proved 4-strokes were the future given the current displacement rules. These issues held it back from being better than the 250s everywhere, but on the right track, it was faster, hands down. Once the weight and starting were addressed, it was game over two stroke.
So, if you find a clean one and plan to race against 1999 2-strokes, you'll probably have a great time. If you just want a fun bike to ride, for me this 100% was one. It would be a neat piece of modern nostalgia. But you can easily find better overall performance for your dollar.
Pit Row
Handling issues can be addressed. As with most bikes, set it up for the riding you're doing.
Starting issues can be addressed. There's a learning curve, but it's not impossible to overcome. Consider it theft deterrent.
Responding with "Challenge accepted!" is priceless.
To this day, the only parts I've had to replace were bars, pegs, levers, air filter, chain/sprockets, brake pads and graphics.
It has never needed its valves adjusted and I'm on the original plastics. The only "performance modification" was really just an adjustment to the accelerator pump. The mid-stroke on the forks did suck...get it revalved, problem solved. I did convert the front brake line to one that goes straight to the caliper...screw Honda's patent.
Hmmm. Seems I've only ever replaced the things that everyone has to replace at some time or another. Otherwise, completely stock and still faster than anything in its class that I might have to show what's what.
Heavy? Meh. It's stable, bomb-proof and crashworthy. Ride it faster than you think you should, turn it with your knees and an healthy application of throttle.
In the interest of full-disclosure, it's the only dirtbike I've spent any real time on in the last 23 years. If it was that bad, I wouldn't have a closet full of useless 1st place trophies from SX, MX and desert racing. Being much older now, it's being relegated to trail/scramble riding...prolly gonna be more trophies there, too, if I ever feel a need to compete again.
My Beta, Honda and KTM friends are afraid of it. I don't have any Kawasaki or Suzuki friends. Just sayin'.
I don't get it, tho'. I tell them all the time, "You can ride it if you can start it." They usually respond with a polite "No thanks" and then continue by saying, "Um, but...could you not roost us while we're riding?"
"Uhhh, sure, okay."
Raw, pure, unadulterated GEN1 four stroke - I loved that bike. It was not light nor nimble, but it was a blast to ride.
And - 2 minutes learning how to use the decompression valve and all starting issues were fixed. I never had starting issues, hot or cold.
Yes, the CRF450R that came out in ‘02 and the YZ450F that succeeded the 426 were overall better packages, but there’s still something special about that 400/426 in my mind. No bike like it.
Slap a next gen yz450f cam into it. You’re welcome.
Nice 1st post !!
Yeah, I couldn't be bothered to sweat the validity of all the details.
If I knew I was gonna keep it this long, I mighta actually kept track of the hours. The damn thing just won't quit.
It's never left me stranded, it's never been unridable - not even after I slammed straight into the far wall of a hidden washout in the AZ desert...5th gear pinned when I saw it. I didn't have time to say "Oh, shit!"
I couldn't ride it after that wreck, but my buddies were able to retrieve it under its own power. I went to the ER.
Me? $30K in wrist damage...displaced every bone in my left wrist and shattered the first two inches of the ulna.
The bike? Bars and pegs.
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