Posts
68
Joined
11/21/2009
Location
North Canton, OH
US
Edited Date/Time
10/26/2019 5:12am
Hey guys,
I wanted to share my winter build with you. I raced an essentially stock 2014 YZ450F last year and I wanted to see how far I could take it to make it the best bike I have ever rode. I struggled all year trying to get a good front end feel. Every corner (especially harder packed) corners felt as though the front end wanted to slide out. I started by updating the front motor mounts to the thinner steel 2015 mounts to get some extra flex in the chassis. I don't know if it was placebo or what but it felt like a small improvement. Next was the Pro Circuit linkage arm to get that rear end to squat without excess sag. That mod alone helped immensely when the track was loamy, but again once the track got hard the front end still felt vague. Late summer I went to a 270mm Braking Bat-fly rotor to get the bike to stop because any of you that have ridden one will know the front brake leaves much to be desired. Raced the rest of the year with that basic setup while still chasing front end feel. Tweaked the stock suspension as much as we could while playing with sag but never got what I was looking for.
That brings us to winter time. I wanted to stick with a local suspension tuner that was well known and well traveled to the local tracks. Someone that would take the time to do one on one testing throughout the year to get the bike 100% dialed. I decided to go with Eric at SRS Suspension. I called him up and basically went over everything that I wasn't thrilled with and what his thoughts were on to getting us pointed in the right direction. I also wanted to throw all the bells and whistles at it so I had the inner fork tubes and shock shaft blue nitride coated and the outer fork tubes and shock body Kashima coated. My day job is in the metal working industry so I understand the ins and outs of the coatings. Eric suggested I go with a 3mm lowering spacer for the shock to further get the rear down. I went with the Ride Engineering 20mm offset triple clamps to get that front wheel back towards the motor in an effort to get more weight on the front end.
One of my complaints with the potent Yamaha motor was its massive bottom end. I wanted to get that power as linear as possible so I got in touch with the guys at Yoshimura and got myself a full Ti system. We all know the Yamaha is on the heavier side so in an effort to shed some pounds that is why I went with the Titanium version. I ended up saving a little over 2lbs compared to the stock system (its a start right?). Last mod was the installation of a Magura Hymec clutch kit. Anyone that has used a hydraulic clutch will know how amazing it is. My stock lever was slightly bent so instead of just buying a 12.00 lever I ended up with a 300.00 clutch. The pull is like a 125, the modulation is way more useful than the on and off stock clutch perch and no more cleaning cables (win/win). Then there was the new chain/sprockets/grips/tires etc.
I was rocking the yellow Cycra plastic with custom 180 Decals graphics but then Yamaha introduced the 60th anniversary bike and I was no longer unique. So in an effort of being flashy in 2016, I got a hold of Bryar at 180 Decals and had him do me up a set of his neon graphics to bring the whole bike together.
This is the result:
Now for the ride report:
I have never ridden a bike that corners the way this bike does now. You can stick it in any rut or flat track it and it will go where you point it. It will corner on the tightest inside lines without wanting to drift wide. It no longer wants to climb out of ruts, the best way I can describe it is like a slot car. The triple clamps alone did not do this, it was the combination of the suspension and the triple clamps that brought the package together. I have about 4.5 hours on the bike in its current configuration and the suspension gets better each time I ride it. The power is much more linear with the Yosh system, but now has a monster top end. I still need to do some tweaking with the GYTR tuner as I think its a little lean yet. I am really happy that all the money that I put into it this winter paid off. I set out and fixed every flaw that I had in the bike. It flat out rips now!
Hope you enjoyed!
Chris
I wanted to share my winter build with you. I raced an essentially stock 2014 YZ450F last year and I wanted to see how far I could take it to make it the best bike I have ever rode. I struggled all year trying to get a good front end feel. Every corner (especially harder packed) corners felt as though the front end wanted to slide out. I started by updating the front motor mounts to the thinner steel 2015 mounts to get some extra flex in the chassis. I don't know if it was placebo or what but it felt like a small improvement. Next was the Pro Circuit linkage arm to get that rear end to squat without excess sag. That mod alone helped immensely when the track was loamy, but again once the track got hard the front end still felt vague. Late summer I went to a 270mm Braking Bat-fly rotor to get the bike to stop because any of you that have ridden one will know the front brake leaves much to be desired. Raced the rest of the year with that basic setup while still chasing front end feel. Tweaked the stock suspension as much as we could while playing with sag but never got what I was looking for.
That brings us to winter time. I wanted to stick with a local suspension tuner that was well known and well traveled to the local tracks. Someone that would take the time to do one on one testing throughout the year to get the bike 100% dialed. I decided to go with Eric at SRS Suspension. I called him up and basically went over everything that I wasn't thrilled with and what his thoughts were on to getting us pointed in the right direction. I also wanted to throw all the bells and whistles at it so I had the inner fork tubes and shock shaft blue nitride coated and the outer fork tubes and shock body Kashima coated. My day job is in the metal working industry so I understand the ins and outs of the coatings. Eric suggested I go with a 3mm lowering spacer for the shock to further get the rear down. I went with the Ride Engineering 20mm offset triple clamps to get that front wheel back towards the motor in an effort to get more weight on the front end.
One of my complaints with the potent Yamaha motor was its massive bottom end. I wanted to get that power as linear as possible so I got in touch with the guys at Yoshimura and got myself a full Ti system. We all know the Yamaha is on the heavier side so in an effort to shed some pounds that is why I went with the Titanium version. I ended up saving a little over 2lbs compared to the stock system (its a start right?). Last mod was the installation of a Magura Hymec clutch kit. Anyone that has used a hydraulic clutch will know how amazing it is. My stock lever was slightly bent so instead of just buying a 12.00 lever I ended up with a 300.00 clutch. The pull is like a 125, the modulation is way more useful than the on and off stock clutch perch and no more cleaning cables (win/win). Then there was the new chain/sprockets/grips/tires etc.
I was rocking the yellow Cycra plastic with custom 180 Decals graphics but then Yamaha introduced the 60th anniversary bike and I was no longer unique. So in an effort of being flashy in 2016, I got a hold of Bryar at 180 Decals and had him do me up a set of his neon graphics to bring the whole bike together.
This is the result:
Now for the ride report:
I have never ridden a bike that corners the way this bike does now. You can stick it in any rut or flat track it and it will go where you point it. It will corner on the tightest inside lines without wanting to drift wide. It no longer wants to climb out of ruts, the best way I can describe it is like a slot car. The triple clamps alone did not do this, it was the combination of the suspension and the triple clamps that brought the package together. I have about 4.5 hours on the bike in its current configuration and the suspension gets better each time I ride it. The power is much more linear with the Yosh system, but now has a monster top end. I still need to do some tweaking with the GYTR tuner as I think its a little lean yet. I am really happy that all the money that I put into it this winter paid off. I set out and fixed every flaw that I had in the bike. It flat out rips now!
Hope you enjoyed!
Chris
I race +25 and open B, I'm a mid to upper pack rider that sometimes gets 1st. I'm the type of rider that won't push or ride on the edge unless I'm comfortable. I'm just overly picky on how my bike feels so not everyone will have the complaints I did. Some younger kids that I raced against on the same stock bike blew my doors off, so I wouldn't get too hung up on the issues that I had lol.
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Your stock clamps were 22mm correct? Any interest in selling them? I have a 16 450 and im wanting to try the different offset clamps.
Isaac - Thanks dude. Your bike looks just as awesome in person as it does in the pictures. I wanted to go to BC last weekend but the wind was a little gnarly for my taste. Was hoping to go to Smith today but the weather doesn't seem to be cooperating.
JTerry - I sent you a message, yes my stockers were 22mm offset and I would be open to parting with them. Let me know if you got my message, otherwise shoot me an email chrismlocke99(at)gmail.com
Oh I also am running a 110 rear tire, helps get the chassis settled in the corners better than the 120 tire (IMO) if you aren't perfect with your throttle control. This bike definitely likes smooth throttle through the corners.
Thank you for the props!
Chris
https://m.vitalmx.com/forums/For-Sale-Bazaar,26/2014-yz450f,1366576
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