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I'm currently rebuilding my wheels and I'm reminded how surprisingly light my YZFX hubs and steel rear sprocket are. The sprocket is so light I weighed it, steel 50 tooth OEM sunstar, 310 grams. I bet there's aluminum ones out there that heavy that don't last anywhere near as long.
Anyone else get surprised at OEM parts on modern bikes? I feel like 25 years ago steel sprockets were over 1lbs, steel subframes bent if you looked at them wrong, and the stock bars were thrown in the trash before you even took the first ride.
MX bikes are really, really good now. I remember reading a bike test from MXA from the late '70s and it had a laundry list of all the parts they broke.
You are correct. The stock stuff we get to use now is amazing compared to previous years. Incremental changes each year make huge changes. Imagine taking a 2027 CRF450 and a 2027 YZ250F back twenty years, to 2006/7? Incredible for stock standard componentry.
Stock Japanese chains are still junk…at least on the mx bikes…otherwise the oem parts for the most are solid…
You can get 100 hours outta the stock fx chains, DID narrow x-rings. I believe the MX bikes probably come with DID chains as well, what makes them junk?
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
I had this conversation with a long time respected championship winning wrench in the pro pits. He said , paraphrasing,
"it's almost impossible for the aftermarket to produce something better than stock, so you guys are just paying for anodizing/colors."
Hes right. He also has the 97 McGrath conventional suzuki fork brace in his garage
I remember a couple years ago when Deegan and JCoop were on Star 250s, they were talking about how some of the 250 guys were on stock forks (obviously different internals), clamps, wheels etc. Pretty cool that the bikes are coming with good parts, even if they don't quite look as cool as the aftermarket stuff. I could've sworn that I saw that an off the shelf FMF 4.1 muffler is actually heavier than a stock '26 YZ450F muffler too. Which is that is really the case, that's kind of shocking.
I just sold a 250F that had a ton of stuff done to it. Some things "needed" and others not. Just went back to 450 life and going to try and mostly leave the thing alone and just ride it.
I remember back in the mid to late 90’s every now and then someone would snap the front end off of their bike. It happened to Pro’s in SX and it also happened to my buddy at Monster Mountain one day. The one thing they all had in common was aftermarket triple clamps.
I doubt that the stock is lighter, the fmf is so thin you look at it wrong and it'll dent. The OEM muffler is much more durable.
That still happens unfortunately, I think a lot of them now are the Austrian brands that people forget to torque the stem pinch bolt.
Other than chains, and bars, I prefer the stock parts. chains are like guitar strings, buy a 10,000.00 guitar and it comes with a 2 dollar set of strings.
Always had to replace the bars on old bikes and I was always dreaming of EXCEL rims in the old days. How I wish I had a set! Then , I buy my first bike in 22 years and it came stock with Pro Taper Fat bars and EXCEL rims. WOW! I was shocked as hell. Then realized it had DID chain and SUNSTAR sprockets. I just couldnt believe how all this "good shit" was now OEM. Even quality Dunlops and not POS MX53's either.
New bikes are really quite good. My '26 CRF250RWE has close to 10 hours on it. I have adjusted the chain once or maybe twice, last time at about 4-5 hours, and it's still in spec. Tightened the spokes after each of the first couple of rides, and they're now bedded in with no wheel wobble, dents or loose spokes. That did not happen in the good old days.
MX Revival had the '26 450 oem muffler on a scale and it was 6lb 12oz. Then put a blue Ti FMF 4.1 (insert still inside) and it was 6lb 14.6oz.
But yes, I've ruined an expensive aftermarket exhaust before and it's a terrible feeling.
Yes, the iff road models that come with x or o rings are good, but the mx bike stock chains wear out pretty fast and wear the sprockets prematurely….In my experience….I used to always remove stock chains when bikes are new and replace with better quality, better tensile strength…put stockers back on for resale…. I ride mostly Mx in mud & sand …so your experience may be different….When I used to buy XC”s the oring chains were fine…..I have never had a chain last 100hrs…..30-40hrs is the max for me….I may be OcD but cases are expensive….
Is the oem sprocket on the fx’s steel? The oem on the yz and yzf have been aluminum for a number of years now
Yes, steel on the YZFX and WR models, and they're only like $40 from RM. With them being so light and durable I don't know why anyone would run aluminum.
They put on the aluminum muffler on that build and not the titanium. I’m sure there’s not much of a difference except that the 2026 stock muffler is so choked up.
One of the best deals in motocross is to buy a full oem rear Yamaha yz450f rear wheel. You get the sprockets and brake disk…..everything except the tire and tube. I forgot what I paid but it was way less than expected and the wheels are great.
Pit Row
You are right, I didn't realize the AL ones are that dark gray. I thought it was the Ti. Either way, with the baffles and whatnot, it's still kind of impressive that they made comparable to the FMF weight. I like how the bike runs too, so for now I plan to just run it.
Stock 19” Yamaha wheel with brake disk and sprocket: $445
Stock 19” KTM wheel without brake disk or sprocket: $900
I just did this switch earlier today. The stock and the FMF are so close in weight that I couldn’t feel a difference with the highly accurate arm test. The FMF hangs out there pretty a bit
Nice. Is that a '26 specific muffler? I feel like my buddy's 24 has a Yosh and it sticks out sort of far too. But the Yosh ads for the '26 it seems much shorter. I know the '26 oem is a bit shorter than the '25, so I wasn't sure if some of the aftermarket mufflers for the '26 are also shorter than the prior version. Either way, I can't say I love the look of the stock one but at least it's not a long bazooka sticking out back. If I'd go aftermarket, I'd like it to be somewhat shorter too. Have you ridden with the FMF? Curious what you think.
120 hours and counting of out the chain on my Beta 300 2t, thing is solid
I’m not sure if it’s 2026 exclusively. Back in the day you would connect an aftermarket exhaust and just kind of wiggle it all together. This new stuff fits amazingly well. The little bends and machining made it fit beautifully.
The Japanese Yen is about $1.58 vs. US dollar. The Euro is .86 vs U.S. dollar. I don't know how you make an adjustment but I'll bet the majority of the $$ difference is in the hub and labor since KTM has to source wheels from Japan.
This is why, my next bike a 26 or 27.. im leaving bone stock and riding it.. i modified the crap outta my 18.5 fc450… im curious to see how this experience goes.
Yamaha wheel in UK £763. Thats over 1000USD. We are being screwed.
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