Posts
848
Joined
8/10/2011
Location
N., TX
US
Edited Date/Time
4/9/2018 2:52pm
I say fiction. I laugh when people say only elite pro riders, or 1% can use the full potential of a 450. Nonsense. Torque gives you acceleration, the 450 has loads of it and I use it! Sandy, deep conditions and jumps out of corners I’m stretching the cable on several sections and my dry weight is only 185. The “experts” like Matthes are spreading this myth that 450’s are too powerful. Stop it.
Having said all that for indoors is a 450 necessary? Of course not, and the racing would be just as good on a 350...still huck quads. And I say just as good, NOT better on a smaller cc machine. Is 250F racing better than 450F? IMO it’s not about the machine size at all.
Having said all that for indoors is a 450 necessary? Of course not, and the racing would be just as good on a 350...still huck quads. And I say just as good, NOT better on a smaller cc machine. Is 250F racing better than 450F? IMO it’s not about the machine size at all.
They are fine to own, the average guy can buy a 450 and ride it all year and hardly do anything to it. That said, they do suck for racing and yes, racing is worse with them in the premier class.
I hadn't ridden my 06 KX250 in a couple years and took it out this weekend and to tell you the truth I had more "Oh SHIT" moments on it than on the 450... but I am no Eli that's for sure!
They make 50+hp.
Much wider power spread
Much more traction and better power delivery
All that leads to more traction more hooked up, smoother and more speed. They can do big obstacles right out of turns, the power stretches far and can do huge combos etc.
The 2 strokes were much peakier, much more wheel spin, much more difficult to string huge combos together let alone clean laps
So yes 450s are clearly too much.
The 250fs are obviously massively faster than 125s every were. Like a different planet. So that puts them right with the 250 2 strokes of 12+ years ago if not ahead of them due to the power spread and delivery
Now 450s are even more power, more tq, more power spread, more hooked up and faster
The speeds and obstacles now are another level than before, and when something goes wrong the results are like Cole Seelys broken pelvis and his insides literally torn in half from his torso to hips.
The Shop
You know, they've tried 500s in Supy too...
Outdoors, run what ya brung.
I've been wanting to see a 250 and 350 class for a while, but that'll never happen.
For 2018 - Ha a 450, nice! Need get used to the acceleration that causes watery eyes and loss of focus - but a lot more fun to ride, but then I'm 66 years young and the eye issue comes with an aging motocross body
Keep on keeping on.
Dangerously fast to be ridden on the tracks they are building these days? Yes.
F1 would be doing 300 MPH straights with older V 12s today and NHRA would be doing 400 MPH at some tracks if not shortened.
And records keep getting broken.
Put a 12 foot wall jump in the middle of the rhythm section.
Pit Row
But I see your point. An F1 car today built to 1989's engine rules would be a spacecraft.
Some guys manlyness threatened when someone says their bike is to powerful for most to handle.
All on display here, and seen in real life, funny stuff.
This has resulted in higher speeds and more severe injuries.
I'd rather everyone rode less powerful machines, speeds came down, less got hurt, and less got horribly hurt.
It would be cool to make 250 the premier class with a 150 support class. Two or four-strokes are allowed.
A 150 four-stroke in a YZ125 chassis could be a hoot. Also privateers racing 250cc two-strokes against factory 250Fs would be cool to watch.
It will never happen but would be interesting. That said, I enjoy my YZ250 and at 35 it takes me around as fast as I want to go. I'll never buy a 450 again. I had a 2006 CRF450 and a 2011 YZ450 with a C4MX engine and Enzo suspension. Great bikes, but I won't get another. My next bike may be a 125. Less is more.
Classic
Can we agree that some of these changes have been bad for the sport, promoters, and amateur participants?
Can we agree that more powerful machines result in higher speeds? And higher speeds can be linked to increasingly severe injuries?
With the generation turnover that is coming very soon, is the sport sustainable at the amateur level with 450 and 250 four-strokes? Could the sport be safer and less expensive if we switched back to 125/250 two-strokes that were run during the motocross boom of 1997-2003?
Also, having recently started racing again (slow vet guy), it's kind of funny with the comments I get about my YZ250. Things like "That's a sick bike! I'd totally get one, but I don't have the energy for it." Or "they're too hard to ride".
Post a reply to: 450’s too fast, fact or fiction?