SuperMoto Junkie banner

2014 Yamaha WR450F - needs motor

34K views 58 replies 16 participants last post by  Mochaloca 
#1 · (Edited)
Here's a strange one; 2014 WR450F without a motor. My university purchased the bike to use the motor for our Formula SAE build, and I purchased what was left as a way to support the team. So my plan is to now let it sit until I can locate a motor to start the build. The 2012+ FI motors seem to be incredibly rare right now, I have yet to see a single one anywhere for sale online. A bit of a bummer, but I'm sure over time I'll find one. Or hopefully if I get the word out I can get someone to give me a heads up when a bike gets parted.

Anyway, here it is, I'll post more pictures after we dyno the motor tomorrow and I can start putting the bars, rads, and wiring back together.







Here's an old motor from a 2006, I'd use it as a basis to build a 2012+, but apparently they're entirely different. Bummer.

 
See less See more
4
#3 ·
Really? I could have swore our team had a policy about using new engines only, and we only switched to the WR450F platform in 2011. But since the team changes almost every year, who knows. Here's some more pictures to get a better idea of what year it's from.







 
#8 ·
The engines are extremely sensitive to changes in air flow from both the intake and exhaust side without the competition ECU. Prior to the ECU my friend's '13 would barely start with just the pea shooter removed. It worked fine when I held it in place with some pliers, but as soon as I pulled it away you couldn't even look at the throttle. After a few seconds it would sputter out by itself.

I'm assuming the bike was bought without the competition ECU. I'd highly recommend looking into buying one, otherwise you would have been better off buying a Briggs & Stratton engine lol.
 
#9 ·
We have everything set stock right now, we want to get a solid baseline run before we do anything. Even the throttle stop is still in there.

The tuning is really neat. I get to keep the ECU, wiring, and throttle body for myself. The car gets a custom wiring harness, custom throttle body (because we need to run a 20mm restrictor plate), custom intake plenum, custom exhaust, and we build our own ECU with a tune. I can't recall the name of the stand-alone fuel management system (Not a bad way to spend $10'000), but it's pretty cool.
 
#12 ·
Nice roller man! Crash knows his shit so listen to him, haha. I'm starting to learn more and more about WR's too, but just a fraction of his WR knowledge. :lol:
If you get it running were you thinking of converting it to a supermoto? These FI WR's sure do make some nice sumo's. :thumbup: Welcome by the way.
 
#14 ·
Thanks! I really want to, but whether or not I can in Alberta has yet to be determined. Canada is a bit funny, I have to have a plate on it to use it in a provincial park, but whether or not it can be driven on the road is a whole different story. I'm glad it's a 2014, I see an 07 motor on eBay right now, but being in school, that 1700 might be a trick to pay for. I still have some time to build a great motor for it before it gets "old".

I was planning on moving down to either SoCal or Texas somewhere once I'm done my degree, my background prior to engineering was building refineries and now I do quality control, so add a mechanical engineering degree and I'm sure I can find a place to do a year or two. I'm really just looking for experience. Plus I can plate it and drive it down there!!
 
#30 ·
Engine

Hate to bum you out, that spare engine is absolutely not any newer than 2006. The oil lines go to a frame reservoir. My take is 2004-6 WR450f. 2007 and up lost the frame tank as they used the aluminum frames. Also the YZ never used the remote tank dry sump system.
We got in twelve 2012-13 WR 450s. The way they are abused should tell if you will see engine parts,or blown engines for sale soon. I'd bet on yamaha, and guess you'll have to search hi & lo to find one soon.
 
#31 ·
Hate to bum you out, that spare engine is absolutely not any newer than 2006. The oil lines go to a frame reservoir. My take is 2004-6 WR450f. 2007 and up lost the frame tank as they used the aluminum frames. Also the YZ never used the remote tank dry sump system.
We got in twelve 2012-13 WR 450s. The way they are abused should tell if you will see engine parts,or blown engines for sale soon. I'd bet on yamaha, and guess you'll have to search hi & lo to find one soon.
I think it was already stated earlier in the thread by crash that this was out of a steel framed wr. Also for the record, steel framed yz's (98-05) also used the oil in the frame set up.
 
#33 ·
If you can get that steel framed motor to fit you can just add an external oil tank for it. The up side is that you'd be able to increase the overall oil capacity of the engine by the size of the tank you use. Just a thought...:hmmm:
 
#34 ·
I've run that scenario around a bit and decided that I should avoid that. As I've built vehicles in the past, I try to minimize the amount of custom built built items that could turn away potential buyers in the future. To explain that there is an external oil tank simply because I used an older generation motor would put off some people.
 
#48 ·
Aside from the drama I have missed...




I stopped in at the local Yamaha dealership over Christmas break, and found out I can make my bike road legal in Alberta. As with most states, it depends mostly on who you talk to and what kind of day they're having. So, my goal is to have this bike fully built and reassembled for some road action by the end of July. My student budget gets in the way of fast progress, but I'm free at the end of April to fill my wallet with that greasy oil money. So... yeah.
 
#51 ·
A little bummed out, I went home for the Christmas break and they managed to get a few dyno runs done while I was away. Except, with the rig set up the way it was, the airbox fell onto the exhaust and melted a hole in it. I'll add that to the list of parts to purchase. Not overly upset about it, since it's a minor thing. Theses are just preliminary runs so almost everything is wired up and jimmy rigged just to get some runs done. The full, professionally built setup is done with our custom ECU, exhaust, intake, fuel tank, etc. so we can take pictures for our competition.

Also, this might be a long shot, but our team suffered a massive cut from the university this year. If anyone out there knows of someone who wants their name on the car we're building to race in Nebraska in June, shoot me a PM. We need to kick our sponsorship funding up a notch if we even want to compete in the Formula SAE.
 
#52 ·
So they bought this bike complete, stripped it of all it's necessary running equipment, and left you with the rest. You aren't getting the running gear back right? You mention having to buy an airbox because the original melted upon testing... Aren't they keeping all the running gear?
 
#53 ·
They are keeping basically the rotating assembly. I purchased everything else, but have to wait until the dyno runs are completed on the stock engine before I can take it. So, technically, "on loan" to the dyno is the wiring harness, fuel tank and pump, exhaust, airbox, ecu, intake and injector, handlebars, throttle and clutch cables. Everything except the actual block, head, starter, etc. Which is what attracted me, since it's basically a brand new complete bike, that I can build an engine to suit my needs.

Any running gear required to run the engine for the race car will be custom built to our needs. For example, we need to run a 20mm restrictor plate according to SAE. Custom ecu, injector, exhaust, fuel tank, fuel pump, etc. The point is to use an existing motor, but as engineers we need to adapt it as much as possible to suit our needs. Pretty cool stuff.
 
#54 · (Edited)
Update!

Tracked down a motor on eBay, it's a 2008 so I'll have to swap some stuff onto it to get it ready. Which, I'd like to know what exactly is required. Do I need to swap the stator, the flywheel, or both? Not entirely sure what is required to swap from carb to injected. I'm slowly buying the small stuff, since a few items were either sacrificed and used on the car or they have been misplaced while the motor was moved around and whatnot. I still need:

- clutch and throttle cables
- clutch perch and lever
- shift lever
- fuel injector
- 2012+ stator/ flywheel
- head pipe (might be around still, but missing)
- rear sprocket
- coolant hoses
- starter

The wiring harness took a few blows, some connectors were cut off to use on the car, but I'm not sure which ones. I got it home and had to leave for work, but I'll be back tomorrow night so I can start to diagnose it's condition to see whether I can repair it or just replace it. I hate trying to splice things back together, so I'll probably order the proper wire colors, and repin the connectors to avoid soldered joints. If it's too much hassle, I'll just order a whole new wiring harness for what it's worth.

Pictures!



Here I am getting my garage cleaned out.


The new motor showed up here in Edmonton 4 days after I bought it on eBay from a place in Kentucky. Fastest shipping ever.


Put the motor on the shelf until I have the parts put together to do what I need.


Got bored and matched ODI grips on my bikes.


The next project, 1981 Yamaha QT50. Good for out at the lake or making a run for beer.

Future items to buy, things that aren't required to get it operating, but I want on the bike:

- full FMF exhaust
- new clutch
- hand guards
- GTYR programmer
- supermoto kit :bannana:
 
#55 ·
So I started plugging away at it today, got the motor in and started to asses what I need to get this thing going.

Rolled the frame out to tear it down in the tiny garage.


Got it torn down and tossed the motor in.




Then my friendly neighborhood FedEx man arrived with a gift.


Cables and a clutch perch!


Making progress.


I think this is right :hmmm:


First of the many issues I'm sure to hit; I noticed the carbureted years had a different head. It seems the 2012+ heads had added a mounting point. Probably going to track down a 2012+ head now.





You can see there is a mounting point at the center of the head, not sure what connects there.



The wiring harness is a whole other issue. I'm slowly mapping it and realizing what was chopped off. But overall, this project is coming along nicely. I can't wait to slowly keep picking away at it until it's back to stock, and then get it Sumo'd!
 
#58 ·
I have also had a little bit of an issue with my Yamaha R15 V5.0. I have tried serval ways to solve the issue. Actually I have an issue with the battery. There is some kind of spark outside the battery. After seeing the basics of troubleshooting from youtube video and Omegle video I get the solution. I hope it never sparks again.

Still, sometimes I trouble in starting my bike. Should I need to go showroom for this issue?

Advance Thanks for the guide. Rider Love From UK.
 
#59 ·
Here's a strange one; 2014 WR450F without a motor. My university purchased the bike to use the motor for our Formula SAE build, and I purchased what was left as a way to support the team. So my plan is to now let it sit until I can locate a motor to start the build. The 2012+ FI motors seem to be incredibly rare right now, I have yet to see a single one anywhere for sale online. A bit of a bummer, but I'm sure over time I'll find one. Or hopefully if I get the word out I can get someone to give me a heads up when a bike gets parted.

Anyway, here it is, I'll post more pictures after we dyno the motor tomorrow and I can start putting the bars, rads, and wiring back together.







Here's an old motor from a 2006, I'd use it as a basis to build a 2012+, but apparently they're entirely different. Bummer.

How much for the engine?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top