Just got my 2015 wr450f home yesterday - the only departure from stock is that the PO had already added turn signals/horn etc. to get it plated for the street. It had 11.0 miles on it when I rolled it off the truck into my driveway, up to 77 as of this morning , but on the street with the OEM knobbies :headshake. So I'm itchin' to get started with the conversion.
As I wrote in my intro thread, I'm an ex-sportbike guy, track-day rider and (for a very short while) a club racer. So a) I have zero experience with dirt bikes in general and b) I haven't been on two wheels for just about two years now, so I'm asking for experienced motard guys to check my initial shopping list. Here's what I'm thinking so far, based mostly on the stickies at the top of this subforum:
* Final drive ratio of 43/14 = 3.07 (vs. the stock ratio of 50/13 = 3.85) - most likely Renthal, steel front, hard anodized aluminum rear, with a Renthal R3 O-ring chain. I've read a couple of places that O-ring chains are ever so slightly wider than non-O-ring, but I'm not going to be racing and I like the peace of mind/reduced maintenance.
* Warp 9 forged wheels with cush hubs, 4.25 rear. Since I'm coming from sportbikes, spokes and tubes sound like a hassle, and I like the look of the forged wheels anyways.
* With 3.5" front and 4.25" rear rims, I'll be wanting 120/70 and 150/60 tires, correct? Waaaaaay back when I was riding sportbikes on the street I liked the Conti Sport Attacks, so I'm leaning towards Contis at the moment, still deciding though.
* Motostrano caliper relocator bracket for the stock Nissin caliper.
* Graves chain block: http://www.gravesport.com/Graves-Motorsports-Yamaha-YZ450F-YZ250F-Supermoto-Chain-Block.html - the sticky here recommended this, and I'm sure liking the idea of anything that will keep the chain away from the tire and/or wheel.
This ought to be basically the same as Motostrano's bare-bones kit, with some upgraded parts. That's the goal for this year - just get the bike into basic motard form, the budget doesn't have room for much more than that. Next year I'll start thinking about real performance upgrades, like an exhaust and all the other goodies I read about in the de-restriction sticky.
Here's a pic of her as she stands today. Not that nobody here has ever seen a photo of a stock wr450f ... but this one is MINE!!! :bannana:
As I wrote in my intro thread, I'm an ex-sportbike guy, track-day rider and (for a very short while) a club racer. So a) I have zero experience with dirt bikes in general and b) I haven't been on two wheels for just about two years now, so I'm asking for experienced motard guys to check my initial shopping list. Here's what I'm thinking so far, based mostly on the stickies at the top of this subforum:
* Final drive ratio of 43/14 = 3.07 (vs. the stock ratio of 50/13 = 3.85) - most likely Renthal, steel front, hard anodized aluminum rear, with a Renthal R3 O-ring chain. I've read a couple of places that O-ring chains are ever so slightly wider than non-O-ring, but I'm not going to be racing and I like the peace of mind/reduced maintenance.
* Warp 9 forged wheels with cush hubs, 4.25 rear. Since I'm coming from sportbikes, spokes and tubes sound like a hassle, and I like the look of the forged wheels anyways.
* With 3.5" front and 4.25" rear rims, I'll be wanting 120/70 and 150/60 tires, correct? Waaaaaay back when I was riding sportbikes on the street I liked the Conti Sport Attacks, so I'm leaning towards Contis at the moment, still deciding though.
* Motostrano caliper relocator bracket for the stock Nissin caliper.
* Graves chain block: http://www.gravesport.com/Graves-Motorsports-Yamaha-YZ450F-YZ250F-Supermoto-Chain-Block.html - the sticky here recommended this, and I'm sure liking the idea of anything that will keep the chain away from the tire and/or wheel.
This ought to be basically the same as Motostrano's bare-bones kit, with some upgraded parts. That's the goal for this year - just get the bike into basic motard form, the budget doesn't have room for much more than that. Next year I'll start thinking about real performance upgrades, like an exhaust and all the other goodies I read about in the de-restriction sticky.
Here's a pic of her as she stands today. Not that nobody here has ever seen a photo of a stock wr450f ... but this one is MINE!!! :bannana: