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I'm hooked... now what 450 to buy??

Just got out on my first ride yesterday w/ my new Timbersled short track mounted to my YZ250F...and it was everything I was hoping it would be - especially in the powder - traction, sidehilling, climbing...so easy and fun. I didn't have the cash to go all in on a new bike and Timbersled kit so figured I would start with what I had with my YZ250F. I knew going into this that my bike would be underpowered and not ideal with a carb and kick start. That being said, any suggestions/recommendations on what bike I should be looking to get for next season?

A bit about myself - 5'7"/150, live in the Sierra Nevada (lots of heavy snow and mountain riding), like to boondock, play in the trees, etc. For my size, I feel like a 450 would be plenty of power. And from what I've read and confirmed on my own bike, EFI and e-start are pretty much a necessity. It seems like all the manufacturers have these features (and most have had them for quite a while). It seems like a lot of folks ride KTM, but is there some inherent reason I should go team orange for my snow bike or is that just a personal preference? I'm not opposed to buying new, but would be great to save a few bucks if I could get everything I need in a bike a few years old too...

Just looking for a few opinions from those of you that have been there and done that.
 
hey welcome to the snowbike addiction.As you know the riding has been epic the last couple of weeks right ?.
I am riding a 07 crf 488 that i built w/ a 14 st thing rips.down side is that i got to kick it.I have no issues with the carb even after the xmas blower snow that fell.Im on the N.shore if you want to ride.:face-icon-small-coo
 
Estart isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. Hydraulic clutch isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. The most HP in the 450 class isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. An extra 700 RPM to cutoff isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. Add these things up and you can see why the KTM/Husky 450 is a popular bike. None of the things listed are mantatory and any 450 bike will get your rocks off, just sometimes spending a little more can get you a lot. Individually these things are nothing that will sway one person, but add them together and you do get a lot more bike.

One thing to keep an eye on is the Yamaha 450FX. You'll get the estart and you'll get killer HP (only 2HP less than the 16 Husky FC450 at 9400 RPM). You'll also save money if you wait to pick up a holdover in the Fall vs. KTM/Husky. Research your choices, come up with an acceptable price, and pull the trigger when the deal comes up.
 
Tahoesldr, I was in a similar hunt a couple years ago. I was not familiar with all the bikes and can only speak of the one I ended up with. Found an almost new 2010 husky TE 510. It had everything I thought/read about as important. It has great hp, 6 speed close ratio, lights, e/s, efi and a stator that supports hand warmers and hard wired gps. Just an option if such a bike is available in your area. I'm assuming the TE 450 would have similar options. Good luck.
 
If going new take look at the new yz450fx I switched from the 450f to this new bike no regrets. Over a grand less then a 450xc-f , comes with skid plate, big stator , bark busters and the wide ratio tranny works great the taller 5th gear on the trail is so nice..

image.jpg yamaha fx.JPG
 
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I'd go YZ450FX or 450XC-W, just for the electric start and gearing. I am always stopping and starting my bike so I dont have to neutral it every time. you could even consider 350 since youre not a heavy guy no? I've seen lots of vids lately with 300/350 snowbikes.
 
That YZ450X is looking better every day! Nothing against the Orange Brigade, but I tire of their popularity.
 
I'd go YZ450FX or 450XC-W, just for the electric start and gearing. I am always stopping and starting my bike so I dont have to neutral it every time. you could even consider 350 since youre not a heavy guy no? I've seen lots of vids lately with 300/350 snowbikes.



Only thing that sucks about the xc-w KTM setups is the 450's are way corked up. not nearly the same jam as a SX or XC

Im a bit of a yamaha fan boy to start with but that FX is looking better and better every day!

Bigger stator so you can run accesories
E-start + kicker is the best combo available.
killer power with tons of grunt

and cheaper then a KTM by a healthy margin. So there you have saved the money for a t-stat, bigger pegs, and hand guards. Pretty hard to argue with.
 
Great stuff, thanks for the feedback guys. It looks like I need to spend some time putting a geek sheet together to weigh my options. That YZ450FX sure does look nice, though!

I've heard differing opinions on wide vs close ratio transmissions. Given that some of the riding out here requires a long trail ride to get out there, a 6th gear or wide ratio 5th would be nice, but is there a cost when boondocking or climbing in the powder?
 
Great stuff, thanks for the feedback guys. It looks like I need to spend some time putting a geek sheet together to weigh my options. That YZ450FX sure does look nice, though!

I've heard differing opinions on wide vs close ratio transmissions. Given that some of the riding out here requires a long trail ride to get out there, a 6th gear or wide ratio 5th would be nice, but is there a cost when boondocking or climbing in the powder?

I'm rather fond of the yamaha as well. I would have to try the fx and see for myself about the gear ratios. If anything you could swap out the 2nd gear for the yz450f second. That would give you the same ratios for 2-4. Maybe even swap out first while you are at it, but probably not needed, and a low first might be nice in the summer.

I have a '10 yz450f but decided to use my cr500 for the snow. I have an older close ratio tranny. 5th is pretty slow on the trail, but I can actually use it in the powder, I probably would be fine if that 5th was faster, as once the slope gets a bit steeper and it is still deep then I am down to 4th. I don't anticipate the 5th of the fx to be a problem, like I said my main concern would be 2nd. Bike looks amazing though, and have heard a lot of good things, especially about the power.
 
The 16 yz motors are impressive they keep making power across the curve and dont spike like others and sign off.. I have to ride alot of trail sometimes so the taller 5th is nice a buddy clocked me at 60 mph last trip I'll have to compare with my gps next time I know my old 450 close ratio was around the 50mph mark tapped out. When in a real steep climb making the 2-3rd shift was tough I had to use 2nd alot in those situations, once in the flatter stuff it pulls 3rd no problem and pulls so much better than my old 450f
 
Couple of charts to look at. The 2016 YZ450F is the same motor in the 450FX with a different trans. All of the 450's look good but Honda taps out the quickest.

2016_450_Shootout-Dyno-Group-HP.jpg 2016_450_Shootout-Dyno-GroupTorque.jpg
 
You didn't say anything about riding on wheels in the summer, but that adds other things to consider. I love my KTM, but had a YZ before and liked it as well. The new 450FX looks like it will be taking a piece of KTM's market share for sure.
 
I was thinking I would keep my 250 for summer riding and get a dedicated snow bike. I'm certainly not set on that decision, but I feel like the 250F gets me pretty much anywhere I want to go in the summer and the added weight of a 450 might take away some of the technical trail riding characteristics of my 250. On the other hand, the YZ250F is my first bike (from 5 years ago) so I have very little feel for how the 450 (or anything else for that matter) might work for summer riding. If I were to think about a 450 as a dual season bike, I think an enduro would probably make more sense in the summer for technical trail riding, but not sure that would be the ideal setup in the winter. Man...so many decisions!!

In the meantime, can't wait for more powder this week and a header pipe guard in the mail so I stop burning holes in my damn pants!
 
I was thinking I would keep my 250 for summer riding and get a dedicated snow bike. I'm certainly not set on that decision, but I feel like the 250F gets me pretty much anywhere I want to go in the summer and the added weight of a 450 might take away some of the technical trail riding characteristics of my 250. On the other hand, the YZ250F is my first bike (from 5 years ago) so I have very little feel for how the 450 (or anything else for that matter) might work for summer riding. If I were to think about a 450 as a dual season bike, I think an enduro would probably make more sense in the summer for technical trail riding, but not sure that would be the ideal setup in the winter. Man...so many decisions!!

In the meantime, can't wait for more powder this week and a header pipe guard in the mail so I stop burning holes in my damn pants!

I tuck my snow pants into my motocross boots. I have fox f3, they have enough padding that with wool sucks my feet stay warm most of the time. Has worked well so far, can even walk in the powder without it running down into the boot. Give it a shot if the pipe guard isn't quite enough.
 
Estart isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. Hydraulic clutch isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. The most HP in the 450 class isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. An extra 700 RPM to cutoff isn't mandatory, but it sure is nice. Add these things up and you can see why the KTM/Husky 450 is a popular bike. None of the things listed are mantatory and any 450 bike will get your rocks off, just sometimes spending a little more can get you a lot. Individually these things are nothing that will sway one person, but add them together and you do get a lot more bike.

One thing to keep an eye on is the Yamaha 450FX. You'll get the estart and you'll get killer HP (only 2HP less than the 16 Husky FC450 at 9400 RPM). You'll also save money if you wait to pick up a holdover in the Fall vs. KTM/Husky. Research your choices, come up with an acceptable price, and pull the trigger when the deal comes up.

The other nice thing about team blue is you don't have to carry a massive toolkit and micro starter.
 
I'm a KTMer but to be very redundant, that 450fx sounds like a real nice choice.

I would consider one of I didn't like my local KTM dealer so much.
 
Thought I would share an update on this thread after upgrading my TS ST to a 450 this year.

I ended up buying a 2012.5 SX-F 450 and am extremely happy with the setup. I ended up buying this bike based on 3 criteria: electric start, EFI, and budget. After buying the bike, I immediately bolted on some nice-to-have accessories including Cyclops light, AME heated grips, Thermo-Bob, header pipe heat wrap, and Li-Ion battery pack.

These have all worked great; however, it's become quite apparent that the stock race bike stator isn't ideal for running both a light and heated grips. I will be upgrading the stator to a beefier Trail Tech 75W stator this week which should resolve the battery drain issue. Only other upgrade I've had to do was to get some real bark busters. The OEM KTM hand guards simply aren't strong enough for snow play.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with the new setup. Appreciate everyone's feedback and opinions as I was trying to figure this all out.
 
If you're in stateline there is a good husky/ktm dealer right down the hill. Local knowledge/same day parts are huge for me and the reason I went husky. Love the button, love the power. Shoot me a PM If you wanna ride!
 
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