WR450F or FE501S

[dooman92]

Wr vs 501

I've had two snow bikes. A '17 fx (similar to wr) and a 10' te 510 husky (similar to 501). Also ride with a 14 ktm 500 exc. We have three fx's in our group. With just under 100 hrs lost the crank rod bearing on one of the fx's. Both the te510 and 500 exc have over 300 snowbike hours and have never been apart. I think the longer stroke engines (500's) provide torque and longevity. Unfortunately, the cost difference makes it a difficult decision. Fwiw.

 

[needpowder]

I don't think it takes much to uncork the wr and aren't there stator/power issues with adding lights and what not? Also the short ratio gearbox is pretty bad for any street use. I totally get why you think the fx is the ticket but it seems to me that it would make a very poor experience for any road use...

Fx stator is huge. You could run a light, Grip’s, and a toaster all at the same time. Also the transmission is wide. I think I read in dirtrider that they hit high 90s in fifth gear. Not so sure about that, but the couple hours I rode it on dirt I could tell fifth gear was very tall.
That 501 sure would be a sweet bike!

 

[byeatts]

put an aftermarket ecu on the 501 and it will rev to the moon.

or get an older 300 2t for $4k and a seperate ds bike for summer...

we have the ECU on a 500 XCW and she still hits rev limiter all day long. very annoying

 

[M5-]

I've had two snow bikes. A '17 fx (similar to wr) and a 10' te 510 husky (similar to 501). Also ride with a 14 ktm 500 exc. We have three fx's in our group. With just under 100 hrs lost the crank rod bearing on one of the fx's. Both the te510 and 500 exc have over 300 snowbike hours and have never been apart. I think the longer stroke engines (500's) provide torque and longevity. Unfortunately, the cost difference makes it a difficult decision. Fwiw.

Same story here, buddies FX lost the main crank bearings at 100 hours as well. Personally I would never push any snow bike past 100 hours. Just doing a refresh is way cheaper than a rebuild after a blow up. I'm rebuilding my KTM right now and its not cheap when you have to replace cams etc.


If you are needing a street legal bike don't even consider one that didn't come that way from the factory. Jurisdictions are cracking down all over the place on street legal conversions. It may not be that way right now but who knows what will happen in a few years where you are. BC is a non starter, the RCMP are all over it, as soon as they see you they pull you over and check everything, same here in Alberta. Just some food for thought.

Uncorked is a relative term so take all this internet BS with a grain of salt, the manufacturers aren't leaving much on the table these days, you get improvements but its not going to throw you off the back when you nail it.


M5

 

[dirtnerd]

Great feedback guys! Really appreciate it!

I can get a 20178 WR450F for $8000 + tax and a 2017 FE501S for $9600 + tax. The WR I would have to spend some money to make it street legal so the difference is more like $1300. I know the FE will make a better road bike (6 speed) and sounds like it may make a better snowbike (more power) but have heard the WR will rev higher which is an advantage for a snowbike. Either way I go I would likely go with full exhaust and any reasonable methods to "uncork" the engine. Anything else to consider? Will the FE501 cost more to mod/uncork? Will the extra HP on the FE make up for the higher rev on the WR?

Still up in the air on this... lol

Having ridden both on snow, dirt and street. 501 is my vote all day everyday, not that the WR is a bad bike the 501 is just better. Both have good reliability. Both need mods for snow. The 501 needed nothing for the street. 501 is 243 pounds from the dealer in full street legal trim and the WR450 is roughly 270 pounds. If you venture on to trails like we do, you feel everyone of those extra pounds. On the road/snow those extra pounds weren't noticeable. What was noticable was the extra power and the great pull the 501 has in third gear in the snow. That was in stock form, I uncorked and went with the vortex ecu and that third gear got even better. (the 72 hp people are talking about sounds like at the crank at the wheel 60hp is more realistic) Jumping between the two on the hill the difference is quite noticeable. PS last I checked the 2017WR isn't street legal, make sure you can plate it where you are if you are considering it, you can't plate them were I live

 

[dooman92]

Wr/501

Reference stator output, if electrical demands are important. WR listed at 160w the 501 at 200w. I got used to nearly 300w on my te510 and have missed the output compared to my fx. Also, when I was comparing, I read that the husky/ktm weights were dry weights and the Yamahas wet weight making them not so far apart.

 

[007]

we have the ECU on a 500 XCW and she still hits rev limiter all day long. very annoying

What ECU do you have? I talked to a guy with a PR2 and he said it defiantly helped but still not anything to brag about.

 

[Timberview01]

Fx stator is huge. You could run a light, Grip’s, and a toaster all at the same time. Also the transmission is wide. I think I read in dirtrider that they hit high 90s in fifth gear. Not so sure about that, but the couple hours I rode it on dirt I could tell fifth gear was very tall.
That 501 sure would be a sweet bike!

My WR has the same gearbox as the FX and I have seen 60MPH at no more than three quarters throttle. That is as fast as I'll go on knobbies, so we'll never know if 90 is attainable.

My local dealership has Yamaha and Husky side-by-side on the sales floor. Right now, a 2018 FX is $9K out the door where as the 501 is $11K. (discounts, rebates, tax, title, prep fees...) I know the Husky is more bike than the Yami, but 2 grand is two grand... I'm sticking with the blue brand and putting that extra cash towards one of those Snowtech kits that Chris keeps telling us about!

 

[wwillf01]

My WR has the same gearbox as the FX and I have seen 60MPH at no more than three quarters throttle. That is as fast as I'll go on knobbies, so we'll never know if 90 is attainable.

My local dealership has Yamaha and Husky side-by-side on the sales floor. Right now, a 2018 FX is $9K out the door where as the 501 is $11K. (discounts, rebates, tax, title, prep fees...) I know the Husky is more bike than the Yami, but 2 grand is two grand... I'm sticking with the blue brand and putting that extra cash towards one of those Snowtech kits that Chris keeps telling us about!

100 percent 90 is attainable on the fx gearbox...

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Jaynelson]

My local dealership has Yamaha and Husky side-by-side on the sales floor. Right now, a 2018 FX is $9K out the door where as the 501 is $11K. (discounts, rebates, tax, title, prep fees...) I know the Husky is more bike than the Yami, but 2 grand is two grand...

You'll get most of the price difference back on re sale in my experience. And get to ride the nicer bike in the mean time. But it is more up front.