Not sure on what atv to buy?

[Braaaptor]

My cousin/friend/riding buddy has a trx he has had a total of 2 problems with it. He keeps having chains break and the started gear went out, and supposedly the whole kicker set up is a btch to find since it is wanted so much?????????????

thanks.

If your friend is struggling with chain problems, chances are the sprockets are either worn-out, or the chain is being overtightened when a new one is re-intsalled.

Another possibility is a blown bearing in your buddy's rear axle bearing carrier. TRX 450r's use a roundhouse-style rear carrier/swingarm, and they are known for axle bearing failures. Especially on the early models. If a bearing has gone out, the axle will no longer run true. It is impossible to properly-tension a chain when this happens, and its very easy to either sling off or break a chain upon landing a jump or hitting a bump.

The fix for this problem is a new billet bearing carrier kit. You can get them on ebay for $ 100.00 shipped. This billet setup comes with all the needed bearing and seals and is easy to install IF you can get the rear axle nut loose. They can be a PITA but will usually surrender with enough heat and leverage.

I had to change the rear carrier in my TRX when I bought it, and by the time I got the old one off, it had been completely destroyed. Glad I bought the billet assembly. Its not worth trying to change individual bearings, since the carrier housing is usually eaten up by the time you tear it apart to fix it.

As for the kick starter issue, you can buy a kicker kit for the 2006 + models, but it is not cheap. I think its a little over $ 600.00. Your friend would be better off getting a new starter gear off ebay to fix his bike. The kicker retrofit kits are mainly sold to racers who don't need electric start.

There is a company out there which sells electric start retrofit kits for the 2004 and 2005 TRX 450r's. Look up GOKI starters. They aren't cheap, but if you get tired of kicking one over, it might be just what you need.

A word of caution: If you get a kick-start 450r, be sure to kick it firmly. They, like most Honda's, kick forward and will pop back if you're lazy on the down stroke. I've still got a kickstart lever-shaped bruise on the bottom of my right foot from last fall's ride. You have been warned. lol

 

[370]

well i'll toss a new idea into the ring.. i know you said you were thinking of going 4 stroke and all but hear me out... you want a woods/trail machine.. your looking at 400ex, yfz450s and trx450r's.. why not get the machine that spawned both those hondas.. has a tough as nails dead reliable engine and all suspension parts from the 400 swap onto it.. and many of the trx450 suspension parts swap, is arguably the best MX/trail machine ever produced.. you still get the rush of a 2 stroke, the aftermarket support is heavenly and engine parts are cheaper than the 400ex and trx450r.. and YFZ450 as well. have you even considered a TRX250R? yeah your gonna pay $1600-2000 for a decent one.. and yes the newest possible one you can get is a 1989.. but there are nice ones for a decent deal... i've seen 86's and 87's in decent shape go for $1600-1800..

 

[370]

and about all this raptor 660 talk. i thought you wanted a good trail/woods machine? if you think a banshee is gonna be a hassle then a raptor won't be any better. they sit tall and narrow. the ones i've been on feel tippy and uncomfortable. i've been a banshee guy for many years (as well as other machines.. bascially i've owned and/or built every 2 stroke ATV and most ATC's as well) i do think you may be doing yourself an injustice by not at least putting a little thought toward a banshee.. yes a banshee with stock port timing is pipey and that requires much clutching.. and the stock front suspension provides a kinda of heavy feeling at the bars.. but with proper portwork they can be set up for killer midrange.. and a set of arms the move the ball joint an inch forward does 2 things. makes the steering lighter and moves weight to the rear tires. better traction!

if you want a very reliable simple to work on 4 stroke thats not a maintenence hog i would say take a serious look at a 400ex honda. they have the old style valve adjustment (trx450r does to if i remember correctly) ALL OTHERS LTZ/KFX/DVX 400, YFZ450, LTR450, KFX450r all have the shim bucket style vavle adjustments.. this mean you pull the cam to adjust vavles.. and a shim kit is needed to do so.. if your short a shim. you order one and wait... proper vavle adjustments on those machines is frequent. if i remember correctly yamaha says proper vavle adjstment intervals of something like 30 ride hours.. (i'm not 100% on that... research it to be sure) the 400ex has proven time and time again to be a good handling quad (it's designed on a trx250R chassis so it handles like it's on rails. rider position is awesome the front suspension design is great etc..) it's also proven to be unbelieveably reliable.. the 400ex engine is based off of the tried and true XR engine design. a 400ex and XR400 are very similar.. honda has always built a rock solid engine.. look up thier baja 1000 records.. that alone speaks for hondas reliablity.. i hope i helped ya and didn't confuse your decision any further

 

[bigwill]

well i'll toss a new idea into the ring.. i know you said you were thinking of going 4 stroke and all but hear me out... you want a woods/trail machine.. your looking at 400ex, yfz450s and trx450r's.. why not get the machine that spawned both those hondas.. has a tough as nails dead reliable engine and all suspension parts from the 400 swap onto it.. and many of the trx450 suspension parts swap, is arguably the best MX/trail machine ever produced.. you still get the rush of a 2 stroke, the aftermarket support is heavenly and engine parts are cheaper than the 400ex and trx450r.. and YFZ450 as well. have you even considered a TRX250R? yeah your gonna pay $1600-2000 for a decent one.. and yes the newest possible one you can get is a 1989.. but there are nice ones for a decent deal... i've seen 86's and 87's in decent shape go for $1600-1800..

You beat me to it. Also do not forget about the lt250r's. They can be had alittle cheaper than the trx's. Granted there not as nimble but they were right there. There both bigger than your blaster, so it will be more comforitable. There single cylinder so no low/mid problems like a stock shee either. Plus they can be built alittle at a time. There is tons of aftermartket stuff for each. Just throwing more options out there.

 

[370]

You beat me to it. Also do not forget about the lt250r's. They can be had alittle cheaper than the trx's. Granted there not as nimble but they were right there. There both bigger than your blaster, so it will be more comforitable. There single cylinder so no low/mid problems like a stock shee either. Plus they can be built alittle at a time. There is tons of aftermartket stuff for each. Just throwing more options out there.

good to see someone else agrees on the trx250R.. i can't say i totally stand behind you on teh suzuki LT250R's though.. the quality of the machine is sub par when compared to the honda. infact it's not even a comparision..i've owned a few LT250R's and a LT500 or 2... and i've done countless suzuki rebuilds for people over the years.. just finished a LT500 engine last sunday actually.. and just finished a nightmare of a LT250R i built for a buddy.. engine was disassembled in a box.. he handed me the box and said "uhhh can you make this an engine? and how much?" the case castings suck for lack of a better term.. the PV setup is marginally effective at best.. the aftermarket parts are more expensive most times than a honda.. sure you can buy into a suzuki cheaper.. but in the long run the suzuki will cost you more.. water pump mech. seals are a huge issue.. the shape of the base gasket causes it to be prone to base gasket failures unless you gasket tack half the gasket down on both sides. clutch baskets are a known issue. in fact hinson racing got started because suzuki basket suck that bad.. they are also prone to stator side crank seal leaks.. why that is i'm not sure.. it's not any different design than any other machine but i find alot of them with leaky crank seals.. the handling is sub par in comparision as well, chain tension is always an issue as well as swingarm cracking.. i guess it apparent i'm not a huge fan of the suzuki quadracers.. though they have made me decent money in the past repairing them for other people.. also the used parts market for them isn't getting any better.. last week i had to order a brand new flywheel for one at $218 because no decent used ones were available..

the parts base for the early quadracers is worse yet... almost no aftermarket support for 85-86 LT's.. the short travel and anemic engine limit it's capabilites as well.. in fact i'd prefer a blaster over a early short travel model LT250R

 

[bigwill]

I agree that the honda trx250r is better than the lt250r. Infact I believe the trx250r is the best all around 4 wheeler ever made.

 

[370]

very effective machine for sure.. great quality machine.. for sure.. banshees and blasters a high qualtiy machiens as well.. another one of my favorites is the kawisaki tecate.. BUT part availiblity for them is about as effective as a wishing well or a genie in a bottle! haha.

suzuki i think just had thier head up their ass in the 80's..

 

[Braaaptor]

370 has a point. All 4-strokes require regular maintenance, especially oil changes and valve lash adjustments.

TRX 450r's require shims to adjust the valves, too. Only the Raptor 660 and Honda 400ex use the standard screw-type adjusters.

 

[370]

all trx450r's? i had thought they were screw type adjusters i was almost certain the early TRX450R's were screw type.. but i could be wrong.. i've never messed with trx450r valve adjustments.

 

[Braaaptor]

all trx450r's? i had thought they were screw type adjusters i was almost certain the early TRX450R's were screw type.. but i could be wrong.. i've never messed with trx450r valve adjustments.

Nope. I was hoping they were of the screw variety, but my '04 took shims and was a PITA to adjust properly. Honda put a Unicam engine in all the 450r's. I wondered the same thing until I actually went out and bought one. Lol

 

[370]

well i guess you learn something everyday.. i'll have to remember that

 

[darederek]

i would seriously look into the z/kfx 400. you can find them in your price range easy. they are solid, reliable bikes with a healthy dose of power. its not quite 450 power. but close enough and the 400's power is much more usable in trails, you don't need to rev it out as much for power. also reverse is really nice. also, with the 450s being race machines, they will always be a touch less reliable since they are splitting hairs for performance at the factory. get something more conservative, and you can be a little laxed on maintenance and have a good reliable quad

 

[370]

laxed on maintenence? they have the same vavle adjuster design as the 450's do... so the vavles will tighten themselves up the same way the 450's do.. and that means they are prone to dropping the head of the valve into the cylinder when the valve over tightens from "laxed maintainece" just like the 450's do if you blow off vavle adjustments.. top end life is still gonna be close to the same.. they both use a nikisil cylinder and a cast piston.. oil changes are still the same, and valve guides still wear.. it's alot of the same maintainence. especially if he ends up later on going big bore and cammed..

 

[darederek]

the method of valve adjustment has nothing to do with how the valves wear.lots of different engines use shim under bucket valves and it in no way makes it less reliable than rocker arms or more prone to drop valves. is it more of a pain to adjust the valves? yes.

my point was that 450's are more high strung race motors compared to the z motor which is from a dual sport dirt bike and is more of a trail motor

 

[blasty 95]

400s power would be alot more usable in the trails...a piped 400ex doesnt disapoint me at all

 

[370]

did you actually READ what i posted.. i said with your "laxed maintenece" idea which would mean blowing off regular valve adjustments. the valves tighten in the head and then they are prone to dropping the valve. did i say anywhere in my post that an LTZ/KFX/DVX was a bad engine? did i say they are rpone to engine failure? did i say anything like that? no what i said it that blowing off the maintenece on them is as bad as doign that on a 450. no matter what 4 stroke you buy there is a certain level of maintence needed on them.. ALL 4 STROKES NEED REGULAR VALVE ADJUSTMENTS! AND ALL QUADS NEED REGULAR MAINTENANCE! blowing these things off or being "lax" about them is a bad idea and in the end will cost you. thats ANY machine..

now if you wanna talk abouit the 400cc quads let have a chat.. first off the LTZ isn't much if any faster than a 400ex... the 400ex is a proven machine that has it's engine family going back MANY years. they can be had for less money, the handling is better, and the vavle adjustments are easier.. but you know what i think your right.. a quad that handles worse and costs more to buy and maintain seems like an awesome option..

400ex's pop up around here regularly for about a $1000-1200 if your looking at a 99-05 model. so the buy in is cheaper.. than figure that extra money can go into making sure it's in tip top mechanical shape and maybe have enough left over for a cam and used pipe off ebay.. at this point your into the price range of a LTZ400. and the regular vavle adjustments cost as much as a set of feeler guages.. what that? $15 for a decent set?

 

[scotj77]

I say try some real engine mod's on your current blaster and see if ya wanna get rid of it. port work is the best power mod for the blaster. you have beat all around that bush with your build.

 

[blasty 95]

He's already sold them.......

 

[1995blaster]

I still got the money, it is burning away slowly tho( i need to stop carrying it around well 20$ of it).
I am still undecided on what i want to spend it on. My truck, new atv, motorcycle, moped? haha so many options.

 

[Blasterman96]

Get a yfz450 because they r fast as hell and look cool