18 yz450f vs 17 crf450rx

wellfed777 · Jan 31, 2019

can i get some advise on best snowbike choice

my old 04 crf450r went down and i'm gonna upgrade bike

options are a 17 crf450rx with 8-10 hours $5800
it looks basically new

or 18 yz450f brand new $7000

the bike i choose will be mounted to a 2014 TS 120

thanks all

POLZIN · Jan 31, 2019

Both are good bikes but the YZ would be my choice. The intake on the YZ is the best for a snow bike you will have to do something (pod filter etc. ) either way so the YZ offers the best solution for 100% trouble free operation. The ability to tune the bike via blue tooth is also pretty cool. I do belive the YZ has a bit more power and is a a few #s lighter.

Also the YZ is not red ! I hate red !

powdermuncher · Jan 31, 2019

The yz is a proven platform reliable as an anvil and the tuner is awesome.

Although I do like red. Tough one. I would still go Yamaha

wellfed777 · Jan 31, 2019

thanks yeah it's a funny situation both bikes are the new style Honda in 17 and Yami in 18

Polzin what are folks doing about Yami Rad shroud intake ports ?

i will say i'm a little bummed Honda went to 1 oil program but i guess everyone else is so......

one last piece to puzzle Honda is 30 minutes away Yami 8 hour round trip

Sheetmetalfab · Feb 1, 2019

While red has made some gains in power.

Even the 17 honda doesn’t have valvetrain reliability like the 06 Yamaha did.

Stick with blue for the reliability

Fill the radiator shroud ports with foam then a layer of rtv. (Peels out easy for summer)

needpowder · Feb 1, 2019

I rode a brand new 17 RX last weekend with a CMX kit on it. Awesome bike. Way impressed. Power felt great. Nice that the 17 still has the kickstart back up. Large tank, close ratio transmission. That said… I like the blue bikes.
With the Honda you would be $1000 ahead towards a new kit which would make a hell of a lot more difference than the bike.
Only thing about the Hondas, like previously said, is we don’t really know about the long-term reliability. Just not that many of them out there on the snow that are putting 100 hours on each season

POLZIN · Feb 1, 2019

I make a CR RAcing style intake for our YZs so no need to do anything with the shroud intakes. If I was doing a pod filter under the cap I would put prefilter mesh over the shroud intakes as a precaution to keep snow from pilling up on top of the pod.

This my intake set up some don’t like the sound but it works flawlessly in the deep

powdermuncher · Feb 1, 2019

If you do not go to the pod filter you need to drill extra holes along the air intake horn inside the rad shroud and frog ski it front to back. With just the stock intake covered in frog-skin there is to much vacuum in the airbox and it sucks snow and ice in through the drain holes. My rule of thumb is 3 times the intake area if it is covered in frog skins. Works good unless you are in 3 foot blower powder I check mine after every ride never need to clean it during the ride. CR style is just simple run and forget about it but the intake noise is high.

teal_210 · Feb 1, 2019

I ran a 18 YZ450 with ARO 120 LE last year and was not impressed with snow performance. That set-up was a big let-down in deep snow coming from a 2017 YZ450 with a 17 TS 120 LE.

The 18 YZ just doesn't pull like the 16 and 17's that I had did. With the 18 I couldn't pull first gear at times without riding the clutch, so I had to re-gear the kit to make it work. Meanwhile an 18 KTM 450 pulls the stock ARO gearing just fine.

If it were me, I'd go with the RX.

wellfed777 · Feb 1, 2019

That’s interesting by what I’ve read the 18 yz is supposed to be more powerful than previous years hmmm?

Thanks for the advice y’all

I was all caught up on the back up kick but after talking to a bunch of folks
It sounds like the electric start is pretty dam reliable

powdermuncher · Feb 1, 2019

teal_210 said:
I ran a 18 YZ450 with ARO 120 LE last year and was not impressed with snow performance. That set-up was a big let-down in deep snow coming from a 2017 YZ450 with a 17 TS 120 LE.

The 18 YZ just doesn't pull like the 16 and 17's that I had did. With the 18 I couldn't pull first gear at times without riding the clutch, so I had to re-gear the kit to make it work. Meanwhile an 18 KTM 450 pulls the stock ARO gearing just fine.

If it were me, I'd go with the RX.

The ARO with the S curve in the chain robs a huge amount of power especially if you run the chain tight. That is why I did away with that chain arrangement.

Also make sure primary and secondary chain have a bit of slack if they are tight you have a huge amount of resistance.

The 120 ARO has more suspension and a steeper approach angle but will run with any other 120 out there easy if set up right. Unfortunately Timber sled leafs a lot of performance on the table with their stock set up.

mtnthumper · Feb 1, 2019

17 RX w/ cmx

Its my first season on this setup so I can't speak for the reliability, but so far this thing is awesome. Starts good, runs flawless, handing is very predictable everywhere. I couldn't think of heading into the woods without a backup kick start, so the RX is the answer.

PS graphics or a plastics can can make it whatever color you want. Small change compared to the price of a full setup.

wellfed777 · Feb 1, 2019

good points

thanks

Chadx · Feb 1, 2019

mtnthumper said:
I couldn't think of heading into the woods without a backup kick start, so the RX is the answer.

Lithium jump pack serves the exact same function and weighs ounces, not pounds. They actually weigh less than the weight of a kickstart setup. No reason to fear not having a kickstart.

True the kickstart will work forever as long as you still have the energy to kick, but if you have a big enough issue that a jump pack doesn't get you going, no amount of kicking is going to get you going either and you are looking at getting towed out anyway.

Snowbikenewbie · Feb 3, 2019

Electric start not as reliable as kick start

I bought the 17 CRF450RX and paired it with the 2018 Camso Kit just over a year ago. I thought I was set with the electric start and kick start back up. The first few times up in the cold I quickly realized that the electric start was great to restart the bike after riding for an hour or so but not a certain thing. The batteries on the race bikes seem to be so small and light that they don’t pack enough punch to start a cold bike effectively every time. I’ve gotten a system down that seems to work pretty well. I always pull the cold start lever on the fi and then kick the CRf 2-3 times. It usually starts then dies. I kick it one more time and it runs every time. I then let it run at high idle [cold lever still out] for about a minute before pushing it in and letting it idle normally until proper temp. Once warm the bike restarts easily with the electric start as intended. I also have a antigravity lithium jump pack but to be honest I’ve never wanted to take the time to dig it out and go through the whole electrical hook up process every time I want to start the bike cold. I suppose if I was only doing this one time a weekend it would not be too bad but we stay at a mountain cabin and I typically conduct cold starts several times a weekend stay. I have been very happy with the Honda so far but I admit I have nothing to compare to. My last bike was a WR400f and I was also happy with the Yamaha products I have owned over the years. My setup for the airbox was super simple. My wife sewed up a frogskinz fabric shower cap for the air filter cage. I also glued some pieces over the side panel openings and haven’t had one issue since in all different conditions. My only complaint is I wish I had one more gear for high speed trail riding. I’m maxed out pretty quick on the trail. I’m sure if I could go faster I could hurt myself!

Sheetmetalfab · Feb 3, 2019

Snowbikenewbie said:
I bought the 17 CRF450RX and paired it with the 2018 Camso Kit just over a year ago. I thought I was set with the electric start and kick start back up. The first few times up in the cold I quickly realized that the electric start was great to restart the bike after riding for an hour or so but not a certain thing. The batteries on the race bikes seem to be so small and light that they don’t pack enough punch to start a cold bike effectively every time. I’ve gotten a system down that seems to work pretty well. I always pull the cold start lever on the fi and then kick the CRf 2-3 times. It usually starts then dies. I kick it one more time and it runs every time. I then let it run at high idle [cold lever still out] for about a minute before pushing it in and letting it idle normally until proper temp. Once warm the bike restarts easily with the electric start as intended. I also have a antigravity lithium jump pack but to be honest I’ve never wanted to take the time to dig it out and go through the whole electrical hook up process every time I want to start the bike cold. I suppose if I was only doing this one time a weekend it would not be too bad but we stay at a mountain cabin and I typically conduct cold starts several times a weekend stay. I have been very happy with the Honda so far but I admit I have nothing to compare to. My last bike was a WR400f and I was also happy with the Yamaha products I have owned over the years. My setup for the airbox was super simple. My wife sewed up a frogskinz fabric shower cap for the air filter cage. I also glued some pieces over the side panel openings and haven’t had one issue since in all different conditions. My only complaint is I wish I had one more gear for high speed trail riding. I’m maxed out pretty quick on the trail. I’m sure if I could go faster I could hurt myself!

Get a larger lead acid battery and mount it on the kit. (Extend the leads)
Makes starting a non issue.

yardbike · Feb 16, 2019

I am currently running a 18 YZ450 w Aro 120 and TSS. Setup is Incredible! Only basic mods; pod filter, thermostat, motor cover. Not having a kickstarter hasn’t been an issue, and my jacked ankle and tweaked back actually thanked me for it. Small (cell phone sized) auxiliary battery packs can be purchased inexpensively that are capable of starting your old diesel up to 20 times on a charge. Also handy for textaholics that need a recharge midday. Lastly, the ability to custom tune maps and load different maps while riding is the cherry on top. I understand custom tuning is not for everyone, but more and more custom maps are available from riders that are easily shared.
Another vote for Yami

Sheer · Feb 17, 2019

I would go with the honda lets face it electric starters are not 100% reliable, even with a jump pack if ur starters pooched the jump pack wont do anything... also if its an 8hr rounder to get parts for u thats a no brainer... top it off with a 1000 buck price diffrence i think red all the way yea the blue tooth fuel map thing is cool... but in my books the pros dont outweigh the cons

powdermuncher · Feb 17, 2019

Yes we had the same arguments with snowmobiles all the 4 strokes are e start only -Ski doo E start sleds have no backup pull start either and none of them ever gave us a problem. It simply was an argument for a solution where there was no problem to start with. Are you worried about the new vehicles not having crank start for manually starting them? About 100 years ago they argued about tat too.

18 yz450f vs 17 crf450rx

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♫ In the pow again. Just can't wait to get in..

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