Is the Yamaha WR450F street legal?

[JamesC]

Is the Yamaha WR450F street legal? If it isn't, how would one go about making it legal?

[kiwi cowboy]

Is the Yamaha WR450F street legal? If it isn't, how would one go about making it legal?

As long as its got lights and all the road legality stuff it shouldn't be a problem.

[haydes55]

If it isn't already legal you need:

1) Ensure it has working headlight, indicators and tail light (with a red reflector on the back).

2) Have DOT approved tires.

3) Make sure the speedo works, or get a speedo that does.

4) Get the bike vinned/wof/rego. Big expensive day that one. $600+ I think? You have to buy 12 months rego.

5) Pull wheel stands

[F5 Dave]

Why would you? They are too highly tuned to be reliable doing big miles, but fine for what they are intended for.

Would make a pretty crap roadbike. As a dirtbike you'd knacker the tyres on the road & have a heavy powerful dirtbike with knackered knobblies when you got to the dirt. Wasted as an adventure bike if that is what you are thinking of. Buy a trailer or get some mates with a van if you want to dirt ride it.

[mattsdakar]

Why would you? They are too highly tuned to be reliable doing big miles, but fine for what they are intended for.

Would make a pretty crap roadbike. As a dirtbike you'd knacker the tyres on the road & have a heavy powerful dirtbike with knackered knobblies when you got to the dirt. Wasted as an adventure bike if that is what you are thinking of. Buy a trailer or get some mates with a van if you want to dirt ride it.

Easy tiger, don't recall the thread starter asking anyones opinion on whether a WR makes a good adventure bike!
I have a road legal WR450 because I like to get kitted up in the garage and ride to nearby dirt tracks. If I had to fluff around sourcing a trailer etc I'd rarely use the thing.
I use my WR as an adventure bike and infact have just returned from a 5day 1300km trip to Central Otago, bike ran like a dream, did a couple of quick oil changes in route, not a problem..it's not the perfect adventure bike but with a gel seat and Safari tank it does the job nicely
It's all about compromise, I see you have a selection of bikes, let me pose a question to you, would u rather ride a ,lets say DR650 or a WR450 on a adventure ride? Think about grin factor!

[pritch]

If it isn't already legal you need:
2) Have DOT approved tires.


Really? That seems odd.

[F5 Dave]

Well let's find out what his intentions are I guess. I just hate worn knobblies.

[george formby]

Well let's find out what his intentions are I guess. I just hate worn knobblies.

Ahh, they do separate the men from the boys, though. I mean the skilled from the less skilled.
That does not sound the way I intend it. I used to ride my bike up to the hills from home. Once off road I regularly met guys on pukka enduro bikes, new knobbies, all the gear, etc. Bikes straight off the trailer. Sure they were a lot faster but they got stuck quicker & deeper, too.

I do like that compromise post. A couple of quick oil changes on a 1300 k trip.

It is what it is.

Whats the big difference between the R and the F?

[SMOKEU]

1300km trip to Central Otago, bike ran like a dream, did a couple of quick oil changes in route,

Does it contaminate the oil that quickly?!

I thought my GSXR was bad needing oil changes every 3000-4000km.

[ktm84mxc]

Yamaha's WR 250/450 were sold here in NZ in two forms an ADR compliant for on road use and a off road only use version.
If your trying to put one on the road you need that ADR plate on the steering head to make the job easier as we all know how anal VTNZ can be. The 03-06 have proved to be a very reliable model .

[Jay GTI]

Does it contaminate the oil that quickly?!

I thought my GSXR was bad needing oil changes every 3000-4000km.

In theory it should require an oil change every 10 hours riding or so (every 5 if it's being used in anger a lot), but that is just playing it safe. The WR450 has a strong engine and could most likely easily manage far more riding between changes on an adventure ride, but if you have the facility to drop the oil en route, why not?

I talked to the guys at the Yamaha Offroad Experience in Wales, when I lived in the UK, they had a couple of road-registered WR450s. They reckoned for quick road blats to get to rides they are ok as is, but if you choose to use it to commute or do a lot of time on the road, then a cush-drive rear hub is a must, otherwise the shock loading from driveline snatch will rapidly eat the gearbox.

[F5 Dave]

Ahh, they do separate the men from the boys, though. I mean the skilled from the less skilled.
That does not sound the way I intend it. I used to ride my bike up to the hills from home. Once off road I regularly met guys on pukka enduro bikes, new knobbies, all the gear, etc. Bikes straight off the trailer. Sure they were a lot faster but they got stuck quicker & deeper, too.
. . .

You're a hero.

I'm only averagely skilled, if that. But when the going gets sticky there are a lot of guys left spinning wheels that I get past. If ever I have to stop for them they invariably have rooted tyres. I ride for fun, not to try prove myself and I genuinly enjoy better tyres. I can't see why anyone would want rooted tyres after having good tyres, ecconomics aside what you can afford, perserve what you have,

[george formby]

You're a hero.

I'm only averagely skilled, if that. But when the going gets sticky there are a lot of guys left spinning wheels that I get past. If ever I have to stop for them they invariably have rooted tyres. I ride for fun, not to try prove myself and I genuinly enjoy better tyres. I can't see why anyone would want rooted tyres after having good tyres, ecconomics aside what you can afford, perserve what you have,

LOL, nah not a hero. And aspiring to be average ability wise. I had to use road legal tires & commute on the bike every day. I was just taught to look before I leaped. The "guns" relied more on their tires and bikes than I did.
Any hoo, not wanting to make the train crash.

[mattsdakar]

Does it contaminate the oil that quickly?!

I thought my GSXR was bad needing oil changes every 3000-4000km.


I like to do my oil changes every 10-15 hours depending on how hard I've been riding it.
On this particular trip i actually gave it 6 oil changes....4 of them in a row to flush water out of the engine after a wee swim down the Rangitata headwaters - whoops a daisy!

Bike only has a 1 litre capacity...1.1 litres with filter change so requires fairly regular tranfusions..it's all about compromise eh!