I'm Drooling over a plated WR450F

[Defekticon]

I've kicked around this idea for awhile now, but always put it on the shelf due to the "too hard to plate" category in Florida, but now I'm seeing the Montana LLC path in getting it plated. I don't mind paying taxes on it (in fact once it's plated, I'll gladly transfer it back to FL if they'll allow me and pay taxes), It's the frustration of not being able to add a dualsport kit to a bike to make it street legal when you can scratch build kit cars and get them titled and plated with very little hassle.

I'm thinking that this year I might be in the financial position to put down some cash for a leftover '14/'15 as the prices are in the 6.5k range on cycletrader. Am I smoking crack or would this not make an awesome TET/TAT bike?

 

[patrickg450]

I have done most of the TAT in on the ST

 

[bobbar]

Light is right in the dirt. If u can't get a plate, what about a drz400s?

 

[Defekticon]

I have done most of the TAT in on the ST

And I'll do the tet-s on the S10 this spring, but I'm not averse to adding another weapon to the arsenal, plus I'll be keeping it in the yamaha family!

 

[Defekticon]

Light is right in the dirt. If u can't get a plate, what about a drz400s?

Definitely considered a DRZ400s to replace my KLR650. I already have a DR200, but that's just something I keep in the garage for when the wife/kids want to ride. It's plated, but rarely do I ride it on the street, it costs me maybe 100 bucks a year to register and insure so it's nice to have. If I need a quick trip to the hardware store I'll ride the dr200 to stretch it's legs but other then that it's mostly a trail bike. I think a 450 would be all the power I want without the weight.

 

[Ironhand]

I had a plated '03 WR450. It was an awesome and very amusing back road/trail bike. I probably don't need to tell you what a terrible street bike it is, though. A seat from Seat Concepts and a larger fuel tank will help, but she will always feel unhappy riding at civilized speeds.

 

[78YZ]

Much of the TAT is paved. In my opinion, a KTM 500 EXC is a better choice. It comes street legal from the factory, has a nice wide ratio six speed tranny AND a cush drive. Have you ever ridden a dirt bike (w/o cush drive) for any distance on the street?

 

[talonboy]

I don't know anything about the Montana LLC path, but getting dirt bikes plated in my previous home of Michigan was very easy. I live in Nevada now, and it is a bit tougher, but doable.

As far as bike choice, as already stated the KTM 500 looks like a great choice today.

I have two street legal converted dirt bikes now, a XR650R and XR250R. The 650 is comfy enough to ride long distance on the highway, and geared to cruise pretty well at 70 mph. I wouldn't hesitate to ride it a hundred miles on the highway. It is a great dirt road, two track bike; a bit cumbersome on tight single track. The 250 is a great play bike, but took slow for the highway.

I also previously had a plated XR650L and XR600R. I prefer the XR650R I have now, mostly because of more horsepower. The XR650R can cruise at 80 mph, and still accelerate to pass a car.

I had a plated WR400 and CRF450R years ago. Better dirt bikes by far than the XR's, but both horrible street bikes. The WR400 was OK for a short short ride to the trails, the CR450R was far worse than that.

I think it all comes down to your intended use.

 

[Defekticon]

Michigan as I understand it has modified their laws to make it more difficult to title/convert dirtbikes and offroad bikes to dualsport/street titles. Montana will basically title anything with a VIN, as businesses can tag/title vehicles. It's often abused as a tax loophole for massive RV purchases allowing owners to skip out on 10's of thousands of dollars in tax revenue for their state of residence. The upside is that they don't require DMV inspections or emissions, and they will title/tag UTV's, dirtbikes, and ATV's as long as you have a VIN and certificate of origin and a Montana based LLC. (and a grand to pay a lawyer to setup the LLC for you).

I'll look into the ktm 500. I didn't realize the TAT was a significant amount of paved surface. Based on some of the RR's on advrider I figured they were more offroad.

 

[roy]

I recently plated and titled a 15 WR250F in Mississippi and didn't do anything but carry my title app from the dealer to the tax office and walked out with a license plate. I ordered a brake light switch and dual setup brake/tail light from Sicassracing and that's all I've done and all I plan to do. It clearly says in two places on the bike off-road use only. I still can't believe it was so easy to obtain the plate, MS truely is backwards and sometimes that's a good thing. Lol

 

[AVGeek]

Arizona is also very liberal about plating vehicles. It's not uncommon, even here in Phoenix, to see quads and side-by-sides on the street.

 

[BaldKnob]

I had a plated '03 WR450. It was an awesome and very amusing back road/trail bike. I probably don't need to tell you what a terrible street bike it is, though. A seat from Seat Concepts and a larger fuel tank will help, but she will always feel unhappy riding at civilized speeds.

Exactly the way my 520 EXC feels on extended pavement use. Plated dirtbikes are a toy and should be towed to a destination then enjoyed. If you want to tour on it, you'll need a heavier bike. That being said, I would love to have a street-legal WR (a YZ250FX actually) but the State of NC is completely stoopid about licensing a dirtbike but allowing a tag on some backyard build 3-wheeler that's unsafe at any speed. The State even rescinded a plate issued to a riding buddy on his CRF450X that was previously legal in Virginia. It seems like such a waste of potential revenue from people that don't want the DR/KLR/XR dated equipment the Japanese continually sell.

 

[Defekticon]

Exactly the way my 520 EXC feels on extended pavement use. Plated dirtbikes are a toy and should be towed to a destination then enjoyed. If you want to tour on it, you'll need a heavier bike. That being said, I would love to have a street-legal WR (a YZ250FX actually) but the State of NC is completely stoopid about licensing a dirtbike but allowing a tag on some backyard build 3-wheeler that's unsafe at any speed. The State even rescinded a plate issued to a riding buddy on his CRF450X that was previously legal in Virginia. It seems like such a waste of potential revenue from people that don't want the DR/KLR/XR dated equipment the Japanese continually sell.

This is exactly my sentiment. I'd like to run the TNJT with it or a TET run. I was under the impression TAT was similar in offroad coverage to the TET. I never meant to imply I would tour with the bike on a highway at any point. My KLR is a heavy beast, I'd really like something light.

 

[BaldKnob]

This is exactly my sentiment. I'd like to run the TNJT with it or a TET run. I was under the impression TAT was similar in offroad coverage to the TET. I never meant to imply I would tour with the bike on a highway at any point. My KLR is a heavy beast, I'd really like something light.

You may not intend to tour on your plated DB but sometimes it becomes the most obvious way to compress time/distance. What happens at the the end of these TAT/TET runs? Do you backtrack home or ride back roads only? Some guys sell their kit and fly home. As discussed in another thread, the highway is a necessary evil. With taller gearing, plush suspension and a decent seat the WR450F should be very proficient for short hauls at high speed. Not sure if it needs a steering stabilizer as I've never ridden one but my KTM sure did. The WR250F is a very stable machine at 60mph but the engine is not happy due to 13/50 gearing and a 5-speed tranny.

 

[FrontRangeRider]

I've kicked around this idea for awhile now, but always put it on the shelf due to the "too hard to plate" category in Florida, but now I'm seeing the Montana LLC path in getting it plated. I don't mind paying taxes on it (in fact once it's plated, I'll gladly transfer it back to FL if they'll allow me and pay taxes), It's the frustration of not being able to add a dualsport kit to a bike to make it street legal when you can scratch build kit cars and get them titled and plated with very little hassle.

I'm thinking that this year I might be in the financial position to put down some cash for a leftover '14/'15 as the prices are in the 6.5k range on cycletrader. Am I smoking crack or would this not make an awesome TET/TAT bike?

I have a plated WR450F (2015 model year with CO tags) with about 1400 miles on the clock. It will be for sale in late March when my replacement bike arrives. I love the bike but am replacing it with a 2016 Husqvarna 501 which is what I really wanted when I bought the WR. When SWMBO said, "why don't you go ahead and get what you really want," it was an easy decision. It has IMS 3.0 gallon tank, ProMotoBillet rear rack, Acerbis handguards, Yamaha GYTR skid plate and DoubleTake mirror installed. PM me if interested in discussing further.

 

[True Grip]

FRR post some pics in other bike thread when you get it and let us know what you think.

 

[Checkswrecks]

You may not intend to tour on your plated DB but sometimes it becomes the most obvious way to compress time/distance. What happens at the the end of these TAT/TET runs? Do you backtrack home or ride back roads only? Some guys sell their kit and fly home. As discussed in another thread, the highway is a necessary evil. With taller gearing, plush suspension and a decent seat the WR450F should be very proficient for short hauls at high speed. Not sure if it needs a steering stabilizer as I've never ridden one but my KTM sure did. The WR250F is a very stable machine at 60mph but the engine is not happy due to 13/50 gearing and a 5-speed tranny.

It's cheaper to ship the bike and take a flight, and even more so if you count work time lost.

 

[FrontRangeRider]

FRR post some pics in other bike thread when you get it and let us know what you think.

The Husqvarna deal fell through. The local dealer got bought out by a larger dealer and I have enough experience with the purchasing dealer that I did not want to buy from them. As a result, I called the local KTM dealer and now have a new 2016 KTM 500 EXC in the stable.

What I should have said in my original post was that the WR450F is a great bike on the trail but it felt stressed at highway speeds getting to the trails. Based on my two short rides on the KTM, the 500 EXC feels a lot more comfortable at 55 mph and will make a much better long adventure ride bike for rides that are mostly dirt.

 

[True Grip]

I predict you'll be very happy!

 

[greg the pole]

Much of the TAT is paved. In my opinion, a KTM 500 EXC is a better choice. It comes street legal from the factory, has a nice wide ratio six speed tranny AND a cush drive. Have you ever ridden a dirt bike (w/o cush drive) for any distance on the street?

yes, but you'll need to drop the oil every 10 hrs, and adjust the valves at 20 hours... ::015::
How about a 690, or the new 701 which is a white 690