Yamaha WR450 vs. YZ450F - Dirt Rider Magazine

Dear Jimmy and the DR staff,

I am lucky in that I have a seriously ridden and raced 06 WR450 that I love to death except for the weight, but recently my wife of 21 years obtained a leftover '09 YZ450 to get me to shut up about how heavy my WR is for me (I am a smaller guy like you!) So needless to say I really was reading every word you wrote on the Whibley WR, but it took a while to prove to me that it was in fact a WR, but I finally saw the voltage regulator in one of the pics. Other than that, it sure looks like a YZ, even has the 09 swingarm!Why would they not just race the YZ? If it is just for the tranny, well, I can understand that. But in comparison, I feel my 09 YZ that I have been slowly setting up for GP/trail type racing, is just flat an amazing bike. Power, plenty for little lightweight me, and other than sometimes missing the button, well, I really love the bike. Yeah, would be nice to have electric power for lighting (we do 24hr events) and a wider ratio tranny (for the woods racing, Idaho Qualifier, and GPs)...it is great. So I am curious what you think the reasoning behind turning the WR into a YZ?Also, you guys should do an article on what to do with your old helmets! I have several, that I would LOVE to donate to someone that flat doesn't have or wont afford a helmet. Perhaps the manufacturer would want it back? Some are damaged, some are just too old to be wearing doing the racing that I do, etc.Appreciate the hard work you guys do. I have a TON of comments, ideas for articles, etc. but will keep my mouth shut this time. I had to drop some magazines that I still like just to be more realistic with my hard earned dollar, but I kept my subscription to DR...Happy trails!**Tom Stark

Helena, MT**I'm pretty sure that Yamaha mandates that AmPro guys race a WR, but they modify it basically into a YZ. Now since they took off the electric starter it would have been easier to just start with the YZ, really so you have a head start. They didn't say they changed the transmission rations and I didn't notice any gaps, but I don't mind a wide-ratio either.They are looking for the lightweight race bike that has to start out as a Yamaha WR.We throw our old helmets away when they get crashed on because they are junk then. Some are given away to people who want them as some sort of trophy and we make sure they don't wear them. -Jimmy Lewis