Great damper, but expensive,  Friday, 07 July 2006 I installed the Scotts Damper on my WR450 for desert and woods racing. First let me start by saying that the fit and finish is top notch. Install instructions were clear and everything went smoothly. I ordered my setup through BRP and recieved a tripple clamp, submount, Pro Taper bars, Cycra hand guards, and Scotts Stabalizer as a package. The biggest draw-back is the cost. These are expensive units, but don\'t let the cost sway you. It is worth every penny in what it save you in hospital fees. For those of you that don\'t know what they do.....they are a shock absorber for side to side handlebar movement. My first ride with one, I was running through a sand wash in 4th gear wide open and hit a rock the size of a football. Normally this would have twisted the bars out of my hand and I would have face-planted at speed. With the stabalizer, I felt a slight movement, but the bars remained easy to control. One unique feature about the Scotts brand, is the seperate high and low speed damper setting. You can turn the low speed setting down, so you don\'t fatigue yourself, but the high speed remains active so if you hit something at speed, your still OK. Ovrall, in one ride, the damper saved me a trip to the hospital and saved my summer riding season. The only reason I am givin this a 4 out of 5 is because of price. The GPR is a great unit as well, and although it does not have the feature of the Scotts unit, it is much better priced.

 Don\'t waste your time,  Friday, 30 June 2006 After a 20 mile \'single track\' trail ride through the rockies, my new DunlopD952 is garbage. There are entire knobs from the center that are broken off and over 50% of them have split and cracked. I spoke with Dunlop about the excessive chunking and splitting and the only responce from them was to take it back to the dealer where I bought it from and see if it looks like a warrenty claim. This in unacceptable, after you spend $65 for a tire, it should last more than one ride. This might be OK for a factory rider, but most of us need our parts to last a little longer than that. I will take the tire back to the shop and hopefully it is just a defective tire, but if they don\'t rectify the situation, it will be the last Dunlop on my bike.

 04 WR450 Review,  Wednesday, 21 June 2006 The WR 450 is a fantastic machine. In stock trim it is a bit on the gutless side, but this is due to all the junk the factory put on it to get it to pass EPA emmisions. The first things this bike needs is: - Remove the exhaust baffel - Swap the WR throttle stop for the YZ (the WR only lets you twist the throttle 1/2 way - Open the air box up and trim the snorkel - Clip the grey wire on the CDI to match it to the YZ ingition timing This will transform the bike into the ultimate offroad machine. For added punch, swap out the WR cam for the YZ cam - the power is increased and you now have a YZ450F with electric start, a larger tank, kickstand, lights, heavier flywheel, and a Wide Ratio (hence WR)tranny. The Wide Ratio tranny is exceptional off-road, but does require more work on the track. Thats right, this bike is just as fun on a track as it is on the trail. As mentioned, this bike does have a lot of extras over a YZ450F, but at a price - weight. This bike weighs 25 lbs more than a YZ, but the down side is where it carries the weight......its up high. The battery is right under the seat, the larger fuel tank is obviously up high, as is the heavier exhaust can. What does this mean? It makes the bike top heavy which wears you out on the track. On the trail its not as noticable, but you can tell its there. I have seen many others swap their exhaust, fuel tanks, and seats for those of the YZ and they felt it was a big improvment. I myself have not had the chance to do this yet. I rated the handling a \"4\" because of this.....it is too heavy to be a 5, it should be a 3 on handling, but the fact that it can be changed with minor mods merits a slightly higher rating than a 3. Reliability is fantastic. I have over 1000 miles on mine. My valves are still in spec and it fires up very easily. The forks at shock are top notch, but only after having them professionally tuned. I am a bigger guy (6\'3\" 285 lbs)and the stock suspension was just not upto the task of handling the abuse I dish out. I installed much stiffer springs front and rear as well as had them revalved for my riding style and added additional subtanks, all I can say now is WOW! Overall, this bike is setup to be a great trail bike stock, with the minor mods posted at the top of this review (which are free sans the YZ throtle stop), it is a very competative desert racer, and with a suspension tuning and minor ergo mods (seat/tank) this can even be a fun MX machine. This bike is bar far, the most versatile machine I have ever owned. Trail ride it on Saturday, MX race it on Sunday, and with a few modifications (check you local DMV) ride it to work on Monday! I give this machine 2 thumbs up!