Yamaha YFZ 450 - 2006
by Nick Harris on April 14th, 2009
Yamaha YFZ 450 - 2006 - Bill Ballance Edition
Buying a brand new ATV isn’t an option for everyone in tough economic times, and it’s tough to do when you’re still in school and working part time, so what’s an ATV rider to do? Simple, buy used and plan to replace parts over time as your budget allows. I mean, when you buy a new sport ATV you’re likely going to upgrade a lot of the parts anyway right? The first step is to find a good deal on the make and model of ATV you’re wanting to build. If I was about to start building yet another low budget ATV project the 2006 Yamaha YFZ 450 would be high on my list of possible choices and here is why…
2006 Yamaha YFZ 450
The 2006 Yamaha YFZ 450 (YFZ450 if you prefer) signaled the start of a new trend in which sport ATVs were capable of *gasp* racing stock. Stock Yamaha YFZ 450 OEM parts were “high performance” by design which is a good thing when you’re going to be keeping many of them during your ATV project build. A quick check of several popular “ATV for sale” hotspots shows that there are a lot of used 2006’s available right now which is also a good thing because you’ll be able to negotiate a better deal if you’re patient.
2006 Yamaha YFZ450
The planning stages - know what you’re going to buy before you buy anything at all and make sure to research your specific model in advance. Your first purchase will be a complete ATV, hopefully at a great price, and there is an art to saving money when choosing the right ATV. You’ll be buying the specific parts you want later on so don’t waste money by paying more for the core frame/ATV just because the owner made his own upgrades to the YFZ 450 before selling it. Set a price you’re willing to pay and stick to it even if it does have bells and whistles already.
Your two concerns when buying the core of your project should be a) is it complete so that I can have fun with it right away and b) is everything in working order. When planning a low budget ATV project there is nothing worse than ending up with an ATV you can’t enjoy because a certain part is broken and too expensive to fix without needing to save first. If you’re able to ride the ATV as is you may also find yourself wanting to make changes to your build plans. A 2006 YFZ 450 with only new pipes as an upgrade has been a common scene in many riding areas and you might find yourself willing to spend a bit more on a new ATV exhaust system at the expense of leaving out other fancy upgrades.
Tricks to getting all the parts YOU want without spending as much as a SELLER wants…
- Sometimes two is better than one, consider buying two separate ATVs if you find that together they have all the parts on your wish list. You can swap parts and re-sell the ATV you don’t want and maybe even turn a profit on it.
- Be patient and negotiate like a pro by ignoring the good parts of an ATV and focusing on the negative. Sometimes a seller will accept a lower offer just to get rid of an ATV, especially if it doesn’t have the parts a buyer is looking for.
- Since you have a very specific wish list and your goal is to cross everything off that list while spending the least amount of money possible it makes sense to avoid taking your list to a dealer who will charge top dollar, browse the “for sale by owner” listings and again, be patient!
- Did I mention be patient? Since keeping the ATV project build as low budget as possible is the goal you’re going to want to spend time just watching the Yamaha YFZ 450 for sale listings. You can’t get a good idea on what a great price is until you’ve seen enough sales close to create the “ballpark” value for you.
You can watch used ATV prices by monitoring eBay motors auctions like these…
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2006 Yamaha yfz450 yfz 450 4 wheeler ATV four wheeler US $3,150.00 (40 Bids)  |
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2006 YFZ 450 And 2007 Rapter 350 US $3,000.00 (25 Bids) |
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2006 YFZ 450 US $5,500.00 (0 Bid) |
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2006 YAMAHA YFZ450 BILL BALANCE EDITION US $1,525.00 (14 Bids) |
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2006 Yamaha YFZ 450 Quad Special Edition ATV US $3,100.00 (0 Bid) |
Other popular places to get a good idea of real price values (real = what the market is willing to currently pay) include craigslist, your weekly pennysaver, the local newspaper classifieds and perhaps even your favorite forums. I can’t stress how important it is to be patient if you need to stretch your dollar buying power in order to build the ATV of your dreams. You can save thousands by watching the market closely, people do it every day. If you know of other good sources of used ATVs for sale and ATV parts feel free to share them in a comment below. Where have you gotten your best deal on an ATV or parts??
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