What to Look for in a Used ATV - Yamaha YFZ450

When you’re looking to buy a used ATV, there are certain key points of inspection — suspension, oil, etc. — you want to check out before you purchase one. You might want to bring a compression tester along as well.

Partzilla’s Yamaha ATV expert John Talley hosts live Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this edition, John was asked what to look for before buying a used Yamaha YFZ450 ATV.

What to look for in a used Yamaha ATV

Used Yamaha ATV - What to Look For

I’m going to look at an 05 Yamaha YFZ450 tonight. Anything major I need to look for?

John Talley: Well, several things. We did a video a couple of years ago on what to look for when you’re going to buy an ATV. And especially with a performance one like that, you’re going to want to make sure the frame is straight, so bring a tape measure with you, bring a flashlight too. If you’ve got a compression tester, take that with you as well. Sometimes just because it cranks up, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. But as I was saying, we did a video of what to look for, so if you would, watch that before you head out. And the reason you want a tape measure is to put the unit up on its butt and do a cross measurement from one side to another. Just any known points in the suspension going all the way down will give you an indication whether the frame is bent or not. Also, look at the frame welds or at the different points that could bend, and if you see paint that’s been chipped off because it’s been bent, well that’s another telltale sign. But other than that, just look over the machine in general. If you can do a compression test, great. One other thing, at least open up the fill hole for the oil and just smell it. See if it smells like it’s ever been burned. It’s really hard or almost impossible to disguise if it went a little too long in between oil changes and ended up cooking the oil, so hopefully that’s not the case on the machine.