Some have expressed the longevity of the WR450 as a street based bike. I disagree. The WR450 would be every bit as reliable and longer service intervals than the KTM 450/520/525/530/350/500 ever will be.
I absolutely loved my 530 excr and still label it my favorite bike of all time as it was a TRUE dirt bike, even MXable with a plate. But if Yami ever offered GOOD 450 dual sport I would trade it for a KTM in a heart beat.
In many states turning a dirt bike into a street legal bike, even if the bike started as a green sticker bike, is not possible....legally anyway, not saying some people have figured out some loop hole, but I have known 1 person who had his plate revoked. Some say that is an urban myth, but I personally know of 1 case and have heard of others.
The issue is a 5 speed gear box on the WR450. It just leaves a bit to be desired for a dual sport.
The current WR450 with its fuel injected engine could easily be given settings to pass emissions which is likely the biggest hurdle at least here in Cali, but there are also ever increasing safety issues, kickstand cut-off switches, clutch cut off...yada yada...that may just make it out of practicality. I personally believe if Yamaha took the current WR450 and made some minor changes to make it meet all of the street requirements it WOULD sell as sell well. KTM has no serious competition here in the states, they own Husaberg and now a controlling interest in Husqvarna and Beta is just TOO low key and unsupported dealerships to make a real impact. The Suzuki DRZ has sold huge numbers even though it is FAR inferior in every way to the KTM on a performance level. Yamaha could dominate the high performance dual sport market with a 6 speed version of the current WR 450, even if it had a higher service rate than the WR250R/X has, many would be willing to ride it because it would still be less than the ever popular KTM.
I am not holding my breath though.
The street kit would be great if a person could legally do it.
After I shattered my arm on my 1 week old 2008 YZ450 thanksgiving '07 I did everything I could to try to get it plated. Red sticker VIN codes are even harder, read impossible, to plate. I LOVED that bike and would have lived happily with the close ratio 5 speed gear box on the street if I could have plated it. I even tried to get a guy in Nor Cal who insists he could do it, he changes the OE VIN to a home built number like the chopper guys use but NO success. Sold it and dropped the bigger money on the 530 EXCR...Loved it, but not as much as a plated Yami would have made me.