Khen's "I got the CRF450 itch" Thread

[MotoMan]

We had some sun yesterday afternoon so I thought I would snap a few pics of the CRF. 8 hours on her now.





And my favorite:




Also snapped a couple of Shoup's 250F:

[Kev_CR]

Nice bikes! Has anyone compared the handling/power of an '07 CRF450 vs an '08? There is a '07 locally that has me half tempted.. I'd transfer over my GPR stabilizer. It has PRS suspension, stealth racing mods, ASV levers/perches, Pro-Taper fat bars, Excell black rims. It was a practice bike last season, laid down a few times but never wrecked. he's asking $5500. I don't know if I'll give up my CR250 or not, but I'm tempted by this one.

[Woody_393]

Who's practice bike?

The only real difference is the added stabilizer, which you have, and the different offset tripple clamps which makes it turn better.

Not sure I'd want a local pro's practice bike though... You could probably tack $400 just to re-do the valves almost immediately.

[Kev_CR]

I'm not sure who's bike this is, I just saw it on KSL classifieds.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I haven't even called on it yet to see what weight, etc. the suspension was set up for. He's put some money into it, but your right, I would be concerned about the valves, and would probably do that right away.

[MotoMan]

You also have the re-mapping of the ignition in 1st thru 3rd gear that makes a pretty big difference in the way that those 3 gears hook up. Bigtree's bike is a 07 that has the head flowed for more low end and in riding mine next to his it feels close to the same. Wierd part is that his actually has more horsepower....its strange and you have to ride it to see what I mean.

[Woody_393]

Originally Posted by khen

I'm not sure who's bike this is, I just saw it on KSL classifieds.

ksl.com - Ad Listing

I haven't even called on it yet to see what weight, etc. the suspension was set up for. He's put some money into it, but your right, I would be concerned about the valves, and would probably do that right away.

That's certainly a nice looking bike.

I guess depending on if you have the cash to do it, call him and see if he's adjusted the valves or not. If not (only checked), great. If he has, I'd start making offers starting $5,000

[Kev_CR]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

That's certainly a nice looking bike.

I guess depending on if you have the cash to do it, call him and see if he's adjusted the valves or not. If not (only checked), great. If he has, I'd start making offers starting $5,000

Just called on it, I guess he's had it maintained by a certified Honda mechanic. He says it has about 120 hrs on the bike. Suspension is set up for an intermediate MX rider at 185lbs which is about 10lbs heavier than I am, so I should be able to dial it in somewhat close I would think? Now it's decision time....

BTW: Sorry for sidetracking your thread MotoMan, it's just everytime you bring up your CRF450 I get the itch.

[Woody_393]

So maintained my a Certified honda Tech means what exactly?

Does that mean it has new valves, new piston, new, new, and some more new?

120 hours on the stock stuff doesn't exactly make my spine tingle... it does make my rear end pucker a bit though.

Sorry to sound so rough, I just don't want you to get a lemon. I NEED details

[Kev_CR]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

So maintained my a Certified honda Tech means what exactly?

Does that mean it has new valves, new piston, new, new, and some more new?

120 hours on the stock stuff doesn't exactly make my spine tingle... it does make my rear end pucker a bit though.

Sorry to sound so rough, I just don't want you to get a lemon. I NEED details

Woah, you made my own thread.. Now I feel "out there" .

That's a good point on the maint, I'll have to ask if he has logs on what has been done and when. He should be able to produce that, given he has his own certified mechanic.. Heck, I even keep logs, and I'm only a certified tweaker.

[Woody_393]

He should know without logs. But his "certified Mech" could tell him too.

Sorry about the thread... I had to do it.

[Kev_CR]

Yeah, I understand moving the thread.. my conversation didn't belong in the pics section. Now I just feel more obligated to buy a CRF.

Just kidding, I'm going to check around though, I also found a 2006 for $1600 less.. It's pretty much stock, but looks to be in good shape, and the price is more in the range I should be looking at.

[Woody_393]

Nah, you don't need to buy. Only if you want to, which you do so... quite the canundrum

[MotoMan]

120 hours is alot of hours for a 07..... Just my .02.

That bike has been ridden ALOT.

[Woody_393]

I agree. Without very good maint with some rebuilds in the mix, I'd look for the next one.

[Kev_CR]

Thanks, I think I will continue to look.. This '06 looks really good in the pics, I'll have to go check it out.

Let me tell you why I'm considering a newer bike and let me know what you all think. This past weekend at the dunes I took my son's '07 CRF150R out and fell in love with the handling. It went where I pointed it with no bad tendencies. My '99 CR250 has a tendency to oversteer in the corners when I try to hit them at similar speeds. I then tried an '04 YZ250F and an '04 RMZ450 and they both handled a bit better than mine (though not as good as the 150R). I know I could dial mine in better, especially since I've dropped some weight (sag, fork height, compression, rebound, etc). But the question is, will mine ever handle as good, or even close to, say an '06+ CRF450? Has the bike geometry improved that much since my CR?

I realize it's somewhat apples to oranges comparing a 150R to a big bike. I'm still kind of new to the bike thing, so I struggle with the line between poor bike handling and poor riding, mostly in the dunes. If I could find a bigger bike that handled as well as the 150R I'd be one happy camper.

[Woody_393]

I really think with some dialing you could make your CR as good as the CRF.

It would require some $$ though. Revalve, 22mm offset triple clamps, and maybe something else.

The question is would you want to sink close to a grand into a 99 bike?

You'd love the 4-stroke power too. But then again you already know that since your quads are 4-strokes.

Once I get my bike you can ride it. That might help or it might not (depending on what you want )

[crfjedi393]

The 2008 is by far the superior CRF450R. Two of the Duncan crew have them. The ignition mapping alone is quite significant even for a non-pro like myself. And then there's the steering damper. It's not really good for cross country racing like we've been doing but it's good for MX. Here's an article that gives a bit more info on the '08's.
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[Kev_CR]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

I really think with some dialing you could make your CR as good as the CRF.

It would require some $$ though. Revalve, 22mm offset triple clamps, and maybe something else.

The question is would you want to sink close to a grand into a 99 bike?

You'd love the 4-stroke power too. But then again you already know that since your quads are 4-strokes.

Once I get my bike you can ride it. That might help or it might not (depending on what you want )

Cool, unless the deal of a lifetime presents itself, I'll try doing some free adjustments on mine until I can wreck.. errr.. I mean ride yours

That's one of my concerns already, I have quite a bit into my CR.. More than I can get back for sure.

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

The 2008 is by far the superior CRF450R. Two of the Duncan crew have them. The ignition mapping alone is quite significant even for a non-pro like myself. And then there's the steering damper. It's not really good for cross country racing like we've been doing but it's good for MX. Here's an article that gives a bit more info on the '08's.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Wonder how the Honda stabilizer compares to my GPR.. I wish those suckers weren't so expensive new.. I might have to save a few more pennies in my toy fund and go with an '08.

[crfjedi393]

Originally Posted by khen

Wonder how the Honda stabilizer compares to my GPR.

In the article on Cycle News they actually called it more of a "turning stabilizer". I run the GPR and it's WAY more effective for what most people want from a steering stabilizer.
As a matter of fact, rbm33 removed the Honda stabilizer after a couple of test rides and mounted his Scott's on the fender. We do more cross country racing now than mx and I think the Honda stabilizer is more geared for mx.

[mxer120]

I think hondas bikes suck, and we should burn down every honda dealership in this world. Buy CHINESE PIT BIKE'S EVERYONE THEY'RE DEFINITELY BETTER!!!!


April fools! I love Honda!!