Posts
390
Joined
3/17/2013
Location
Buda, TX
US
Edited Date/Time
12/30/2013 1:02pm
Not sure how many people have them but some say the factory boys dont like the bike. I think it looks friggin awesome and if I were in the market for a new 450 it'd be a toss up between the CRF and the RMZ. With recent RUMORS that Eli Tomac is going to RCH Suzuki, it's an interesting discussion. Or could be.
Does it suck bad enough to the point where retail owners say it blows chunks like the YZ450? Or is it just picky factory riders?
http://youtu.be/P_IahyvQJnc
Does it suck bad enough to the point where retail owners say it blows chunks like the YZ450? Or is it just picky factory riders?
http://youtu.be/P_IahyvQJnc
Got a KTM 450 to, fast but like riding a bus compared to the CRF.
Air forks took longer than spring forks to dial in but that's because I had no starting point. The air forks are too soft initially in the valving so they ride too low in the stroke. People try to solve this with additional air pressure but that makes the front end very harsh. Some shim changes are a quick fix to this front end for outdoors. SX is a different animal.
Rear will seem really ass high when you first ride this bike as well. Partially due to the front riding low in the stroke. I've found 108mm - 110mm of sag is right for me.
Hope that helps.
jeff
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
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But, if professional racers drive sales to a degree, you may want to take their advice over some engineer or number cruncher that doesn't even ride. There aren't many Yamahas at all in the 450 classes. And none of them are really competitive. And it all seemed to go downhill after the new design.
Based on the smoke so far, I don't see a huge fire at all. I haven't even heard why this bike would be faulty to start with? Low on power? For who? Aftermarket exhaust fix that. The air forks? I remember Tomac and Barcia killing it with those at the MEC, despite the bike had barely hit the market. So it worked than, but now it doesn't work?
I'm sure it's a good enough bike for us all.
Where are these factory Honda riders at?
Barcia got a couple W's on his.
I don't think the bike is bad, I'd bet it's similar to '09 where it just takes a year to really dial it in. But IMO it seems like the factory honda is definitely not all that great. You don't hear any of those above Honda guys raving about how good their bike is, which factory honda guys were doing last year. They could not shut up about how amazing the bike was. Now? Nobody says anything.
Pit Row
I had to change both the shift and rear brake lever to accommodate my size 12 boots. They were far too short stock.
Went with higher rise bars and would love to get my hands on some tall seat foam.
The clutch lever had a funny actuation point (to me, at least) where the clutch would engage just too close to the bar for my liking. A switch to a works connection perch and lever helped a bit.
Front brake is absolute shit IMO. An oversized rotor helped, but it's still not as good as the Kawasaki w/ oversized rotor.
As mentioned above, the power delivery between the two bikes could not be more different. As a VetB level rider, I basically am looking for a setup where I can ride the whole track in 3rd gear 'cause I'm lazy, but the power stock delivery doesn't allow for this as the bike just doesn't make much power higher in the rpm range. It really signs off too early, IMO. A Yosh pipe definitely helped, but I am looking to change the mapping.
Also broke a rear fender in a very slow speed, low-side crash that never should have resulted in any problem IMO.
On the positive side, I really like the chassis on this bike and love the way it jumps and turns. It does feel light and maneuverable. As a result, I felt like I cornered better on this bike right away, in every type of turn.
Hope this helps.
If RV was on one, we wouldn't have this discussion.
The idea that if you ride a 250f fast that you'll be even faster or just as fast on a 450 is funny to me.
PS; I don't think Reed has ever liked any of his bikes when he himself is struggling.
more money equals less coin for the GLTB
(Gym Laundry Tan Bro)
As for the Yamaha, there is nothing wrong with it for most of us idiots, its the top pros who have trouble with it because they are able to push it to the point its quirks come out, where I would bet 99.9% of us on Vital cant push it that far.
It seems like the YZ's are better for bigger/taller guys while shorter folks get on with the CRF/RMZ
Post a reply to: How bad is the 2013 CRF450?