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The tank arrived right as I was leaving town for work. So I just did a quick test fit and removed one of the Team Geico tank decals. The tank is in great shape and still looks almost new. After I spend a little time cleaning the tank I'm sure it will look brand new!
More later...
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
SC1 temporarily adds a shine as pointed out too...
Anyways, the only real issue during reassembly was getting the shock body cap back on. The cap is not screwed on but simply held in place by the slightly (and mean slightly!) larger ID of the shock body. It took a lot of patience and rubber mallet hammer blows to get the damn thing back on!
Also need to thank Jared Keller (jaredkeller96) for helping me along the way and answering my many "how do you..." texts 😂
Some pictures...
Parts like these are actually hard to find because they take so much abuse and the Factories trash them frequently. So getting ahold of one that’s salvageable is a good get!
Just used a some 400 then 800 grit sandpaper and then Alumibrite. Turned out pretty good!
Look on upper frame spare partially under right shroud... red and white box (Tim Gajser 2016 Vitalmx GP bits)
But recently a photo from Vitalmx GP Bits of TG243 2020 works bike got me thinking about it again. Thankfully the photo was high enough resolution to hunt it down via Google search.
Its a Oppama PET-3200R engine hourmeter. I'm assuming HRC has used this brand for years because its incredibly small and light. The meter is also manufactured in Japan. Besides that...it's just a standard hourmeter. Apparently it's also popular in the Karting world.
So I ordered one from "Acceleration Kart Racing" out of Vegas.. $52 bucks.
Its SMALL!
On my bike
Also, I was going through you build again last night and saw you used oetiker stepless ear clamp for your radiator hose. Can you remember which size you use? I want to make the switch, but I'm confused if I should order the 22.4 – 25.6mm or the 23.9 – 27.1mm (I assume your hose also have a 24mm OD?)
Your build was my bible on how to pay attention to detail. I learned by reading your thread that there is SO much little details in these factory bikes. And it's important to pay attention to those details for a true works "replica". It IS FUN too like you say!
As to the ear clamps this is what I recommend.
- slide your hoses over each spigot and THEN measure the OD of the hose on EACH spigot
- You'll find that you probably need various sizes, of clamps, to complete the job
My bike has CV4 hoses and Fluidyne radiators so I believe the clamp size I used might not suit your needs.
But if you DO need the sizes let me know. I'll have to hunt down what I ordered.
Are you using hrc ti bolts for the shrouds?
Have you considered anodized hose clamps? I was thinking about using them in my last build but never got around to it. They are pretty common in the car world...
No on the HRC bolt question. Using Racetech Titanium.
Those clamps look really nice! Where do you get them?
Another question, are they the 7mm width or 9mm?
First, a Honda HRC branded rear brake master cylinder cover. These along with some other parts were sold by Honda back in the 2011 time frame. Obviously getting harder find these days.
Second, new axle blocks. I previously was using a set of Works Connection axle blocks. But when I came across a set of HRC (most recently used around 2019) replica blocks made by MXBonz (ebay seller) I decided they would be better suited for my build.
Cool thing about these axle blocks is they are a little thicker than others. So the axle nut and end of axle are flush. Giving a real nice tight look. Got to do a little work on those swingarm scratches... picture makes them look awful
Never ending cycle of building and taking apart, love it!... More to come! 👍😁
Pit Row
Before and After
I used a combination of 3M pads and 800, 1200 grit sandpaper. All liberally doused with Boeshield T-9. I use T-9 for cleaning, protecting, and all things one would use WD-40. It's just so much better.
Look at this photo below. Notice the extra material or a "ridge" on the backside of the right-side (bottom peg). And notice how this is not present on the left (top) peg. Total speculation on my part but is this a carryover (these pegs are current HRC parts) from the days when CRF's had kickstarters? To provide extra strength when the kickstart inevitably makes contact with the peg? And the design simply wasn’t updated for the new e-start CRF's. I don't know?
This version below is the European version of "Tim Gasjer".
Mounted on the "Beast" that I prepare.
Congratulations! Hard to find, in good condition or new.
Thanks for sharing!
HRC Map Switch (Tim Gajser 2016)
That is until I saw this picture, of the HRC switch, posted on Instagram and it got me thinking...
... The switch looks like some sort of modified standard Honda motorcycle switch. With a guard mounted on the top (the guard is partially broken off on the side). Honda is a very efficient and "logical" company. If a part works they will use that part for years between all models of motorcycles.
So I started to search for "Honda map switch" on Google and eBay. Leading me to find this HRC Map Mode switch (which is actually just a re-wired engine "start/stop" switch) for a CBR street bike on eBay. For whatever reason, Honda sells HRC components regularly for the street bike crowd.
HRC CBR Map Mode switch
So I bought it. It looked just like the HRC switch used by the HRC motocross teams but without the guard. And I decided to make the guard myself. And that's how I dived head first into CAD 3D modeling and 3D Printing.
Did a bunch of reading on the internet and watched a whole lot of YouTube videos. And realized this type of stuff is actually not that hard (don't get me wrong...I'm referring to BASIC 3D type stuff, like the guard) thanks to modern technology!
Bought a 3D FDM Printer and learned basic Fusion 360 software on my MacBook and Shapr3D for the iPad (an insanely awesome well designed app)
Creality CS6-SE FDM 3D printer
After a couple of tries, I designed and printed this guard
And mounted it on the HRC street bike switch...
...It's not perfect but after a little sanding, a coat of spay paint, some red stickers to cover the switch markings, and sticking on some white "1 and 2" numbers it should serve it's purpose...to look like the real deal until I find the real deal
Test fitting on my bike but not the final location
I actually will mount the switch on the bike like how the Teams with TwinWall bars did (not much room for extra switch gear on the bar). On the cross bar in the pad. This should also hide any imperfections of my work 👍😁
Example...
2016 HRC MXGP bike
"Parkerizing is a method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear through the application of a chemical phosphate conversion coating"
The HRC steel lever is actually considerably heavier than the OEM lever. But a lot stronger!
From 2017 through the present, HRC switched to a CNC machined titanium shift lever.
HRC Steel and Titanium shift levers
If you look closely to the second picture above, you'll see the traditional HRC "EK--" marking followed by the #101. I have always assumed the number 101 (or whatever number was used) referred to the length of the lever. But as you can see, 101 is on both levers and the titanium one is longer.
My guess is that the number actually refers to the distance between the lever tip and the foot peg. Since the 2017 and beyond CRF's have the shift spline closer to the foot peg. The lever needs to be longer to maintain the "101" Peg/Tip distance as marked.
When I bought the HRC titanium lever I wasn't sure it would fit (bend wise, knew it would be longer) my 2016 CRF. Figured worst case I could use it for a future build. Pleasant surprise it fit fine. Just longer for the reason discussed before.
HRC titanium lever on my bike
HRC machining, as usual, is amazing
Now of course the lever tip/foot peg distance is more than the HRC steel or OEM lever but since I wear size 14 boots this work perfectly in my favor!
Post a reply to: 2016 HRC Team Honda CRF450RW