21-24 CRF 450 Mods

Ive had every model Honda since 2010, the 21-24 is great.

i just revalved the suspension, put on a Yosh and its good to go, i rode it on the standard map aswell

110 rear tire. Stock gearing worked best for me. Up a tooth made shifting to 3rd too quick on starts. Good pegs and suspenders and run it. Run stock clamps so you dont increase rigidity. 

Honestly some top WCL mounts and keeping the rear axle back in the swingarm made the best changes for me on my ‘21.

It’s batshit how sensitive this chassis is to changes. It’s the only bike I’ve owned where I can actually feel a difference in a few mm of sag or 1mm in the forks.

other than that, softer grips. Everything else I have was either for bling, protection or durability/weight.

Twin air powerflow, not a fan of the stock clip style. T6 slip on pipe sounds a lot better than the quiet 23/24 muffler and ARC levers is what I’ve done to mine

Yeah, I didn’t care for how the front mounts made the front end feel. 

Which stiffness option did you choose for the tops and what did you notice?

https://www.dirtrider.com/story/tests/honda-crf450r-long-haul-review-20…

Gearing, proper tires for your application, and some minor tweaks go quite a ways! Good bikes, built right; Just gotta' dial it in for you.

I rode the stock -23 on a Honda ride day, and the first thing i would do is send the suspension to get a proper setting in them and then look at a GET or Vortex ECU with mapping making the engine easier to ride.

Is the Twin Air kit worth the $300? Aside from changing the way it mounts, is there any other benefit? I know that it omits the backfire screen, but that can be done for free as far as I can tell. I'm asking because I'm looking at going that route.

What happened to the Kawi.

Anyone having FC linkage?

Worth it for me knowing that flimsy clip won’t come undone. Yes you can remove the backfire screen in stock form but you’ll need, or at least you should get a flame retardant filter. I went with a no toil filter but the one rockymountain sent me was deformed and wouldn’t sit flat and dust got past my filter. That was enough for me to just order the twin air. The quality is top notch with the twin air

Has anyone tried carbon fiber upper hangers? If so, how did they feel? And what about drilling holes in the upper hangers? Could you tell a difference? What size holes? 

Did you do okay on re sale?

Thank you. I run Twin Air filters in every bike I have or have had for decades. Even though NoToil headquarters are 3 miles from my house. I will definitely be looking more into the kit. I haven't had any issues yet but the bike is still new. My first 4 stroke in the 3 decades that I have been riding. Once I got it dialed(took me around 15 hours or so to find good balance/settings) , I've had zero issues especially the issues the media describes.

Awesome thread and I absolutely love my CRF450.   My bike is mostly stock, but I like researching parts to make it better, but I don't have one complaint.  My next mod might be from REP suspension, particularly the linkage they sell

REP Specialty Parts | rep (repsuspension.com)

I had the 21 model, now I have the 24. 

Due to better power delivey an chassis modification, 24 is much easy to ride and enjoyable

Same mod on both bike: Solva suspensions and Akrapovic full titanium exhaust.

After suspension, Ride Engineering 23.5mm clamps were the most noticeable change on my '22. Made it much more friendly everywhere on the track.

TD mapped stock ECU + Akrapovic Exhaust was awesome too. Smoothed out the power and it pulled forever. On the 23+ models this is probably not nearly as crucial since they went with the smaller throttle body and mapped them better.

I went down 20% on all my torque specs from the manual and it helped a lot with the rigidity. It requires more maintenance but was worth it imo. I’m not talking everything. But engine hanger bolts, fork punch bolts. Swing arm pivot, linkage and sub frame bolts. 

I have a 23 crf450.  First bike in 12 years that wasn’t a yami. Taking a bit to get use to it.  Getting it dialed just takes some time, Had fc do the forks and got an ohlins shock.   Those made the bike 1 million times better.  I do have a rep linkage I got for $80 off mx locker sitting at home.  Next ride i will put it in.    Definitely a good bike tho

I have the linkage and valving to match. They also did the forks at the same time. The biggest improvement with the FC mods was in the corners for me. It stays flat going into corners and is very neutral in ruts. I have the Ride Engineering 23,5mm offset clamps also, 

I will have one soon! I just sent my suspension to FC yesterday (2021 CRF450RWE) as they have to set the shock up to work with their linkage and I was due for rebuild anyway. I had them revalve the front and rear after I first got the bike as I quickly found out how badly it was imbalanced. I will let you know how it works out when I get it back. 

Get a twin air powerflow kit in it ASAP. The stock system is junk.

I also put a set of Ride Engineering 23mm offset clamps on it. Really helps with stability.

I have it on the 250, and, even on the 250, I would say it's worth the price. The whole FC setup is killer.

I believe in our skid plates. I don't own the current model but if I did I would consider a good skid plate a must. Not a lot of protection with the stocker

How FC linkage is different for Honda? Longer link and triangle has longer distance? How much was cost?