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Sometime this week I believe. It's on his Instagram.
Honda while reading this headline...
I believe the 19' KX450 frame is a copy of the 07'/08' CRF450 frame. I remember Keefer saying that Kawi used that frame's geometry and flex characteristics as a reference. Maybe it's not exactly the same but I think it's pretty close from what I remember hearing. I had an 05', and 07', and an 08'. The 07' and 08' were awesome and that was at my peak riding and racing ability. I felt so confident on my 07'.
Same here. And unfortunately, I traded in my totally dialed 07 on an 09 KX450, which was a brick with an engine attached. Apparently the memory of trading in my 96 CR250 on a 97 had worn off…
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There is someone in the uk selling a one ride old 06 crf 250 for pretty sensible money at the minute.
I had a conversation with RC on this exact topic and his response was very interesting. I'll respect his privacy for the majority of the conversation when it comes to brands, but for the most part RC said the only game changer from early bikes to the current bikes was EFI, especially for supercross. He said other than EFI, the old 4 strokes could be just as competitive and a top rider could ride around any difference in feel/weight/geometry, etc. I guess Roczen has kind of proven this for all the Suzuki bashers who claim the bike hasn't changed in years.
You might be surprised to hear what RC's favorite factory bike of all time was. If you ever get a chance to talk to him, ask him.
I had an 05 CRF450R and a 12 RMZ and loved them both. The 05 had a ridiculous motor for the day, and the RMZ had a perfect Vet motor and would turn under anything else. Miss them both!
I still stand by my 03 and 05 CRF’s with a jetting kit were two of the best bikes I’ve ever owned and lap times would be same if not not better than what I ride today (last gen YZ450f). I refuse to believe my Yami can turn better than my 05.
I’m in the minority. I’ve owned CRF450r models 05,06,08,09,10,12,18,20WE & 23WE.
The 05-08 models were definitely ahead of their time back in that era.
IMHO a well set up 09-12 is a better bike. The 18 + are a notch above.
I really liked the 09-12’s that I picked up a low hr. 12 model to keep in the stable.
It will be interesting to see Keefer’s comparison.
Why don't you just tell us which one he like the most? This isn't some trade secret
The 03's in my opinion were pretty mellow, but because of that you could ride it hard for way longer. It almost felt 250F like the last time I rode one. Very very easy to ride!
Not to derail too badly, but I had the 06 CRF250 and remember having to get some crazy Tokyo Mods carburator modification to eliminate that low end bog it had.
I remember all the mags talking about that bog. I had four of that era bike and never experienced that. Maybe I wasn’t good enough to notice?
Anyone seen the new Honda ad after they debuted the 2025 450 this past weekend?
Introducing the new 2025 Honda CRF450R: When only second place will do.
I believe it was the 04 Honda
My son had two 08 crf 250s and the 450 the bog is real in the 250 we had to use an R&D float Bowl with the leak jet blocked off and adjustable to get rid of the bog the 08 450 hands down is one of the best 450 he's ever had! Never should have got rid of it but it had over 300 hours on it with two frames and multiple rebuilds but it never lost a transmission gear LOL!
I still use that era’s stock Renthal bar bend on every bike I buy.
There's just too much disrespect here now for riders and what's the point of divulging private conversations here so people can bash away? A perfect example is back when people were ragging on Webb for being fat I got fed up and told everyone he has an issue with his thyroid. The haters said this made no sense, yeah right, etc and I refrained from responding. But then about 6 months later Webb covered this in an interview and explained the thyroid complications he had been dealing with.
For those who get opportunities to hang out and shoot the shit with these guys in a private setting where they feel comfortable to talk openly, it's not going to do them any good to come here and divulge information on Vital. I would ruin it for myself and I would ruin it for others as they would eventually just stop talking freely. I've had conversations with other top riders recently that would melt the Vital servers if I was one to disrespect them and spilled the beans. Not going to happen.
Pit Row
So you’re basically just bragging about having private conversations with RC and Webb?
Thats what RC said in a few interviews.
Oh yeah totally Bro, gave you a thumbs up.
I didn’t think it was a secret. I think I even read it in a magazine at some point
Within the last 5 years, I've gotten to ride a bone stock, very low hour (10hr-15hr) '06 Crf450 at Millville a couple times. Those things are great. Still competitive in the chassis/suspension/motor department. The biggest difference is the way the engine spools up. There isn't an impressive/massive hit due to precise air/fuel mixture. Two words to describe it would be "lethargic" and "archaic" which probably isn't a surprise with the understanding of EFI vs. carb. Past that portion of the power delivery sequence, the engine is still great and powerful. A 450 is too much for 99% of us anyways. Not even the older technology can mask that fact.
Regardless, riding that bike was still a blast, and can be competitive in the faster classes with the right pilot.
I never said it was a secret, that's why I suggested to ask RC as he would tell you. I just prefer not to divulge any part of any conversation that could be perceived in a certain way that the rider may not want out there. If it has been published then it shouldn't be too hard to find. I wouldn't know because I don't listen to podcasts and I don't read moto articles.
The point of my post was related to the thread topic of comparing old bikes to new bikes, and I thought some here who still like and respect the GOAT, might like to know his opinion on the matter being discussed in this thread. He got to race the old bikes, he still rips on all the current bikes, he's the GOAT, and he told me he feels the only game changer has been EFI.
Just got done porting low hour 06 CRF450. Thing is freaky fast.
I just listened to a clip of Lars Lindstrom saying that Yamaha copied the 1996 Honda exactly. That the early 00s bikes that Reed was riding for example was a 96 Honda almost exactly.
All the different takes on the 05-08 CRF450R generation are interesting.
In my quest to see how much better modern bikes are than my 07 and 08 CRF450Rs (sold 07 recently), in the past year I've owned a 2008 CRF450R (with A-kit), 16 YZ250F (A-kit), 20 YZ450F (A-kit), 22 KTM 350 SX-F (KYB conversion), and 22 KTM 450 SX-F (KYB conversion).
Guess what? The 2008 CRF450R is still my favorite...
Why?
(1) Handling is accurate, versatile, and forgiving
(2) The engine is a torque monster ("I'm a lugger, not a revver") that lays down thick and easy-to-use power - it's "chuggy!"
(3) The ergos were and are the gold standard
(4) The bike quality was excellent
(5) The reliability was outstanding
I will say that ALL of the bikes above I listed have incredible attributes to them - which is the reason I bought them to try in the first place - but none of them put it all together like the 2008 Honda CRF450R for me (FWIW - 2006 Honda CRF450R = too fast for me, 2007 CRF450R = best overall when I rode more desert, but I like the 2008 CRF450R for its more stall-proof motor with unique mapping for lower gears + slightly detuned state + 22-mm offset clamps since I ride tighter stuff these days.
Say it
Hurts to say but i also liked the bikes from those years 06 07 08 ect better than my newer ones. Had a chance about 7 years ago to get my 06 back from a police impound and i turned it down. I sold it years ago and the guy never transfered the title. I guess he sold it and it was being street ridden. The police called me accusing me of street riding and running from them. I told them i sold it years ago. They were still being pretty shitty with me and said i could get it for impound fees which wernt much but i didn't want to deal with them and figured it was clapped. Now i wish i had another.
The tRuth is oUT there. We both know what it is...
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