What did you learn after getting your first 450?

It's wet weight was 228lbs 😂, I think that's lighter than an Austrian bike today. 

I can tell you it was more than that, fueled up and ready for a moto.

More like 245lbs. 228lbs is a pipe dream.

Edit: reality, 250lbs + any added on stuff like heavier bars, tubes, or beer weight of rider.

They were absolutely heavier than 228 w/o gas. I had the original '98 400 and they were 250 lb w/o gas, 262 tank full... and they carried it up high. It felt like a 25 lb weight mounted to the front number plate. 

I skipped the 426 era and got the '03 450 and it was waaaaay better - much lighter, better handling, just improved in virtually every way.

The next was the '06 and I loved the engine and the fit/feel but could never get it to turn the way I wanted. Really good suspension, lighter and smaller feeling and automotive smooth power.

When they reversed the engine and gave it a 5' seat height in '10 they lost me. A buddy got one and I couldn't gel with the handling or the overall feel of the bike.

I learned that, as Phil Nicoletti so eloquently put it… and i quote… “450s are shit boxes!” 

My first actual 450 was a 2007 KTM 450sx, first full size 4 stroke was a 2000 YZ 426, had it a couple of months cause the KTM 520 had not arrived and I needed a bike for our MX Nationals. What a piece of shit that was. No where near as good as the 380 SX I had been riding. Then progressed to the KTM 520 / 525 (540 kit). 450’s are great bikes, have 2 KTM 450 SXF’s in the shed now one for MX one for Flat Track. Ideal bikes for a 59 year old. 😎😎😳

My first 450 was a rmz 450 in 05. The first thing i noticed were that they ATE tires compared to 125’s and 250f’s.

In 04/05/06 I rode both 125/250f and 250/450f classes and did all my training on the big bikes. Being a 16-17year old teenager with not that much body mass it was a great tool to perfect riding technique and being in center of the bike to save energy.

But as other said, plenty people should be nowhere near a 450. I often hear vet riders at the local track saying that the 450 is the best bike because they can ride the whole lap in 3rd gear and jump jumps they can’t clear on a 250f.

If you can’t clear the jumps on a 250f, you are not the kind on person that should jump them on a 450..

They are the best motocross bikes ever made.  
If you aren’t a top A rider or serious consistent vet racer you’d be better off on a 250F or less powerful bike of your choice. 

You don't need motor work to holeshot, just good technique and twist it more

Like most 450 guys I learned I was gay af. 

My jumping massively improved. 2015 RMZ450, coming off an 08 R250. The 450's have such strong smooth power, it made awkward jumps a breeze. Half throttle off the take off and the bike would stay super balanced. They eat their way up big hills and chew through deep muddy/sandy straights like they're nothing.

I had to switch to steel rear sprockets because the 450 absolutely ate ally sprockets, especially in sand. But then I did 80 hours on the same clutch... you don't need to touch the lever when it makes massive power everywhere.

I had awesome fun riding it on practice days but didnt so much for racing. Kept getting really tired and having big crashes. They're way too easy to over ride which always bites you in the ass.

Despite being 'quicker' I actually found myself loosing confidence and enjoying it less. So I sold my 450 after 3 years. Won't get one again now I'm a Dad and part timer in riding.

I’m not a good rider at all.  I was born with a hefty dose of the fear gene.  With that said, I did ride a 450 once @ a Yamaha ride and drive event.  Two things came to mind;

1) it was like watching a movie on fast forward.  Not enjoyable at all.

2) it made me exponentially appreciate the guys that have the testicular fortitude to race one professionally, SX and MX.  I have ultra respect for this crew.

Me, personally, I’ll never own one.  I’m a wimp on an mx bike and not afraid to admit it.  I could possibly see getting back onto a 125 or 250 2-stroke but no 4-strokes for me.

Honestly what was most surprising to me, is they are less tiring to me. I can ride them so much smoother, so much less throttle, hop over bumps, get speed before the rough edges and be light on the gas over the rough areas. 

Where on a 125 or 250f I have to hammer them to get the speed to clear jumps even through the roughest spots have to be pinned and it’s exhausting to me. I’m also well north or 200lbs so the small bikes have to be worked even that much harder.

For me the 450 suits my style and my eating habits lol. I feel smoother and safer on a 450, I don’t have to push hard, I can focus more on the track as opposed to the bike.

But I also agree with so many of the sentiments posted before, which is the 450 for the vast majority is a mistake. I watch so many vet guys on them just getting yanked around like a ghost is operating the throttle they are completely along for the ride and I think so many vet guys would have more fun on 125s or 250fs as long as they were also racing against 125s.

I’m amazed that a 125 vet class isn’t a thing by now.

Respect it or it will have you laid up quick…. A quick sip of whiskey on a 450 can and will go very bad, very fast.

Brain and throttle hand must be on the same page 

Centrifugal force. Once you get going a direction on a 450, it's harder to change that than on a 250. 

I always wonder what the races would be like if 250 four strokes were the premier class bikes. I would love to see Barcia, Eli, Jett, Sexton, and Webb battle on 250s. 

I learned quickly going from a 2001 Honda CR125 to a 2004 CRF450 back in 2003, that it was a horrible cocky young man's decision. Sold the CRF in 2004 next to nothing because I wanted nothing to do with it. 😂 

How easy it was to ride and how much longer I could go fast before I got tired. 

I was about 25-26 in the peak of my riding and bought a new 05 honda 450. It was unbelievable how good it was coming off my 03 KX250. I wasn’t faster initially on the 450 but after few months much better on it. Cheat code when racing 250 2 strokes a lot at the time.  I still enjoy 250fs also. They just wear out to quick. 

O2 CRF 450 friends bike. Was easy to go fast on. But wasn't as fun as my CR250. I got an 04 CRF450 and raced that for a few years. If your Racing a 450 is easier to compete on. But when I quit racing it was back to a CR 250 for fun riding.