Last year I brought an 08 CRF450X for $2600. It seemed cheap at the time and I didn't really look at it too much when I picked it up (I got distracted by a KX250F I also brought off him and have a thread for) but once I got it home, it was a different story.
Firstly, the compliance plate was missing and I ran a police check and the bike had a stolen vehicle notification. After some back and forth with the local police, it turns out the bike was stolen years ago and then returned but the paperwork wasn't filled out properly.
Once that was cleared up, it was time to clean up the bike.
All of the white plastics had been spray painted black, the rear tyre was bald and rim was poorly spray painted, it was covered in red dirt, the carb was missing a side cover and the clutch cable was cable tied to the actuator arm.
The only before pic I have is this one:
The plan is to strip it done to give it a good clean, full service with new fluids, check the valves, new plastics and graphics then take it for a ride.
If you need a new rear wheel... i am pretty sure i have one for that year (hub, spokes, nipples, rim) at home that I can sell cheap... problem is it will have to ship from Japan.. which isn't so cheap
Thanks for the offer but shipping to Australia would cost more than the wheel. I've got some spares at home I'll use if this one can't clean up.
When I went to kick the bike over to try warm it up before an oil change I noticed a grinding noise. I've read up on a kick starter stopper issue that's super common with these.
After removing the right side case cover, I could see the stopper was fine but could still feel the grinding. After looking at each component, I found the starter clutch was seized. It's meant to turn one way only but mone is frozen solid.
Luckily for about $150 I was able to order a new starter clutch and idler gear. The kit even came with a new gasket.
I've replaced the parts and it's smooth as butter now
I love these bikes. I just picked up an '05 and went through a similar refresh. Following along
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Your bike looks awesome and I've read a lot about JCR but I'm hoping to keep this low budget. I'm also in Australia so bit of a pain for shipping
Forgot to update this thread. Progress was very slow on the bike, I still haven't ridden it. After sorting the starter issue I spent way too long in the wiring to get the lights sorted. I had to search the forum for a while to find an ADR wiring diagram to work out the lighting for rec rego.
I went to check out the bike for a ride and noticed that the rear wheel had spokes missing. I already wanted to pull the wheel apart to properly clean the spray paint job from the PO. I had brought a trying stand years ago and decided this was the time to use it. Here's where it started:
After some sandblasting and scotch brite, the rim was fresh under the paint and the hub was good so I just needed a pack of and stainless spokes and I was good to go.
After a couple YouTube videos the process went fairly smooth.
I tried a $50 eBay sticker kit but the quality was terrible. The fit was off and the adhesive didn't hold. The graphics were lifting the day after the install so I took them off and went back to fresh Racetech plastics. All plastics fit well except the airbox door cover doesn't quite fit flush. I think I might just trim the plastic a bit to make it fit
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