I bought a brand new 2017 CRF450r, put 3 hours on it, and went to change the oil. When trying to take off the skid plate, the rear center bolt just spun after cracking loose. I realized that there was a thread insert in the frame, and it broke free and was just spinning. I took it to the dealer, they didn't have any suggestions and said they would call Honda to see what they would recommend. The bike wasn't assembled great from the crate, so I wasn't wanting their mechanic working on my bike anyways.
I couldn't find anything about these frame inserts, I'm sure I'm not the only person that has had this issue. I decided to cut the head of the bolt off so I could get the skid plate off and see what the insert looked like.
Turns out that the insert is a crush insert, and just wasn't crushed enough from the factory. The skid plate was probably over tightened and it just broke the insert free. I got a longer bolt, threaded a nut on the bolt, then slid on a washer.
I threaded the bolt in, making sure I have threads all the way into the back of the insert, then backed the nut down to the insert. Holding the bolt head with a wrench, I tightened down the nut on the insert until I felt the insert lock into place. It worked perfect.
I hope this can help somebody that has a similar issue, super easy fix. I am absolutely LOVING this new 450 also!
