Thumper448
Member
- Apr 21, 2000
- 13
- 0
This last Tuesday I went riding at Jeff Stanton's practice track in Sherwood, MI. Present were Jeff, Nick Wey and Ryan Hughes on the 450. I posted about Jeff's practice track on TT and was asked to talk about the 450.
Even though I haven't posted here for awhile, I thought there might be some interest in what I saw. The post was as follows:
I didn't spend much time around the bike at all because Ryan was being bombarded by the kids as it was. However, here are a few observations:
On The Track:
The first thing I noticed was how flickable the bike looked in the air. I saw Ryno make some extreme adjustments including bunny hopping a jump that I had never seen anyone else do including Stanton, Wey, and Larocco. It's amazing how some of the pro riders "see" obstacles so differently from others.
I saw Ryno dump it in corners on two different occasions. The first time he got up two kicks, the second fall one kick. Very encouraging on the automatic decomp/hot start.
The third thing I noticed was the raw, powerful sound that the engine made while standing behind it under accereration. I also did not hear any dead bog like I hear on a lot of YZ's. I will be comparing very closely to Ferry's YZ this weekend at Red Bud. I will have unlimited track access this weekend so I will find some key areas to stand and make a sound comparison.
In The Pits:
When Ryno came in from his 45 minute parade of a practice session, the first thing I did was walk over and feel the clutch cover. The reason I did this is that the Honda engineers are claiming that the dual sump system will keep the clutch oil cooler because it is not used to lube the top end. Sounded logical but I wanted to see for myself. I was surprised to learn that after 45 minutes of ABUSE his cover was cooler than mine after only 25 minutes of the same.
Another thing I noticed was that the valve cover is considerably smaller than that of the YZ. With only having one cam compared to two and seemingly no oil carried high in the frame on the CRF I would conclude that some of that high center of gravity and gyroscopic forces might not be present reducing the amount of force it takes to lay the bike over in the corner compared to the YZ. Until recently I also had an '01 YZ250 and that was one of the things I noticed the most when I switched back and forth from one bike to the other.
I also like the idea of not using Ti valves on the exhaust side. I have had three YZ400/426's now and this is the first year I have had to make any valve adjustments. The exhaust valves were out of spec after 4 months of riding.
I will say that the frame seems slightly narrower than the second generation CR frame. Very trick looking.
The rear hub is SMALL as is the rear brake caliper. Also, the bike sported the new rear master cylinder with the reservoir incorporated.
The muffler on Ryno's bike looked substantially shorter than the one's on the Honda website with a cap (no stinger).
Also, anyone getting a new Honda next year, the new Throttle Jockey (Woody) kit looks like quality stuff as usual. I had good luck with their kit on my '97 CR250. That was about the only thing I liked about that bike.
Well, that's about all I can think of. I hope this gives all you future 450 owners a little "fix"
Later,
Stace
------------------
Pretty fly for a fat guy!
2001 YZ426 in the garage
2002 CR450F in October :D
Even though I haven't posted here for awhile, I thought there might be some interest in what I saw. The post was as follows:
I didn't spend much time around the bike at all because Ryan was being bombarded by the kids as it was. However, here are a few observations:
On The Track:
The first thing I noticed was how flickable the bike looked in the air. I saw Ryno make some extreme adjustments including bunny hopping a jump that I had never seen anyone else do including Stanton, Wey, and Larocco. It's amazing how some of the pro riders "see" obstacles so differently from others.
I saw Ryno dump it in corners on two different occasions. The first time he got up two kicks, the second fall one kick. Very encouraging on the automatic decomp/hot start.
The third thing I noticed was the raw, powerful sound that the engine made while standing behind it under accereration. I also did not hear any dead bog like I hear on a lot of YZ's. I will be comparing very closely to Ferry's YZ this weekend at Red Bud. I will have unlimited track access this weekend so I will find some key areas to stand and make a sound comparison.
In The Pits:
When Ryno came in from his 45 minute parade of a practice session, the first thing I did was walk over and feel the clutch cover. The reason I did this is that the Honda engineers are claiming that the dual sump system will keep the clutch oil cooler because it is not used to lube the top end. Sounded logical but I wanted to see for myself. I was surprised to learn that after 45 minutes of ABUSE his cover was cooler than mine after only 25 minutes of the same.
Another thing I noticed was that the valve cover is considerably smaller than that of the YZ. With only having one cam compared to two and seemingly no oil carried high in the frame on the CRF I would conclude that some of that high center of gravity and gyroscopic forces might not be present reducing the amount of force it takes to lay the bike over in the corner compared to the YZ. Until recently I also had an '01 YZ250 and that was one of the things I noticed the most when I switched back and forth from one bike to the other.
I also like the idea of not using Ti valves on the exhaust side. I have had three YZ400/426's now and this is the first year I have had to make any valve adjustments. The exhaust valves were out of spec after 4 months of riding.
I will say that the frame seems slightly narrower than the second generation CR frame. Very trick looking.
The rear hub is SMALL as is the rear brake caliper. Also, the bike sported the new rear master cylinder with the reservoir incorporated.
The muffler on Ryno's bike looked substantially shorter than the one's on the Honda website with a cap (no stinger).
Also, anyone getting a new Honda next year, the new Throttle Jockey (Woody) kit looks like quality stuff as usual. I had good luck with their kit on my '97 CR250. That was about the only thing I liked about that bike.
Well, that's about all I can think of. I hope this gives all you future 450 owners a little "fix"
Later,
Stace
------------------
Pretty fly for a fat guy!
2001 YZ426 in the garage
2002 CR450F in October :D