This could be a pic of me for the past four days.
Although our mild winter is leaving for spring, it is giving me one last punch in the nuts with a cold.
Well, I believe that I'm done with messing around with the CRF-450X9 suspension for the time being.
I've settled on what I feel is a good setting, the bike is feeling good, it's feeling balanced front and rear, and, I'd also rather not have to tinker with the suspension settings every time I go riding as well as during the week, too.
So, now that I've got the bike feeling nice after the spring changes and settled on my fork oil level, clicker settings front and rear, and fork tube height, I'm satisfied with it and I'm going to leave well enough alone except for routine maintenance.
This bike really does have a very good suspension straight off the showroom floor, and in my opinion, it's the front fork that has much to do with that.
It does a good job of taking big and small bumps, sharp and rounded bumps, whoops, rocks, roots, and whatever else the ol' Pachaug rock n' roll pile enduro loop has to offer, and the bike feels good and stable the whole time.
Therefor, now I've got the balance feeling as I like it after taking things apart for the softer springs, I can now enjoy it until next time the wrenches have to come out for some TLC, which should not be for about three month when I'll grease the rear suspension bearings and steering head bearings.
Just for the record, I settled on the standard (as delivered off the showroom floor) fork tube height, .45 kg/mm fork springs (optional softer spring rate offered by American Honda), 312cc of Honda's HP 5 weight fork oil in the outer fork chamber, standard fork compression clicker setting, and one click out from standard on the fork rebound clickers.
With the rear suspension, I have a softer 5.2 kg/mm spring (standard is 5.5 kg/mm), three clicks out on the rebound clicker, two clicks out on the low-speed compression clicker, and a half-turn out on the high-speed compression adjuster.
The spring preload is set to achieve 4 inches (100mm) of sag with my weight on the seat, which seems to be the dirt bike industry rule of thumb for full-sized dirt bikes with 12 inches of rear suspension travel.
So, now that I'm satisfied (tired of monkeying with it since it feels good ;) ), just how does the bike differ from how it felt with the standard firmer suspension springs?
Well, in all honesty, I have a hard time feeling any rock-solid difference.
I think the bike rides a wee bit lower in the suspension stroke due to the sorter springs allowing my body weight to compress it a bit more (which is OK and was actually the goal since I thought it wasn't compressing enough from my weight), but other than that, I can't really pin-point any other change that probably isn't just my imagination.
So, I guess it was worth it to have the suspension squat down a little bit more, down to the point to where it is supposed to according to suspension gurus, and the bike takes the bumps and feels stable just as it always has.
However, I also don't feel that it was an eye-opening experience, and quite frankly, I easily could have left the suspension alone as far as the settings went - it worked that well from the start.
But, since what's done is done, I'll just leave my softer springs and 312mm oil level well enough alone and ride, ride, ride.
So, now that I've ridden this 2009 Honda CRF-450X9 almost every weekend since I bought it in mid-November, how do I feel about the bike?
Well, I'll be more than happy to tell you, and tell you from the point of view of a guy who had to go out and buy the bike with his own hard-earned money, and as a guy who has no reason whatsoever to hide any blemishes or suppress and outstanding qualities with the bike.
The good points:
*450cc of big-bore, 4-stroke power.
As you would expect from a 450cc dirt bike, the power and torque is strong at every single point of the rev range.
Basically, if the engine is running, it's making strong power, and this is extremely handy (and fun) when getting the bike to practically leap out from under you in order to seat-bounce over a whoop a mere yard in front of you, or torquing out of a tight corner in 3rd gear without the bike feeling as it it is having any trouble at all with pulling such a tall gear for the situation.
I wanted a 450 to be able to have fun with the big power more CCs provides, and I got it in spades.
*Excellent stability in a straight line.
No matter how rough or bumpy the ground is, as long as you keep the throttle open, the bike tracks as straight as can be over gnarly terrain no matter the whoops, bumps, jumps, logs, rocks, or brainwashed environmental hippie-dippie following the mating habits of the three-toed newt.
The bike has a very solid feel to it, as if it is right in it's element out there on the Pachaug enduro loop, and that's saying something since I'm not a big guy.
The bike basically gives me the feeling that in order to get bounced off my intended line out in the rough, I'd have to make some kind of a blunder, and that spells confidence, folks.
And when you're feeling confident on your dirt bike, you enjoy the throttle twisting all the more, Lenny.
*Very good suspension.
I think I already covered the suspension qualities above.
Go read it.
*The bike is well-built.
I've owned a few other Honda motorcycles as well as about 50 Yamaha motorcycles (no lie), along with a Kawasaki and a few Suzukis.
The Hondas and Yamahas are noticeably better-made when compared to the other two.
Period.
The things I don't like, but have to live with:
*The bike feels heavier than the WR-250FY I was riding before this bike.
No surprise there and completely normal, although this is something that is felt any time a direction change is made.
Most of the time, I forget about it, but sometime, as when I'm riding with a case of the flu, I can feel it using-up my bodily energy when changing direction.
Good thing I'm in decent shape.
*The clutch lever free play will increase when using the clutch a lot in the tighter going.
Another thing that is actually fairly common in the dirt bike world, but I'd have no problem not having to deal with it, either.
I'm not talking about actually slipping it like a maniac, either, but just pulling the lever in and letting it out.
After about 30 seconds of this, the free play at the clutch lever feels like it increases 50%.
Once I quit doing that, it cools down and goes back to normal...until the next time.
*The engine sips oil on every single ride.
One of the distinguishing things of Honda's CRF-250R, CRF-250X, CRF-450R, and CRF-450X models is that the engine has two separate oil cavities, and the oils in these cavities do not mix with each other.
One does the clutch and transmission parts, and the other does the rest of the engine parts.
The plus side of this is that clutch wear particles don't get into the engine parts oil, and engine oil heat won't effect the clutch as much.
The shitty side of this is that the engine parts oil capacity is half of that of other 450cc bikes that use the same oil cavity to lubricate the whole nine yards.
So, instead of a quart-and-a-half of 10/40 for the engine to run with, my CRF-450X9 has a 700cc oil capacity for the engine parts.
Yes, half the amount of oil, and if your engine uses oil on every ride, you need to make sure you check the oil level after each ride and fill back up to the top mark on the handy dip stick.
I'm told on Internet forums devoted to the CRF-450X that this is common, and that I should just get into the habit of adding oil when needed (after every ride).
My typical trail loop is 50-55 miles, folks.
I can easily do that, but it does make me wonder what guys out west who may be out many miles from civilization do.
I'd be carrying a quart of oil in my backpack, Lenny.
Supposedly, using the piston and piston rings from a 2006-and-later Honda ATV using a similar engine, called the TRX-450R, cures this oil consumption, and this is supposedly due to the TRX-450R ATV using a piston with a slightly wider piston skirt and two compression rings instead of just one.
Seems that Honda Motor Co. over in Japan believed the typical ATV rider is too dumb and lazy to keep an eye on his engine oil level, so they gave that machine a piston that is better at keeping oil use down to something like normal, but the dirt bike riders are much more keen with their equipment and won't bat an eye at adding oil after every 55 mile trail ride. ;)
Frankly, Frank, I'll take the low-oil-use route, if I had a choice in it, and it I ever get to the mileage where I need to change the piston and rings in this CRF-450X9, you can bet I'm going to try the TRX-450R parts to cut oil use down to something as you'd expect from a modern off-road bike, thank you very much, Spanky.
*The air filter removal and install is tight, although I have to say that now I've been doing it for four months, I've almost forgotten about how much easier my WR-250FY was with this.
I'm also not a fan of the way the air filter sealing surface of the airbox makes it so the air filter sealing edge has to fit down into an awkward, narrow channel instead of a nice and wide and foolproof flat surface that you can feel around with your elbows after you've installed the air filter when checking for a proper airbox-to-filter seal.
I'm guessing this was done in order to firmly lock the filter in position once installed and not allowing it to slide around and/or rotate, but, I know from other bikes I've owned that this can be accomplished with methods that are still easier to work with.
Honda.
We make it simple. ;)
So, there you have my unabashed and straight-up feeling on my bike, like it or not, Bucky.
Honestly, I think the oil consumption issue is ridiculous, as having to add oil to the engine after one ride is, in my opinion, asking for too much from the typical bone-headed rider who simply refuses or doesn't have the gray matter between his ears to do that big job.
Compared to my trusty ol' 2009 Yamaha WR-250FY, the blue bike I sold last month and rode out on the Pachaug rock pile loop for two years and 2,000 miles, this CRF-450X9 is not quite as user-friendly for a couple of key reasons.
First, the engine oil level in the Wr-250FY never went down between oil changes (typically done by me each 225-250 miles), never mind having to add oil after one two-hour and 55-mile ride.
Second, the air filter removal and installation on the WR-250FY was ten times easier, and since air filter service is such a big, big part of proper dirt bike care and feeding (the filter gets dirty after one ride), having one of the major maintenance tasks required of dirt bikedom made easy for you is a real plus, Jimbo.
The big plus of the CRF-450X9 is the 450cc of power and torque, as well as it's great suspension and freight train-like stability over rough ground.
I wonder if combining the qualities of the two bikes is possible.
Hmmmmmm.
Maybe a blue 450cc bike in the future?
Well, I was actually looking for a nice used Yamaha WR-450F when I bought the Honda CRF-450X9, but, the CRF-450X9 popped-up first, so I bought it.
The 2012 Yamaha WR-450F is a new design that looks very cool, indeed.
Maybe in a year or two, after some rider has lost interest in his nice and seldom-ridden 2012 Yamaha WR-450F, I'll be able to take it off his hands.
-John
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