Crf450x for trail riding

[The Foolish Fellow]

Would this be a good buy for trail riding ? It's an 05 and is advertised at 2200eu ono and comes not road registered. I suppose it wouldnt be a massive job to put the lights on it and get it plated. I was originally thinkin of a drz400.


What do yous think ?

 

[Schtum]

A friend of mine decided that he was going to ride enduros. I told him to buy a 125 cc two-stroke but he thought that since he's a demon road rider and had raced 600s...

He's recently sold his CRF450X and bought a KTM 200 two-stroke. A CRF450 is what next year's factory team Dakar bike is going to be based on. I'd suggest apart from being wasted on green lanes, it's also a bit too much bike for the job. It's a race bike with everything that implies in terms of service intervals. Titanium exhaust valves demand top end overhauls relatively frequently. You'd probably get away with doing it much less frequently if you're not racing the bike but you'd want to know how many hours are on the engine if you're buying it. It's also tall and relatively heavy. They make great supermotos though....

 

[The Foolish Fellow]

omly lookin to do a bit of exploring / green laneing .Low down grunt would be handy

 

[Gaz]

No, not suitable at all for what you want.
Get a DRZ 400/350, CRM 250, TTR 250 etc.

i.e. real trail bikes, not an enduro machine.

If you want low-down grunt and chuggability get a 600/650/690 single. But then you'd have to manage the weight and that's not for beginners.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Or a XR250/400, if you don't mind a real bike with a kickstart

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Would this be a good buy for trail riding ? It's an 05 and is advertised at 2200eu ono and comes not road registered. I suppose it wouldnt be a massive job to put the lights on it and get it plated. I was originally thinkin of a drz400.


What do yous think ?

It depends on your experiance at riding the lanes. If this is your first greenlaner then it will probably end in tears

 

[jasext]

Had one of these and put me off buying another honda forever, it was only 6 months old and needed new valves and loads of other bits done to it, it was never raced and only greenlaned, my opinion is look elsewhere

 

[The Foolish Fellow]

Fair enough . I take my 990 to Wales a couple of times a year and in thinkin I need to do a bit more just to try and keep "bike fit" hence a smaller machine that I can take out myself locally .


WR 240 ??

 

[jasext]

How about one of these ?
http://www.swtrf.org.uk/index.php?topic=864.0

 

[ridersofthelosttrail]

I have owned a CRF 450 X for three years and use it to guide my clients.
It is a great bike for trail riding. It is a little heavy in comparison with newer European bikes, but the build quality of the Honda is superb.
If you are planning on riding on more open trails, then you will need to change the gearing.
The 2005 bike had a problem with oil distribution in the gear box, which can be remedied by using a whole litre of oil, and not the 700 cc recommended by Honda.
It would be worth while finding out what had been done to the bike from stock as there are some vital and easy mods you need to make to make the bike run better.
Get back to me if you need more info. re. this bike.
I love mine!!!!

 

[ridersofthelosttrail]

With regards to the top end over haul and the Titanium Valves......................
Unless you are racing this machine, then the service frequency is way less. There is a myth about the Titanium valves. They take way longer to wear out than some say. When you do replace them, change for Stainless steel.
The CRF 450 x isn't really an enduro machine any more, and if you don't mind changing the oil a little more frequently than say DRZ, then it is a great bike.

 

[Richeyroo]

Here in Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman, the CRF450X is the offroad bike of choice for absolutely all the expats who ride offroad. There is hardly another model that anybody uses, one or two wr450f Yams, a few KTMs but after trying something different, folks just come back to the Honda. And out here they take a terrible pounding, big distances, no gates to open and close, just wide open spaces full of deep sand and stony gravel tracks where you can absolutely nail the thing. People have killed their bikes but only because they don't change the oil every 10-20 hours + of course very regular oil and air filter maintenance. Most lead very hard lives, there are some fast guys here who do well in the UAE Dubai Desert Challenges and they haven't killed their CRFs.

So they are reasonaly indestructible, there are a ton of fantastic accessories and the thing is as slow or fast as you want it to be, and if you want it to be fast it is bloody ace. I have never really been able to wheelie bikes before, but this one is ferkin amazing. Any speed, and gear, sit back 6inches, snap the throttle a bit, no clutch and you get a lovely controllable, hooligan wheelie that is dead easy to control

It takes a bit of looking after, but it's only changing the oil ( gotta do the gearbox and top separately + the filter but it is 20 minutes once you get the hang of it) Mine is pretty standard in term of engine and chassis to keep it reliable, the changes are mainly to give it long distance capabilty and protection from stones from either your own wheels or the fast guys who are inevitably in front of me

Plenty have done 10k miles before needing a fairly extensive rebuild, piston, valves, other bits and bobs, but if you van your bike around to the trails without doing 50 mile road stretches or do the Cambrian/Hafren type of rally then it is a great bike.

When my contract finishes here, I shall get my 2008 model rebuilt by the talented and cheap Indian engineers using parts shipped from America (where they are very cheap and abundant) and then ship the bike home

The thing might be a bit pissed off after a life in the sun, coming back to a rainy wet Wales though

Here's mine...

 

[csd4t]

"You don't want one of them, you want a nice XR650R you do"

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

Had a CRF450X here in Riyadh, loved it!! Sold it, not enough time to enjoy it, but while I had it, I was stunned by performance and the way the suspension could eat anything you sent at it. Oil changes are dead easy, tank might be a bit small but easily changed.

 

[The Foolish Fellow]

Well

Thanks for all the replies. Just landed a '08 fe450. Well chuffed, pics to follow.