Considering 450R, give me your owner report

[HondaATC500X]

I'm a hardcore 250R and 2 stroke guy...but race season is coming up again and the R just isn't going to take anymore abuse without spending alot of dough on it. I will be riding MX's and harescrambles with it. Maybe in the near future some GNCC's. I ride my machines very hard but they are taken care of even better. Will the 450R handle the abuse that has been dished to 250Rs for so long? Anything in particular about your 450R you wish you could change (Even if it something minor?) What mods have you done to yours, and why?

I'm good friends with the GM at my local dealership and he said he'd sell me an 04 for $5500 which is almost to cheap not to do. Just wanting a little input from other owners :-)

[jeepnrocks]

i love mine so far. i don't have nearly as much seat time as others but the power is great even stock.
you will notice y9ou sit a bit higher than your 250r. the gearing is too high stock so i ordered a 13t front.
this thing reminds me of a 2 stroke a little bit it. it loves the mid and high end. low is laggy as heck stock but the 13t should correct that once it gets here. the front end is really light which i actually find very useful for my type of riding (lotsa woods)
the little bit of jumping i did on it i felt very comfy. um what else, my shocks are a little too soft as i weigh in at 220, but the rebound on the rear is set a little fast from the factory but thats no biggie to adjust.
hmmm i dunno what else to say i love this thing and its an excellent machine.
(was worried about the casting thing though till i talked to the dealer haha)

[HondaATC500X]

Everything I've been on so far feels taller and strange compared to my 250R, but the 450R is the closest I've gotten. I always gear down just about anything I own because you can almost always up shift, but when your in first its hard to go any lower. Low gearing is a must here for the woods. What gearing does the 450R have on it stock? I'm about the same weight as you. Have you adjusted and messed around with the shocks then?

Billy

[Shawn H]

Stock Gearing is 14/39
My 1st ride was wow its is high geared and when railing out of the corners (stock) the front end would always lift up and out of the ruts and veer of course.
I installed a set of hipers w/tireballz which almost eliminated all of the 1st problem.
Raced it for the first time 24hrs after purchase with just the hipers did well ran out of gas on last lap of 2 hr XC race. Ordered bigger tank.

Suspension stock killed me. Adjusted but still never could get where I wanted it. Ordered +1 LT and some Custom axis.Rear Jb+1 1/8th siwngarm and got a good deal on a rear elka( which im selling the elka and link) to get a custom axis.

Lot better machine now so I ordered the HRC kit and a White bros E2 slip on now I got plenty of power went back to stock gearing it can pull it easily now had a 13t sprocket.

Ordered Rekluse auto clutch and wow its perfect woods machine. I have 7wins in a row in the B-class and have been finishing 4th and 2nd Overall in MN and IA.

Installed a anti-vibe,GPR,nerfs,skids,etc.. its a complete race quad its perfect for me i love it.

Now I have had the rectifier and wiring harness burn up on the 450r.It was a fluke but happened while racing XC a stick had wedged and pushed the connector up from the rectifier making a very loose connection therefor burning it all up(Honda warrantied) There was still part of the stick in between the connector and rectifier.

I have 3 cracks in my frame there small and its from me crashing in 4th gear(any stock frame would have cracked at the stem mount)
1 last gripe with a set off Nerfs on and a skid plate when you drain the tranny oil it will run all over and make a big mess. So now I drilled a hole in the skid and lift my quad on its side while draining.

Sorry about the long post but you asked:D
Shawn

Originally posted by snowgasm
Stock Gearing is 13/39
My 1st ride was wow its is high geared and when railing out of the corners (stock) the front end would always lift up and out of the ruts and veer of course.
I installed a set of hipers w/tireballz which almost eliminated all of the 1st problem.
Raced it for the first time 24hrs after purchase with just the hipers did well ran out of gas on last lap of 2 hr XC race. Ordered bigger tank.

Suspension stock killed me. Adjusted but still never could get where I wanted it. Ordered +1 LT and some Custom axis.Rear Jb+1 1/8th siwngarm and got a good deal on a rear elka( which im selling the elka and link) to get a custom axis.

Lot better machine now so I ordered the HRC kit and a White bros E2 slip on now I got plenty of power went back to stock gearing it can pull it easily now had a 13t sprocket.

Ordered Rekluse auto clutch and wow its perfect woods machine. I have 7wins in a row in the B-class and have been finishing 4th and 2nd Overall in MN and IA.

Installed a anti-vibe,GPR,nerfs,skids,etc.. its a complete race quad its perfect for me i love it.

Now I have had the rectifier and wiring harness burn up on the 450r.It was a fluke but happened while racing XC a stick had wedged and pushed the connector up from the rectifier making a very loose connection therefor burning it all up(Honda warrantied) There was still part of the stick in between the connector and rectifier.

I have 3 cracks in my frame there small and its from me crashing in 4th gear(any stock frame would have cracked at the stem mount)
1 last gripe with a set off Nerfs on and a skid plate when you drain the tranny oil it will run all over and make a big mess. So now I drilled a hole in the skid and lift my quad on its side while draining.

Sorry about the long post but you asked:D
Shawn yah..my frame bent but it was also a wreck in 4th gear & im pretty sure any quad would do that...also stock gearing is 14/39

[HondaATC500X]

snowgasm that is alot of mods..The 450r isn't competitive in stock trim? I'll admit I haven't seen many in person or even rode one yet, but everyone keeps bragging about how the 450's are "race ready". Maybe I would be better off just spending the money on mods in my 250R?

My R frame is tweaked a tiny bit in the front from a head on with a tree, but its still very rideable. You guys that have broken or cracked frames, even those from wrecks, did anything else break in the process or was it just the frame?

my tieord bent & the aarm bent a little I think,..i couldnt really tell but I rpeplace dit anyway...my 450 is still rideable like this but it will be difficult to sell one day

[Shawn H]

Originally posted by Jumbo747
yah..my frame bent but it was also a wreck in 4th gear & im pretty sure any quad would do that...also stock gearing is 14/39

My fault I knew the stock gearing was 14/39 button slippage lol.

Yea I do have a lot of mods on my R I could have raced it stock but who does that? I dont know how much your into racing but I'm a die hard racer and want the edge thats why I modded it out so much to be very competive. Out of the box its probably good for 70%of most racers IMO. I have about 13,000 into this where as my Z was close to 20 G's its way better than my old 450 stroker and prefer it over the YFZ as well.

Good luck in your decision IMO your better off with the 450r versus your 250r.

L8R Shawn

[HondaATC500X]

I'm a pretty agressive rider, and the races I have done I've been very competitive versus even some of the really modded out machines. I've just never really had the luxury of being able to spend all the money in mods.

As sad as it is, I guess the R's are getting phased out and the 450 class is the new thing. I guess it will be better off to start with a new platform rather then an old one.

Thanks for the responses.

[red2004 TRX450R]

I started a thread 3 months ago an the only problems people had then was, barking brake did work, head light fogged up while washing it, but went a way fast, and that I don’t like the Trans oil check hole.

I ride mine in the woods at least 20 hours a week and the only other problems are the plastic skids and holes/cuts in tires.

[HondaATC500X]

...Plastic skid plates? Hmm....