06 450R as a trail machine

[rigger]

Hey guys, I may have a chance to get rid of my brute force and get a lightly modded 06 450R. I currently ride an 04 400EX that is lightly modded too, this will become my wife's ride if I get this 450.

Questions, I have ridden CRF450 before but not the quad. How will it work for a trail quad, trails are what I ride 99% of the time.

Anything I need to look out for on an 06 machine?

Or should I just get it and ride it?

[d3ktrix]

You love the 450r in every area over the 400ex.
Even just for trails it's far superior in every way IMO.

Theres no serious problems with the 06's.
Though there are some minor recalls (starer, a-arms, throttle), check the stickies at the top of this forum for more info.

[BlaineKaiser450]

even set up for mx my 04 is a great trail bike. IMO for trails the stock gearing is perfect

here is an honest opinion form someone that has spent years on a 400ex and now has an 06 450r...i like the 400ex better for trails...let me explain...from day one i wished i had just bought my wife a new 400ex and kept my old one

the 450r is a pain to start once it is warmed up...it is geared too tall and needs to be running near the limiter to avoid stalling...and yes i know how to run a clutch well...it needs to be run at full throttle all the time so if your wife don't want to be running at as fast as the bikes will go all the time...the 450r is not for you...i will say that an aftermarket exhaust did help this a lot, but it still could be better by going a tooth lower on the front sprocket...i have not done this yet because i have not needed a new chain and sprocket set yet...

other issues i had was i needed to change the bar set-up...even though i had 450r bars on my 400ex, they were not as comfortable for me on the 450r...i ended up with trail tech x bars and a trail tech clamp...other things that i had to do to make the bike feel better was to get all 3 shocks revalved and lower the ride height...the bike felt way too hight and tippy...part of this was due to the stiff valving of the stock shocks...

would i have loved the 450r from the get go if the trail riding i did all the time was go go go...no doubt, but there were slower utes and wives involved, and when you have to go their speed, then the 450r is not as fun as the 400ex...

so to sum it up...i liked my slightly modded 400ex better for trails and "family" riding much better than the 450r at first, but after nearly a grand in suspension mods and handlebars, i like the 450r better now.

i will add this, my wife hated the 450r when i first got it...she would not even ride it to put it from the back yard into the garage, now i can't get her off of it if we happen to switch out on the trails...

[bloodmoney23]

well IMO the 450r is a great trail bike. I have never had to run this bike at full throttle to keep it from stalling, and never had to feather the clutch neither. Put it in 1st or 2nd gear and just putt around if you want. And, if it does require to be at full speed, cut out the spark arrestor in exhaust tip, or i have the HRC exhaust tip ill sell you really really cheap. It will eliminate the backpressure which causes it to stall.

[mcleod]

people who said that they dont need to play with the clutch only do easy trail! :P

i have dropped one tooth in front to be able to have some 'fun' in rought trail!

since the gearing is too long in first gear it's a pain in the @$$ to ride in a rought trail.

with one tooth down in the front it's almost perfect.

[bloodmoney23]

well i dont have to feather clutch and ill gladly take some pics of our trails to show you just how easy they are....

[d3ktrix]

Originally posted by speedyquad

the 450r is a pain to start once it is warmed up...it is geared too tall and needs to be running near the limiter to avoid stalling...and yes i know how to run a clutch well...it needs to be run at full throttle all the time so if your wife don't want to be running at as fast as the bikes will go all the time...the 450r is not for you...i will say that an aftermarket exhaust did help this a lot, but it still could be better by going a tooth lower on the front sprocket...i have not done this yet because i have not needed a new chain and sprocket set yet...


This is one of the craziest things I have ever herd. If this is true there is something REALLY wrong with your bike.
You should be able to cruise around all day at hardly above idle speeds with the 450r hardly touching the gas.
And if your on a flat surface like a road you should be able to put it in first and let it cruise on idle w/o touching the throttle or clutch.

[Dave400ex]

D3ktrix he is right. Stock 06-up are terrible. They stall very easy and the e-starts are junk.

[mx1791]

i dont have an 06, but mines fine in trails. i can putt putt, idle, cruise (how ever u wanna put it) and i dont have to feather the clutch or run at full throttle. and mine starts up fine everytime... i would take the smooth power of the 450 over a 400ex anyday for trails.

[d3ktrix]

Originally posted by Dave400ex
D3ktrix he is right. Stock 06-up are terrible. They stall very easy and the e-starts are junk.

I've ridden MX1971's 07 many times, in stock forum and sightly modded.
You have to keep it revved up slightly more then an 04-05 because of its shorter stroke but no ware near as extreme as speedyquad makes it sound. Maybe only a few hundred RPM higher.
Still very ez to ride even in the slowest trail/mud situations.

[Dave400ex]

Yeah it's not too bad, but they don't like to be bogged much. After I put a Baldwin XC cam and had the head ported now it runs great.

[bloodmoney23]

well, my 05 brand new liked to stall out if you didnt have enough RPM's but only going into first and second. I took the spark arrestor out and never had a problem with stalling after. starting the bike from day one till now is a 2 kick maximum to start warm or cold unless you transport it standing straight up and down then you gotta wait like 25 min and kick it 50 times. All in all, unless i did somethign stupid ive never stalled the bike out on a trail. Ive rolled it maybe 8 times in going on 3 years due to my stupidity and trying to climb dirtbike only hills. Its a good bike all around and 100% better than any 2 stroke. The choice is yours young luke skywalker.

not a problem with my bike and not a rider issue, just someone not quite understanding what the trails and conditions are like...

flat surface like road...not a problem, but that is not trails...that is flat surface like roads
i am talking crossing 15" logs, ones you can't just hit at speed and skip over, ones that need finessing over. while waiting for other people to get over the next set of them on a hill.

following a guys wife on her second ride ever on a 250ex while she is not really getting out of 2nd gear...easy to lug the 400ex around, but not so easy to keep the 450r running without a lot, or too much of clutch work.

instances where you can't even pull wheelie because as soon as the wheels get off the ground, you are on the rear of the guy in front of you...

you know family rides where the average speed is less than 20 mph...that is where the 400ex is better than the 450r...but are those rides any less fun...no...they are actually better because i am with my wife, and friends adn friends kids...

[d3ktrix]

Originally posted by speedyquad
not a problem with my bike and not a rider issue, just someone not quite understanding what the trails and conditions are like...

flat surface like road...not a problem, but that is not trails...that is flat surface like roads
i am talking crossing 15" logs, ones you can't just hit at speed and skip over, ones that need finessing over. while waiting for other people to get over the next set of them on a hill.

following a guys wife on her second ride ever on a 250ex while she is not really getting out of 2nd gear...easy to lug the 400ex around, but not so easy to keep the 450r running without a lot, or too much of clutch work.

instances where you can't even pull wheelie because as soon as the wheels get off the ground, you are on the rear of the guy in front of you...

you know family rides where the average speed is less than 20 mph...that is where the 400ex is better than the 450r...but are those rides any less fun...no...they are actually better because i am with my wife, and friends adn friends kids...

Well thats a little different then saying you need to keep it on the rev limiter all the time.

not really, you need to keep the revs up or the bike WILL stall...not necessarily at the rev limiter, but he would get the idea...it is not an easy bike to ride in the woods...for what i am getting he would be doing(I currently ride an 04 400EX that is lightly modded too, this will become my wife's ride if I get this 450.). he would not be happy with the 450r. his wife may be a great rider and can run with him, like my wife, but not everybody ride balls out like the r needs to be run

[bloodmoney23]

I still highly disagree but like i always say, everyone has thier own opinion. I strongly feel the bike is great on trails, but to be honest....If all you want to do is ride trails, pick up a nice 4x4 utility bike. Anyone can ride them (wife, kids, neighbor, maybe even a dog if it was smart enough) and they are good for making money and doing little crap around the house.