04 450R, I have some newb questions

[CR500rider]

Yesterday I bought a 04 450r and it is my first quad and my first 4 stroke. The person I bought it from said that the main jet is one size leaner for riding in higher elevations, also the airbox has been removed and just has a KnN filter, the baffle on the stock exhaust has been removed, other than that it is completely stock. After riding it today I dont really think I am that impressed with it. I would ride for about 10 minuets and the engine would stall if i wasnt on the throttle a little bit after pulling the clutch in. Also the engine dies like it is starving for fuel if i come to a sudden stop. After it dies for either reason it is a PITA to restart. Maybe im just not used to having a 4 stroke or maybe something is wrong with it? Maybe the whole thing is a jetting issue? Im riding below 2000 feet. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I also have more questions:

when do i use the hot start? and do i just push it once and let go or hold it in while i try to start it?

what is the updated crank bearing everyone on here talks about?

wheres the oil filter located?

What weight of oil should i use?

Are the DG RCM2 full exhaust kits any good? they are on ebay for $215

What are the major differences between the various years of 450r's?

The engine to my knowledge has never been rebuilt, do i have a tcking timebomb?

I bought this used without any kind of manual and Clymer doesnt have one out for these yet, that is why you will probably think i am asking common-knowledge questions.

[j_cyrus3]

when do i use the hot start? and do i just push it once and let go or hold it in while i try to start it? ---- I always held it while kicking

what is the updated crank bearing everyone on here talks about? -- I think that was on the 05's, im not sure though.

wheres the oil filter located? --- On the chain side, ill attach a picture and circle it.

What weight of oil should i use? I use MAXIMA MAXUM-4 SYNTHETIC BLEND 10w40

Are the DG RCM2 full exhaust kits any good? they are on ebay for $215 --- i don't know anything about that exhaust, so I wont comment.


The engine to my knowledge has never been rebuilt, do i have a tcking timebomb? -- Good question. No one on here can help you with this, we don't know the quad. Just ride it, if it blows up it blows up, it happens.


Congrats on the new quad, hope this helped.

[espergre]

the hot start is for exactly what is implies, when the engine is 'hot'. meaning that when starting cold you need to richen your mixture by using the starting enrichment lever 'choke lever'. when the engine is allready warmed up from riding 'hot', then to aid in restarting the hotstart leans out the mixture to prevent flooding the cylinder. So use the 'hotstart' only once the engine has been warmed up.

the crank bearing failure effects both the 04' and 05' models i believe. There are preventative measures to prevent this but unless you are interested in dismantling your motor to replace the crank bearing and buying the costly parts now, I would recommend just riding it till it breaks. Not all motors have this happen, especially if you are not doing any motor mods.

The best preventative maintenance is to change your oil regularly and inspect the dirty oil for ANY metal shavings. If your engine has internal wearing, get it fixed before something breaks.

Oil - everyone has there own apinion on this one. Since this motor has separate engine oil and transmission oil loops, I would recommend a synthetic oil on the motor side. I personally use Honda's synthetic HP4 oil. On the gear side I use Honda 80/90 gear oil.

If your engine has never been rebuilt, get a manual and you should check your valve clearances. If they are out of adjustment you are losing power.

There are many manuals in pdf format. I found a link to the official Honda manual somewhere on this site.
http://www.trx450r.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=29249

Good Luck!

[CR500rider]

cool, thanks guys.

Does anyone know about the other questions?

[maticus]

with the power issue i wouls say you need to richen it up a bit cause if he was higher elevated than you and put a smaller jet in it that thing will be a turd. if your going to buy that dg then your going to need to jet it anyways. try riching it up and see if that helps. smaller rear tires (or different sprockets) will help mass too.

[CR500rider]

Originally posted by maticus
with the power issue i wouls say you need to richen it up a bit cause if he was higher elevated than you and put a smaller jet in it that thing will be a turd. if your going to buy that dg then your going to need to jet it anyways. try riching it up and see if that helps. smaller rear tires (or different sprockets) will help mass too.
Do you know anything about the DG pipe set?

[NickG5755]

most DG's to my knowledge are pretty much junk..

if you only wanna spend aroudn 200 bucks id get a HMF slip on..

[maticus]

no i dont really know anyone other than keith little that ran DG exhaust, but if you keep an eye out on here in the classified section there usually some good deals on here.

[Sjorge450R]

Did anyone else catch what his jetting is? One size smaller??? with a removed air box?!?!? Sounds ultra lean to me. Now when you say removed air box are you talking the entire air box or just the lid? Either way, its going to allow a tremendous amount of air compared to stock and when you allow more air, you need to increase your fuel supply to counter act it. I am no pro at jetting (i got lucky when jetting mine) but I would say the way you sit right now, riding below 2000ft with a removed baffle, and lets say a removed lid with a K&N, you should be some were around 150 (stock is 118) you may also wanna pick up a HRC kit needle for the carb. If you had a full exhaust such as that DG (never heard much of it, but its cheap so if you wanna get it, get it. Everyone else on here will tell you that DASA Rossier and Sparks and the best exhausts) but if you had a full exhaust with the air box lid removed and a K&n, your jetting should be right about a 185 main jet screw 2.5 turns out and the HRC needle at about the middle or one spot lower.

Steve

[CR500rider]

Yes, box is gone and just a KnN with a filterskin on it, no baffle in muffler

[Sjorge450R]

Originally posted by CR500rider
Yes, box is gone and just a KnN with a filterskin on it, no baffle in muffler

definitely change your jetting. Also, check the valve clearances. Both of those can help with the problem of it stalling on you.