Front end too light!

[Jason Lowery]

I just got my 450R today and I love it. My only concern is how light the front end is as it wheelies to easily.My track is a muddy mess and yhr front still wanted to come up out of the turns. Does anyone know of a fix??

[quadrcr161]

+ a-arms or swing arm.

[Jason Lowery]

Thats what I thought too but I really dont like the idea of buying a new quad and already finding shortcomings with its design.

[quadrcr161]

still running stock tires/rims?

[Jason Lowery]

No I swapped out for the Razr 2's off of my 400ex. I think I am going to order the ITP Holeshot MX wheel and tire package.

[quadrcr161]

my MXR's havent came in yet so i put my turfs on to ride sunday and it didnt want to pick the front end up as much

[Jason Lowery]

Good. Mabey its just the tires. I didnt ride it with the stock tires on it. Thanks for the info. Later.

[YfzinJay]

aftermarket suspension is your best bet to keep any front end down....

[Honda]

One inch longer rear swingarm would probably take care of it................................................ .................................................. ...............................or you could just throw some leadweights on the front end.

I just Kiddin!

Are the tires to grippy or does it just have so much torque that it lifts the front off the ground?

I wonder, what if you stepped down from a 22" front tire to a 21". That would put more weight on the front end.

[Silverfox@C&DRacing]

I also noticed how light the front end was I can get my 416 off the ground and first time I rode over a hump I rode a wheelie, kind of shocked me, I think I am really going to like this bike..

The things I don't like
needs to sit lower
need to change the gearing (I like to lug the motor 1st gear is too high for that)
need to change the tires, I haven't used a stock tire in 3-4 years feels kind of wierd.

[holeshot19]

i drop the front sprocket fron 14 to 13 now it really wants to come up in the front end what im going to do next is put the 14 back on and go up to a 39 in the rear . now my duncan pipe should be here tomorow and the motor mite pull differnt. but the most crazy thing is to day i took the front shox apart and the compression and rebound stacks are thick i mean they have valved these thing to not bottom out. when i rode it sat it beat me to death in the woods. tomorow im going up to santo dersis he said we can change the pistons and make them dual rate springs i keep i touch:grr:

[Got Huevos?]

Originally posted by Jason Lowery
Thats what I thought too but I really dont like the idea of buying a new quad and already finding shortcomings with its design.

this is a stupid comment, every quad is gonna need after market mods and tweaks if you want it to do good on a track. and if you dont want to buy other stuff its gonna cost you alot more then 6500 for a race ready quad.

Hey guy, Remember it an all new ball game.......Try different gearing..... OR just riding the quad, you will learn how to adjust.





Have fun!

[timscherer]

To help solve the light front end problem, mount 18" to the rear and 19" up front (4 mx racers). Also to compliment the handleing, a +1" to 1.5" longer swing-arm will definately improve the light front end problem.

I sugest to stay away from +1 (forward) a-arms, with the light front end the quad will push into corners.

For the trail rider, the least expensive route is to use 20" (stock is 20" or aftermarket) tires in the back, and mount 20" up front (22" is stock). By doing this will drop the front end approx. 1" lower to the ground, also trasfers the weight up front as well as maintaining the height and ground clearance in the rear.

I hope this helps, again this is just my opinion from trial and error.

later,
Tim

[mikie]

i have 450r put 20s on the front 18s on the rear then drop2 teeth in the rear ,i have kendas on now they work good.it doesent push the front any more.+1 a arms forward work good because the shock mount is forward on the a arm.stock shocks work with +2 a arms just changed springfor weight.
used 400ex nerfbars from gradon proline x33 axel works to

[Varmit57]

I remember reading about the R months ago and they (Honda) said that it planed to move the center of gravity on the quad by moving the motor back to help with the way that it handles.

Also you need to remember that this quad is 25lb lighter then the 400ex with more power. So it will feel light anyway.

I don't concider any of this to be a flaw. Sounds more like a feature!

I don't see Farr wheeling off the line any worse them the YZF's or any other quad out there.

I just think that you guys are nit picking a bit. It may take some getting use to but I think that I can handle it!!!! :D

guys, the tires stuff and a-arm stuff will help but the quickest way to cure the problem is by dialing in the suspension.

try lowerng the comp all the way and turning the rebound up all the way, that should get the rear end to sit down and the front will plant down a bit and it wont pull up as much.;)

[4FIDDYRHRC]

which a arms you got? on the 450r 2+ what brand?

[eddings]

Originally posted by Varmit57


I don't see Farr wheeling off the line any worse them the YZF's or any other quad out there. :D

Don't forget that Farr's bike is no where close to stock. You can't compare the quad Farr races to the bike you brought home from the Honda dealer.

yes it has a very light front end. Shocks will do wonders for this.

Yes 1st gear is too tall.

My first ride I thought it felt slow, but feelings can be deceptive. When my buddy raced me it was closer than I thought it would be after riding the 450r.

We measured his front end at 43" with the stock tires and 46.5" at the rear. 43" is not MX ready.

I also don't feel the YFZ is MX ready out of the box it is too narrow.

[Chevy454]

Ok, I'd like some more feedback on this front end "lightness" issue. I've read everything from it's too light, to it's twitchy, to it's perfect, which has left me as confused as ever!

I'm not looking to do any MX stuff, mostly trails and goofing off, and am considering either a built 400 or either a YFZ450 or 450R...I'm a Honda guy from way back, so you know how I'm leaning. Anyway, is this light front end gonna be an issue if/when I'm in the woods, climbing some of the nasty hills here in the Ozark Mountains? I'd hate to drop 6-gs for a quad and have to worry about catching up with it at the bottom of a hill when it's done tumbling.

[joe1l]

I wonder if you drop the front sproket 1 tooth, you would probably be able to lug it alot more, but then you would be wheeling all the time !

[2004TRX450R]

Originally posted by Chevy454
Ok, I'd like some more feedback on this front end "lightness" issue. I've read everything from it's too light, to it's twitchy, to it's perfect, which has left me as confused as ever!

I'm not looking to do any MX stuff, mostly trails and goofing off, and am considering either a built 400 or either a YFZ450 or 450R...I'm a Honda guy from way back, so you know how I'm leaning. Anyway, is this light front end gonna be an issue if/when I'm in the woods, climbing some of the nasty hills here in the Ozark Mountains? I'd hate to drop 6-gs for a quad and have to worry about catching up with it at the bottom of a hill when it's done tumbling.

I don't think it is an issue. A mag said it was lighter than the YFZ. They didn't say it was so light it would just float off into space like everyone seems to be making it out to sould like. It is just lighter than the YFZ. On mine with the HRC kit I can wheelie it all I want but when I am hard on it out of the turns it doesn't want to automaticlly come up on me. The only time it did was when I was screwing off and was sitting back on the seat kinda leaning back and stabbed it out of the corner and it started to pick up for obvious reasons. People on here just take something someone says and say it is gospel when they really don't know what they are talking about and have no first hand experience. I'm headed for the Moses Lake sand dunes this weekend so I can give a little better discription on how it handles climbing hills and jumping but I really don't think the front end thing is an issue.

[Chevy454]

Thanks for the help 2004TRX450R. I've read several of your posts, and it appears you're being as objective about your new bike as possible, which only helps those of us "on the outside looking in".

[2004TRX450R]

Originally posted by Chevy454
Thanks for the help 2004TRX450R. I've read several of your posts, and it appears you're being as objective about your new bike as possible, which only helps those of us "on the outside looking in".

No prob. I try to be objective when I post when it comes to the YFZ vs. TRX but if you want my honest opinion I'll always ride red. I work in the industry and Honda has the best most reliable bikes out there period. But I know people don't always want to hear that so I try to look at both sides and be objective when I compare the two with hard data between them rather than just my opinion and saying Honda is better because it is Honda.