GNCC XC Racing Project Honda TRX450R

We out back to the wide open fields to see how much power the Project Produced.

Andy had no problems raising the front end as he held it wide open coming out of the woods.

After several threats of bodily harm, I was able to persuade him to let me get a chance to ride the beast:devil:

Once we both felt comfortable riding the Project 450R, we decided to break out the Stock 450R and compare the differences.

Andy wasted no time pushing the Stock 450R to its limits and doing it with style.

After switching back and forth several times on each machine, we decided to put these two machines to a head to head test for top speed.

The Project 450R was geared lower than stock because we replaced the stock 14 tooth front sprocket with a 13 tooth sprocket for more lowend for woods competition, so we were curious to see if the extra power was enough to overcome the lower gearing.

The result was that the 450R was able to pull the Stock Machine in every gear, but the stock machine wasn't left in the dust by any means.

Once they both were in 5th Gear, the Project 450R was able to out rev and the Stock Machine and gradually pull away even with the lower gearing.

Once we where finished comparing the top speed of both machines, we decided it was time to head into the woods and see if all the modification made a difference where it counted.

We created a small loop through the woods to get a feel of how are times would be affected between riding the two machines.

The loop contained several high speed sections with some 90 Degree turns at the ends to test the braking power and body roll. Also, we added some zig zag sections to determine the how well the machines responded to changing direction.

Also, a XC course wouldn't be complete without a hill climb and some tight down hill sections. The only thing that the loop was missing was some rough whooped out sections to really test the suspension performance.

We both took practice laps on the Stock & Project machine to get comfortable with the loop.

Andy Headed out first to set the time to beat.

Then it was my time to head out, and Andy did everything possible to ensure that my time wasn't faster:eek2:

I felt very comfortable riding the Stock 450R, but my times were 2 to 3 seconds slower than Pro Rider Andy Lagzdins after we each took several turns on the Stock Machine.