Off-Road.com was pleased to bring you Project CRF
450 - Many Thanks to the Manufacturers who sponsored it! Our
New Long Term Projects take you down the road of Dual Sport
Action & Desert Racing.
See: Project 525 EXC and Project WR450F!
Special thanks to Mike Perry of
Kibblewhite:
Thank you for all of your help in this matter, you have helped so
many people including me sort out this problem. Someone deserves a
pay increase!
Special thanks to "Ride Red" on Thumper Talk for
the photo:
All of us on the CRF forum love ya man!
The Problem...
Many CRF owners have experienced the dreaded
intake valve issue. While it is not a problem that affects
everyone, there are at least 300 cases that I have heard
about.The problem it seems is the valves
are slamming into the valve seats and basically trashing the valve
itself and creating no valve clearance. Only the intake valves are
affected, no one has had any problems out of their exhaust valves.
There are many theories as to what causes this issue. Some think
that the coating is burnt or worn off of the valve and causing a
problem. Some might say you didn't maintenance your bike right or
good enough.I, along with Mike Perry of
Kibblewhite believe that the valve springs are wearing out and
losing tension causing the valves to slap against the seats.
The
titanium valves are soft and brittle, especially when compared to
the valve seats. It might have something to do with the alloy of
titanium that Honda used in the valves. It may be a bad batch of
valves from Honda. No one really knows.Yamaha has zero problems from their titanium valves. Many CRF
owners replaced the intake valves with stock ones only to have them
go bad in 15 hours or less! Something is really wrong here.
The Fix...
Regardless, Kibblewhite has the solution to your
problem. They offer a set of replacement intake valves made from
stainless steel. They also offer a replacement spring kit, which
consists of four valve springs with shims and titanium
retainers.
I know what you're thinking; stainless steel will
lower the bikes performance.
Wrong! The stainless valve kit
performs equal to that of the stock components with the exception
of durability, which is way beyond the stock parts. The valves
don't start floating early and the bike doesn't rev slower. I have
logged well over 300 hours on the valves. I must give credit where
credit is due; Kibblewhites product is simply awesome.It basically boosted the valve components
reliability to Honda XR proportions. In fact, I adjust the valves
on my XR-650R more often than the CRF now. Since the installation
of the Kibblewhite kit I have never had to adjust my valves, not
even once. They have held the same clearance the entire 300 hours
of hard acceleration, bumping off the rev-limiter, racing MX, and
just plain abuse.I really tried to put
this product through its paces. I rode the bike extremely hard,
kind of the like the saying "ride it like you stole it".
I must say
the CRF is a very reliable bike and the Kibblewhite kit adds to
that. I did things to my beloved CRF I wouldn't do to a stranger's
bike. The bike pulled through with no problems at all! I am
impressed. I took the bike apart when I felt it had been put
through enough rigorous testing. To my surprise after I cleaned out
some carbon I noticed the valves looked just as good as the day I
put them in.
Last
Corner
If you have any problems with your CRF's valves, I
recommend getting this kit. I give this product an enthusiastic
"two-thumbs up". Way to go Kibblewhite! Keep up the good
work.
Kibblewhite
Precision Machining Inc. prices as tested:
Product
Price
SS Valve - per Each
$
31.87
Valve Spring Kit
$
211.27
Holeshot
Endo
XR-like reliability
Doesn't hinder performance
Inexpensive fix for a known
problem
Great customer support
Required no adjustment after
installed
If you enjoy emptying your wallet repeatedly,
like having your bike torn apart more than riding it, or are
thrilled kicking it over about 150 times with no success, then I
would not recommend buying this product
Kibblewhite Stainless Steel Intake
Valve and Spring Kit
I have not had the troubles with my valve train on my 07' CRF450R. However I am about to install this kit to keep it that way. I too have logged close to 300 hours on my trusty steed to date. The bike has been over heated, submerged, run in temps ranging from 20F to the mid 90's... woods, track, dunes... mud, dust and snow. I intend on keeping up the abuse for a few more years. I found this artical very helpful and it backed up all the shop talk I have heard on the topic. thank you.
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Posted Nov 01 2008 08:05PM
