As the Project CRF450 evolves, things change in regards to the bike
and how it functions. Racing and testing is a random process, where
anything could go right, or wrong. This section is dedicated to
provide brief notes on any product we have been testing; the
product may appear great after a few rides, but with time it may
not hold up to it's expectations.
June 13th - More R&D in the Beautiful
Northwest
• Dick's
Racing Suspension - The popular WORCS series took us up to the
scenic Washougal, Washington to do the initial testing of
suspension tuned by Las Vegas suspension expert Dick Wilk. I was
incredibly pleased with Dick's work. The course was muddy, and
littered with braking and acceleration bumps, but the CRF always
kept a straight line while accelerating out of corners and braking
into harsh stops. A full review will be coming soon, but to brief
you on what magic he performed, the forks received lighter springs
and less fluid. The shock received a stiffer spring; both the forks
and the shock were revalved to make the system work best for both
MX and off-road.
May 29th - Torture Testing
at Round 3 of the WORCS series....
• TM
Designworks - I just got word from the sales dept. They made
some significant changes to the design of their chain slider which
should alleviate the chain slapping noise. Stay tuned for more
details regarding their plans with the changes. • MX Bonz CNC Airbox Seal Kit - The WORCS race
was hands down the dustiest race I've attended with the CRF. This
made me a little nervous because of the airbox problem I've been
having. Luckily, even with the filter literally crusted with dust,
there was very very little indication of dust passing through.
Before, there was typically a very fine mist of dirt which would
nearly fully coat the airboot, but after the MX Bonz kit, this
problem is relieved. But after removing the subframe and airbox
assembly, I noticed a few very small bits of dirt in the small end
of the air boot. This could be from the removal of the airboot, but
doubtful. Regardless, this is a 90% improvement over previous
attempts. • Fasst Co. Inserts - After the 2 hour race, I
was not very drained at all, but for some reason my right hand was
still a little fatigued, into my lower arm. If it was not for the
Fasst Company anti-vibration inserts, I would not have lasted. The
inserts are the best $50 you could spend. • Weak Radiators - It has been rumored that the
radiators are easily succeptable to to damage; now I know that is
true. I went down twice during the race, both times at a relatively
slow speeds; the second time down netted a caved in left side
radiator. Looks like a call to Devol is on the way.
May 20th - Continued Testing
High in the Mountains of Nevada
• Clarke 3.3
gallon tank - The day started in Cold Creek Canyon north of Las
Vegas high up in the mountains (starting at 6000 ft.). Our loop
consisted of tight single track to fast open washes. The Clarke
tank proved to be a vital asset to the 50 mile loop, as a couple
riders ran out of gas. The comfort level was right up there with
the small two gallon stock unit. • FMF Ti4 Exhaust - I have been noticing a slight
hiccup from the initial twist of the throttle. Looks like some
jetting changes will be required to fix the hisitation. • 909 Force Grips - It seems like every time the
bike falls down (honestly, the wind blew it off the stand), the
grip gets pretty ugly. The stainless end cap will prevent minor
injury to the grip end, but any relatively harsh impact will
demolish the end, tearing it apart. • TM Designworks Products - I'm getting used to
the added noise produced from the chain slider/chain guide and
lower roller. The only time it is really annoying is slow speed
sections where the bike needs to be lugged.
May 13th - Airbox, cont'd
and 3.3 gal. Clarke Mfg Fuel Cell
•MX Bonz Airbox Fix - Through all the problems
regarding the leaking airbox, a small company called MX Bonz
contacted us in regards to their billet aluminum airbox fix. This
replaces the pathetic OEM air filter sealing surface that contains
those dreaded "nubs" that keep the filter from properly sealing.
The product bolts through the airbox, connecting the airboot to the
airbox. Hopefully this will fully cure the fatal problem. Full
review coming soon....
•Clarke Mfg - The 3.3 gallon
natural colored tank was installed last weekend and taken out for a
quick initial test. A photo can be seen on May's table on contents.
Fit and finish looks great; the tank installed quickly with no
problems. How did it feel while riding?....you'll see
soon.
May 9th - Leaking Airbox and
Another New Product
•Airbox Leaking, still (and yes, I'm using the PC Racing
Pro-Seal kit) - A few weeks ago at a Glen Helen MX race, I
noticed that the vent hose at the top of the airbox was removed.
The result was a fine coat of dust in the airboot! I immediately
replaced the hose, and after cleaning the airboot, I thought
everything would be fine. Not the case. I removed my air filter to
replace it last night and the airboot was covered with a thin layer
of dust. I am running the PC Racing Pro-Seal kit, but the
only thing I could guess is that since I applied the gasket without
a silicone sealant the dirt somehow still escaped through (the
instructions that come with the PC Racing Pro Seal kit say that a
sealant between the airboot and airbox is not necessary
when using their kit). Next step was to use a silicone sealant
between the airbox and the gasket, and the gasket to the airboot.
After taking the airbox assembly completely apart to analyze the
problem, there may be one spot where the PC Racing gasket was not
doing it's job. Check back soon to see what has happened. •Clarke Mfg - We will be
receiving shipment of Clarke's newly released 3.3 gallon
fuel tank soon. Available in the OEM black, white or a natural
material, allowing for fuel level checks on the
move.
May 1st - Upcoming Products
to be Tested
• RTT
Motorsports - They are projecting to have their new and very
revolutionary steering stabilizer in production sometime this
month. I will be on hand at the Price, Utah round of the WORCS
series testing the damper, along with many other products. • CRD Absolute - I was contacted by ex-World
Championship Enduro racer and ISDE veteran Eric Gauthier who is now
importing CRD Absolut products. They produce phenomenal skid
plates, frame guards, bike stands, programmable CDI ignitions,
along with exhaust systems. • AMP-Research - Remember the AMP-Link from
the days of ATK? The design is a little different now, but the
concept is still the same (and still a little mis-understood). The
ORC 450 will receive a new version of the AMP Power Link to
alleviate the problem of negative chain torque on the rear
suspension. Its a concept that many people don't even think about,
but it can be the best suspension improvement you can make. Stay Tuned as more develops....
April 25th - Another
Afternoon of Testing
First off, I have been
talking with Dick Wilk of Dick's Racing for a couple weeks
regarding a new fork design that he has been developing ever since
the 450 was introduced. Purely created for off-road abuse, we
headed for the rough and rocky mountains of Northwestern Las Vegas
to prove the ability of Dick's creation. He set the forks up to
where each adjuster had it's own duty.
Here is how they are set up: • the lower right adjuster controls
Rebound
• the upper right controls Mid Compression
• the upper left controls bottoming resistance
• and the lower left controls low speed compression
How did they work? First off, proper testing will be done later,
where we swap the Dick's Racing forks back to back with the stock
forks. This was the intention, but a crack in the ignition cover
stopped that from happening. The forks felt strange at first,
reason being is that they are dramatically softer than the stock
forks. This allowed them to stay on the ground more, and allowed
for a better, but much different feel. After covering a wide
variety of terrain, we stopped to see how much travel I was using.
Amazingly enough, there was still a solid 4-5 inches yet to be
used! The forte of these forks is the ability to soak up nearly any
rock, whoop or any obstuction at high speeds, while still have
great resistance to bottoming, as we found out. We'll be working
more with Dick's in weeks to come.....Fastway Billet Throttle Tube: For some reason, I led
Dick and Chuck Sun up a hill that seemed like it had no end. The
night before, I had the bright idea to switch my gearing over to
suit high speeds, but did not realize we would be cruising goat
trails. The lack of low-end proved to be my demise, as I was forced
to drop the bike from a loss of balance. As luck would have it, the
bike landed directly on a rock (one of 1,234,435,555 rocks in the
area) using the throttle housing as a target. SMACK! The housing
made a distrurbing sound as the bike finally came to rest. Did it
break and end my day? NO! The off-road genius' at Fastway
Performance supplied the ORC 450 with their billet aluminum
throttle tube saving my afternoon. I honestly did not see a whole
lot of value in the device until that very moment. If I had the
stock plastic throttle tube in place my day would have ended,
leaving me stranded in the absolute middle of nowhere.
(by the way, I went down when testing, forcing
the shifter through the ignition cover....a new ignition cover is
on the way)
April 18th - Saturday
Trail-Ride/Test
I ended up getting the
24-hour flu, and could not make it to the BITD Trail-Ride...but
felt good enough to do ride a 25 mile loop near the office on
Saturday..... Fastway Footpegs: The new Hondas feel a little cramped in
relation to the seat to peg measurement, and Fastway immediately
recognized this problem by offering a "low-boy" footpeg. In all
reality, the collar which hangs below the peg, it cut off, and put
on the top of the peg. Then the right spring is moved to the left
and vice-versa. The difference? Amazing! The pegs dropped
1/2" back, and 1/2" down, which enables one's knees to grab the
seat much easier and just makes riding the bike a more comfortable
experience. The difference was very noticeable. It was much easier
to shift and brake...and just added more control. Great
product.I just installed a some new
products from BBR (a billet rear brake pedal and gas cap), and
SRC (their
great looking skidplate, clutch cable retainer, hi-pressure
radiator cap, and Kiwi case saver)The
SRC Skidplate: It seemed to fit a little tight, but this is the
best skidplate we have seen yet. Great protection, excellent
ventilation to the motor.As always, see
the schedule of Product Reviews in the Left Column to deterine the
publishing date of the full review..
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