Wife bought me a honda crf450r for my first bike!

[AdrenalJunkie85]

So I have been doing adventure sports all my life: whitewater kayaking, downhill mtn biking, surfing, climbing etc but I have never ridden a dirt bike for more than an hour in my life. However, I have ridden a lot of four wheelers. So on my 31st bday my wife bought me a 2005 honda crf450r and the thing is a beast. I have dropped 40 foot waterfalls in a kayak and this thing scares me. Bc of that I have huge respect for it so I am gonna be very careful. Probably gonna cruise my neighborhood for hours just to get use to the clutch work. My question is have you ever heard of anyone learning to ride a bike this powerful as a beginner without either destroying themselves or the bike? I was expecting to take my fair share or damage if I started on a 50cc bike I just wanted to get someones opinion. My wifes reasoning for the 450 is that she knows I love jumping my mtn bike and was told by a friend that I would want a 450 for jumps. Thanks in advance.

Edited April 1, 2016 by AdrenalJunkie85

[oldfrt613]

Throttle goes both ways ............

[4Sevens]

Respect it and use lots of throttle control and you will be fine...unless you weigh like 150 or less.  As long as you're a big strong guy and you use your head you will be ok.

[BowHunter2400]

Pin the throttle everywhere you go!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Just Kidding. Sweet bike. Take your time and go slow, gain some confidence which won't take long. Throttle and clutch control should be your main focus right now.

 

 

Why is my font so dag on small all of the sudden???????

Edited April 2, 2016 by William1

[AdrenalJunkie85]

Yeah I am 6' 185lbs so I knew that weight wasnt gonna be an issue. At least I got the first thing right; go out and learn the clutch and throttle response. I am mostly going to be on pavement these first few weeks until I head to Durhamtown. What should I try and practice or keep in mind when Im out on the concrete that wont translate to the dirt; other than the obvious?

[SilvFx]

You might double check to see if your wife took out an expensive insurance policy on you before buying the 450. ?

 

You will note that the CRF450R is a motocross bike that is geared and setup for motocross tracks and jumping.  Enduro/offroad/trail riding is better suited with wide ratio transmissions motorcycles such as the CRF450X, WR450F, KTM 450 XC-W, Husqvarna FE 450, etc.

[LovingOffroadPain]

So I have been doing adventure sports all my life: whitewater kayaking, downhill mtn biking, surfing, climbing etc but I have never ridden a dirt bike for more than an hour in my life. However, I have ridden a lot of four wheelers. So on my 31st bday my wife bought me a 2005 honda crf450r and the thing is a beast. I have dropped 40 foot waterfalls in a kayak and this thing scares me. Bc of that I have huge respect for it so I am gonna be very careful. Probably gonna cruise my neighborhood for hours just to get use to the clutch work. My question is have you ever heard of anyone learning to ride a bike this powerful as a beginner without either destroying themselves or the bike? I was expecting to take my fair share or damage if I started on a 50cc bike I just wanted to get someones opinion. My wifes reasoning for the 450 is that she knows I love jumping my mtn bike and was told by a friend that I would want a 450 for jumps. Thanks in advance.

 

If you have extreme sport experience, especially quad experience, you should be fine.  Just be careful!

[AdrenalJunkie85]

I'll be on the dirt moving forward so I don't want anything different. As far as I can tell she bought an amazing bike. Runs great, looks great and the power is impressive. It can do way more than I can do. Anyone suggest lessons?

[ScrewMx_Hd]

I'll be on the dirt moving forward so I don't want anything different. As far as I can tell she bought an amazing bike. Runs great, looks great and the power is impressive. It can do way more than I can do. Anyone suggest lessons?

find an open field, practice stopping slowly with both brakes, learn to shift through the gears as you get more comfortable and clutch control is a major

[Sir falls alot]

I always do tight figure 8s.it really help with clutch control and simply balancing while on your bike...it seem redundant but it will build confidence. Slowly get faster and slide the rear tire out and control your slides...

[Fast_Eddie]

If it takes along time to get used to the power, you can have an aftermarket flywheel installed. The cost is $200 plus 15 minutes labor. I run a +11 oz on mine and it really smoothed out the motor. It also makes it nearly impossible to stall in slow corners.

[William1]

Read a lot of the posts here:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/58-off-road-riding-technique/

 

Practice riding as slow as you can and being as precise as you can. Do not rush it.

Wear all the gear.

Take your time.

Do not let ego or friends about to 'go pro' egg you on.

Practice riding as slow as you can.

Did I mention, practice riding as slow as you can. You have to walk before you can run. Too many people get a bike, assume they 'got it down' and within a week, end up seriously hurt. Most people, it take a few hundred hours of riding before they can safely go fast.

[drumiv]

A bunch of good advice here. I would add a G2 throttle tamer to the list. The weighted flywheel is a great upgrade, especially in the woods; you want to try and avoid stalling these bad boys, they're a bitch when hot(and you're tired). 

[matty86suk]

Cover that clutch like your life depends on it...it kinda does

[AdrenalJunkie85]

Man this is great advice. So I saw someone said something about a rekluse clutch to help out but those were anywhere from $400-700 and it sounds like this flywheel may accomplish the same thing without breaking the bank is that right? It looks like I'm gonna be able to spend some time in a field on the weekends but gonna be doing pavement riding in the neighborhood during the week but I'm gonna stay off the main roads. Thanks again for the advice.

Edited April 4, 2016 by AdrenalJunkie85

[BenIsRipin]

i would stay away from the reckluse you should learn to use the clutch first. note very few pro riders use one in any discipline of riding and no trials guy rider would be caught dead with one.

just practice going slow. also balance the bike without moving 

watch all their videos lol 

[SenorThumpy]

If you've been on quads just be careful on the throttle until you're used to the bike and learn how to ride it well. I'm not a fan of rekluse based on principal, especially if you're learning or getting used to a bike. Clutch control is key as already said. A rekluse is not the same thing as a heavier flywheel. Although there a seemingly similar end results to an extent you'll be better off with the flywheel. There is a lot of good advice in this thread. You have the right idea with just going slow in a field to get used to the bike. Watch those oz drz cross training vids. Go his cross training YouTube channel and start with the basic enduro skills playlist and go from there. I've probably watched them all a dozen times. Getting that slow control will help you out big time. Stay off the pavement, it's not dirt, you're on a dirt bike. You need to get used to the bike on dirt not pavement. If you absolutely can't be on dirt during the week then pavement is better than nothing. Seat time is key after all. Get some good bark busters asap, the ones the the solid alumn bar the goes from the bar ends to the triples. They'll protect your controls when you drop the bike... In addition to your hands from branches and prickers and shit. Also rad guards for the inevitable drops. And case savers cause they're cheap insurance. You don't want some silly 2mph fall on rocks to wreck your wife's awesome present to you ? you lucky bastard.

If you find yourself struggling with the bike after a legit 10-20 hrs on it, hop on Craig's list and grab an old spbeater for a few hundo and just abuse it and throw it around. One of my newer riding buddies rides my piece of crap, ragged out ancient, 250 more than he rides his cr250 ... For now.

Edited April 9, 2016 by SenorThumpy

[drumiv]

I have both a weighted flywheel, and Rekluse. I get the point about needing to learn clutch control, ect, and that's true. For myself, it's a tool(the Rekluse), or rather an insurance policy against stalling. I use my clutch just like normal. When I first got my 450, I would stall it and then have a hell of a time starting it, which in turn made me timid about riding it. Now I'm 57, and by no means a hot-shot, so maybe stalling isn't an issue to most, but it was a buzz kill to me. I rarely, if ever stall it now, and am having a blast.

[Myecol02]

I learned on a crf450f... You learn on that and you'll never want anything less. I've ridden a crf250f and felt like I was on a mini bike. Just remember the minute you don't respect it... It will eat you.

[MyFriendsCallMeRonnie]

What helped me when I was learning was drills. Try going slow and going in clockwise and counterclockwise circles as tight as you can make them up until your steering is locked, practice full braking (probably not on pavement though), try riding on a 2x4. You could probably find a lot of good drills on youtube