2007 CRF450 test

[BG31]

Here are the items that jumped out at me during my first ride on the '07 CRF450. These are the real deal and not magazine tells:

The biggest item that knocked me on my ass was the throttle response. It, combined with better low to mid hit completely changed the way the 450 delivered power. The front brake stopped on a dime and gave me 9 cents change. The rear brake was average.

Suspension wise, the rear shock was very good, tracked well, and didn't kick or swap. It combing with the 756 rear hooked up very very well. The front however still felt "they" are still trying to figure it out. It wanted to ride too low in its stroke which caused too much packing entering corners and down hill chops. It did soak up large hits however.

Chain stretched a ton, and a few spokes came loose. Also, the motor mount bolts were loose from the factory...touch'em before you throw the leg over the bike!

Honda needs to throw away the bulky filter screen, install wider footpegs, and gamble on some new BNG's.

All in all, this bike is awesome, period. In stock trim it is more bike than 99.9% of riders out there need!!! ?

[vetrider]

Your first post, do you work for HONDA?

[yz440e]

Awesome Post Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BG31]

No, I don't work for Honda, but I may be unconsciously biased because I have owned Hondas for awhile and I guess somewhat loyal. I tried to give you guys honest feedback, irrelevent of color though. Does anyone have additional questions? Happy Riding!

[ndekens]

Here are the items that jumped out at me during my first ride on the '07 CRF450. These are the real deal and not magazine tells:

The biggest item that knocked me on my ass was the throttle response. It, combined with better low to mid hit completely changed the way the 450 delivered power. The front brake stopped on a dime and gave me 9 cents change. The rear brake was average.

Suspension wise, the rear shock was very good, tracked well, and didn't kick or swap. It combing with the 756 rear hooked up very very well. The front however still felt "they" are still trying to figure it out. It wanted to ride too low in its stroke which caused too much packing entering corners and down hill chops. It did soak up large hits however.

Chain stretched a ton, and a few spokes came loose. Also, the motor mount bolts were loose from the factory...touch'em before you throw the leg over the bike!

Honda needs to throw away the bulky filter screen, install wider footpegs, and gamble on some new BNG's.

All in all, this bike is awesome, period. In stock trim it is more bike than 99.9% of riders out there need!!! ?

Yep thats about what I have experienced with my 07' but its my first 450 so I had no prior experience to compare with. That front brake is killer though and yes the front suspension does feel a little like your riding a jack hammer. Im gonna go check my motor mount bolts now. Thanks!

[motoscotty]

Hey guys coming from a yami 450 guy your new bike is ridiculus that new carb and ac pump are the ticket To say the least I was very impressed with the hole bike handleing is great for a stock bike I always had a hard time riding Hondas for that pushing reason .The bike belongs to a beg. guy down the street he asked me to ride with him and check out his new bike so I probably did 10 laps on it airing it out a couple of times Here are my findings The bike starts easy hot or cold

susp. is very predictable hard pack and dry loam

braking is very good and what impressed me the most is the throttle response was instant right from the crack of the slightest no need for dealing with jetting and we are in San Jose actually we rode in soledad almost sea level about 90 degrees .Honda did good this year and I am very impressed and will be getting 2 of them my yam is good but it took so much testing to get there and 2500 in susp. work I dont SEE that the case with this bike HONDA DID GOOD THIS YEAR THAT IS MY GABBLE

[Kent Rathgeber]

How'd that new front tire work? I hear that Honda replaced the old Dunlop 742 (about time!!) with a new 742AF???

[motoscotty]

What ever is on there it worked great!! I am very very impressed with that bike..

[BG31]

Worked very well in a sand/dirt mix loam. (intermediate/hard)

I still think it doesn't bite as well as the 756 though.

[kris55]

The front however still felt "they" are still trying to figure it out. It wanted to ride too low in its stroke which caused too much packing entering corners and down hill chops. It did soak up large hits however.

:

Just out of curiosity how much do you weigh, and what have you set the rear sag at (if you have set it). Thanks.

[BG31]

I weigh @ 185 with gear. I will set the sag @100 once the suspension breaks in more. The forks fealt a little better with the second ride yesterday. They seemed more plush, but still packed a bit. I need speed up the rebound a click or two. The clutch was a little grabby. I can already feel grooves being born. Hinson here I come........Still no less than an awesome bike....BG

[Von_Chowder]

Dont want to steal your review BG, but thought I could back up a couple of your initial observations.

I've had my 07 for about 3 weeks now and had several rides. Some stock and now with the suspension revalved. I'm 6'2" 192#

bg31 is spot-on about the front brake. It is awesome. The front tire is good, I still like dunlop 773 or 756 up there.

The stock forks and shock DO soak up big hits very well, I was very surprised. They are also a lot better than the stock 05/06 as far as small bump feedback. They don't hurt your arms like the previous years. The suspension settles in a lot after a few rides and a few big hits. It is a noticable difference.

However, even after getting a lot out of the clickers, the stock bike was very sketchy overall when coming into a turn, especially standup sweepers with speed. It felt like the front and then the rear wanted to go in opposite directions.

I put a 5.6 spring on the back and .47s on the front, and a revalve of both ends, and now I can say with confidence that this bike is handling like a dream. I raced this past weekend on a rough track and I had no problem diving into the most inside ruts in every turn. I never had to work for it. It just went there. I never could get that tight of turn with so little effort out of the 05, even after revalving(different tuner, though) and the same spring setup. so as they say, "I'm lovin it" ?

Other mods: SDG tall seat, Pro Tapers Windham bend, 14/53 Tag sprockets, RK XRing chaing, WC rad braces.

Enjoy!

[jjgixxer]

I weigh @ 185 with gear. I will set the sag @100 once the suspension breaks in more. The forks fealt a little better with the second ride yesterday. They seemed more plush, but still packed a bit. I need speed up the rebound a click or two. The clutch was a little grabby. I can already feel grooves being born. Hinson here I come........Still no less than an awesome bike....BG

Go with a barnett much better basket..

[adamdf]

Just curious, are you guys planning on running different offset clamps with the 07 CRF450? I know that has been the custom for the earlier models, just wondering if this is still true for the 07s. I am in the market for a 450, just haven't picked my colour yet.

[TimFurryBalls]

Dont want to steal your review BG, but thought I could back up a couple of your initial observations.

I've had my 07 for about 3 weeks now and had several rides. Some stock and now with the suspension revalved. I'm 6'2" 192#

bg31 is spot-on about the front brake. It is awesome. The front tire is good, I still like dunlop 773 or 756 up there.

The stock forks and shock DO soak up big hits very well, I was very surprised. They are also a lot better than the stock 05/06 as far as small bump feedback. They don't hurt your arms like the previous years. The suspension settles in a lot after a few rides and a few big hits. It is a noticable difference.

However, even after getting a lot out of the clickers, the stock bike was very sketchy overall when coming into a turn, especially standup sweepers with speed. It felt like the front and then the rear wanted to go in opposite directions.

I put a 5.6 spring on the back and .47s on the front, and a revalve of both ends, and now I can say with confidence that this bike is handling like a dream. I raced this past weekend on a rough track and I had no problem diving into the most inside ruts in every turn. I never had to work for it. It just went there. I never could get that tight of turn with so little effort out of the 05, even after revalving(different tuner, though) and the same spring setup. so as they say, "I'm lovin it"

Other mods: SDG tall seat, Pro Tapers Windham bend, 14/53 Tag sprockets, RK XRing chaing, WC rad braces.

Enjoy!

Gee, with your settings, I could ride your bike with no problems! Besides your spring rates that is. . . ?

[biketrdr]

Go with a barnett much better basket..

if you go with the barnett do not use the springs!!! they are prone to breaking. ?

[jjgixxer]

if you go with the barnett do not use the springs!!! they are prone to breaking.

nope I use factory springs ,fibers ,plates you can't be OEM.. Now for other components I use hinson such as pressure plate, inner hub. I don't use the hinson basket just for the reason the Barnett has the stainless inserts that won't groove. Put it this way the hinson is a nice piece but the Barnett is over-built and I like too overbuild things. ?

[BG31]

no offsets...This bike turns so well it is too good to be true.(but, it is)

By the way, being that Honda lowered the '07 radiators by a hair, don't ride without radiator braces, unless you are so good that you will never let the grips touch the dirt.

Suspension has settled in an I have found very comfortable fork setting as follows: vet A rider @185lbs

Fork Compression (from stock) 1 click softer

Fork rebound (from stock) 2 clicks counterclockwise (decrease rebound damping / speed her up)

I have some enzo sub tanks that I may try very soon as well which will allow me to run a little more oil. Since she is so new, I want to give the forks a fair chance before I go nuts....BG

[motoscotty]

I have been riding the crap out of my new honda back to back with my 06 yam. 450 that has 2500 in susp. and a little tweeking on th motor . The red bike is way more responsive and handles so so good bone stock I am not going to do any thing to it but ride it ,Again I am new to honda what kind of oil do they like and are there any tricks to the two different oils , oh by the way I posted this on the yami forum and praticlly was shot and black balled so fast its kinda funny so you guys will be seeing me here

SCOTT

[matte]

I have been riding the crap out of my new honda back to back with my 06 yam. 450 that has 2500 in susp. and a little tweeking on th motor . The red bike is way more responsive and handles so so good bone stock I am not going to do any thing to it but ride it ,Again I am new to honda what kind of oil do they like and are there any tricks to the two different oils , oh by the way I posted this on the yami forum and praticlly was shot and black balled so fast its kinda funny so you guys will be seeing me here

SCOTT

You're gonna quickly find out that oil arguments/opinions are as common as dollar bills at a strip club around here. People will advocate everything from two dollar a gallon Shell Rotella to the ultra pricey "boutique" motorcycle specific stuff and everything in between. Personally all that arguing and contradictory technical detail gives me a headache so I just follow the common sense approach of using a decent quality synthetic (Mobil 1 15w-50 "Gold Cap") and changing it often. On the trans side I use the Honda 80/85 Trans oil (the pointy red bottle). Honda gave us the opportunity to use a tranny specific oil in the trans/clutch, why not take advantage of it. I change both sides every 5 hours and replace the filter every 3 or 4 changes (HoFlowFiltro HF-116)