Another dead CRF450X Transmission

[Kory]

I had one of the first 450R's when they came out, and I was the first to purchase a CRF450X from my dealer. I loved my R, and thought the electric start would be a nice feature. Last week I was riding on one of my favorite rides, and the transimission siezed when I was going about 70mph. I have ridden this ride many times and I have never had any problems before. I had topped off the fluid before I rode. It appears to be bone dry now. I hadn't read any of the transmission posts before, I wish I had. The good news is I'm not alone. I'm really not sure about what to do now. I take great pride in keeping my bike in great shape and have never had any problems. It's not a good feeling to have your back tire lock up at high speeds. Has anyone fixed their transmission and then ridden again without problems? I've always loved Honda, but I rode my buddies KTM back to my trailer. His transmission was fine. What do I do now?

[IvanCRF]

I had one of the first 450R's when they came out, and I was the first to purchase a CRF450X from my dealer. I loved my R, and thought the electric start would be a nice feature. Last week I was riding on one of my favorite rides, and the transimission siezed when I was going about 70mph. I have ridden this ride many times and I have never had any problems before. I had topped off the fluid before I rode. It appears to be bone dry now. I hadn't read any of the transmission posts before, I wish I had. The good news is I'm not alone. I'm really not sure about what to do now. I take great pride in keeping my bike in great shape and have never had any problems. It's not a good feeling to have your back tire lock up at high speeds. Has anyone fixed their transmission and then ridden again without problems? I've always loved Honda, but I rode my buddies KTM back to my trailer. His transmission was fine. What do I do now?

yeah, aussiecrfx rebuilt his tranny and a few others have as well. some were even running a full quart in the trans. since you are in the need of a rebuild, get the updated tranny gears because those have grooves which help retain oil.(assuming you have an 05) ?

[74barrio]

I had one of the first 450R's when they came out, and I was the first to purchase a CRF450X from my dealer. I loved my R, and thought the electric start would be a nice feature. Last week I was riding on one of my favorite rides, and the transimission siezed when I was going about 70mph. I have ridden this ride many times and I have never had any problems before. I had topped off the fluid before I rode. It appears to be bone dry now. I hadn't read any of the transmission posts before, I wish I had. The good news is I'm not alone. I'm really not sure about what to do now. I take great pride in keeping my bike in great shape and have never had any problems. It's not a good feeling to have your back tire lock up at high speeds. Has anyone fixed their transmission and then ridden again without problems? I've always loved Honda, but I rode my buddies KTM back to my trailer. His transmission was fine. What do I do now?

You may want to check out this thread and my response on the second page, it may explain why your transmission was dry:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=568271

Is there evidence that your engine vent line (the one that comes out of the valve cover) spewed out a bunch of oil in the airbox (or out the rear of the bike if you have it rerouted) or is the engine side fuller than than normal (i.e. more than you last put in). This could mean you have a blown seal in between the two chambers and oil is transfering over from the transmission side to the engine side. I went through two clutches on my old bike before I figured out what was going on, luckily my transmission was spared.

[CS105]

You may want to check out this thread and my response on the second page, it may explain why your transmission was dry:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=568271

Is there evidence that your engine vent line (the one that comes out of the valve cover) spewed out a bunch of oil in the airbox (or out the rear of the bike if you have it rerouted) or is the engine side fuller than than normal (i.e. more than you last put in). This could mean you have a blown seal in between the two chambers and oil is transfering over from the transmission side to the engine side. I went through two clutches on my old bike before I figured out what was going on, luckily my transmission was spared.

That's good info ?

[Joe92GT]

I had one of the first 450R's when they came out, and I was the first to purchase a CRF450X from my dealer. I loved my R, and thought the electric start would be a nice feature. Last week I was riding on one of my favorite rides, and the transimission siezed when I was going about 70mph. I have ridden this ride many times and I have never had any problems before. I had topped off the fluid before I rode. It appears to be bone dry now. I hadn't read any of the transmission posts before, I wish I had. The good news is I'm not alone. I'm really not sure about what to do now. I take great pride in keeping my bike in great shape and have never had any problems. It's not a good feeling to have your back tire lock up at high speeds. Has anyone fixed their transmission and then ridden again without problems? I've always loved Honda, but I rode my buddies KTM back to my trailer. His transmission was fine. What do I do now?

So in a ride back to the trailer you had to comment on his transmission being good? oh, wait its a ktm.. the best bike ever.

How did you top off the fluid? I just drain and add a new quart if I was worried about the trans fluid being low. This may help out again.. also lets you see exactly how much was left in it. Also the benefit of running rotella 15-40, it doesn't cost a whole lot and I change fluids a lot more than if running expensive oil.

use the updated parts on the rebuild (I would think you'd not be able to buy the older stuff), and you'll be ok.

[jams229]

Kory, unfortunately this has happened way too often. Happened to me on my

'05 CRFX450 in Baja two years ago. Third gear seized to the countershaft when I was doing about 65. I had it fixed, with no help from Honda, and it ran great for another year before I sold it and bought a WR450.

Lots of folks have replaced the valves with stainless steel ones with good results. You can look up Yanni in the DualSport forum for more advice.

Good luck,

Jim

[JohnnyAirtime]

I've always loved Honda, but I rode my buddies KTM back to my trailer. His transmission was fine. What do I do now?

You sell your 450X asap....!!! (buy a KTM)

Don't even repair it. Just off it to the next Honda loving rider you know.

..... with comments like that, you don't deserve the beloved X. ?

.

[cubera]

You sell your 450X asap....!!! (buy a KTM)

Don't even repair it. Just off it to the next Honda loving rider you know.

..... with comments like that, you don't deserve the beloved X. ?

.

?

[Aussie CRFX Rider]

I've always loved Honda, but I rode my buddies KTM back to my trailer. His transmission was fine. What do I do now?

Hi Kory, sorry to hear what happened!! What do you do now? - Fix your bike and keep riding!! S#$@ happens!!!

Honda's have 1 big advantage, they are designed to be rebuilt.

If you drove your car the way you ride your bike, it would blow up also!!!

Read the TT forums regularly - they give you a lot of up to date information - its a bit like watching the news on TV each night!

Like the KTM you rode, your transmission was probably fine before it f%$#@$ up!

All bikes have some dramas, if not they have no power or are not ridden hard enough!!

The 450X IS an awesome and very reliable bike. It (like all bikes) has some issues. When mine broke, I fixed it and kept riding!! I still have it and love it 1 year later!!

Aussie.

[obmas]

so true

[cubera]

Hi Kory, sorry to hear what happened!! What do you do now? - Fix your bike and keep riding!! S#$@ happens!!!

Honda's have 1 big advantage, they are designed to be rebuilt.

If you drove your car the way you ride your bike, it would blow up also!!!

Read the TT forums regularly - they give you a lot of up to date information - its a bit like watching the news on TV each night!

Like the KTM you rode, your transmission was probably fine before it f%$#@$ up!

All bikes have some dramas, if not they have no power or are not ridden hard enough!!

The 450X IS an awesome and very reliable bike. It (like all bikes) has some issues. When mine broke, I fixed it and kept riding!! I still have it and love it 1 year later!!

Aussie.

Well said, AussieCRFX:thumbsup: Gas for you my friend.

[Kory]

Thank you! I think that's what happened. I did overfill my engine oil, it wasn't by much, but I was in a hurry and probably didn't check it good enough. Thanks a lot for this info and to everyone who responded. What a great resource!

[IvanCRF]

What a great resource!

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