Not Happy...still! 09 CRF 450 sketchy!

[polarbear]

Hey guys, I need some answers. I have a 09 crf 450 and since I got it I love the way it feels, how it corners and how light it feels but I hate how sketchy it is! I actually am not enjoying riding as much. I have had my forks revalved for my weight and for MX and have the .48 springs and also have the stiffer shock. This has helped for my riding and my weight but it still is not giving me the confidence I used to have. On fast straights its very unstable and coming into breaking bumps its horrible. And whoops... oh my...nightmares!

What I need is an explanation of why its doing this and what settings I can make to fix it.

I rode my bro's bike (KX 450) and I was loving the track. I was faster, more comfortable and tons for confidence. I could go through the whoops way faster with out bouncing all over the place and it felt way stable.? His suspension was also done and revalved. When I was done riding his bike I noticed his rebound was ALL THE WAY IN. You could compress it and it seemed like forever till it came back up. My suspenion guys who did mine had my rebound 4 clicks in, from ALL THE WAY OUT.

I did tighten my rebound screw and rode and felt much better but still not quite how I wanted. Checked his forks too and kinda copied. The forks seem ok. I have read the threads on settings and all but there was not much info as to why you choose the settings and in what situations do certain settings help and/or hinder your speed/confidence/enjoyment. Like High and Low speed compressions. When should you or should I change them to ride faster. Forks and Shock combined. I don't know the science behind suspension settings that well so if anyone has time please explain the reasons.

P.S. my sag is at 112 and weigh 220 with gear. Ride mostly MX tracks especially mine... here is some pics of the track so you can get an Idea...

www.freewebs.com/helltrack

[LEMMON1]

u shouldnt be coping his bike at all unless it was another 09-10 crf450...whatever his suspension setup is is for his bike not urs...sounds to me like u just need to play with ur settings, alot more...lil tweak here and there... suspension board? i dont think everybike is meant for every person..i think riding styles and habits fit/suite certain people...maybe a crf just isnt for u???

[honda88]

I dont have an 09 but I am very good at suspension settings. First ,a good suspension company when they do your suspension will only get you in the ball park depending what you told them your riding style and ability. you need to experiment with settings.dont be afraid to turn those clickers. NO way should the rebound need to be turned in all the way way too slow. Start with the settings from suspension company and go 2 stiffer in back and 1 in front then progresively do 1 at a time until you feel comfortable on the bike. Yes it will take a while but it will make for a better riding experience and safer. I find most people either are afraid to play with the clickers or say they will do it next time which they never do. Also try 110 sag if not just as an experiment try 105 It worked for me. Take a couple of hours play around with different settings you will get it,Good luck.

[SBRacing]

Try RG3 they have tons of R&D with this bike.. out of the box its almost unrideable.. its a easy $1000 bucks to get it the way you want , my YZs where half that.. but once its dialed in you will love it..

[97on22s]

It sounds like its an error on the bike being fine tuned after the suspension was setup.

one do you have the link for the back? It helps a ton. 112mm sag seems like an awful lot. I run 105-107 with a link at the most.

Talk with your suspension tuner ask them to talk you through the setup over the phone if they are out of town or have them come to the track.

[MELK-MAN]

almost sounds like the bike is very "nervous" and way front end biased. How much fork tube is showing above the tripple clamp? Dropping the forks can help, how about something as simple as tire pressure? Possible it is too high?

As others said, the valving and settings as they come from whomever did the suspension is just a ball park. You may find you have to ad a bunch of clicks.

How does the bike look when you hold it to the side with the front brake on and push it down and forward by the footpeg? Does the bike lower and rise all together? or does the rear end jump up a bit quick.. Rebound on the rear shock will affect the bike the most. Not saying it is wrong, but if the shock rebound is way off not much else being right will help .

[ebeck]

Sounds like my bike was. If the shock is wrong it will cause problems, big problems. I added a Scotts damper to mine but all that did was make me ride faster and ultimately hit the limit of the the improper rear shock in 4the gear going downhill. Like you the bike felt nervous and lacked I confidence in carrying speed. Exactly how you describe. Well the Damper REALLY helped, too much actually. I chopped 20 seconds off my lap times the day I crashed. But.... I now have a broken ankle, arm and femur. As bad as it is for you, try being 175 pounds.

Frankly people are guessing at the shock. If your bouncing all over on whoops it is the shock.

I just spent mu way out of the hamster wheel of shock tuning. I contacted Dave at FBI Ohlins and had him re-valve a shock for me before it left there. He was an Ohlins R&D guy for years. In this way I do not get a shock, send it to a tuner who botches it once again. When I go back out in June I will have confidence. I am over suspension "tuners" or guessers as I call them. In 2 years the suspension will be fine but until shops figure it your your just a guinea pig. Send the 08 shock in if comes back right but then again it has been around for 7 years. It will take time. Never met a happy CRF shock owner yet regardless of who tuned it.

Most guys I see are using stock shock spring at your weight and have good results. On a normal bike you would go stiffer on the 09 things are a bit different, or so it seems.

Did you add a lowering link? Also a new shock linkage like the one RG3 sells seems to help or at least people report that it does.

Try the suspension forum and put a Scotts damper on, you'll thank me later, but not until you straighten out the shock performance issues!

Good luck!

[MELK-MAN]

steering Dampers are not cures for suspension woes..

[97on22s]

motocross action has a write up on the 09 crf450r from mx tech....might be worth reading.

[Phil Hannah]

I have been waiting for that since it got out that Jeremy gave them a 09 done by him to test. How did you get it so quick? My issue probaly wont be here for another couple weeks! Must be a dealer, they get them so early!!!!

[mxjunkie80]

The mags say, get the stiffer spring in front, .48. And put the shock link in the rear. I did both these things but still haven't even rode my bike. It's brand new, sitting in my living room. Rain........

[ridleyredraider]

Check the tire pressure too. A little too much can make quite a difference.

[GUTCH]

Move your rear wheel forward, run 108 of sag. Do not run your rebound all the way in, it will pack. This bike is set up from stock, a little stink bug. You need more "chopper". Re-valve your steering damper and stiffen it up. Try these things, you will be happy. Oh yeah, have your rear shock reduced 2mm, it will save you from a link.

[801pe]

Do yourself a favor and get with someone who understands suspension and have them watch and help you dial in your bike. The handling traits you are describing are the result of an improperly tuned suspension. I raced my 09 the second day I had it, dialed it in on a saturday and raced it on sunday. The bike was completely stock, and I went 1-1, checked out.

[97on22s]

Everyone on an 09 should check it out. the Mx-tech write up on how to make the bike really work is something to look at.

[Eddie8v]

IT's hard for me to tell, but it appears that you put slightly stiffer fork springs in (.48 vs .47 stock) and you also have the stiffer shock spring? Did you put the OEM Honda 5.7 shock spring in, compared to 5.5 stock?

I guess my point is that you are still imbalanced rear-high no matter what stiffer shock spring you put in there. You likely need .49 fork springs to balance the bike and drop the forks in the clamps as much as you can. Not enough shock (and too much fork) rebound can cause a rear-high sketchiness.

IMO, if you are intermediate or faster, you need at least a 5.7 shock spring and .49 - .50 fork springs in the bike...

Hey guys, I need some answers. I have a 09 crf 450 and since I got it I love the way it feels, how it corners and how light it feels but I hate how sketchy it is! I actually am not enjoying riding as much. I have had my forks revalved for my weight and for MX and have the .48 springs and also have the stiffer shock. This has helped for my riding and my weight but it still is not giving me the confidence I used to have. On fast straights its very unstable and coming into breaking bumps its horrible. And whoops... oh my...nightmares!

What I need is an explanation of why its doing this and what settings I can make to fix it.

I rode my bro's bike (KX 450) and I was loving the track. I was faster, more comfortable and tons for confidence. I could go through the whoops way faster with out bouncing all over the place and it felt way stable.? His suspension was also done and revalved. When I was done riding his bike I noticed his rebound was ALL THE WAY IN. You could compress it and it seemed like forever till it came back up. My suspenion guys who did mine had my rebound 4 clicks in, from ALL THE WAY OUT.

I did tighten my rebound screw and rode and felt much better but still not quite how I wanted. Checked his forks too and kinda copied. The forks seem ok. I have read the threads on settings and all but there was not much info as to why you choose the settings and in what situations do certain settings help and/or hinder your speed/confidence/enjoyment. Like High and Low speed compressions. When should you or should I change them to ride faster. Forks and Shock combined. I don't know the science behind suspension settings that well so if anyone has time please explain the reasons.

P.S. my sag is at 112 and weigh 220 with gear. Ride mostly MX tracks especially mine... here is some pics of the track so you can get an Idea...

www.freewebs.com/helltrack

[polarbear]

Wow thanks guys for all the info. Sorry i was out for 3 days on a trip. Its nice to come back and see all the advice.

I am always adjusting my tire pressure. In fact i actually get pinched tubes quite often cause i can feel the difference in riding when i have lower air pressure. This bike loves low air pressure.

I don't have the shock link. Its all stock except for the stiffer spring and revalve. I also, to lift up the front, have the fork tubes slid all the way down in the triple clamps.

Some of you mentioned that the bike comes unbalanced and going one rate stiffer front and back may help but its still unbalanced. This may be the answer.

The suspension guy is going to the track with me this saturday to try to figure it out. Im done feeling uncomfortable on this bike. If he can't fix it with what i paid for then maybe i'll get stiffer front springs and if after that it still doesnt feel right i am selling.

I know the kx is a different bike then the crf but after copying his i did ride better and was faster in the woops.

I checked my race sag before i rode and it was 110. But even at 110 feels "stink buggy". I rode and after a while loosened the ring nuts about 3 full circles and rode it again and felt much happier. I read some people have there crfs upwords of 115 race sag and love it.

Why??? I have no idea!

Got lots of tweaking to do... Again!

[The Captain]

At your weight you'll need .50kg springs unless your extremely slow. The stock shock spring should work for you at that weight.

115mm sag is way too much, period. Once you address the spring issue I wouldn't run any more than 110mm.

I'm your weight, have the .50's up front, completely stock out back and worked a good part of the season getting it dialed in the fall of '08. For me the rear feels good, stock spring, clickers near factory settings. The front on the other hand took me some time to get dialed through oil weight, volume, different springs, etc. but have not had them revalved and I'm happy.

Not that it's the best thing to do but if you want my exact settings let me now, I'll track 'em down.

[polarbear]

At your weight you'll need .50kg springs unless your extremely slow. The stock shock spring should work for you at that weight.

115mm sag is way too much, period. Once you address the spring issue I wouldn't run any more than 110mm.

I'm your weight, have the .50's up front, completely stock out back and worked a good part of the season getting it dialed in the fall of '08. For me the rear feels good, stock spring, clickers near factory settings. The front on the other hand took me some time to get dialed through oil weight, volume, different springs, etc. but have not had them revalved and I'm happy.

Not that it's the best thing to do but if you want my exact settings let me now, I'll track 'em down.

Awesome. I will bring this up with the suspension guy on saturday. Im thinking the .50 would be nice. I have .48 but it would be nice to get some .49 if they make them.

[Redbullrider09]

At your weight you'll need .50kg springs unless your extremely slow. The stock shock spring should work for you at that weight.

115mm sag is way too much, period. Once you address the spring issue I wouldn't run any more than 110mm.

I'm your weight, have the .50's up front, completely stock out back and worked a good part of the season getting it dialed in the fall of '08. For me the rear feels good, stock spring, clickers near factory settings. The front on the other hand took me some time to get dialed through oil weight, volume, different springs, etc. but have not had them revalved and I'm happy.

Not that it's the best thing to do but if you want my exact settings let me now, I'll track 'em down.

Captain how heavy are you? Did you drop your forks to be flush in the clamps?