Honda's new CRF450L, and what riding in the PNW looks like.

71T Targa · 12-27-2018, 02:35 PM

Good read from the Pacific North West Dual Sport Group. And a ton of pictures...

https://www.pnwdualsport.com/news/2018/12/10/event-the-450l-premiere?fbclid=IwAR1sRy_hHLUOiRnEzbB0fG1mIh8QcxzV XloMTbJB4hIRsevO_pRO3k_L7CU

unclebilly · unclebilly's Garage

I have a CRF450X that keeps kicking my ass. I hear the CRF450L might be a bit more tame?

71T Targa · 02:45 PM

I think the L still has a good bit of kick.

EDIT: Side by side, the L has 15#s on the X but I don't see much else that's different. But with a programmable fuel injection it could be a whole nother beast.

manbridge 74 · 12-27-2018, 04:28 PM

Had an 2002 CRF 450, ‘‘twas a missle!

Bill Douglas · 12-27-2018, 05:40 PM

I read up on the maintenance details

being a dual sport you would be tempted to clock up some road miles but it needs a valve clearance job often. AND a rebuild a bit too often as well. I can't remember the details but it scared me off. My XR400 gets a valve clearance once a year and a new piston every 20 years.

manbridge 74 · 12-27-2018, 05:51 PM

Can’t speak for the newer models but guys around here treated them like XR400s even streeted them for way over the maintenance schedule requirements like pistons and such. They did change fluids regular. I recall mine would suck water in through the tranny breather hose until I routed it up high. I imagine the shock loading from landing big jumps was part of the 50 hour piston recc.

manbridge 74 · 12-27-2018, 05:53 PM

My valves were only out after first adjust, but I was trail riding only. Not regularly pinning the limiter....

ckelly78z · 12-27-2018, 06:07 PM

I'll keep my Kaw KLR 250, tame enough for me, but still quick, and light.

Bill Douglas · 12-27-2018, 06:08 PM

Another plus to owning a Honda is us guys are used to Porsche prices. LOL everything seems a bargain.

manbridge 74 · 12-27-2018, 06:12 PM

Yeah, the 450 is a chunk but the 250 back then couldn’t pop the front wheel over a log without clutching. The 450 also excelled over 8000 feet. With good traction, 5th gear roll on wheelies!

Jeff Higgins · 12-27-2018, 06:36 PM

I've always wondered about the limited fuel capacity on machines like this. This one only holds two gallons, with an "extend range" three gallon tank in the works. That seems awfully limiting to me.

I occasionally ride with a guy who rides a Husaberg 570. In stock configuration, it holds less than two gallons of gas. He added a second tank, raising capacity to something still under three gallons. I have an Acerbis tank on my XR650L that holds 5.8 gallons...

Range is a constant issue when riding with him. We rode out on our Olympic Peninsula this last fall, which has some fairly remote areas to explore. He simply did not have the range to make it between gas stations a few times, and we wound up draining gas out of my bike so he could. A friend of his was riding a KTM 450 with the same problem. Thank God for my Big Red Pig "tanker", which saved the day for both of them a few times too many.

manbridge 74 · 12-27-2018, 06:46 PM

Range was not really an issue for me but I was known to strap a couple liters down which I emptied after the first 30 minutes or so. Definitely would’ve gotten a bigger tank for long days but the economy was fair to good at altitude after rejetting...

71T Targa · 12-28-2018, 08:32 AM

Yes, with the maintenance schedule and low range (80 miles?) this isn't a bike that can really be a daily commuter. I'd have to stop for fuel just going in to my 'office' and back.

I think this would be a good replacement for an orange bike though, and I expect it will need less care and feeding in the long run. The $10k price of entry is killer though.

pavulon · 12-28-2018, 09:50 AM

Won't the aftermarket quickly address the (really) small fuel capacity?

Jeff Higgins · 12-28-2018, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pavulon

Won't the aftermarket quickly address the (really) small fuel capacity?

They have. Like I mentioned above, there will be an aftermarket "extended range" tank that raises the capacity to a whopping three gallons. One of the articles I read on this bike names the manufacturer (Clark, or IMS, or one of the big players), I just can't remember who it is.

Packaging is the big limitation on bikes like this. Gone are the days you can just hang a bigger tank over the top tube. Everything has to fit inside of the frame and bodywork.

There are plenty of places up here in the PNW where I ride that three gallons will simply not get you in and back out. Not even close. The area around Packwood where they rode for this article is one of those places.

To realistically represent what they were up against down there, they should have had photos of the chase truck full of gas cans. No way in hell could they have ridden that area without one. Some of those roads are far enough from any gas station that if they had filled up and ridden to the beginning of the offroad part, they would have used half their gas just getting that far.

Ultimately, that means you are still hauling your dirt bike out to the riding area in the back of a truck or on a trailer. That's a deal killer for many dual sport riders, the ones who think the beauty of a dual sport lies in dispensing with the truck or trailer.

My buddy's (with the Husaberg) philosophy is that it's still a dirt bike, and he still uses his trailer to haul it out to the offroad parks. The only reason for the plate is so he can legally connect off road sections by riding on public roads. That, and he can haul it out to the woods and ride Forest Service roads, which now require plates. In other words, he has a dirt bike that he can ride on a road, if he has to, and not get busted.

When he does try to use it as a proper "dual sport", like on our Peninsula ride, it becomes a pretty decent pain in the ass for everyone else. Purely because of its lack of range.

71T Targa · 12-28-2018, 10:21 AM

The 450L has a titanium tank, and the bigger replacement will be complicated for sure...

I'd like to have one, but as a 3rd or 4th bike. I like a dirt bike that is barely legal.

Some day I'll have an empty house and a full garage.

Bill Douglas · 12-28-2018, 10:27 AM

I don't think I'd want to do the valve clearances on THAT. Sure it's a better bike than my XR400, but I can do the valve clearances and oil change in about half an hour.

71T Targa · 12-28-2018, 10:32 AM

And for this ride they had plenty of support. That's a chase truck I'd like to have.

Jeff Higgins · 12-28-2018, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I don't think I'd want to do the valve clearances on THAT. Sure it's a better bike than my XR400, but I can do the valve clearances and oil change in about half an hour.

I'm sure it's superior in every way to my old XR650L (which they had along as "support bikes", by the way). Problem is, I'm not superior to my XR650L. As a matter of fact, I'm markedly inferior to it, and can prove that at will.

There are certainly guys who can use the performance on offer with a bike like this. I can't. Not many of my riding buddies, if they were honest with themselves, could either. We've seen the same trend in street bikes, with 600 and 1000cc sport bikes having vastly surpassed anyone but a professional racer's skills several bike generations ago.

Yet they keep selling, for whatever reason. The price is not only the initial sticker, but the onerous maintenance schedules and requirements. I mean, really - where the hell are the valves on this thing? My God, the hardest part of adjusting them on my XR650L is stretching it long enough to actually finish a beer.