Bike: Honda CRF450R
Rider: Jeff Gibson, #48
Mechanic: Pat Thrall
Sponsors: Subway, Coca-Cola, Honda, Leo Vince, Shultz Racing Corp, MB1, Tokyo Mods, ProTaper, Factory Effex, Ready Filter, Ride Engineering, Storm, Motion Pro, Stomp, 661, Champion Tool Storage, Pro-Wheel, Braking, Michelin, Wiseco, UFO, Design 360, Answer Racing, Gaerne, Scott Sport Optics, Ogio, Sano Systems, Tsubaki, Sunstar
You know how you go to Subway (the sandwich shop) and stand in front of the food counter and tell the server exactly how you want your sandwich? Well, as long as the riders on this team will be happy with a Honda CRF450R as the base model, they can have their Subway any way they want it. Jeff Gibson has a very unique setup, just like teammate Jason Thomas (see Oct. '05), whose bike we rode last year. Since Gibson is a little more on the normal side of things sizewise, it was going to be a lot easier for us to adapt. The fit was instant as Gibson's bar was pretty normal, even with a lower lever position, so everything fit right into place. At first, when I was putting around for photos, I was aware of the stepped seat, but as soon as I began riding it as I needed to, I never thought about it or even felt it for that matter; it let me get low into the turns and held me there.
Gibson's motor setup was potent and powerful. It churns out more initial snap than a stock CRF, and it builds strong and hard with so much on top that I wasn't really able to use all that power up there. The good thing about the power was it didn't build too quickly or waste rpm, so you could torque it around successfully-you got to love 450s for that. Going in a gear high was no problem; even in the deepest sand no clutch was necessary. The issues became perdition when I got into the upper Rs and the bike became really light on the front end and went a little faster than I wanted over the merciless track. For sure, this bike would have been a lot more fun on a track you could open it up on without so much consequence.
Gibson's suspension setup seems tuned to work with his howling motor. It was a very stiff and planted bike that used up the initial part of the stroke and packed into the midstroke. This gave the bike a long, low but still very level feel, whereas a lot of the other teams were going for a very-low-in-the-rear-only feeling for added stability. The other thing this Subway bike did was turn on the front wheel. I usually like this, but not at this track, since the front wheel was getting kicked into too many holes. I wouldn't nut up with the throttle to carry the front wheel over the bumps. Gibson's suspension especially wanted me to let the front wheel skim or hit the whoops, instead of pulling the front up over everything as I've become accustomed to on stock bikes on tracks this rough. That way, the rear wheel follows without going deep into the same bump and then kicking, especially on suspension this stiff. It never came close to bottoming, and I don't think I could ride it hard enough to make it bottom if I tried. Race suspension usually has a buffer for disaster hits built in, and this one did for sure.
Opinions
Gibson's bike was a blast to ride. The hump seat was nice! I liked the general setup of the bike, such as the tall bar with its slightly forward feel. I don't think I have enough mass or speed to make the suspension work correctly, yet the bike didn't really toss or buck too badly so long as it stayed under power. The motor was strong and had a good, snappy midrange hit that was always available and could get you out of trouble in deep sand. The CRF450 has excellent performance in stock trim, and I felt like the #48 machine was just a better version of an already great bike. -Chris Denison
One of the most amazing things to me is how much you can change the characteristics of a bike with setup and aftermarket parts. Jeff Gibson's CRF450 is much different than most I've ridden, with suspension that was far too stiff for my weight and speed. The motor was very controllable and seemed to pull forever. The Leo Vince exhaust note was noticeably quiet, which is a good thing for keeping tracks open. -Sean Finley