Bike: Honda CRF450R
Rider: Nick Wey, #27
Mechanic: Brian Calma
Sponsors: MDK, MotoSport, MSR, Honda, Renthal, Bridgestone, Pro Circuit, RG3, ASV, FLU Graphics, Pivot Works, VP Fuel, Pro Honda Oils, Hinson, Acerbis, Mechanix Wear, Twin Air, Lightspeed Racing
When you first think about the 27 machine of Nick Wey, you wonder, "How does that guy hang out in the top five, or even the top three, every week?" Well, first of all, the guy's fast, and second, the guy knows how to set up his bike. The control setup was a bit Bob Hannah, well, only the levers, meaning they were low. Yet the bar position and foot controls were a bit Ryan Orr, or in other words, normal. I was super-comfortable on the bike right away. Actually, I was a little uncomfortable because I was riding a top-five machine and I wouldn't have any ready-made excuses for not riding fast.
Nick Wey's CRF450R
Good thing that's just what this bike did.
The motor was amazingly smooth, strong and seemed to have some sort of traction control one can usually only dream about. The fine-tuned suspension may have also had something to do with getting the power to the ground. The harder you pushed the bike, the better it worked. What I was expecting to feel from the motor and what I felt were totally separate. My first thought was that the motor is going to be so hard-hitting and fast that it would wear me out in just one lap. Surprise, it was really ridable. Don't get me wrong, Wey's machine had more ponies than stock, but they put the horsepower where it needed to be so the aggressive rider can get the most out of it. It was really smooth off the bottom, just kept building power and never quit. The bike wouldn't break loose, even when I went from the deep stuff to one of the few slippery parts of Southwick. Wey's wrench, Brian Calma, said they have been constantly tuning power out of the motor since the start of the Nationals, a move that has led to better finishes. Wey and Calma are playing the game of trying to find the horsepower on the starts and long straights while still maintaining ridability everywhere else on the track.
Just like a tight dress and Jessica Alba, the suspension complemented the motor. Upon acceleration, the rear wheel stayed planted and kept the power on the ground. When I first hopped out onto the track and was riding slowly, the setup was a little iffy-but only because I was off the gas. Wey's bike seemed a little dead and didn't want to settle, but I quickly found out that the faster you went in, the better you went out. My confidence grew with speed. I was able to come into the deeper rough kickers a lot faster without having the rear end come up over the top. The bike remained straight, stable and very predictable. It has a works bike suspension quality of being plush but never bottoming too bad, even set up low in the rear to improve the stability and keep the front wheel light in the sand. And since a race bike is meant to go fast, this is what this setup does.
Opinions
Holy smokes, I got to ride Nick Wey's bike! That warm, fuzzy feeling still hasn't worn off. Maybe it's because the rear spring of Wey's bike felt as if it had 4 feet of travel, as it would absorb ridiculously hard hits like they were tiny speed bumps. Or it could be the fact that the motor accelerated faster than an F-16, with absolutely no kinks or burbles in the shifting or power delivery. Perhaps I am still stoked simply on the basis that the #27 CRF turned consistently and smoothly, without any abnormal pushing or wandering. And maybe it's just that... -Chris Denison
On the first jump I hit on this bike, I twisted the throttle like normal, but the power was anything but that. It launched me way too high and far and sent me into a landing zone of cupped-out braking bumps-I was doomed! But even though I landed the front wheel into a hole, a hit that would have clanked metal-to-metal on a standard fork, Wey's bike absorbed it like it was nothing. The motor felt similar in character to stock, except maybe on the top, where it pulled longer and with a bit more oomph. So like a lot of guys on the 450s, I guess it's the one who can use what's already there that makes the difference when it comes to engines. -Jimmy Lewis