Staff Infection, Part 1: How Dirt Rider Infects The 2010 CRF450R – Dirt Rider Magazine

www.yoshimura-rd.com): RS-4 full exhaust system, PIM-2 Programmer, Cam
Hinson (www.hinsonracing.com): SS Series Single-Spring ClutchJimmyed
I have a lot of experience with Honda’s latest 450 since it was my Long Haul machine last year. I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted to do to the bike, but was not sure exactly how or with which companies I was going to get there since we like to spread the love.The improvements Honda made to the bike for 2010 go a long way, especially the easier starting and reluctance to stalling, but for me the suspension is a bit harsh and the chassis a bit stiff. Now Chris’ setup was definitely a step in the right direction-for him, Mr. “I used to race Supercross.” With his mods it still had a lot of the stock bike’s stiff nature, and now more of the stock bike’s pronounced power. I wanted less of both. A call to Factory Connection was in order since the company has nailed it on the last few projects we have tasked it with. I explained what I was looking for: The same progression and bottoming resistance as stock, but I wanted Yamaha or KTM plushness for the first half of the stroke.While my suspension was at FC, I ordered up smooth-looking RidePG.com custom graphics and number plate backgrounds with my number 10 (symbolizing perfection) on the plates. That is cocky, I know, just wait ’til I go to 11. Just about the time I was done polishing the big 1-0 a carbon fiber kit from Leo Vince showed up for us to test on the CRF250R; luckily, it also fit the 450, so I acquired a certain level of trickness in one sly move. Chain guide, skid plate, countershaft sprocket cover and a gas tank shield for looks made the kit. It glowed with bling and fit sweetly. For tire testing, and I’m glad I did this, I spooned on a set of Pirelli Scorpion MX Mid-Soft tires. Man, do they hook up!What I got back was a suspension kit of factory proportions. It has the external bladder on the shock plus a shock spring preload ring with a bearing to free up the initial movement. It was set up to run the FC link arm that lowers the back of the bike as well. Both front and rear were revalved and resprung. So I threw the suspension back on the bike, while still using Chris’ “Hey, I used to ride Outdoor Nationals and I need tons of power” motor and pipe setup to see how things played out. For me, having a faster bike tasks the suspension that much more. Well, I got 75 percent of what I asked for, and Factory Connection nailed the plushness. But the bike was riding a little low in the stroke for me, especially in the back, and I lost a lot of the turning character I loved. And now I was bottoming a bit more than preferred, and clickers were not fixing these issues. So I relied on FC’s 100-percent satisfaction guarantee after I’d ridden the bike at two tracks, and it was back in the shop for some fine-tuning in the valving.