When navigating the endless maze of ruts, getting the revving girl to calm down and turn proved tougher than expected. I was unable to overcome that top-heavy feel all morning. At warp speed (my warp speed), the bike didn't make me toil to keep it from flopping over, but once I slowed down, it was work to keep the grips clean. Nimbleness isn't the first trait listed in the description of a 450cc thumper anyway, but this one seemed to have an aversion to the entire concept. It felt worse than other CRF450Rs I've ridden off-road. After the race, Kramer and I found the reason for this was the high center of gravity. Summers likes to have his bikes tall in order to keep the footpegs and frame rails out of ruts. To gain the softer and more-progressive rear-wheel behavior he desires, he fabricates a linkage (the little delta-shaped piece, to be exact) built by a local machine shop that yields a flatter, XR600/650R-like ratio to replace the rapidly stiffening motocross ratio of the stock CRF linkage. This transformation, however, requires a 5mm-shorter shock. Unfortunately, the unit for our bike didn't arrive in time, so we kept the stock Showa, since Summers wasn't giving up his favorite hlins, which was mounted on his bike. That 5mm difference drastically raised the rear of the bike. Summers' mechanic Corey Parlin reduced the shock preload and raised the fork tubes in the clamps (the XR conventionals are shorter than the stock CRF units) for me to sit on the bike flat-footed-I knew I'd be doing some paddling and had to be able to reach the ground.
The swap to a conventional fork is Summers' route to entice some suppleness into the stiff aluminum frame. Although the fork flex is noticeable in the deepest of ruts, it appeared not to be bothersome. Kramer informed me afterward that some of my handling issues were fork flex along with the too-tall rear end raising the cg. Summers said he forgot to include the 650R fork brace, as he too belatedly discovered the flex in the front in the mud; it was the first time he had ridden with this front-end configuration in such muck. The condition was worsened by the shims fitting the smaller-diameter 650R fork into the CRF triple clamps; they expanded the fork spacing, allowing the front axle to twist even further.
But in Summers' defense, I must admit the CRF450R was simply too much bike for me in those conditions. I could see how at his speed, and with the correct shock, the mods made perfect sense. The big kicker is, instead of trying to make a big, heavy trailbike lighter and faster, he's now making a rocket motocrosser heavier and slower. It is truly a works bike that would make a moto guy green with envy. Some of Summers' mods are logical only if you are racing an event such as a GNCC. Take the XR650R fork, for example (if you could get your hands on a set). For those looking for a midsized Honda trailbike, I'd recommend waiting a bit longer for the CRF450X-Summers' is 100 percent race pony and rewards only aggressive riders. Plus, the 450X will have electric starting, something even Summers is looking forward to using!