have I lost my mind?

The brutal reality of the CRF450 is that it likes to slam, claw and attack; all virtual opposites of the tight/trail off-road landscape. In spite of all the effort to slow it down, it's a seething animal that likes speed.












Sunline's Motoray Revolver handguards have a Teflon sleeve on the bracket, so they revolve out of harm's way in a crash. They get high marks as one of the best deflectors going.








Moose Racing's carbon skid plate is beefy, yet lightweight. She wasn't the easiest thing to install, but really saves the frame and cases from abuse.








R&D's Power Bowl drastically improves jetting and your ability to tune the FOR carburetor.











FMF's Power Core 4 is truly a strong system with internal tuneability, soft sound and feathery weight.






Love the IMS tank; smooth lines and no irritating bulges.













The ESP re-valved suspension was too moto and not nearly cushy enough for trail hack. We've had great results with the Seal Savers; they keep junk from invading the fork seals.







Renthal Twin Ring rear sprocket, TM Designworks chain guide. Quick and dirty here: loved the Renthal O-ringer, strong, maintenance-free and gold. The Renthal Twin Ring rear sprocket is flat gnarly! This sprocket is incredibly tough, featured no wear after months of testing, and is light considering that it has a steel outer ring. We've given out nothing but chicky cuddles about the TM Designworks rear guide. Tough. The sucker is brutally efficient, light, and can take Barry Bonds pounding it 24 hours a day with a big fat smirk. • Tank, Saddle, ergos and rub¬ber. We popped on an IMS tank to get the necessary mileage needed to make it an off-roader. This tank rocks. It's an easy install with no weird bulges or bizarre fitment issues. I have two seats that I use, depending on how badly my knees ache. For moto the SDG, 10mm taller than stock works just fine. For long rides I use my Guts seat that is 20mm taller, and for all situations, the IMS lowered footpegs are Cheetos with my bologna sammy. They aid in the peg-to-saddle department and the extra room is very palatable. I found them to be a pain in the gluteus maximus to install, but worth the cussing. On the tire side of things I went with the Dunlop D745 front, craving its versatility and grip. Out back I test¬ed two Maxxis tires, the IT and the SX hard. I like the SX hard terrain for moto tracks; the IT gets my vote as one of the best chunks of all-around rubber on the planet. It wears long and has great bite.
Odds and ends. Once I decid¬ed to shelve the Rekluse Auto clutch, I installed a Magura hydraulic system. It not only offers a radically smoother pull, the engage¬ment never changes. Big bonus points here. Moose Racing provided one of their carbon fiber skid plates, and while it was a total pain to install, it's light, sano and gave big deflective skills. Sunline deflectors are the best units that I've tested. They're minimalist, being mainly roost guards but they can take a hit and have a fold-and-return design that keeps them from simply snap¬ping off in the advent of a hit. Goog stuff here. F2 Racing's Unshock is a bearing that fits between the shock spring and the collar. It not only removes the bind in the coil, it makes the suspension react more easily to input. These things are magic!
THE POINT IS...
There is no point, unless racing closed-course, moto-based circuits is your bagel and cream cheese. The bottom line is that the air to escape through the leak jet orifice. Port two is isolated low in the fuel sump, assuring 'FUEL ONLY' into the venturi, unique to R&D's design. Last, the R&D Power Bowl also has an externally adjustable leak jet for fine-tuning. The ball check valve has also been redesigned, relocated at the bottom of the pump cover for a more con¬sistent fuel supply.
This is one of the best mods that I made to the machine. It not only improved starting, roll-on, plonkabil-ity and tuneability, it made the machine way more of a hoot. Did it conquer the stalls? Ah...no. On my test loop, a six-mile canyon of brutal trail carnage, I stalled less, but still flamed out. Granted, it cut it down by 60 percent over the stock carbu-retion.
R&D's Power Bowl drastically improves jetting and your ability to tune the FOR carburetor.
• Stealthy 17-Ounce Flywheel.
It sounded like a good plan when I bolted on a Stealthy 17-ounce heav¬ier than stock flywheel, feeling that it would help cure the odd flameout that hindered my 450R. You have to make a few mods to the inside of the ignition (which was spooky), but installation was fairly straightfor¬ward. Did it cure the flame-barks? Ah...no. But it did help. The brutal reality was that while it made the power more tractable, I could barely feel the difference in acceleration, though it did roll over the uglies with a bit more control. Still, it puked and stalled when panicky throttle made for quick blips and decells when scary stuff happened on the trail. But I like the roll-on improvement, the tractability and the feel that the tire has more of a chance to bite. It stays.
• FMF Mega Bomb/Power Core 4. Good stuff here, but I don't know how much it helped my cause. The Mega Bomb effectively lengthens the header section and improves bottom power, which I absolutely loved. The Power Core 4 rear can is cost-effective, quiet, and the combo is lighter than the stock system. Did it cure the stalls? Ah...no. But I like the power gains, the exhaust note and weight improvements, so it stays put.

HANDLING/BOLT-ONS/DOO-DADS
• I had ESP re-valve the suspension in an effort to get it smoother, softer and more compliant in the nuked off-road playground. I loved the improve¬ments on the motocross track, but felt no love in the boulder zones. Much of this can probably be shouldered by the power curve, which is abrupt and seething. Still, I wanted more cush, and the ESP-valved dampers felt like they would rather have a clear-eyed flat belly born in the '80s rather than my decrepit skeleton tugging on the throttle.
• Applied Clamps/Scotts Damper/Renthal Low Twin wall bars. The Applied clamps bolted on easily, let me mount a Scotts damper under the bars and, because of the taller configuration, required a nice flat and really low bend. Renthal shipped out a McGrath low Twin Wall so the cockpit felt comfy. I had to perform quite a bit of surgery on the Scotts post, which was too tall for the damper. In the end this cockpit combo proved superb. I loved the Scotts feel, felt it was worlds better than the stock damper in every way in my off-road tainted mind, and the Renthal bar is perfect. Did it help the stalls? Ah...no. But it stayed put.





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