Don't Be Gouged or Worse!

The Honda CRF450R is a serious race machine that is often ridden hard in harsh conditions. Dumping this bike can cause damage in many different ways. That's why we adorn them with skid plates, engine case guards, brake rotor and caliper guards, and so on. One vulnerable area is the magnesium ignition cover.

In a crash the shifter can be forced into the ignition cover causing it to crack, or worse, punch a hole in it. The question is how do you protect against this? Well, until now there wasn't a real solution. SFB Racing believes they have the answer to this potential problem with their Ignition Guard.

What is it? Essentially, a billet aluminum guard that covers the lower portion, where the shifter is, of the ignition cover. When I first saw this cover it was one of those "duh" moments. It's an obvious solution to a real problem. I was anxious to get this installed on our 2005 CRF450R.

Installation of this product is very easy. You simply remove the shifter, two ignition cover bolts, then place the SFB Ignition guard in position and install with the supplied hex head bolts, and reinstall the shifter. That's it! One installation tip is to use a permanent marker to mark the location of your shifter so you can easily replace it to the original location.

During installation I noticed a pretty good gouge in the ignition cover caused by the shifter. While this gouge is a surface gouge and hasn't compromised the integrity of the cover it does illustrate the need for a guard of this type. I venture a guess that you have a similar or worse gouge in the same location.

Conclusion

Given the replacement cost of an ignition cover and lost riding time and potentially race fees, this guard is a bargain. It weighs next to nothing, is easy to install, and provides excellent protection. It's definitely staying on our CRF450R. Now, if they can produce this product for the CRF250X and CRF450X!

CRF's Only Review July 2005
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