[PW80Dad]

Hi all - first time posting.

I recently bough a 2005 CRF45x with less than 10 hours on it. It's basically new - however it's obviously not. As I'm reading the service manual and looking at the bike for things that need maintenance I was curious if anyone had advice on items I should either check closely or perform maintenance even though it might not be necessary from an hours standpoint.

The bike was started occasionally, and stored out of the weather, but not climate controlled. The bike is bone stock - so if any of the typical mods that I'm reading about (pink wire, smog delete, air box open - which I'm on the fence about, etc) should/could be done at the same time let me know if you could. I enjoy working on bikes, but I might as well be efficient if I can. (Especially since it appears that most maintenance involves tearing the bike in half lol... talking about the carb)

Thanks in advance.

[Back2-2]

Hello, that is quite a find.
My suggestion would be to do the basics. Engine and transmission oil / filter changes. Air filter cleaned and inspect that the foam is not breaking down. Coolant should be flushed and changed due to the age. Fork oil should be fine but I would probably replace it after a ride or two. Adjust the suspension sag for your weight. Check the bike over front to back that everything is there and tight. If the tires are still the originals they may need replacement. Battery is probably not the original so you might be good there. Chain if not rusted should be fine just check the adjustment per the manual and oil.
The 2005 may or may not have the smog equipment. You do not say where you are located but the 2005 CA model has the smog. If it does I would remove the plumbing and block the port. You will see on the middle of the front right side of he cylinder if you have the port and tube for the smog. If not there will be just a casting spot. These bikes come jetted very lean from the factory and can benefit greatly by increasing both the pilot and main jet sizes to run as it should. Even bone stock they need jetting. It really makes a huge difference in the bikes performance and quite easy to do.
For modifications opening the top of the air box, aftermarket muffler and jetting makes these 450X's a pleasure to ride. Hand guards, radiator guards and sump / skid plates are essential for protection.

That's about it. Have fun they are great bikes.

One other thing came to mind - The brake fluid should also probably be changed front & back. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and even in a closed system can attract moisture.

[JimDirt]

Welcome to the site !!

To add to what Neil mentioned , I would also suggest taking apart the triple clamps and regreasing the head bearings , then move to the rear and regrease the linkage and remove the swingarm and grease those bearings as well as your wheel bearings , Honda did not put a lot of effort (nor do most manufacturers) in greasing anything much more than to get it on the showroom floor , try to use a high quality waterproof grease (I personally use Maxima Waterproof Grease) , as with washing the bikes off after a ride and in riding conditions , water does tend to get into the bearings no matter how hard you try not to allow it (I also use the compressor and blow dry every area around the bearings after washing the bike off or after a ride , to lessen the chance of water entering the areas)

I also second the suggestion to do the Pink Wire Mod (put it on a rocker switch on the bars for on the fly adjustment , depending on riding conditions , I use a KTM Map switch) , the airbox top cut (you do not need to cut the sides just the snorkel area) , and rejetting for your elevation , , adding a 1.6 or 1.8 bar radiator cap will help prevent overheating as well as the coolant swap as Neil suggested (I recommend Engine Ice *I have not tried Evans Waterless Coolant , but I have used Engine Ice for several years along with the 1.6 bar radiator cap*) , and lastly , check your valve lash , and make triple sure to keep the air filter oiled and make sure there is no dirt getting past the filter (when you service the filter look on the inside of the snorkel and use your finger to see if any dust is beyond the filter , as this is the major cause for Intake valve failure , ..... , and you should be good to go , and all of that is fairly inexpensive mostly just requiring some of your time

[PW80Dad]

Thanks guys.

A couple of quick thoughts - First.. the bike isn't quite bone stock. He added some bark busters, and put new tires on it as the old ones had dry rot. He didn't want to tell people it wasn't safe to test ride the bike, but apparently they were bad enough to concern him. The dry rot leads me to my second question/thought. Looking at the bike it was under a roof, but not fully enclosed. (It actually had some mold growing on the shady side). After the first visual inspection I'm inclined to replace all of the hoses etc. None of them appear dry rot or hardened, but they are ugly enough that I'd rather swap them when I'm in the neighborhood (and the guidance to do the coolant probably sealed the deal for those lines).

Any other rubber parts (I haven't ridden dirt bikes in quite awhile - so not just specific to the CRF in this case) that I should swap or closely inspect?

Oh- and the chain isn't horrid, but it will probably get swapped out in the first or second round of maintenance.

[Back2-2]

Visual inspection is about all you can do. The clutch, brake and throttle have rubber covers that I suppose could degrade if in the weather. Otherwise, internally the carb needle valve tips may be hardened and due replacement. That depends on if fuel was left in the carb and if the fuel contained ethanol. But if he has been running it on a regular basis just see how it goes. The fuel petcock has a rubber puck seal and a O-ring that likes to dry out. I'm on my second of both on my 2006 X. If you need those parts let me know and I can get them for you. Honda only sells the petcock as a unit but you can get the parts from other Honda bikes.
The OEM cooling hoses are incredibly durable. They do get dirty looking from mud but they in my opinion are better than any aftermarket hoses. Good cleaning of the bike might give you a little more direction of what you might need.

Hope that helps a little. Just curious - How do you know it truly is only 10 hrs use bike?

[PW80Dad]

Thanks

Re 10 hours - As far as I know there is no absolute way to know with the X. I went on a combination of his story, inspection of the the frame (no scratches at all) side covers (virtually new) sprockets, foot pegs/brake pedal, shifter, clutch lever, plastic skid plates, .... in conjunction with his story. I think there were two things that "convinced" me. First any/all damage I came across looked more like evidence of something falling against the bike (like a ladder in a garage) more than the bike going down or being ridden. Second, it's possible he could have replaced all the hard parts with new stuff to make it look new. However, he couldn't do that for the price I paid him, so he would be losing money to sell a lie. If he was going to go to that trouble, he would have washed the bike lol.

I suspect the whole truth is that it probably has around 10 riding hours, and some other number of hours of idling in the driveway/shed over the years. My gut tells me that he went to start it one day and the gas had soured, and he realized he needed to sell it. So he took it to the dealer, and had them get it started and put tires on it so he could get some of his money back.

Whatever the truth - she's my problem now. It's a lot more bike than I need to follow the kids (9, 8, 5, 4 years) around. I might try to turn a profit on it and find a 110. I need to get the idle and low end settled, because it's hard to navigate the woods with the front end off the ground lol (fun though). It will help once I'm used to the clutch as well.

Thanks again for th advice.

[JimDirt]

The X is a great woods bike if you set it up for it , before you give up and get something else .... try a few things and see if you like it better

Gear it down , even 1 tooth on the rear will help with slower riding , stock is 13/51 , I run a 13/52 and can go anywhere , and I mean anywhere a bike can go , with no issues , you can drop all the way to a 13/54 (you will need a longer chain going that much) , but you can make that bike crawl with a gear change , get steel sprockets as they are very inexpensive compared to aluminum and last 3-4 times as long , that is all I run on my bikes is steel sprockets ....

Jet it correctly for your elevation .... you will instantly notice it will idle down , and putt with the best of them ...

AP timing mod ... put a small o-ring on the ap linkage (under the black cover where the cables attach you will see a adjustment screw and spring , you put the o-ring around it to take up the slack , it almost completely eliminates the "bog/stall" you might be experiencing

I feel with those few things , you will notice a dramatic difference in how you are able to crawl and maintain a walking pace with little effort .....

[PW80Dad]

If you need those parts let me know and I can get them for you. Honda only sells the petcock as a unit but you can get the parts from other Honda bikes.

I just drained the bowl on the carb for the first time, and unless I'm drunk the only way I found was to pull the inspection/jet plug. Looks like '05 didn't have a drain screw in the bowl, but the replacement bowl (for all years) has them. Do you happen to have a spare bowl with a drain screw? I mean... seriously. What engineer approved that (hoping I'm not drunk here).


The OEM cooling hoses are incredibly durable. They do get dirty looking from mud but they in my opinion are better than any aftermarket hoses. Good cleaning of the bike might give you a little more direction of what you might need.

I got the pressure washer started yesterday - siding is done. Toys are next. I was actually curious how a set of red hoses would look - now you're getting all practical on me. I did take a closer look and most of them don't look that bad. It was actually the sleeve on the fuel hose that was pretty grungy, but even that appears to be wiping off pretty easily.

[JimDirt]

Yea , 06 has the drain screw , I ended up putting a 06 X bowl on my 02 450R just for the reason you mentioned

[PW80Dad]

Jim

Do you have a link to the best/most recent AP mod? I'm trying to research, and I'm not sure if there are 3 or 4 different problems/mods or if there are just different methods of achieving the same goal. It looks like there may be a later Honda AP "kit", some aftermarket parts (one of which may include a bowl - 2fer?) etc.

Trying to make sure I'm going in the right direction here.

Thanks for the advice.

[IskraTS11]

I suspect the whole truth is that it probably has around 10 riding hours, and some other number of hours of idling in the driveway/shed over the years. My gut tells me that he went to start it one day and the gas had soured, and he realized he needed to sell it. So he took it to the dealer, and had them get it started and put tires on it so he could get some of his money back.

I swear, motorcycles (and every other mechanical thing out there) that sat in storage for a while are as out of service as a beaten-up one that has driven for thousands and thousand of miles. THey're like us, they're not made to stay idle or they'll suffer when it's time to run again

[JimDirt]

Jim

Do you have a link to the best/most recent AP mod? I'm trying to research, and I'm not sure if there are 3 or 4 different problems/mods or if there are just different methods of achieving the same goal. It looks like there may be a later Honda AP "kit", some aftermarket parts (one of which may include a bowl - 2fer?) etc.

Trying to make sure I'm going in the right direction here.

Thanks for the advice.

Sorry , did not notice your post till now , Basically the O-Ring around the AP screw is the main mod besides using a Quickshot (the first version , not the QS2 or 3) , is really all you need for that mod , it does wonders for the bogging/stalling issue

[PW80Dad]

[/quote]

Sorry , did not notice your post till now , Basically the O-Ring around the AP screw is the main mod besides using a Quickshot (the first version , not the QS2 or 3) , is really all you need for that mod , it does wonders for the bogging/stalling issue
[/quote]

No worries. I ordered the JD jet kit, and it actually came with the O-ring and instructions for the mod. I did the jets and AP last night. I also put in an after market fuel screw (but the original O-Ring for it won't come out - posted elsewhere already). I'll open up the air box tonight.

Interestingly - the long pole in this process is apparently going to be my pressure washer. I tore the bike apart, and pre-treated all the plastics (covered with some kind of black mold... fun) and about 5 minutes into washing the crap off the frame etc the pressure washer decided to get jealous of the bike and the pump exploded. I'm not going to give up my entire garage again to tear it apart for the second wash anytime soon... so it's going to be a few days while I install a new pump.

Really hoping it starts easy once it's back together though - but I may be back asking for some advice. thanks in advance.

Added some items that I missed / forgot from Neil and Jim

Neil and Jim - do you see anything I missed below?

So far:

• Clean, Clean, Clean
  Strip plastics - clean some more
  New plug (I freaked out when I saw the electrode on the old one - thought it had melted until I saw the new one. lol)
  JD Jet kit
  Was 145 - up to 165 (Virginia)
  AP O-Ring Mod
  Fuel Screw
  Unseize Idle adjust screw - that was a pain....
  Open air box (I only went to where the battery sits- I haven't measured it yet, but I think this around 4x the area of the carb throat so it shouldn't be the choke point anymore)

Done previously / not necessary

• Air Cleaner -new
  Tires - new
  Battery - new
  Carb clean/rebuild - recent
  Smog (not CA bike from what I can tell)
  Hand guards (very basic but adequate)

In Process

• Lube throttle cables and throttle tube
  Pink Wire (wires are clean enough now I can tell the color)
  More /Finish cleaning
  Air Box - open the top 50% complete
  New Chain
  53 Tooth rear
  Engine Ice
  Need some random fasteners for plastics
  Seat bolt
  Carb screws (find assortment if possible for this brand carb)
  Re-Read the original replies and see what I missed

Suggested but not started/need to research

• Fork Oil
  Suspension Sag
  Brake Fluid
  Double check and torque bolts
  Leak Jet? (Carb is currently out)
  2008+ AP diaphragm? (Carb is currently out)
  Radiator guards
  Sump / Skid plates - suggestions/patterns (typically weld my own, but I'm getting to old to fab all my parts)
  Muffler? - suggestions?
  Regrease head bearings / tear down triple clamps
  Regrease linkage
  Regrease swingarm bearings
  Regrease wheel bearings

Thanks again for all the advice

[JimDirt]

To get the O-Ring out what you need is one of these , they work great for digging the O-Rings out , and usually it wont damage them (I use the one that is opposite the hook) , if you twist it while down there it will pop the O-Ring right out onto it , and then just pull it right out

https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tool ... 42159.html

[tucaz]

I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong place, I'm new to the forum.
I recently bought an ’06 CRF450X and have a substantial engine vibration at cruising speed and above. It’s enough to make my hands, feet and other parts numb after about 15 minutes. The bike starts easily, runs strong and compression is good. I’ve torqued the engine mounting and exhaust bolts and found no change. I’ve read about the counter balancer shaft and bearings causing a vibration. The top end doesn’t appear to have ever been off. I can see the stator cover has been off and I’m wondering:
A. Can the balancer gear be installed on the shaft in only one position or is it possible to install it incorrectly?
B. Has anyone here solved a major vibration by replacing the counter balancer shaft and bearings?
Thanks for any other thoughts.