[driver3]

I've done a number of searches between this site and a few others on the procedure for a top end rebuild. I would like to do a piston, valves, and possibly a cam.

My left intake valve was out of spec. Shimmed it. Rode another 20 hours or so. It's out again. I hear it's time for a rebuild.

Bike: 2005 450x
Riding: Woods, Dual sport, Altitude: mostly between 6000-10,000 feet

I see a lot of discussion about R heads and Cams, Stainless steel valves, porting, TRX pistons, etc. Most people are discussing how to get more power or more torque or whatever. What I'm looking for is the longest lasting, least maintenance setup. I would rather lose 5 hp and have the setup last twice as long. I'm not revving really high, racing, or anything else.

I know CRFSonly does the valve jobs, I'll probably go that route. I also hear a lot from Krannie on this subject. This is why I'm posting on this site rather than the others out there!

Thanks!

[Krannie]

IMHO

TRX intake valve train components,
stock X OEM exhaust valve components, stock X OEM piston and rings. I get 300+ hours no problems.

TRX piston if you ride lots of street.

How well it's done is just as important as what it is done with. Mic-ing all parts and mating surfaces for fit and tolerance, and proper 5-angle seat grinding makes the difference.

Ken can handle it properly.
So can several others.

[crfsonly]

We do and have used TRX intake valves for 450R and 450X heads. It is not our first choice when spec'ing in stainless steel valves. Our first choice are Kibblewhite Stainless valves and Kibblewhite high performance spring kit.

Here's some little known facts about Honda OEM valves. The OEM CRF250/450 exhaust valves are a two piece construction of different grades of stainless steel. They likely use a friction welding process to fuse them into one piece. They do this to reduce the cost of these valves. The stock retainers are made from of stainless steel (likely a lower grade). The springs are single coil springs. Again, to reduce the cost of the retainers and springs.

The TRX, while the motors are very similar, wasn't designed to rev out as far as the CRF's. So, there's some concern about using the TRX stainless intake valves with TRX spring package in motors that will be hitting the CRF rev limiter.

Kibblewhite stainless valves are a one piece stainless construction. The springs are dual coil springs designed to control the valve head at high RPM's. To help offset the added weight of the stainless intake valves over the OEM titanium intake valves, Kibblewhite provides titanium retainers for all four valves. In my opinion, Kibblewhite valves, springs and retainers are superior to their OEM and TRX counterparts. They are designed specifically for the CRF models to increase durability, decrease weight and assure proper valve control at higher RPMs.

The valve seat preparation is critical to valve durability. We use state of the art NEWEN CNC valve seat cutting equipment. This not only allows us to cut the seats perfectly it also allows us to blend the seat to the port bowl and do some port bowl shaping to increase performance.

Ken

[staffy24]

i have the kibble set up and am very happy i did not notice any loss of power but i did add an r head and exhust system along with air box mods so i may have gained what i lost and then some, hey but i am no pro

[Zish]

Did the Kw swap about 2 years ago,, no issues since.
dont even mess with the honda stuff, you will be in the same place in a year or two,

[driver3]

I'm going with the CRFSonly valve service with KW valve kit. I'm also doing a JE piston and a new cam chain. I'm keeping my 450x cam. I am replacing my left engine cover while I'm at it so I can get rid of that "shifter punch" dent in the side, and also a billet shifter.

This essentially finishes my "rebuild" operation.. MT43 rear, metzeler 6 day extreme front, ironman sprockets 14/50, an o-ring sealed chain, and a BRP chain guide, durelle racing seat, hand guards, wolfman e12 bags, lithium battery, Trailtech X2 headlight, and 4G ims tank....

I'm lucky to have a friend that's good a working on this stuff to help me out on the installs. We had done all the stuff in the second paragraph this spring.. then the valve issues showed up. It's a new bike now!

Pics to follow!

[driver3]

The work is done. The break in period was done wednesday. I think a need to do a little jetting adjustment - but otherwise I'm all good.

I just did the advrider.com "Brecktrek" trip - 210 miles on Sunday. The bike ran awesome. The first half of the trip was atv trails and dirt roads.. then the second half started with atv trails and around 5pm my group decided to peel off and slab it home (gotta work on Mondays). I was able to comfortably ride at 65 for 80 miles or so. The head work was really nice, it looked like a brand new head <-- the pic is large - you can see the clean head on there! Ken was able to organize my shipping perfectly to get everything to me on time. Thanks again. Bike is running awesome!

[crfsonly]

my what a big tank you have! you could get yourself seriously lost with that much fuel!

excellent follow up ride report! very pleased to hear the results.

btw, your tank, awesome tank. however, i had to put a warning in the product description as most who purchase it just aren't prepared for a tank that size. i had one customer who purchased it and was so confident it would not fit that i could not talk him into even trying to install it. hey, when you need the fuel range this tank is the ticket!

ken

[Aussiecrf230]

Ken,
Does that tank come with a spare set of heavier fork spring for when you fill it up.

How many usable litres/gallons?

[driver3]

Ken,
Does that tank come with a spare set of heavier fork spring for when you fill it up.

How many usable litres/gallons?

No springs - it's really not that much heavier - 12lbs of extra gas and the tank weight is negligable... maybe 1 lb. Plus you get rid of the shrouds. Anyway, an extra 13-14lbs. I'm about 190 with my gear on, maybe 200 with the saddle bags full. I don't notice it but I'm probably not the best person to judge it.

Truth is, the reduced stress of running out of gas in the middle of colorado somewhere is worth its weights. Also, I usually road ride to the dirt ride so by the time I get there it's less a gallon maybe. Also, the gas is held really low in the shrouds. All in all, the tank fits great and works great. The fuel line routing makes it a bit more of a job to remove the tank, but not that bad. The extra two petcocks give you all kinds of options for extra reserves. Last, the mohard radiator guards fit perfectly with the tank - assuming you install them both correctly which took an extra attempt for me.

All in all, bike is running great. Lots of gas allows me to stop thinking about it so much!

[driver3]

How many usable litres/gallons?

Oh, it's a 4.0 gallon tank - so on the 2005 - it's an extra 1.9 gallons. based on how you might tip the bike at the very end, you could probably figure out how to use it all.

[MX_RACER1]

If I had one available is the TRX450r head a direct bolt on? I'm looking for dual sport reliability. Not sure I have the $$$$ to drop on the Kibblewhite setup right now.

[Leardriver]

Holy old thread!

The Kibblewhite intake valves and springs kit can be had for under $160. Valve seat machining is around $60.

That's pretty cheap. How much less are you hoping to spend?

[MX_RACER1]

That is pretty cheap.... Where are you getting the machining done for $60. I was quoted $400 by my local Honda shop. I can install the valves myself. I have the experience and the tools... I just don't have the cnc mill to open the head.

Yes OLD THREAD... just proves I'm reading before asking questions that have already been answered

[Aussiecrf230]

MX_RACER 1,

Believe Leardriver had it done here at CRFs Only.
Your local dealer has a lot of markup on machining
costs as they are doing the run around to the machine shop and have a dealership to support.

Lot of good avice here and some entertaining reading.