[JimDirt]

Well If Jim gets rid of the 450R the new bike is going to be his new track bike.
He is use to his bikes beating him up and throwing him off he will just be able to do it faster and with more precision, LOL.

I am happy to plod along myself unless I disengage the brain and think I am a teenager again. Dangerous that be.

That is my problem Ray ... for some reason I forget I am 61 , and think I am 16 , I must be Mentally Dyslexic ....

[Aussiecrf230]

Nah, not mental anything.
Where just getting older and forgetting how old we actually are.

How many times have you thought "that happened 10 years ago", but when you stop and think about it, it was actually 15 or 20 years ago.

The same reason men forget those important anniversaries.

[JimDirt]

Heck ... I forget what I did a hour ago ..... what does that say ??

[Back2-2]

Jim, If I recall you were talking about getting the RX model. What made you decide on the R over the RX ?

[JimDirt]

Well , I had thought about the differences , and the main issue was the 18" rear wheel , the tire selection is limited , and mainly designed for off road (AT 81 , etc.) , so there are no real "MX" tires in the 18" platform , since I ride a lot of tracks , AND , already have the 450X for off road , I felt I would be better off getting the R , I really did not want the stiffness of it , but , I can fix that ..... and I have a extra set of wheels off my 02 (Tusk Impact) that I built recently as you may recall , so I figured I could get a front and rear hub for the 20 , a front rotor , and have 2 complete sets of wheels for whatever terrain I ride , since the hubs are the only difference with the exception of th larger front rotor ..... Though I could have set them up for the RX , I did not want the larger tank when I did ride track .....

Since I am at the track pretty much every weekend I am not injured ,I just figured the R would suit me better in the end .... and I will always have the old reliable X for anything else ..... and the fact that I am really competitive , my friends are constantly telling me "Slow Down Roczen !" ... lol ... I wish I was as fast as him ... I would be heading to the Nationals to break in my new bike ... ,so again , the R on a track is where I get my adrenaline needs .... , and slow mountain riding when I get the chances , is just relaxing and a change of pace and the X does that very well ......

If I can't get my leg over the bike with my decrepit hips , I can always add the kickstand to the R .... but I am hoping I get a little more limbered up riding this thing ( maiden voyage is tomorrow .... hopefully I don't sink) , and that was one of the main reasons for considering the RX (that and the plusher suspension) , but the kickstand was really the main focus , but then the rear wheel started taking away that focus , so as long as I can get on/off the R without a stand , I will , then , if needed I can just add it ,and be good to go .... ...................... Besides ........... This is what keeps me thinking I am young ......... well ... till I fall ... then I wonder why I put myself thru this .... then I get dumb again , and go back to riding like I am 16 ... at least for a few minutes ...

[Aussiecrf230]

Good hip padding helps a little from breaking ones hip if you topple of when you forget you have no stand.

[JimDirt]

Yep .... Made sure the new gear has them ..... I wear a lot of protection (pretty much everything except a neck brace , as I have not found one I am comfortable with yet) .... The only reason I injured my thumb in the last get off was because it got jammed into the bars when I fell , so no real protection from that ....... But this weekend will mainly be a break in the bike run , so I won't be doing anything stupid ..... well ..... let me rephrase that , I don't "plan" on doing anything stupid .....

[JimDirt]

OK , got 2.2 Hours on the meter this weekend ...... Saturday was a learning day as far as what the bike does ..... what it does is steer tighter than a Suzuki .... I had some issues with corners as it turned so tight , I was short turning the corners , basically turning into the inside berm half way thru the corner..... what I ended up doing was dropping the forks in the clamps to flush , this was a major improvement on Sunday

Sundays ride was great , I left all the clickers stock , no changes whatsoever ... it did not need them adjusted , the bike was plush , and precise and very stable ...... downside .... I ended up with 110 sag and 42mm free sag , so I need a stiffer shock spring .... stock is a 5.3 .... I will need a 5.8 to get the settings back to where they need to be in the rear .....

Overall , I love this bike !!! ... I had it set on the mellow map ,with the Traction Control on all the time .... the bike never stopped pulling I got to 7600 rpm and there was lots more , I was barely past 1/4 throttle , and I did not have enough room on the track to wind it out in 3rd ... I had to back off ,as it was too the point where I almost overshot the corner , I was going so fast when I passed my buddy on his 18 RMZ450 heading into the corner ,I was able to make it , but it was sketchy .........

on a 1 to 10 I'm having a blast scale ... , I was on 15 .... I am so glad I got this bike ......

EDIT: , I just looked in the Manual ,and I was wrong on the Rear Spring rate , I said it was 5.3 , when in fact it is 5.6 .... ,I will still need a spring .. or ..... Jenny Craig ....

[Leardriver]

Good report! That is an amazing bike.

[Aussiecrf230]

Great to hear it is a blast.
Just wait till it's run in.

Not sure whether you need Jenny Craig or not, but I have been asked in the past how to lighten a bike. They all want to spend a fortune on titanium bolts and bits.
Don't like it when I say the best way to lighten a bike is cut out the KFC and Coke.

Mind, I am one of those people that can eat to my hearts content and not put on weight. Something the wife really hates and is considered totally unfair.

[JimDirt]

LOL , Yea , unfortunately , I used to be that way , my dad used to say to my mom when I was a kid , "don't let him get up from the table , or the food will drop down into his hollow leg and he will start eating again" , but something changed after I broke my back the 3rd time in around 2001 , and I was not able to be active for months , I went from about 165 lbs. to 235 lbs. , and have not been under 190 since , with the exception of right after my cancer surgery in 2017 , when I had severe acid reflux and was almost unable to eat , I dropped to 173 lbs. then once I was able to finally start eating again , I plumped right back up ...

Even though I was eating pretty healthy at the time , I continued to climb back up to 210 lbs. , then once I got active again I have since maintained around 200 - 205 lbs , which is what I am still doing now ....., I can ride my butt off and still not drop a significant amount of weight... though this mornings weigh in was 200 lbs even .... but I will bet a majority of that is water weight loss and within a few days , I will be shopping in the maternity section again ................. So at this point , Jenny Craig is a feasible option , but I think a spring would be more cost effective in the long run ... ,what I really think , is what Honda needs to do is make a bike from the Factory for fat old guys ....... , same bike , just lower and able to pack around guys like me that are in dire need of maternity tops .....

And actually , I am pretty much riding it like I normally would , but I want to run 2 more oil changes before I switch to Synthetic oil , to give the rings a bit more heat cycles to seal up , so this oil change , and 2 more , then switch .... I figure when I hit 10 hours , that should be good enough , and I will consider everything is seated in ....

[Aussiecrf230]

If you are taking any medication for your heart etc some of those can put the weight on, not water weight though. Pretty much if rings aren't bedded in in first say 30 minutes you have a glazed bore. They definitely get better with a bit more time and it pays to be kind but firm with new children opps bikes.

It looks really good and I am sure it will provide hours of fun.
Don't zoom to hard, those pesky corners come up pretty fast.

[Back2-2]

Sounds like fun Jim. I second the vote on making bikes from the factory for us old guys.

[JimDirt]

Well , I just started messing with my sag settings , and actually , I am thinking of leaving the stock springs in now .... I have a tendency to ride over the front (lean forward so I actually can look down and read the front number plate while riding) , in doing this , it is taking less weight on the rear , so because of riding forward I am not needing a stiffer rear spring ( at least not yet , I will know when I start hucking jumps , that will tell me)

So I reset the sag to 102 without gear , so when I have gear on , I am going to be around 105-107 , which is right where the settings should be ,and at the 102 I am at 40 mm free sag ,which is right where it should be , sooooo .... I just reset it back to 110 , then I went in 2 complete turns of the preload adjuster and I should be around 106-108 depending with my gear on ( I will check it next weekend at the track when my friend can help me with it , so I am getting accurate readings) , and I will try that for the first moto ..... then if it steers too much again , then I will go back to 110 and call it good , as it was really stable at that setting ....... I am so pleased with this suspension .... it soaks up everything you can throw at it , I was expecting a real stiff ride with A-Kit stuff , but this is a Cadillac even for this beat up old guy ...... the more I mess with this bike and ride it , the more impressed I am with it ....

And yea Ray , I am sure my heart meds are playing a role in this , as I can't seem to get under 200 , and honestly that would be much better for my heart , but I can't stop taking what I am , otherwise I will most likely have a stroke because of my A-Fib , so I am kinds stuck in this "fat" rut ..... and Neil , a lowered 350 would probably not wear us out as much trying to get on/off it , though aside from not being able to touch the ground much , and then only with 1 tiptoe , this bike is really forgiving for beat up guys like myself .... but a lower bike would "feel" more stable , especially when trail riding ..... and 37" seat height sucks for a guy with a 32 inseam , I have to find a hole to put my bike in on the track to get back on it , and the power delivery is really smooth as long as you keep the twisting to a minimum ....

[JimDirt]

Got my Graphics and red plastic installed ( all 3 number plates are now red instead of white , they still have white backgrounds for the numbers) , and Decal Works set me up with the graphics for fenders and number plates





The front and rear fender graphics are red to match the fender , so it looks like just simple stickers ,but it is a full graphic wrap on the front of the front fender and the entire rear fender ,it gives it a simpler look but adds scuff protection to the plastics


You can see the added clear protection cover on the front part of the number plate , this keeps your boots from peeling back the graphics like is commonly a issue with number plate backgrounds


It says 6 hours , but I now have 8 hours on it , I rode Thurs. , Fri. , Sat. , Sun. this week ... I also added the Carbon Fiber Wrap to the tank cover , it matches the shrouds where it is black , better than plain black plastic .... *minus the dirt*