You are my suster from another mother. 😂 i am 5 foot 2, and i have been hammering my clutch trying to hit some tech. My bike is stock and if your not johnny on the spot with the clutch or close the throttle all the way, the flame out is real, although getting better after break in, i have gotten fast to the starter button, if you dont lose momentum, hit the starter and feather the clutch out it fires right back up, just that easy. Haha, a great cross country gncc style bike, but enduro it is not. For that i will still to the 300 two stroke, if i can help myself. The 450 power nakes you think you can do things that you should not, haha.
@BikeHedonia I got into the nasty stuff over the weekend again, log crossings, creek beds and loose rock hill climbs. Just curious, have you heard or seen any of these clutches going out? I and everyone else was surprised how well it did against some full fledged woods bikes. So I am going to start setting it up properly to see how it goes. 🙃
@@bobeeman9730 yes, I've heard and seen the demise of a CRF450RL clutch, unfortunately! It last about 400km of fairly hard enduro. I hope yours lasts longer! Enjoy the bike, it's great fun :)
I've been hard Enduro and single tracking my crf450l for 3 years. No vortex but a few other mods and I've never overheated once. It's close to 100 degrees here in Central Texas and the bike has never failed me. Try lowering the gears since that what hard Enduro calls for.
I am in central Texas too. I ride hard enduro. I agree with Both Shane and Grace for different reasons. You can definitely do hard enduro with this bike, but I have modded clutch and put the Magura kit on to make the clutch pull a bit easier. I also have a rekluse clutch (radius cx). I haven’t overheated the bike in our brutal central Texas heat, but I have definitely experienced clutch fade. Bike cooled off and still running same clutch pack 2,000 miles later. Looking at an oil cooler to up capacity and improve clutch consistency. 3,800 miles on my RL.
The bike is definitely NOT designed for hard enduro. You should have a 2 smoke for that. What's causing your bike to overheat is the all the clutch work required in this scenario. One thing that I found to really help my 450RL in these situations is the Rekluse auto clutch. I don't know how they do it but the Rekluse does run cooler. Probably their proprietary clutch disks do a better job of circulating oil through the clutch pack. And absolutely NO stalling with the Rekluse. I hope this helps.
I just completed 4 days of epic mtn passes in Colorado with very technical climbs. it is all about one's experience. My 2022 450 RL kicked butt. I have my pipe collecting dust as the Vortex has been 4 months on backorder, and yet no update on delivery. For this trip in the San Juans, I had a G2 throttle tamer, and I took out the spark arrester for more power and air flow. I can tell you with 100 % certainty, once this bike is balanced, suspension set up and sag set correctly, it is amazing ! I even took 2 trips averaging 60 plus miles at 70 miles an hour after my technical MTN Pass climbs, and it was butter. Check out a video that I made with all of my bling parts. I LOVE THIS BIKE NOW
Got the same 22' 450rl and noticed that mine has the same removable spark arrestor. Is that ok to run removed without having any other modifications? Are you having any issues, just wondering cause I love the way it sounds removed but don't want to ruin a new bike.
Great review and one ofthe most honest I have seen so far on the 450l, I been contemplating moving from my 2019 690 Enduro r to the 450rl , the main reason is because is about 50lbs lighter, but when I hear people getting 35 to 40 mpg after all the mods, it's interesting since on the 690 I am getting 60 mpg on the mountains combine on and off road and 55 mpg in Texas also combined on and off road
Yeah, I have a 690 enduro as well but I think they are really different bikes. The 690 has really good long legs for long travel through dodgy terrain, but the 450 is a much better single track toy.
"Things could go Pear Shaped". Never heard that one - but great description. I have the '21 with a flywheel weight mod (no vortex or aftermarket exhaust). I have put on 8,500 miles of single track, dual sport, and highway - and while I have done some tricky hill climbs, loose rock, tight wooded single track, and moderate sand rides - I would never want to take it on a true hard enduro course. This is a great bike if you stay over 8mph, but less than that - good luck. Oh - and this bike indeed requires CLUTCH, CLUTCH, CLUTCH for everything.
Agree with you, especially re minimum speed! Am going to change to a larger rear sprocket and see if that helps. It's the rainy season here and on slick red clay, you can't just dump the clutch and expect traction at the kind of speeds first gear is designed for. Slow and gentle is the name of the game, which is not always the easiest thing to do with the 450. But, somehow we can't seem to stay away from the mountains so here we are ;)
Good and reliable info! I have the gen2 450X and it has the same engine & transmission as the L/RL. Have also taken it on some slow stuff and it definitely feels out of place. The clutch also has a weird engagement and stalls easier than other bikes I've ridden. I need to be extra cautious when going slow since the X doesn't come with a fan. All that said, the bike is very comfortable for longer trips and is easy to ride in open terrain. Those starting struggles have never happened to me.
Yeah, I agree that it's easier to stall than most bikes, you'll be tractoring along just fine and then clunk, the bike suddenly stalls. It's disconcerting on the steep stuff. That's what happens when I get stuck in the middle of that steep turn in the video - I could have sworn I had the throttle open far enough but no, halfway through the corner then clunk, dead. Haha. My mate who rides the CRF450RL all the time has gotten very good at working around this, but it's probably another factor putting more pressure on the clutch. Definitely a comfortable bike in the more open terrain. Enjoy!
Good vid no doubt the 450RL is bad for hard enduro just did a vid on my channel too on how that bike keeps trying to kill me Highway manners are good though
Yeah, that's the problem with so many gear and bike reviews - people take them out for a sunday ride once a month and swear they are great. But when you hit really gnarly terrain for a long period of time, or you ride around the world, you start to see that the best thing about some products is their marketing ;) This isn't to say I don't love the crf450 but we've had to make a proper effort to stop trying to do hard enduro with it.
@@BikeHedonia also I am shocked that you picked a 450RL as it is a heavy beast and you are a petite woman. good for you, a lighter bike would suit you better
Enjoy your hammock days near the river, Grace. Hope your knee gets better every day. About the CRF 450 L: What I've heard is that the engine is unlike my preferred "tractor mode" low down in the rev range in technical sections. Thanks for your honest review. Pity it was quite expensive over here (>11,000 Euro) and flopped. You could find cheap sell-outs for about 8,500 Euro. Restricted to about 25 hp in Germany. I like the idea of the CRF 450 L, though. Maybe Honda comes up with an improved Gen 2 bike. Günter from Nürnberg
Thank you Gunter. Restricting the power on the 450 really defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Might as well get a crf250 for half the price. You are entirely correct that the engine does not like to tractor at low revs: in fact it will readily stall.
I'm thinking about adding a manual "fan on" switch to the control panel for slow speed op. Fortunately my 2019 hasn't overheated, yet. The AIM ecu has improved the flame-out over the vortex, but it still can poof at the worst times. That is not acceptable. I've had XR600 & 650 that rarely flamed out.
Very informative video thank you! I kinda understand perfectly where it sits now, everything between hard enduro and highways. Nice!! However maybe I can poke your brain here for a second Grace, I’ve booked a one way flight to Thailand and planning on buying a bike and just riding 😊 I was looking at the 450 but since I really like hard enduro, it’s kinda sad news the bike wouldn’t fit the bill. Haven’t had a chance to see or ride one here in Europe.. What other bikes are an option according to you? I recently had to do a road transfer of 60km after getting lost in a rally with my 300 sherco… that was no fun… But I’d like something to explore Thailand with; ride the nasty when I see it, have fun riding where bikes are not supposed to go. And do some roads by means of the necessary. I was actually thinking of the 300L too. Just because of the play factor the bike can have. Also not the best for hard enduro I know but at least it won’t stall 🤣
Hi mate, the 450 is a much better bike than the 300L, both on road and off road. Its downsides are the extra cost and 1,000km oil change interval. If you're not tall, you might not like the height of the 450. But everything else is far superior to the 300L. The KLX230 (with a larger rear sprocket) is a better dirt bike than the CRF300L but not great on the road. I prefer the KLX230 to the CRF450 on dirt, just because it's that much lighter and doesn't overheat, but if you're not small you might find the limited power frustrating and you'll also bottom out the suspension on the KLX230 very easily. Ultimately if you want a bike that's better for hard enduro in Thailand, you're going to have to buy an enduro bike not a dual sport. The other option would be a KTM 500 EXC but there are probably only about five of those in Thailand.
In Thailand, you can buy a CRF450RL for about 340k THB. A KTM exc300f will set you back 560k, and you can only get a 450 KTM by privately importing it on the grey market, which adds another increment of cost. So buying a KTM is only an option for those who can afford to spend 2x the money.
@BikeHedonia oh jeez. I see. I really want to see honda do better with this bike. It want a good dual sport bike but I'm tired of KTM being the only high performance choice on the market.
Lately I've been reminded of the function of hysterisis ,but I have a hard time remebering the word. My electronics instructor liked to use the thermostat on the home furnace as an example. Interesting to know the bike even if I wouldn't use for other reasons.
You need my Kydex Rear Brake Reservoir and brake line mounting bracket for that KLX230! I'll start working on one for you to ship to you for when you return home.
Hi Grace - I live in Western Colorado and just got a CRF450RL. I have the Vortex ECU and a full FMF Q4 exhaust. I trail ride solo most of the time and have experienced that same restarting issue!? Do you know of any 'fixes'? I do what you were doing, turn key to fully to 'off' and then I send a prayer up! I go pretty deep in the backcountry and would hate to be stuck. Appreciate all your content! Thank you!
@@ridemfast7625 Hi there - never figured it out and it's close to leaving me in tears, ha! I was WAAAY out in the mountains this past week and thought I'd be walking out. It finally started. Considering the GET ECU at this point (or another bike). Hope all's well!
You are my suster from another mother. 😂 i am 5 foot 2, and i have been hammering my clutch trying to hit some tech. My bike is stock and if your not johnny on the spot with the clutch or close the throttle all the way, the flame out is real, although getting better after break in, i have gotten fast to the starter button, if you dont lose momentum, hit the starter and feather the clutch out it fires right back up, just that easy. Haha, a great cross country gncc style bike, but enduro it is not. For that i will still to the 300 two stroke, if i can help myself. The 450 power nakes you think you can do things that you should not, haha.
could not agree more, my friend!!
@BikeHedonia I got into the nasty stuff over the weekend again, log crossings, creek beds and loose rock hill climbs. Just curious, have you heard or seen any of these clutches going out? I and everyone else was surprised how well it did against some full fledged woods bikes. So I am going to start setting it up properly to see how it goes. 🙃
@@bobeeman9730 yes, I've heard and seen the demise of a CRF450RL clutch, unfortunately! It last about 400km of fairly hard enduro. I hope yours lasts longer! Enjoy the bike, it's great fun :)
I've been hard Enduro and single tracking my crf450l for 3 years. No vortex but a few other mods and I've never overheated once. It's close to 100 degrees here in Central Texas and the bike has never failed me. Try lowering the gears since that what hard Enduro calls for.
I have a 22 450rl. I'm trying to decide what to do to it. What mods do you have?
@@americafirst4528 I have a g2 throttle tamer, rekluse clutch, flywheel weight and 55 tooth sprocket. They all helped.
I think the rekluse is probably helping keep your bike cooler.
I am in central Texas too. I ride hard enduro. I agree with Both Shane and Grace for different reasons. You can definitely do hard enduro with this bike, but I have modded clutch and put the Magura kit on to make the clutch pull a bit easier. I also have a rekluse clutch (radius cx). I haven’t overheated the bike in our brutal central Texas heat, but I have definitely experienced clutch fade. Bike cooled off and still running same clutch pack 2,000 miles later. Looking at an oil cooler to up capacity and improve clutch consistency. 3,800 miles on my RL.
Grace, this is one of the better reviews I’ve seen for this bike. “Subscribed”!
The bike is definitely NOT designed for hard enduro. You should have a 2 smoke for that. What's causing your bike to overheat is the all the clutch work required in this scenario. One thing that I found to really help my 450RL in these situations is the Rekluse auto clutch. I don't know how they do it but the Rekluse does run cooler. Probably their proprietary clutch disks do a better job of circulating oil through the clutch pack. And absolutely NO stalling with the Rekluse. I hope this helps.
I do have an EC300 as well but sometimes the hard enduro is unplanned 🤣
Thanks for this. Saved me from making a mistake and spending heaps doing so 🤙
I just completed 4 days of epic mtn passes in Colorado with very technical climbs. it is all about one's experience. My 2022 450 RL kicked butt. I have my pipe collecting dust as the Vortex has been 4 months on backorder, and yet no update on delivery. For this trip in the San Juans, I had a G2 throttle tamer, and I took out the spark arrester for more power and air flow. I can tell you with 100 % certainty, once this bike is balanced, suspension set up and sag set correctly, it is amazing ! I even took 2 trips averaging 60 plus miles at 70 miles an hour after my technical MTN Pass climbs, and it was butter. Check out a video that I made with all of my bling parts. I LOVE THIS BIKE NOW
Got the same 22' 450rl and noticed that mine has the same removable spark arrestor. Is that ok to run removed without having any other modifications? Are you having any issues, just wondering cause I love the way it sounds removed but don't want to ruin a new bike.
Great review and one ofthe most honest I have seen so far on the 450l, I been contemplating moving from my 2019 690 Enduro r to the 450rl , the main reason is because is about 50lbs lighter, but when I hear people getting 35 to 40 mpg after all the mods, it's interesting since on the 690 I am getting 60 mpg on the mountains combine on and off road and 55 mpg in Texas also combined on and off road
Yeah, I have a 690 enduro as well but I think they are really different bikes. The 690 has really good long legs for long travel through dodgy terrain, but the 450 is a much better single track toy.
"Things could go Pear Shaped". Never heard that one - but great description. I have the '21 with a flywheel weight mod (no vortex or aftermarket exhaust). I have put on 8,500 miles of single track, dual sport, and highway - and while I have done some tricky hill climbs, loose rock, tight wooded single track, and moderate sand rides - I would never want to take it on a true hard enduro course. This is a great bike if you stay over 8mph, but less than that - good luck. Oh - and this bike indeed requires CLUTCH, CLUTCH, CLUTCH for everything.
Agree with you, especially re minimum speed! Am going to change to a larger rear sprocket and see if that helps. It's the rainy season here and on slick red clay, you can't just dump the clutch and expect traction at the kind of speeds first gear is designed for. Slow and gentle is the name of the game, which is not always the easiest thing to do with the 450. But, somehow we can't seem to stay away from the mountains so here we are ;)
@@BikeHedonia - LOL - fantastic!
Good and reliable info! I have the gen2 450X and it has the same engine & transmission as the L/RL. Have also taken it on some slow stuff and it definitely feels out of place. The clutch also has a weird engagement and stalls easier than other bikes I've ridden. I need to be extra cautious when going slow since the X doesn't come with a fan. All that said, the bike is very comfortable for longer trips and is easy to ride in open terrain. Those starting struggles have never happened to me.
Yeah, I agree that it's easier to stall than most bikes, you'll be tractoring along just fine and then clunk, the bike suddenly stalls. It's disconcerting on the steep stuff. That's what happens when I get stuck in the middle of that steep turn in the video - I could have sworn I had the throttle open far enough but no, halfway through the corner then clunk, dead. Haha. My mate who rides the CRF450RL all the time has gotten very good at working around this, but it's probably another factor putting more pressure on the clutch.
Definitely a comfortable bike in the more open terrain. Enjoy!
Good vid no doubt the 450RL is bad for hard enduro just did a vid on my channel too on how that bike keeps trying to kill me Highway manners are good though
Very good info on the clutch! sad that none of the other reviews ever mention that, but they don't really test in your terrain.
Yeah, that's the problem with so many gear and bike reviews - people take them out for a sunday ride once a month and swear they are great. But when you hit really gnarly terrain for a long period of time, or you ride around the world, you start to see that the best thing about some products is their marketing ;)
This isn't to say I don't love the crf450 but we've had to make a proper effort to stop trying to do hard enduro with it.
you could easily add a Rekluse CX if one's clutch control is average. It would help out a lot
@@ebhkkc1 the clutch control in question is excellent. Are you familiar with trials?
@@BikeHedonia100%
@@BikeHedonia also I am shocked that you picked a 450RL as it is a heavy beast and you are a petite woman. good for you, a lighter bike would suit you better
didn't expected that :) thanks for the honest review
cheers mate. Hopefully it's useful to someone out there!
Could some of that heating be caused by the exhaust or ECU. I haven't had any issues with mine.
Sorry I don't believe that a lady like you can ride this bike in hard Enduro situations no way
Enjoy your hammock days near the river, Grace. Hope your knee gets better every day. About the CRF 450 L: What I've heard is that the engine is unlike my preferred "tractor mode" low down in the rev range in technical sections. Thanks for your honest review.
Pity it was quite expensive over here (>11,000 Euro) and flopped. You could find cheap sell-outs for about 8,500 Euro. Restricted to about 25 hp in Germany. I like the idea of the CRF 450 L, though. Maybe Honda comes up with an improved Gen 2 bike.
Günter from Nürnberg
Thank you Gunter. Restricting the power on the 450 really defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Might as well get a crf250 for half the price. You are entirely correct that the engine does not like to tractor at low revs: in fact it will readily stall.
@@BikeHedonia That's also why the CRF 450 L flopped in Germany/Europe
I'm thinking about adding a manual "fan on" switch to the control panel for slow speed op. Fortunately my 2019 hasn't overheated, yet. The AIM ecu has improved the flame-out over the vortex, but it still can poof at the worst times. That is not acceptable. I've had XR600 & 650 that rarely flamed out.
@@biophillie Good idea. I hate flame outs in technical sections. Hope your improvements work. Cheers, Günter/Nürnberg
Very informative video thank you! I kinda understand perfectly where it sits now, everything between hard enduro and highways. Nice!!
However maybe I can poke your brain here for a second Grace, I’ve booked a one way flight to Thailand and planning on buying a bike and just riding 😊
I was looking at the 450 but since I really like hard enduro, it’s kinda sad news the bike wouldn’t fit the bill. Haven’t had a chance to see or ride one here in Europe..
What other bikes are an option according to you? I recently had to do a road transfer of 60km after getting lost in a rally with my 300 sherco… that was no fun…
But I’d like something to explore Thailand with; ride the nasty when I see it, have fun riding where bikes are not supposed to go. And do some roads by means of the necessary.
I was actually thinking of the 300L too. Just because of the play factor the bike can have. Also not the best for hard enduro I know but at least it won’t stall 🤣
Hi mate, the 450 is a much better bike than the 300L, both on road and off road. Its downsides are the extra cost and 1,000km oil change interval. If you're not tall, you might not like the height of the 450. But everything else is far superior to the 300L.
The KLX230 (with a larger rear sprocket) is a better dirt bike than the CRF300L but not great on the road. I prefer the KLX230 to the CRF450 on dirt, just because it's that much lighter and doesn't overheat, but if you're not small you might find the limited power frustrating and you'll also bottom out the suspension on the KLX230 very easily.
Ultimately if you want a bike that's better for hard enduro in Thailand, you're going to have to buy an enduro bike not a dual sport. The other option would be a KTM 500 EXC but there are probably only about five of those in Thailand.
Clearly you never had to kick start a flooded 650 on a dirt hill or you might still be there.
Nice work tho- one of the more informative reviews.
What motorcycle tour company do you work for?
HiVolt Moto Tours 👍
This has to be the best 450L review video on TH-cam! I'm serious. All the others have been bullshit. Yup, the 450L sucks! 😆
😅
You need to mod this bike for it to be good in enduro.
It’s Thailand, just get a 450r 🤷♀️
yes, but good luck riding into Laos and Cambodia with no green book
@@BikeHedonia just switch to green backs. ⛵️
@@jameswilkes7824 great idea my paypal is www.paypal.com/paypalme/GraceMcDonald
So the takeaway is buy KTM.
In Thailand, you can buy a CRF450RL for about 340k THB. A KTM exc300f will set you back 560k, and you can only get a 450 KTM by privately importing it on the grey market, which adds another increment of cost. So buying a KTM is only an option for those who can afford to spend 2x the money.
@BikeHedonia oh jeez. I see. I really want to see honda do better with this bike. It want a good dual sport bike but I'm tired of KTM being the only high performance choice on the market.
@@brianburdett3463 100% agree with you there
I wonder if the thermostat delete would be in order to help keep temperatures cool
It doesn't delete the thermostat. Vortex can program different temperatures for the fan to kick in, but the thermostat is still doing its job.
Maybe if you don't touch the throttle, it will fire up first try
Maybe I touch the throttle because it doesn't...
Mine has always taken two tries to start when cold. Otherwise - starts like a charm - if I don't tip it over ;)
This bike needs 91 octane. Anything less makes it hard to start.
Finally the answers I was looking for! Thanks a million!
On the nose evaluation
We love the AIM ECU from @tacomoto with the graves full titanium exhaust. Will go anywhere anytime
Lately I've been reminded of the function of hysterisis ,but I have a hard time remebering the word. My electronics instructor liked to use the thermostat on the home furnace as an example.
Interesting to know the bike even if I wouldn't use for other reasons.
You need my Kydex Rear Brake Reservoir and brake line mounting bracket for that KLX230! I'll start working on one for you to ship to you for when you return home.
Yes, I absolutely do! I would love to get one on my bike, that rear brake line is such a point of vulnerability. Thank you!
Hi Grace - I live in Western Colorado and just got a CRF450RL. I have the Vortex ECU and a full FMF Q4 exhaust. I trail ride solo most of the time and have experienced that same restarting issue!? Do you know of any 'fixes'? I do what you were doing, turn key to fully to 'off' and then I send a prayer up! I go pretty deep in the backcountry and would hate to be stuck. Appreciate all your content! Thank you!
Did you figure out the restarting issue?
@@ridemfast7625 Hi there - never figured it out and it's close to leaving me in tears, ha! I was WAAAY out in the mountains this past week and thought I'd be walking out. It finally started. Considering the GET ECU at this point (or another bike). Hope all's well!
Great info! Thank you!
wish u would ride my 450 rl
2nd fan ??