CRF650r

[MtnDoo]

Could they do it? Would they?

CRF450's are being adapted for enduro more & more frequently.

Would they have to call it a LRP [Lightweight Red Pig]

Thoughts?

MtnDoo

BTW....you heard it here 1st!

[qadsan]

I've got a feeling the CRF450X may be slotted as a potential XR650R replacement, but I hope I'm wrong. Honda has been trying the CRF450 in the desert with mixed results, but the XR650R is holding its own very well and with better reliability.

Give me an XR650R that weighs 40lbs less and I'll buy two for myself and one for each kid! Oh yeah, its go to have a pumper carb, e-start and a z-Start ?

[JackAttack]

and a cup holder ?

[Mainjet2001]

Give me an XR650R that weighs 40lbs less and I'll buy two for myself and one for each kid! Oh yeah, its go to have a pumper carb, e-start and a z-Start ?

Count me in.

[needsprayer]

This is just my gut feeling, but I don't think the pancake style piston and the CRF450 valves hold up well in BAJA 1000 conditions. I'll live with the the extra weight if it means getting to where you are going.

[Mainjet2001]

needsprayer is right.

The CRF450 will not replace the XR650R. It's not suited to go fast enough on the top end for long distant sustained high speed runs, but remember it was not designed to do this. Rob Barnum and Tim Morton will tell me I'm full of it though.

I don't think you will see honda drop their only dirt bike that does this well. This is because of the Mexico tradition and that tradition started in 1962. They were there then and they are still there. There were times when got their butts kicked but they never left.

Husky, Yamaha and Kawasaki came and went.

Now only if KTM would make a stab at it now, things would get interesting. Scott Harden could run a good effort as he won down there a lot.

How about it Scott? ?

[BajaBoundMoto]

MainJet is totally right.

Besides, why would you want a crf650? It's not like guys are gonna moto such a big bike and they aren't gonna buy 'em to go thru the woods. It's a big bike and does what it was built for perfectly.

But, you're right, 40lbs less would be great!

MJs also right about Honda being into the Baja racing from the start. Baja's a big priority to the corp. But it is pretty boring to see so little competition down there nowadays. It's a 1 bike race. It would be awesome to see another Mfg. get involved down there again.

All of the Mfgs. have factory supported teams there before, but only Honda now. If they were racing a 450'X' they'd likely start to get beat and that wouldn;t go over well with Corp.

Tim

[qadsan]

I wonder of the CRF450X will introduce a longer skirt piston, new valve strategy, more oil capacity, etc. I just wish the BRP could loose some weight cause I really like the power characteristics of the engine.

[TeamScream]

That would be nice

[secretatlas]

It's not suited to go fast enough on the top end for long distant sustained high speed runs, but remember it was not designed to do this.

hey mainjet, long time no speak. i agree with you but the only bummer is honda needs something between the 450 and the 650. case in point: district 37 desert racing. i've been racing the 650 all year and doing decent. however, i get into big trouble on the techinical stuff the clubs throw into their races. seems like when people think desert they just think BITD and Score. unfortunatly most of us are racing in lucerne and red mountain on very techincal trails...not score roads.

i've been seeing a lot of crfs show up at our races. henge seems to be switching back and forth just about every week. but i'm still afraid to run that bike due to the dependablity issues. i hope honda would roll out something that fits right in the middle... capable of long valley runs at 80mph+, xr like dependability mixed in with a mxer nimbleness that is not found with the 650R.

[Mainjet2001]

Hey secretatlas,

Good hearing from ya. Hope all is well.

Henge and Campbell are my heroes.

Those 2 are awsome, and Henge is flying. He has worked over the 450 and it's screaming, but you need that to compete with the Pearsons, Abbott and Davis. You can throw Childress in there also.

I know they (Honda) will move back and forth between the 450 and the 650 based in the course layout. That 450 won't run 110 like the 650 will.

I'm with you on the "in between" issue. Thats what I want but no body listens to me. LOL ?

Actually you are getting on my hero's list if you are doing all the Dist 37 stuff. That is a tough bunch and tough courses.

Did you race my clubs national event (Desert M/C)?

Anyway , hope we get our wish.

Thanks for the message.

Here are 3 of my Hero's, friends also...Campbell, Ogilvie & Ekins.

[secretatlas]

sweet pic mainjet! that one is going in the personal archive on my computer. we had a bike just like the one in the middle of that shot at the honda rider ed center in colton for awhile. it was on display and my dad forgot about the dark cloud that hung over it... it was a baja 1000 bike and i want to say someone got disqualified on it cause they switched bikes between stages... or something to that effect. i forget the specifics.

yep, been doing a lot of the district stuff. i raced the desert mc national and got worked. i burned up my clutch and barely finished the race. i was sick for the vikings national last april. seems like i do really well with the enduro and the hare & hound format races. however, i have a horrible time with euro scrambles. i don't think they fit my style. last weekend was the RUTS euro scrambles and i saw god during saturday's race on a valley run. lucky i had backed off cause i was starting to fade so i only got off at around 50mph. they had us going cross grain and i nose wheelied over a submerged boulder. everything would have been cool but there was another one right behind the one that kicked me up so that second one sent me over the bars. i skidded on my head for about 10 feet and then the 650 landed on me. black eye, busted lip, bruised knee and ribs. in other words, a million dollar wound.

anyhow. if you are gonna be at laguna seca in july stop by the american supercamp demo area. i'm helping with the little kids this year.

i've never talked to henge. however, on the way back from the badgers race in red mountain i saw his rig at the astro burger at 4 corners. he was in there eating with his dad and wife. paul krause was sitting there with his kids as well. i thought, heck this is a great chance. i had an extra XR number plate in my truck so i brought it in and had him sign it for my pops. gonna give it to him for father's day. poor krause was sitting there so i shook his hand and told him that i would get his autograph too but my dad bleeds honda...

kc