Thump
Jr Admin Type
- Jan 17, 2000
- 4,656
- 7
When I heard that my new 04 CRF was down at Yellow Freight arriving from Service Honda I was pretty fired up. At first glance you can see Honda refined the aesthetics of the bike. The fenders are more angular and it is more red than the 03. It also comes stock with Renthal bars, good move Honda! It comes with a factory gripper seat cover as well and 756 tire on the rear!
Having just come off a year of riding an 03 CRF I expected the 04 to fit like a glove. I mean from the outside it looks cooler, better tires and bars... Should be just right... Wrong! After my initial ride I was in shock at how different the bike was. The dropped 2 teeth on the rear sprocket because the Honda claims the new motor had too much hit off bottom, I disagree. Corners that I rolled into in 3rd on the 03 I had to hit in second on the new bike, but in second you are right in the meat of the power so throttle control is required. If I hit the corners in 3rd the bike would bog then come on strong. What I did not realize is that I was actually going faster even though the bike seemed as if it was bogging. This became evident when I over shot the finish line jump and flat landed... The bike is BLISTERING fast through the mid and top end, even with the smaller rear sprocket it revs faster and accelerates harder but it feels smoother if that makes any sense? I would say the gearing will take some getting used to, don't get frustrated, just ride it and get a feel for it. In all honesty the gearing feels more like the 4 speed tranny of the YZF450 with an extra gear. I will probably be going up one tooth on the rear sprocket.
The new seat is SOFT, I mean spongy soft. I am not a fan of a couch cushion for a seat so I put my SDG tall seat from my 03 on it after the first run. It made a HUGE difference in the way the bike felt. The cockpit of the bike is a little cramped, especially when you have a tall seat on. On my 03 I had Emig clamps to move the bars forward and tall bars, I will be making the same modifications to this bike.
The clutch is so soft it is hard to believe this is a 450. I mean 1-finger pulls are easy! Silky smooth. After moving the geat shift leaver up one notch shifting while standing, jumping or sitting was a breeze. Neutral is DAMN hard to find, that is my only complaint about the gear box.
The suspension is phenomenal! I have to be honest though, MX-Tech did the suspension before I got the bike. I rode the 03 the full year on stock suspension so it is not fair for me to compare the 04 suspenders to the 03. I will tell you this, I have never ridden a more perfectly suspended bike. Through the whoops it was insane, just line it up and hold it on the throttle stop. I have struggled for a year with those whoops on the Honda whereas on TX Bigguys YZ450 I could hit them fine. Now the 04 goes through like butter and I have to attribute that to the suspension. Jeremy put the Enzo sub tanks on this bike to keep it from bottoming. They affect the last 1/3 of the stroke. He told me I would not be able to bottom this thing out. Well above I told you I over jumped the finish line jump, about an 80ft table top/step down so I was about to test his claims of bottoming resistance. It was one of those jumps where when in the air you are saying to yourself "self, this is gonna suck". I expected BRUTAL landing but it turned out to be only mildly brutal and I did not bottom the forks out. Don't get me wrong, I won't try that again just to prove a point but it is nice to know if needed the suspension has got your back.
Cornering and braking... Typical Honda. Stops on a DIME and can surgically remove the inside line of a corner. The rear brake is a little soft but that is okay with me as it keeps me from stalling it. The rear brake of the 03 felt stronger.
Other things to note. The CDI has a new location, behind the number plate. The quick adjust clutch perch WORKS. Spokes come loose FAST, especially around the rim locks. I rode a few laps tightened them, rode some more and I was literally able to tighten a few of the rear wheel spokes by hand before ever putting a wrench to them (keep an eye on them). The foot pegs are the same as 03, meaning they pack with mud easily and have to be scraped out with a screwdriver.
I a not being down on the bike, in fact I think Honda has made huge improvements over the 03 model but I am being real. All of the magazine tests that I have read say this thing is perfect right out of the box, "slap numbers on it ad race". DirtRider Mag did say the gearing may be too tall for some but other than that one comment I could not find a bad word written about it. So is this bike perfect? Half of what I enjoy about riding is setting the bike up for me and my riding style. Honda did a good job of getting the big stuff right, the motor, suspension, tranny and brakes... And a host of little things like the bars, clutch perch and gripper seat. But there will always be things that each of us do differently in our bike set up and I think Honda realizes that. So to answers my question, this bike is perfect to sell to the public. If you choose to ride it in stock trim I am sure you will not be disappointed, but with a few tweaks here and there this bike has the potential to be nothing short of incredible.
Here is what I plan on doing to the bike for me. Suspension, done! New pegs, I liked the PC pegs I had on the 03 and will go with them again. Add a tooth to the rear sprocket. New Chain! SDG Tall Seat, done. I will add a pipe that will move the power lower in the RPM range, going with what worked on the 03, PC Ti-4. Emig clamps and tall bars for more room and to move the bar position forward. That should make that bike fit me like a glove!
I'll keep you updated on anything I find. Also I will let you know how the air filter change goes. I hope they made it easier than the 03. And BTW, the ManFunnel fits and works great on the 04 for your oil change.
If you have any questions I will do my best to answer...
Having just come off a year of riding an 03 CRF I expected the 04 to fit like a glove. I mean from the outside it looks cooler, better tires and bars... Should be just right... Wrong! After my initial ride I was in shock at how different the bike was. The dropped 2 teeth on the rear sprocket because the Honda claims the new motor had too much hit off bottom, I disagree. Corners that I rolled into in 3rd on the 03 I had to hit in second on the new bike, but in second you are right in the meat of the power so throttle control is required. If I hit the corners in 3rd the bike would bog then come on strong. What I did not realize is that I was actually going faster even though the bike seemed as if it was bogging. This became evident when I over shot the finish line jump and flat landed... The bike is BLISTERING fast through the mid and top end, even with the smaller rear sprocket it revs faster and accelerates harder but it feels smoother if that makes any sense? I would say the gearing will take some getting used to, don't get frustrated, just ride it and get a feel for it. In all honesty the gearing feels more like the 4 speed tranny of the YZF450 with an extra gear. I will probably be going up one tooth on the rear sprocket.
The new seat is SOFT, I mean spongy soft. I am not a fan of a couch cushion for a seat so I put my SDG tall seat from my 03 on it after the first run. It made a HUGE difference in the way the bike felt. The cockpit of the bike is a little cramped, especially when you have a tall seat on. On my 03 I had Emig clamps to move the bars forward and tall bars, I will be making the same modifications to this bike.
The clutch is so soft it is hard to believe this is a 450. I mean 1-finger pulls are easy! Silky smooth. After moving the geat shift leaver up one notch shifting while standing, jumping or sitting was a breeze. Neutral is DAMN hard to find, that is my only complaint about the gear box.
The suspension is phenomenal! I have to be honest though, MX-Tech did the suspension before I got the bike. I rode the 03 the full year on stock suspension so it is not fair for me to compare the 04 suspenders to the 03. I will tell you this, I have never ridden a more perfectly suspended bike. Through the whoops it was insane, just line it up and hold it on the throttle stop. I have struggled for a year with those whoops on the Honda whereas on TX Bigguys YZ450 I could hit them fine. Now the 04 goes through like butter and I have to attribute that to the suspension. Jeremy put the Enzo sub tanks on this bike to keep it from bottoming. They affect the last 1/3 of the stroke. He told me I would not be able to bottom this thing out. Well above I told you I over jumped the finish line jump, about an 80ft table top/step down so I was about to test his claims of bottoming resistance. It was one of those jumps where when in the air you are saying to yourself "self, this is gonna suck". I expected BRUTAL landing but it turned out to be only mildly brutal and I did not bottom the forks out. Don't get me wrong, I won't try that again just to prove a point but it is nice to know if needed the suspension has got your back.
Cornering and braking... Typical Honda. Stops on a DIME and can surgically remove the inside line of a corner. The rear brake is a little soft but that is okay with me as it keeps me from stalling it. The rear brake of the 03 felt stronger.
Other things to note. The CDI has a new location, behind the number plate. The quick adjust clutch perch WORKS. Spokes come loose FAST, especially around the rim locks. I rode a few laps tightened them, rode some more and I was literally able to tighten a few of the rear wheel spokes by hand before ever putting a wrench to them (keep an eye on them). The foot pegs are the same as 03, meaning they pack with mud easily and have to be scraped out with a screwdriver.
I a not being down on the bike, in fact I think Honda has made huge improvements over the 03 model but I am being real. All of the magazine tests that I have read say this thing is perfect right out of the box, "slap numbers on it ad race". DirtRider Mag did say the gearing may be too tall for some but other than that one comment I could not find a bad word written about it. So is this bike perfect? Half of what I enjoy about riding is setting the bike up for me and my riding style. Honda did a good job of getting the big stuff right, the motor, suspension, tranny and brakes... And a host of little things like the bars, clutch perch and gripper seat. But there will always be things that each of us do differently in our bike set up and I think Honda realizes that. So to answers my question, this bike is perfect to sell to the public. If you choose to ride it in stock trim I am sure you will not be disappointed, but with a few tweaks here and there this bike has the potential to be nothing short of incredible.
Here is what I plan on doing to the bike for me. Suspension, done! New pegs, I liked the PC pegs I had on the 03 and will go with them again. Add a tooth to the rear sprocket. New Chain! SDG Tall Seat, done. I will add a pipe that will move the power lower in the RPM range, going with what worked on the 03, PC Ti-4. Emig clamps and tall bars for more room and to move the bar position forward. That should make that bike fit me like a glove!
I'll keep you updated on anything I find. Also I will let you know how the air filter change goes. I hope they made it easier than the 03. And BTW, the ManFunnel fits and works great on the 04 for your oil change.
If you have any questions I will do my best to answer...