CRF450X Tweaking: More Bits and Bobs

Between cleaning up my muddy gear and tearing down the BMW so that I can scour the Kansas muck from every nook and cranny, I sneak across the garage and wrench on the new CRF450X every now and again. Call it attention deficit disorder.

Here are a few more 450X bits and bobs offered up to the gods Protection and Preservation.

Before

If you saw the photo of the mud packed under the countershaft sprocket cover of my Beemer, you understand the problem I'm trying to correct here. The fragile and mostly enclosed plastic bauble above has got to go...

After

This trick bit of red-anodized aluminum ("aluminium" for you Brits) is from Hammerhead Designs. It's really billed as a case guard, more so than a sprocket cover. Its purpose is to protect your engine casing in the unlikely event of your chain letting go and whipping forward with several thousand RPMs worth of case-holing force. There's certainly no space for any crapola from Kansas to pack up here, and as long as I don't ride barefoot, I shouldn't have to worry about my sprocket and chain dicing off one of my toes.

Before

The master cylinder for the CRF's rear brake ... totally exposed.

Problem Solved!

This stout, nicely designed plate is from Works Connection. Perfect fit. Nothing short of a round from my .357 magnum is gonna get through.

Before

This cheesy white plastic thing is intended to protect the rear brake caliper. I've read in the forums at CRFs Only and Thumper Talk where it's been known to crack/break just from normal riding, let alone a get-off. Come on, Honda, you can do better...

Fixed!

Another nice piece from Works Connection to the rescue.

Stay tuned ... there'll probably be more.