2019 Honda CRF 450L

[Tex68w]

Last week I installed the San Diego Powerhouse thermostat delete kit. This was a tad time consuming and for whatever reason I found it to be an annoying mod to install lol. Note to self, make sure that you do this install in a well lit area or with the use of a head lamp in order to assist in seeing and locating the hoses you must block off on the air box. You must remove the seat, all side plastics, your full exhaust and the skid plate in order to install the kit. If you have radiator braces/guards those too will need to be removed on the right side of the bike. A few of the block offs are more than just slightly difficult to access. I found using a lubricant to assist in installing some of the rubber nipple block-offs to be necessary. When draining your coolant be aware that once you remove the radiator cap the fluid will shoot straight out the side of the water pump with impressive force and distance so be prepared to catch it in a drain pan or maybe a one gallon ziplock bag.

The motor runs quite a bit cooler without the thermostat, I don't have any hard numbers from my personal bike but another guy I know with the kit reported a 15-25F degree reduction in radiator temps from his Voyager Pro. We rode some rather slow and technical single track this past weekend and I never heard the fan come on at all nor did the bike feel as hot as I expected it to at times. I can confirm that it does idle more smoothly since the install.

I removed the charcoal canister a while back, it weighed 1.1lbs on its own, if you combine that with the weight savings from the rest of the hoses catch cans and thermostat that were removed with this kit (a total of 2lb 6oz) then you have nearly a 3.5lb weight reduction with the entire kit. I am happy with the performance and noticeable improvements thus far but I reserve my final thoughts until I have a few more extended rides with it. Unless you ride in climates below 30F degrees regularly then this kit can only be seen as a benefit for the longevity of your motor and the radiator fan. The weight savings are just an added bonus.

 

[Tex68w]

Last week I installed the FCP Racing Titanium motor mounts on the bike. Install was a breeze and the provided instructions lists the recommended torque specs. Simply remove one mount at time. Be sure to use some anti-seize when installing the new mounts.

They claim these motor mounts help to properly firm up the chassis thereby increasing rigidity which improves handling, most notably in the whoops and while cornering. I can best describe it as an improved sway bar for the bike. The bike definitely feels more confident at speed and while cornering now and I noticed almost no flex in the chassis when loaded into a corner. Unfortunately I didn't get to hit any significant whoop sections this past weekend so I can't report any improvements in those conditions just yet.

These mounts are used amongst some of the top race teams and they are just now bringing this improvement to the everyday trail rider. I can report that the mounts alone improved the front end handling and feel ten fold and I feel like there was even a slight improvement in the rear end deflection. I don't feel as if they are a direct replacement for a full-on suspension re-spring and re-valve, but they did provide a significant improvement in the handling of the bike. When considering the cost of this kit I was extremely skeptical and it took some convincing from the two others who had the initial kits to push me over the edge but boy am I glad that I listened because I think it was worth every penny. For a limited time Honda Dual Sports is running them at 10% off for this initial launch, otherwise they can be purchased direct through FCP's website.

 

[Wallygator]

Looks like two excellent upgrades. Very nice!

 

[Tex68w]

Looks like two excellent upgrades. Very nice!

Thanks! I am happy with the improvements. Got quite the flack over them over on advforum. I think I am done posting over there, too many idiots with uninformed opinions lol.

 

[Wallygator]

Thanks! I am happy with the improvements. Got quite the flack over them over on advforum. I think I am done posting over there, too many idiots with uninformed opinions lol.

Why would you get flack for improving your bike?? That is strange to me. Why do they care what you do with your money?

 

[Tex68w]

Why would you get flack for improving your bike?? That is strange to me. Why do they care what you do with your money?

Haha, exactly!

A few claimed that I am buying into a product (engine mounts) that claims performance and benefits that a hard to believe. I told them I was skeptical as well but I can see and feel the performance now upon running them on my own bike. Put up or shut up was my basic response, take a chance and give a product a try to see for yourself or you're more than welcome to come ride mine lol. I explained the benefits and science behind it based off of metallurgy and the properties of Titanium but most people are too dense to understand anything they don't want to believe in lol. There are quite a few factory and private race teams running them so it's more than just snake oil.

Thermostat deletes are much easier to understand yet now you have guys arguing about cylinder wall washing and heat cycles and blow by . The arguments get so detailed and specific that you're no longer arguing about the particular bike or mod at hand, it's now become a pissing match between a few backyard "engineers" attempting out-do one another by speculating on theories that may or may not be a factor for the sake of sounding knowledgeable. At the end of the day this concept is easy to understand, you are keeping the bike consistently cooler, period. Once again, this is a very common modification done by race teams, not something cousin Bill that lives out back in his pickup came up with.

Am I racing this bike, no, but I do live in an area that is wicked hot four months out of the year so I can possibly benefit from this mod more so than the guy that lives in Canada. I choose a product or modification for two reasons, 1) to improve performance/comfort/feel or 2) to drop weight off the bike. I don't choose mods simply for aesthetics or to dress up the bike, if that were the case I'd have flashy aluminum foot pegs and anodized aluminum bits all over the place. One thing is for sure, I will be the first guy to tell you what I honestly think of a product and whether or not I think it is ********.

Like you said, at the end of the day it's my bike and my money, I was simply trying to share with a community the benefits of each product. These mods aren't for everyone and I agree that the engine mounts are over priced, but that's ok, you do you and I'll do me. It's the insults one gets based off of how they spend their money and those arguing against something most likely because of how much it costs that makes me think some of these people aren't against the product and it's perceived benefits as much as they are just deflecting because they can't afford or justify the purchase based solely on price. But I digress, build your bike as you see fit and enjoy this silly hobby/sport for what it is because those that want to overthink everything and attack others take all of the fun out of it.

 

[Tex68w]

A few snapshots from our visit to Barnwell Mountain last weekend. I wish I had more pics better illustrating the technical aspects of some of these trails but my photos usually coincide with a stop for an obstacle or water break because everyone is gassed. It was extremely humid and still out on the trails, most of us were completely out of water in under two hours lol. I loved the terrain and the technical difficulty of some of the single track out there, but their map is mediocre at best and none of the single track is marked or named on the trail itself so it is hard to truly know where you are or where you are going. A lot of time is wasted in these scenarios because of all of the stopping one must do to reflect on the map so that you don't end up a level 6 rock crawling trail lol. We saw other bikes at the trail head but we never once ran into another bike or Jeep/4x4 out on the trails the entire afternoon.

We made the best of the situation and basically rode until we hit an area that was either overgrown or was beyond what we were capable of doing or willing to attempt and were forced to turn around (mostly because they weren't motorcycle trails lol). Places like this beg for a light weight two-stroke that can be ridden slow for the technical terrain and we were all on larger 4-stroke thumpers and dual sports. Regardless it was a blast and I will definitely be back to see the rest of the place as we only had 3-4 hours to explore on this visit.

 

[Wallygator]

Haha, exactly!

A few claimed that I am buying into a product (engine mounts) that claims performance and benefits that a hard to believe. I told them I was skeptical as well but I can see and feel the performance now upon running them on my own bike. Put up or shut up was my basic response, take a chance and give a product a try to see for yourself or you're more than welcome to come ride mine lol. I explained the benefits and science behind it based off of metallurgy and the properties of Titanium but most people are too dense to understand anything they don't want to believe in lol. There are quite a few factory and private race teams running them so it's more than just snake oil.

Thermostat deletes are much easier to understand yet now you have guys arguing about cylinder wall washing and heat cycles and blow by . The arguments get so detailed and specific that you're no longer arguing about the particular bike or mod at hand, it's now become a pissing match between a few backyard "engineers" attempting out-do one another by speculating on theories that may or may not be a factor for the sake of sounding knowledgeable. At the end of the day this concept is easy to understand, you are keeping the bike consistently cooler, period. Once again, this is a very common modification done by race teams, not something cousin Bill that lives out back in his pickup came up with.

Am I racing this bike, no, but I do live in an area that is wicked hot four months out of the year so I can possibly benefit from this mod more so than the guy that lives in Canada. I choose a product or modification for two reasons, 1) to improve performance/comfort/feel or 2) to drop weight off the bike. I don't choose mods simply for aesthetics or to dress up the bike, if that were the case I'd have flashy aluminum foot pegs and anodized aluminum bits all over the place. One thing is for sure, I will be the first guy to tell you what I honestly think of a product and whether or not I think it is ****.

Like you said, at the end of the day it's my bike and my money, I was simply trying to share with a community the benefits of each product. These mods aren't for everyone and I agree that the engine mounts are over priced, but that's ok, you do you and I'll do me. It's the insults one gets based off of how they spend their money and those arguing against something most likely because of how much it costs that makes me think some of these people aren't against the product and it's perceived benefits as much as they are just deflecting because they can't afford or justify the purchase based solely on price. But I digress, build your bike as you see fit and enjoy this silly hobby/sport for what it is because those that want to overthink everything and attack others take all of the fun out of it.

WOW! That is just crazy. Yeah I wouldn't post over there anymore after that crap either.

 

[Tex68w]

These mini bikes keep replicating lol. The nephews should be very excited come Christmas morning. I only have a few things left to do with the PW50 to finish it out, forks and pegs and a few decals. We recently acquired a very clean 2005 Honda CRF70 for my eight year old nephew. It only needs a thorough scrubbing, a new rear tire and tube, and a handlebar pad and she'll be done. We've been having way too much fun riding them around the neighborhood and practicing our wheelies.

All of this mini bike action has me seriously considering picking up a new 2020 fuel injected CRF110 to turn into a pit bike similar to this one.

 

[Tex68w]

Sometimes it pays off to follow a random trail alongside of a gas line right of way.

 

[Tex68w]

Got another bike that'll be added to the garage in the coming weeks, decided to start picking up parts for it ahead of time.

 

[Tex68w]

2019 Harvest Classic Fun Run was a blast.

 

[shade]

You may want to look into more modern attire. Body worn airbag systems have come a long way since the days of the SumoSuit.

 

[Tex68w]

The tide was silly low today and the wind almost non-existent so I decided to hit the beach. It was gorgeous outside, I saw another rider on what appeared to be a WR450R ripping down the beach, a National Guard Blackhawk flew over, rode past a late model beach home that burned up along with their UTV (what appears to have started the fire) and bay boat and an old Bertram sadly sat on the bottom. On the way home I had to pull over for a wide load rolling through with a large crane they have been using to erect large wind mills with in the area. Not a bad way to spend my Monday.

 

[Tex68w]

Mo light = mo bettah!