2019 Honda CRF 450L

[Tex68w]

This GT333N is one smooth roller on the road. Looking forward to getting her dirty here very soon.

Trail Tech Voyager Pro, IMS Core Enduro foot pegs, and Giant Loop Mojavi saddle bags yet to be installed prior to Big Bend. I love this bike, I can't believe I almost sold her a few weeks back lol. It's damn near the perfect in-between bike, now I just need to add the right bikes on either side of it.

 

[Tex68w]

Finally got around to slapping these IMS Core Endruo pegs on the 450L. Buh bye bent factory pegs.

 

[Tex68w]

I installed and started messing with the setup configurations on the TrailTech Voyager Pro yesterday. There are so many different pages and read out options to customize, it'll take some time to get it setup exactly how I want it. Beyond being a GPS/Nav unit it provides connectivity to Sena headsets of which it can tie in you and your passengers headsets directly to the unit itself at the same time. It allows you to manage your calls, texts, music, as well as hear turn-by-turn commands, intercom connectivity between you and your passenger and of course management of your comms amongst other Sena users within range.

The unit comes with several harnesses to allow for monitoring of your bikes engine temp, wheel speed, engine tachometer, ambient temperature and if used, Buddy Tracking. Engine temp can be monitored via a harness that plugs into your radiator fins or via an in-line sensor that you splice into your radiator hose. The engine revs are monitored by a harness with a wire that wraps around the spark plug between the plug and coil. Wheel speed can be monitored via a provided wheel magnet and sensor or you can simply opt for the GPS speed. Buddy Tracking is a feature that can be used amongst other Voyager Pro users and/or Polaris Ride Command users. This function allows you to see exactly where your friends are on the map and the quickest route to link up with them. With this feature you can communicate directly with your buddies and request a recall or meet up spot. I doubt very many people utilize this feature but I can see how it would be useful if your ride often with others who also use this system.

You can wire the unit direct to your battery and turn it on/off manually or you can choose to wire it to your ignition and then opt to have the unit manually power on/off when the ignition is switched on/off or as soon as it senses movement. The mounting dock comes with a clamp for both 7/8" and a 1 1/8" bars and there are a myriad of other mounts you can purchase for custom setups (Flexx or Mako360 bars) or to utilize the unit in/on other vehicles. They offer a ruggedized exoskeleton case for those who are rough on their equipment and they have an option for external dummy lights for those that have a setup where you can no longer see your factory lights/screen.

The unit comes pre-loaded with maps for the lower 48 and you can download maps for the rest of the world for free off of their website. Importing/exporting files and software updates are done via a MicroSD card (not included) that plugs into the side of the unit. When fully charged the unit can be dismounted and used as a handheld to update menus etc. for one hour. The unit is easily removed from the docking mount via a push button release. You can also choose to lock the unit to the dock/mount with a hidden screw for extra security. The screen is full color, bright and easy to read. It allows for gloved finger touch screen use as well. All menus are stored within the unit and you make all of your settings changes and adjustments via the screen on the unit itself. There is also a stopwatch/timer screen available but I have yet to mess with it.

So far I am extremely impressed with this unit and I look forward to using it for our Big Bend trip next month. I'm not gonna lie, half of the appeal was the user connectivity for my Sena headset, music and phone functionality especially when riding solo. I like that I can buy other docks/mounts and utilize it on multiple bikes simply by swapping the head unit from one bike to the next.

As of right now my only complaints are the inability to do updates/uploads/imports/exports wirelessly. I also don't like the fact that the unit only charges when plugged into the mounting dock. For use on bikes that lack an ignition you can purchase an external charger but it still requires that the unit be plugged into the mounting dock in order to charge. I simply wish that you could remove it from the mounting dock and take it inside to be charged via a wall charger or USB. I'll continue to play with it over the coming weeks and report back my findings for an update/review.

At first I found the unit to be smaller than I had expected but it is honestly the perfect size to keep it from cluttering up the cockpit.

Startup menu screen

User screen, this is a customizable page

Cluster screen

Tachbar screen, it changes color as the tachometer increases (the red line/rev limit is user adjustable)

Maps/Nav screen

Media screen

Satellites screen (allows you to see which satellites are currently available and their signal strength)

Dock/Mount

Mounted

 

[Tex68w]

GL Mojavi mount.

I ended up heating up the GL Loop mounts and bending them up so that they would clear the side plastics when bolted to the subframe bolt/mount. I removed the standard fender clips for the rear of the bags and opted for the buckle strap instead. I played with positioning of the bags and decided that the saddle bridge should run underneath the rear of the seat instead of fully behind it or over the top of the seat. I still need to trim up some of the straps but for now it'll do.

For Big Bend next month I will run my GL 1gal Gas Bag strapped to the saddle bridge of the Mojavis atop the rearmost portion of the seat via some 25" GL Pronghorn straps ran through the molle webbing on the fuel bladder and the saddle bridge on the bags. I have a GL ZigZag handlebar bag strapped to the top of the Gas Bag in which I store the fuel spout and disposable funnels for refueling when needed. In the saddle bags I plan to run an extra 1/2 gallon of fuel via two MSR 1L fuel bottles. This combined with the IMS 3gal tank will bring me to a total of 4.5 gallons of fuel which should suffice for our planned routes in the parks each day.

bent vs. stock

 

[Tex68w]

Did a little gravel grinder ride to the dealer to pick up a few items this morning and to give the bike a proper shake down run since the addition of the new rubber, sprockets, chain, bag setup and Voyager Pro unit.

Wide open gravel roads for the majority of the trip there, I hardly ever see another person on these roads and can easily run 60-80 mph on them with out issue.

Dealer visits are always an exercise in avoiding the temptation to buy another toy lol.

Caught by the 100+ car train.

Ditch beauty lol.

Ranch piss break.

 

[Tex68w]

On our little back roads/gravel grinder ride a few weeks back I was finally able to monitor the engine temp according to the radiator fin sensor on the Voyager Pro. The ambient temp was 53F and while riding at 60 mph I was averaging an engine temp between 114F and 121F. As I would sit and idle at stop lights I'd creep as high as 145F and at one point after slower speeds and a heavy throttle hand I saw as high as 157F. Needless to say, the fan never came on as I never approached 175F+.

I'll be interested to see when/if the fan kicks on during the Big Bend trip next week. We will see high's around 80F and I will hopefully get the bike warm enough on some of the slower and more technical spots to hear the fan kick on for the first time in a long while lol. I spoke with another guy who has the same setup, he rides mostly low speed technical stuff with his and the highest engine temp he's seen with the Vortex/FMF/T-stat delete is 195F. He also confirmed that it's rare that his fan kicks on any longer.

 

[Tex68w]

Bike washed, lubed, all bolts torqued, wheels trued, chain prepped, plastics polished and now she's sitting on the trickle charger. Bags and gear getting packed, t-minus 24 hours until we depart for Big Bend. Pretty stoked. I've been out there in 4WD's a few times, but this will be the first time I'll see it on two wheels.

 

[Tex68w]

The 450L ripped in Big Bend, I can't believe how amazingly well it handled the terrain at speed. A few pics from the trip, I'll do a proper write-up soon.

 

[Tex68w]

I got tired of all of the gunk on my shifter and that giant piece of plastic trapping dirt and grease around my countershaft sprocket and chain so I trimmed part of the plastic guard away. Hopefully someone besides Zeta will come out with a nicer aftermarket option in the future or maybe I'll give the 450R cover a try.

I also followed the lead of @foggy3061 and decided to drop the second piece of plastic from my AXP linkage guard and form the the guard to the linkage itself. This provides better ground clearance and it helps to keep the linkage from resting against the guard at full droop. Thanks for the idea bud!

 

[jonnyquest]

That is one hell of a beautiful bike.

 

[Tex68w]

That is one hell of a beautiful bike.

Many thanks for the kind words. I try to balance my mods between form and and function whenever possible. If a bike looks bad ****** it's much more likely to entice you to throw a leg over it and go for a ride more often, or so I tell myself lol. More mods to come, I am not done with this one just yet.

 

[Tex68w]

Brake snake aka brake pedal anchor. I went the easy route and used the Motion Pro kit but you can easily make your own with a heavier gauge cable if it floats your boat.

 

[Tex68w]

I'm not sure if I shared this on here in the past or not, but for those of you who carry/use or are considering a Garmin inReach Mini it might be of interest.

As previously stated, I ride with a Klim Arsenal vest which has tons of PALS webbing covering it. Originally I had planned to mount the Garmin to the shoulder area via bolting the back bone clip mount on over a PALS loop, but after considering it further I deemed that a bad idea because it was a tight and cumbersome fit and it was difficult to install and remove. Instead I resorted to simply clipping the Garmin to a PALS loop via the supplied carabiner. This worked but the Garmin would flop around while riding and I found it annoying not to mention a possible failure point.

I ended up ordering the Giant Loop Tracker Packer for the Garmin fully anticipating the ability to secure it to the PALS loops or around the shoulder strap at the chest. The Tracker Packer was designed to wrap around a 2" section of material and the PALS loops are 1" wide and sewn 1.5" apart making them too small alone and too far apart in a pair to use with the Tracker Packer side to side, not to mention that the Tracker Packer was nearly twice as tall as one row of PALS webbing. The vest shoulder strap is some 3" wide so it was a no go and short of strapping it to the very top of section atop my shoulder (which would interfere with my helmet and range of motion) it wasn't going to work there either. It's a good idea to have your Garmin InReach/Mini on your person since odds are if you end up needing it in an emergency you'll likely be separated from your bike and possibly unable to move in order to get to it if it were mounted somewhere on your bike.


Frustrated and refusing to give up I decided to take the vest down the street to my upholstery lady. I had her sew on a piece of 2.5" webbing directly to the chest area so that I could mount the Garmin on the Tracker Packer and it then to the 2.5" loop where it will always be readily available on my person should I ever need it. Now I can easily remove the Garmin for cleaning, charging, transport, etc. and then easily mount it back on the vest.

If you don't have some sort of emergency communication device/GPS tracker you should definitely consider purchasing one. The monthly subscription is cheap for what it provides to you and those that might actually care about you. I use mine regularly when traveling (even when not on the bike) and on almost every outing where I find myself out of cell service I receive a few messages from the misses just checking in. If nothing else, it eases her concerns, which in turn lessens my problems lol.

 

[Tex68w]

New Seat Concepts seat cover, same old bike.

More grip, ribbed, not as much red, I consider this a win.

 

[Tex68w]

When I purchased my Giant Loop Gas Bag fuel bladder they threw in a filler spout and what they called a "Spout Pouch". I knew it looked oddly similar to their Zig Zag Handlebar Bag and sure enough, that's exactly what it is. They even went as far as to cut out the Handlebar Bag tag and then wrote an 'S' inside for Spout I am assuming, funny stuff.
I won't be taking my fuel bladder for the TAT this summer so I figured I'd repurpose the bag for it's original intended use as a handlebar bag. I plan to put my cell phone, wallet, insurance and other small quick access items in there during the trip.

I recently bought both the TM Designs and Works Connection rear brake caliper guards and I ended up preferring the aluminum guard form WC. I had already tagged the stock weak plastic guard on a rock and I wanted more protection for the caliper. I might have it powder coated along with a few other items eventually as I am not digging the raw/unfinished look.

I went back and forth between the plastic Acerbis frame guards and a longer set of grip tape frame protectors. My original home made, heel high tape frame protectors had done a great job at preventing boot wear for nearly eight months but they were starting to wear through. I love the look of the Acerbis frame guards, unlike the decal frame protectors they provide protection to the frame beyond simple rubbing and scratches. But after reflecting on how they had damaged my steel frame bikes in the past by trapping debris and grinding it into the frame combined with talking to a few 450R MX guys who used them and complained, I decided to pass. Instead I went with some commercially offered frame decals from Core Grip, not too shabby for $20 and they make the upper frame guards for where your knees contact the frame as well should you need that.

I had originally planned on buying the Champion Adventures rear brake hydraulic switch to eliminate the silly and vulnerable plastic hangar and spring switch for the rear brake light, but they are currently out of stock while they source another vendor. JCR Speed Shop carries one for their 450X enduro lighting kit so I reached out and asked if they could modify one for the 450L electric switch and much to my disbelief Joe hit me back and said that he'd check and see if he had the proper connectors and would get back to me. Within an hour he emailed me and said that he had made one and confirmed it's functionality on one of their 450L's. I couldn't believe that they would do that and on such short notice, that's crazy good customer service right there. So for those of you looking to make this mod/upgrade in the future keep JCR Speed Shop in mind.

I also have the Motoxeno/JCR Speed Shop Dual USB Power Port coming as well. It'll work well to charge my cell phone, Sena, or Garmin inReach Mini in the handlebar bag as I ride. I like that it provides two USB ports and it has a power shutoff button to keep from draining the bikes battery.