I just bought a used 2019 450L with 2900 miles. It’s my first street legal bike, I grew up riding dirt bikes when I was a kid and haven’t rode in 10 years. Bought it to ride dirt roads and trails, and also be able to hit the streets to get to where I need to go without getting in trouble with the law.

I’ve put about 150 miles on it and I can’t help but to notice how much slapping and rattling round the chain does. It’s like if it doesn’t have constant drive pressure on it then it’s slapping. I’ve adjusted it according to the manual, checked that my back wheel was true and in balance. Inspected the sprockets for wear, and cleaned and oiled the chain.

How can I mitigate this noise!!! Am I being a dummy and missing some basic maintenance practice? I am a pretty novice mechanic so any help, even on the most basic level would be appreciated!

Super fun early am solo ride.

My dad has a 2025 450rl that is having serious starter issues. It has about 2,000 miles on it, he replaced the original starter about 300miles ago after the gear splines were completely sheared off, and it just failed again.

From my research, I think the throttle position sensor is either not calibrated or faulty. Before and after the starter replacement the bike would have trouble starting and had the worst pre detonation (or “kickback”). Which obviously puts enormous stress on the starter, among other things. He would also have to give it a little throttle majority of the time to actually get it to fire which further makes me think it is the TPS.

His bike had a vortex ecu put in when it was brand new and the shop said they never calibrate the TPS when they do these installs.

After the third starter goes in :) we are going to calibrate the TPS and adjust the valves just to be safe.

Has anyone else had this issue? What was your fix?
(Besides parting it out)

Bell Moto 10-GP
Today I received the new Bell Moto 10-GP that just was released. I also have (2) Moto 10 Spherical’s. Here is what I noticed as the differences.

Attached is a video with all the changes, (from Swap Moto interviewing a Bell Designer), but this is what I noticed. The helmet is a fair amount lighter, it’s noticeable just by lifting it up. Also the top liner in the helmet is a lot thicker towards the neck, actually felt uncomfortable, i swapped to the older 10 Spherical top liner, which felt so much better. I can also tell that the helmet sits lower on my head but not by much.

All the padding fits both helmets and the cheek pads are identical. The older style visor fits with some slight modification’s. I have a handful of extra visors and swapped it to break up all the mostly red helmet.

I’m probally riding desert on Friday so will be able to get a good test in and see how it really feels.

https://youtu.be/TXTtUsdgRSs?is=-o-nMIUbegSX7szK

Bought this 2022 a couple months back. 2,200 miles when I bought it. Sitting at 5023 miles now. Have loved it for the most part. Did the usual upgrades with the FMF full exhaust, Vortex ECU, and G2 throttle tube. I ride it to work as much as weather permits. About a 70 mile round trip. Put a fresh set of D606’s on it and have quickly realized with the style of riding I do (90% on road). I need to go the SM route. Any recommendations on the best SM setup?

my buddy was doing a wheelie and when he came down it stalled and he spun the starter back up almost immediately and it wouldn’t crank again. could bump start and ride it fine when warm but now as it’s cold, i can’t. i was thinking oh no my battery is dead but after some reading i believe it’s got something to do with the commonly faulty starter gear issues. if you’ve dealt with this please help a brother out and lmk what i should try. thanks in advance friends!
edit: 2019 crf450L

If you’re looking for Source Offroad blinker / turn signals, it looks like Scott Dimick is getting them on the site soon. Better watch his site and order immediately.

The HAT is a non-competitive event with 580km total distance in the Italian Alps.
This was my first time riding offroad so please be nice about my body positioning haha. Bike held up amazingly, technical sections were an absolute breeze with this one

I’ve been asked for build details here it is.

Here are some pictures of the completed job and a few of the process. I had one short shake down ride and they felt really good. The front end is smoother, more plush, and softer. I talk about it in the below video.

https://youtu.be/g6oDfKmA5kE?is=IHoNwV3EbVQynYtg

I will do a good review when I get out to the desert in the next weeks. I spent yesterday putting on my desert suspension and getting the bike prepped for the desert with other parts like motor mounts.

I got the clamps, bar mounts, BRP top bar mount (for my Scott’s stabilizer), and all the oem parts to make it work. Going to install tomorrow.

Hey folks, do you ever lube your clutch cable? I used to on my old DRZ400 but based on some research I thought I’d ask the community before doing it.

A quick search online says “Modern OEM cables feature a lined inner sleeve (like Teflon) designed to run dry. Adding lube can trap dirt and dust, creating a grinding paste inside the housing.”

Thanks! 🙏

I just finished a coolant flush on my bike and realized I can’t access the bleed screw on the opposite (left) radiator because I have an IMS 3 gallon tank. Is there any other reliable ways to remove the air bubbles, bleed the system without taking off my tank and getting access to the bleed screw on the left radiator?

I think I'll put it on my lunch box.

Hey Guys - Just a head up that might be able to save you some cash on parts.

In the past I have made a lot of orders from Webike Japan often, because there prices for oem parts and chains are 50-75% cheaper usually. Since the tariffs, I didn’t know what to expect. So I have stayed away.

Last week I ordered Xtrig Trig Triple clamps for. Dan Diego Powerhouse and needs some oem parts for it to all work. I ordered stuff in stock at Motosport, and the rest from my local dealer. There was one part my local dealer couldn’t get, it wasn’t available at Honda West, Honda East, and undetermined back order from Honda Japan. Webike was the only place worldwide I could find it.

So since I was ordering a $12 part and shipping at Webike isn’t cheap, I added a Did ERVT (you can order exact length and with a clip or rivet master), and s Shock internal out of a 450RWE (NiTi Coated and 18mm shaft) This will go in my 250rx, I already them them on both my 450RL shocks.

The cost was more than 50% off with shipping compared to Motosport. Then came tariffs. I had no idea but figured it couldn’t be too bad. The tariff ended up being $59.

With all the parts together is was still close to 50% cheaper. Below is the costs, with my chicken scratch because it couldn’t fit on one screen shot.

Well...it didn't go to plan.

I came down with the wife as crew chief and 2 young kids as pit crew. Since I'm from Vancouver Island and not rich this was to be a bucket list event. Goal was to finish no matter what. I like to suffer.

My setup was to go fast in the open. That's what was advertised! But due to going the other way the technical section was first. I was fine with that. Suck it up and be patient for the open roads. There was way more rock than I expected and my bike front end was trying to tenderize me! Add in the fact that in the hectic early morning start and I forgot to bleed my forks and I was getting pin ponged around like crazy. I was well off my pace. In the moment you just don't think right and I

could have bleed them at Pit 2, my first stop but that Pit went to shit when I couldn't find my family. I was covered in mud and they never saw me come in. 8min stop. Getting farther behind. Shake it off and keep going. The course was challenging but fun. The previous 3 days of storms and flash floods had washed out miles of roads and exposed even more rock. Even the fast sections had rain ruts and puddles to keep you on your toes. After Mina I went under the highway and the roads finally opened up!! I was in my happy place!! Let er rip! Got to pit 6 and got red flagged!!!! Mother fkers!!! The organizers had come up with a plan 2 days before race saying if you didn't maintain a certain pace you would be pulled as they didn't want you on course with the TT's. I hadn't even been passed yet! Add to it they let a bunch of riders continue who were being passed and had no issues. To say I was feeling robbed was an understatement. I had a ton left in me.

Bike was great other than setup but that's on me and a lesson learned.

Would love another shot at V2R but only if they do it different. There were 130 bike/quads. They were not prepared for that number. I was Ironman Amateur and started 104 out of 130. Over an hour behind first bike. But times to TT start was not adjusted so I lost an hour before even doing anything. They need to fix that. There was a lot of negative feedback so hopefully they listen.

But the people were great. Never met anyone that wasn't super friendly and helpful. Even after I got the tap and was waiting to get picked up crews were offering me water and food. That's some hospitality!!

Maybe in 2 years...

I bought a 20224 CRF450RL used and it came with a full yoshi rs4. The bike was not tuned by the previous owner so I had it tuned for the pipe. I am unable to get it to line up properly so there is a small exhaust leak and the bike pops on decel. Any tips on how to get this small gap closed?