Impulse buying got the better of me..

[Joe f]

So I kinda went a bit mad earlier.

Long story short, my first mod 2 is at the end of the month an I've vaguely been looking at first bikes. Now I've always wanted a supermoto but these were out of the question with my budget.

Earlier I stumbled upon a tarted up '07 honda crf450 all sumo'd out on a salvage auction website, was stolen recovered with just the key missing. I had a little flutter on the bids and before I knew it I'm now the proud owner

Am I dumb? It will be my only means of transport to and from work..

Are they hard work to live with? I've read online that honda recommend a piston change every 15 hours use, but riders triple this with road use, is this about right?

Thanks in advance for any help! And don't be afraid to call me an idiot (just as long as I receive a good reason for it!)

Cheers, joe.

[MarJay]

Is it hard to live with you say?



Needs a new piston after 45hrs use?



Competition motocross bike turned into a Supermoto?

























YES! Of course it will be hard to live with! It'll be uncomfortable, impractical, it'll probably have no ignition lock at all (hence the stolen and recovered without damage). It'll take about a litre of oil and it'll need a full rebuild every 45hrs at most.

I suggest you stick it back on ebay.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[hornetmike]

But you will look cool
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87 Honda CG 125 - 97 ER5 - SR 50 -81 Z250- 96 CBR 600 F- 94 GPX600R 88- GPX 400R- 87 GS 125 - 2006 Honda CB600F- 2003 ER5 - Honda CBF 1000 2009 - Honda CBR 600 RR 2011
Current BMW R1200GS 2010

[Seb]

It'll also likely make you wee a little bit everytime you ride it. If you can afford to run and maintain it then good on you (You have got an insurance quote for it right?), I'd murder to commute on something that bonkers

Just for the love of god, invest in a nice big almax or pragmasis lock, chain and anchor, anything less and that bike is going to get nicked again rather rapidly.
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2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[Joe f]

All the above are pretty much what's worrying me!

I haven't done a quote yet, but I will do once I've collected it (don't yet know the reg)
The area I live is generally cheap for insurance (for example an er-5 is only £180 for the year)

The rebuild after 45hrs use isn't too much of an issue, just an inconvenience, I ride competitive trials and rebuilt the top end a few times. I roughly worked it out to 1500 miles which isn't too bad for me, should work out to once each 10 months on average.. If it doesn't get stolen before then, it will be kept outside....
A big fuck off lock is the first thing on my to do list.

It was pretty cheap for what it is so I won't lose out if I grow sick of it and sell it on.

What sort of fuel economy (or rather lack of) will I be seeing?

[G]

Does any CRF450 come with a key anyway?

Note that the 4 stroke rebuild tends to be a good chunk more hassle than a 2 stroke - lots more moving parts to go wrong etc too.

It won't take so kindly to be (ab)used without being properly warmed up.

I wouldn't choose one as 'only transport' personally - and certainly would be getting some very big chains/locks etc.

Fuel economy shouldn't really be a concern for an owner of such a vehicle!

[mysterious_rider]

[Joe f]

Not as standard no, just buy a barrel and key set and wire it in.

I do have a cage that I'll be insured on, just the mrs will be using that more than me.

My dad's been a mechanic for 30 years so if I get stuck with the rebuild I can always grab a hand.


I can't wait to collect it now!

[Wave2k]

When it comes to competition bikes, 2 strokes are the way forward.

Even i could rebuild one of those, id hate to rebuild a 4.
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Ducati 1299 Panigale
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[ian505050]

Impulse buying is FTW!!!

I bought a WR250 and when commuting you can tell that many people are looking at you thinking, "yerrrrrrrrr......... i am well jealous and that bike is cool as fuck"

I must get at least 2-3 people do a "go on wheelie" gesture each time i am out on the bike. You can also do things like just drop your bike on its side if you cant be arsed putting it on the side stand which looks cool.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=256227&highlight=

I have covered quite a few mile on the road so far maybe 800 on the road and 200 off road and it has coped well.

The service schedule is scary if your going to cover a fair distance.

You can also destroy knobbly tires in 500 miles if you give it the beans when on tarmac but they are only £40 to replace.

ps. your an idiot, buy a £700 ybr125 to commute and save the bike for fun.

[MaybeGuy]

if you feel the need to try it offroad, I'd be up for sorting some kind of swap out for my CRF wheels.

they're not so bad on maintenance. The ''advised'' rebuild is if it's competition use.

on my CRF (250) I do an oil change every 500 miles or so, or every 3 track sessions, and check the clearances every other oil change.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[G]

[RichieZX6R]

Impulse buying is makes me feel alive unless its a pair of shoes or some thing small and not worth much

Bought the ZX without thinking to much as it was cheap and with low mileage.

If i didnt need a car or had a company vehicle for work i would defo part ways with the car and purchase some sort of off road bike.

enjoy it fella
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Current: Kawazaki ZX6R 51
Past: Kawazaki ZX6R 96 - Honda CBR 600F4 05 - Dragstar 125 02 - Honda CB 400 SF 94 - Honda NSR 125 51 - Gilera Runner XV125 04

[stevo as b4]

If 1500miles will last you a year just commuting to work and back and you can get a some decent physical and electronic security, then i see it being just as practical as a commuter as any other competition based MX or enduro bike. There are quite a few people out there running converted MX bikes with lights as road legal machines, both 2 and 4stroke. Most of them are probably fun/weekend or second bikes, but people do commute on road registered MX/Enduro bikes quite happily, and even more so Abroad. I've seen quite a few MX bikes in France/Spain etc ridden on the roads.

If you commute is fairly short and doesn't involve pegging out a bike on dual carridgeways/motorways, then the CRF has many attributes. Id say it's a better choice running cost wise than a CR500 for example, and there's a few of those ridden on the road.

If you keep on top of maintainence and servicing to the letter and are say just doing a 5-10mile urban cross town commute etc, then i think the CRF could be an awesome tool for the job. I think for road use changing the oil every 4-500miles and cleaning the filters, and checking valve clearances twice a year would be sufficiant. As people have said the engine re-build interval will be for competition/race use, and you won't be putting anything like that level of strain on the motor for road work only.

Id look at fitting an ignition immobiliser unit, or make something up, so it cannot be started if the locks and chains were to be cut. Use a big chain and lock and lock it to a solid object or see if you can take it into your work place depending on where you work.

Have fun with it though, but don't leave it anywhere like on a busy high street, or outside shops etc, and make sure no one tries to follow you home on it to nick it, but it's more likely to be targeted by chavvy scum on the street anyway.

[Rogerborg]

Run it for 45 hours, leave it outside, collect on the insurance the next morning.
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[Joncrete Cungle]

Impulse buying, tis how I ended up with my CBR600. Your next stop should be Almax and/or Pragmasis for some proper chains and padlocks