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First Supermoto Build - crf450r

83K views 263 replies 33 participants last post by  sPo0keY 
#1 · (Edited)
So now that I have some time I figured I would get this thread going. this is my first supermoto build and I've been collecting parts and working on the crf450 for awhile now. I'm traveling alot right now for work so I have pictures of all the parts and what not, just haven't had time to put the in photobucket so I can upload them...should have some time to do it this coming weekend and i'll post them in a new post.

I bought it quite a few months back and road it as a dirt bike for a while, and they around the road in my development and the mountain behind me. here are some pictures on the bike as it was before i tore it down. limited work space haha (single car garage) and had to clear my other toys out to have room for it.





I was riding it like that but broke it down recently and had some powdercoating done and I'm going to clean some parts up.

I will get some pictures of the frame, swinger, subframe and all the little stuff i had coated. ended up going with a gunmetal gray color, but had the coater do it without the metallic flake, just to make it a bit different, because of this though it's a bit more gray then i expected but I like it!

I may miss a few things below as it's a long list and I tried to mention everything I have (from memory :headscrat)

Parts I have for the bike that are either on it or waiting for the assembly.

-Marchesini wheels
-Goldspeed tires
-QTMI bracket from a KTM since i run different forks
-320mm Brembo floating rotor
-Brembo Rear Wave Rotor
-Brembo Cast caliper
-Custom machined rear wheel spacers for my marchesini's along with rotor and sprocket spacers to gain chain clearance (have great pics of these that i will post up)!
-TRX450 master cylinder with brake wires
-Marzzochi 50mm shiver forks (black)..these thing are HUGE!
-Andreai upper and lower triples for the 50mm forks
-All new bearing for the stem, swingarm, linkage and so on.
-Stainless brake lines for the front and back brakes
-Supermoto front fender
-New plastics for the whole bike (black)
-Custom graphics from dirtdigits (mostly white and grey, I wanted a black background though)
-Acewell billet/LED gauges/temp adapter and sensor/mount
-Acerbis dual road hand guards and LED light strip (going to wire them for front blinkers)
-Renthal twinwall bars
-Twin Air filter
-14/42 road sprokets
-SDG step seat
-Aprilia RVX swinger/linkage/rear brake set up
-Lightspeed carbor fiber left/right frame guards
-Wave racing carbon fiber skid plate w/built in fluid tank...it's a frame and case skid all built into one
-TrailTech 70W stator/flywheel kit (going to run a different battery though as i don't like the idea of AA's)
-2002 CRF450r cam...this has the same duration as a comparable hotcams stage 2 cam
-Front and rear axle sliders...SME fronts and no name rears
-LED tail light with built in tag light
-MT-03 headlight with custom made billet brackets and fork clamps
-Full 35W high/low Bi-xenon projector headlight kit with LED white angle eye from the retrofitsource (their sportbike stage III kit)...going to need to shave some things as i need to gain 1/8" of clearance
-Complete new bolt kit for all the body parts
-Dual Jardine exhaust set up from a 250r
-DASA header system (with step pipe to mate up to the 250 y-pipe, there is a .5" diff in diameter)
-Racespec shifter and brake pedals from the UK...basically the same as hammerhead but cheaper....even with the shipping and conversion rate
-New handle bar combo switch that has....
-Turns​
-light off/running (LED angle eye)/high/low​
-kill switch​
-horn​
-high beam indicator​
-Two of the CRG splitter mirrors
-Two superbright LED turns for the rear
-Keyed ignition switch
-IMS 3.2 gal tank in black
-Head ported/polished with upgraded valves/springs/seats/guides/seals, and my 02 cam installed and bench slimmed.
-CRFonly's wide ratio transmission

PARTS ON THE WAY/BEING WORKED ON:
-Re-jetting due to exhaust change and headwork
-NEED to set sag on both front forks and rear shock, it's off badly
-Building a custom wiring harness since I don't want to drop $300 on one although that would be a lot easier!
-Cleaning and prettying up the engine thing
-detailing the engine as it's VERY VERY dirty

THINGS I'M THINKING ABOUT DOING THIS WINTER
-new ignition mapping
-Boyesen quickshot or modding my stock one to function better
-Hydraulic clutch conversion

Alright that about wraps it up for now, any questions or comments feel free....although i know i haven't giving you much yet :bannana: I can also try and answer any questions you have on the parts i'm using or where i got them :thumbup:
 
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#91 ·
Haha I have an excel sheet that I track it all on, but I haven't hit the total button yet!

I do know a few people that help get me some deals, and I have been spreading the cost out buying over the last few months.

What I didn't mentioned was that I parted out and sold 2 heavily modified cbr1000rr race/track bikes at the beginning of this last season. I'm expecting my first child in the next 2 months so I won't be doing the big racing stuff for a few years...compromise with the wife since I could keep my other toys :D

So almost everything I bought was 100% funded with money from the 1 bike I parted out. I consider it sunk cost because I spent the money years ago. And I still have about $600 in parts left to sell from that bike!

I also made a few hundred back on stock parts from this bike...of which I still have the Penske forks and stock triples to sell.
 
#93 ·
Thanks man! It's coming along nice...gotta wait a few days for some parts to come so I can finish the headlight, and complete the roller, need the new rear rotor.

I will be working on the airbox tomorrow though. Cleaning and seeing if the exhaust interferes at all.
 
#94 ·
Thanks again for you input i placed my order for the black widow today! So just curious you got any pictures of the progress on the heart for this beast or what im really interested to see some of the motor work! Also i see that you said your getting the bike registered in PA, where about in PA are you located?
 
#97 ·
Nice you won't regret that purchase!

My goal for the engine was to have all the parts on hand so I could bang it out all at once. I also wanted to have the majority of the rest of the bike done so i could push the bike to the side and set a little table up for the engine. So all I need yet for the engine is the crank and a complete gasket set, and a few little tools like gear jammers and what not.

I'll take a pic of the engine as it sits all dirt and post it up later today for you haha!

Yep I live in PA, a couple miles north of Harrisburg. Maybe 10 min from downtown and 20 min from Hershey.
 
#98 ·
Worked on the Air box today in preparation for mounting it up. completely disassembled it include drilling out all the rivets that hold the halves together and the rubber piece that goes up on top of the tank when mounted. I also popped the metal bracket off the holds the intake boot down on the back side (wheel side). Scrubbed it all and cleaned up in, including removing both of the air box graphics. I removed about 1/4" of dirt and a ton of clay (nasty stuff) from most of the lower portions and inside the air box. Scrubbed all the brackets and mounts, let it dry and this is what it looks like now. Pretty pleased with it actually, I though it would never get clean!

I'm leaning towards carbon vinyl wrapping the airbox sides that is why i removed the stock graphics, plus they were red and black which won't go with my new graphics anyways.









I then mounted it up once it was dry and it looks nice in there now that it isn't all nasty and dirty!





Shot down inside when mounted to show how clean it got :D



Then I worked on the the rear mud flap. I'm going to replace this with a new one as it was eaten pretty badly by the chain from the previous owner who apparently didn't realize you have to adjust the chain once in awhile (lots of slop). I figured that the new dual pipes would interfere with this little piece, and it turns out it does. I had to trim off about 1" from the right side (brake side) and round it off to curve around the y-pipe. in the process i removed the one mounting hole from it so I will just drill a new hole in the air box and use a small nut and bolt to secure that side. Main reason for cutting it up and all is because when i get my new piece i have a template so there is no guess work (especially if I get a carbon fiber one like I want to).



Then I figured since I had some time I would mock/mount up the rear side panels. right one fit great (no surprise here) because the bike was built for the exhaust can on this side. Left side fit good upfront at the air box but as I suspected needs to have the webbing removed from the inside. I'm also going to heat it up gently and mold it a bit to get a more shaped appearance like the right side has. I have a line on a set of custom carbon fiber panels made for duals on the 450r for the earlier years like mine, gotta decide if I want them or not though!!



 
#101 ·
That looks really familiar, but i just cant put my finger on from where :hmmm: ...........

Ah now i remember i have somthing like that sitting on my work bench ready to get get torn into!


:D

But i see you mentioned your getting the gear jammer from motion pro which is definately a good choice! I have invested a small fortune in motion pro tools alone, which make things go much smoother. They make some specific tools for the CRF450 engine that i highly recommend getting also the crank puller and case splitter from tusk arent that expensive and save you headaches!
 
#102 ·
Ha that does look strangely familiar!

Yours looks clean though...I have some work ahead of me. I need to go on motion pros site tomorrow and pick some stuff up. I have the flywheel puller and spanner socket already. Want to pick the jammer up and a few other things like clutch tools and so on as well.

What are you planning to do with yours? I'll basically have a new engine when done...that's my plan at least.

Still debating on stroker crank or stock height...no idea...decisions decisions.
 
#105 ·
Still debating on stroker crank or stock height...no idea...decisions decisions.
Putting a stroker crank on an engine with a big bore would put out insane power... for about 10 hours, then your bottom end is done. You might have some reliability problems if you put a stroker on that big bore kit. Of course there's one way to find out, heheh. Be sure to get that on a dyno before it explodes. :D
 
#103 ·
Woah nice project. But just one thing I don't get..you got a sick setup with the billet brembo brake caliper..and then you decided to put a crappy axial brake master on it :headscrat
Caliper needs a radial brembo rcs-15/19 master. I upgraded to a RCS15 and the difference is night and day.
 
#104 ·
Thanks its a fun build.

To answer your question I did this for two reasons. It's going to be a street bike mostly and the advantage of the mechanical brake switch it irreplaceable. Secondly it isn't really a crappy master cylinder. Its from a trx450 and it has a 13mm bore. It is actually an awesome master and instead of spending 200+ on a master I spent $35 and it will work great! 13mm is the size master that is paired with supermoto brembo calipers by the way. The rcs15 might be overkill for a street bike. I'm looking for good feel not send me over the handlebars stopping power. The stock crf450r comes with a 11mm front brake master so its a step up already. Also most of the masters considered to be the best...brembo, motomaster, magura and so on all use a 13mm in their packages (they are radial though).

Now the difference between axial and radial is not much as they function exactly the same, the piston and level pull is just backwards...

The axial has a parallel to the handlebars piston and the radial has a perpendicular piston to the bars...the radial is better when racing 450lbs sportbikes around a track as they don't flex quiet as much when pulling the level in, so they are a little stiffer and provide a little better feel. So on a supermoto, being so light and all, axial and radial will function basically the same providing the same stopping power. So radial just becomes a bling factor then and I have spent my bling money elsewhere :D haha.

Ask around the trx450 master is a very popular upgrade for other manufactures as well...in fact I saw the Crash put one on his recent wr450 build and loves it!

Long response I know, just wanted to give the reasoning behind my decisions so other can follow along!

Thanks again for the compliment on the build!!!
 
#108 ·
You could do without the stroker crank and we will see if mine explodes. Fingers crossed.
 
#109 · (Edited)
With regards to the radial master cylinder. I respectfully disagree. I have changed my OEM Brembo axial out for a Brembo radial RCS on the Husky. I would say it is money well spent, and not just bling. Definitely improved feeling. Granted I see where you are coming from, an OEM master will for sure get the job done for regular street duty. And that's $300+ that you can put into other areas. I still have the OEM master cylinder on my CRF and it feels both strong and good feedback. I'm using a hydraulic pressure switch by the way and can't tell it's there. Brakes are on my list of things to upgrade. There's nothing wrong with the master you've got, plus I like that you're thinking outside the box. The mechanical switch will clean up the wiring a little too.
 
#110 ·
With regards to the radial master cylinder. I respectively disagree. I have changed my OEM Brembo axial out for a Brembo radial RCS on the Husky. I would say it is money well spent, and not just bling. Definitely improved feeling. Granted I see where you are coming from, an OEM master will for sure get the job done for regular street duty. And that's $300+ that you can put into other areas. I still have the OEM master cylinder on my CRF and it feels both strong and good feedback. I'm using a hydraulic pressure switch by the way and can't tell it's there. Brakes are on my list of things to upgrade. There's nothing wrong with the master you've got, plus I like that you're thinking outside the box. The mechanical switch will clean up the wiring a little too.
I have a brembo 13mm axial that I liked on the crf before...so going to another 13mm axial I guess I felt would be good :D. Point taken, I guess I was just trying to explain why it wasn't a bad choice just a different one.

I've run pressure switches on several bikes and never minded them I just didn't like that it was hard to flash the brakes, mine always seemed to want a decent amount of pressure before activating. With mechanical switches, as I'm sure you know, activate by basically touching the lever.

What bore did you get? I just felt that 15mm would be too much, and 19mm is what I have on the sport bike. That think would makes me do front flips lol!
 
#119 ·
should pull 62-65 hp with my set up I'm thinking...
That is verrrry optimistic. I have an extensively built stock bore 450R and it barely puts out 55 Dynojet HP. (48HP on Eddie Current Factory Pro dyno) [Dynojet tweaks their math to give higher readouts, Factory Pro is more accurate. There's roughly a 15% variance]

I would love to see it make that kind of power though, if it does please post your chart and what you've done to the engine!
 
#123 ·
my new 240mm rear rotor came in today! looks nice I really like it. It also came with new black hardware, but i think i'm going to stick with my stainless stuff since the bike is so dark already it's nice to have a little shin in there.



Also picked up a used billet gas cap for cheap :bannana: it has red, silver and carbon fiber look in the recesses. short fuel vent and shinny aluminum vent cap.



Parts i'm waiting on are some spacers (my fault more then anything)

New fork brackets for the headlight, I order 50mm for the forks (because they are 50mm forks) but i guess i had a mental breakdown and forgot that the part the brackets clamps to (upper fork tube) is fatter....so I needed 60mm brackets and apparently the company that makes them custom needed to special produce that size for me so it's taking a bit. Lucky for me they were wanting to make this size for awhile so I just exchanged them and there was no extra charge.

I need to get my self to the hardware store and get some more black round or flat head bolts for the rear fender to mount the light assembly.

My new projector shroud, I went with the GTI-R shroud it mimics the new VW GTI one very well and more importantly it's smaller. hopefully this one fits, i'm pretty confident that it will though.

Front stainless steel brake line. turns out my new master and old master don't have comparable lines, the banjo was built in (straight style) in the old master and it comes in from the bottom front on the new one.
 
#130 ·
This is why I bought bike two. But bike one was not done. I'm down to four bikes now.:rant: I'm thinking a 150r is the next addition to the collection. Now do I set it up for the woods or the track?:D Don't tell the wife!:rofl:
 
#134 ·
these came in today...not sure if i will use them or not yet as the weave in the carbon on the vinyl is larger then i like and then the other carbon fiber parts i have. we'll see, i'll probably slap them on and see what they look like, after all they are very easy to remove if they don't look right. If i don't use these i'll just buy a few others until i get what i like (they were only like $5 shipped haha)

 
#135 · (Edited)
New GTI-R shroud came in today! :bannana: I almost jumped the mail man I was so pumped it finally came in. Did a bunch of work on the headlight and tried to take pics along the way so I could detail it here. It's funny when you try to document something, I was sitting there thinking alright now I need to make sure to stop and take a picture here, and arrange the parts this way so you can see what i'm doing...

First the new shroud. perfect fit by the way, plenty of clearance.



Had to order a new LED halo ring for this shroud as well since the one I had prior was 100mm ring for the larger shroud. this ring also installs externally instead of internally like the other one (new one is 80mm). externally might not looks as clean (still is clean though) but it is REALLY BRIGHT!



getting ready for the install so I prepped the wires on the LED halo for passing through the machined adapters. Un-clipped this little white connector.



then disassembled the connector and took the pins out.



wanted to do this all as clean and right as possible. So i cut off the factoy heat shrink from the wiring so I could run the LED Halo wires through the same shielding.



then slipped the wire shielding off the two wires (these wires control the bi-xenon high/low solenoid)



next went to my trusty supply of heat shrink and cut some new pieces, 3.0 and 4.5, i didn't know what would be the right size since I was adding 2 more wires (the original i think was 3.0ish)



Next I turned to the aluminum adapters/mounting brackets. they are solid (the way I wanted them)...I needed a way to pass the wires through them so I lined them up and drilled a hole just big enough for the wires and heat shrink to pass through. now I also didn't want to have the wires rubbing on these holes as they could tear and short out, so i Made sure that the wire shielding bridges the gap to protect them, worked out very well as you will see.



next turned to the install of the LED halo on the top of the shroud. lined up the shroud on the projector so that the halo wires were at the bottom just like on the projector (for the solenoid wires). then drilled a small hole large enough to pass the wires through to the install it on the shroud.



went and evenly spaced out 3 marks (black sharpie) and then used a thumb tack to put little indents in the plastic for a dill guide. now others have said just to push the pin through the plastice to make the hole, which i did on the first hole but it looked horrible and left uneven/jagged edges so i went for a drill bit. turns out the pin was almost the exact same size as a 1/16 bit. so i drilled out the rest (5 holes) for the halo mounting. after all the holes were drilled i lined the halo up and centered it on the opening and threaded 24 gauge floral wire over the halo and down through the holes on either side of the ring. On the back side i used a needle nose pliers to twist them and pull the halo tight against the outside of the shroud. Snipped the excess and tucked the twisted part down on the inside.



Next turned my attention to the inside where the halo power wires came through and the centric ring for the projector goes. I had to dremel a bit of the inner shroud ring to get the wires for the halo at a good spot so the centric ring didn't pinch them. once i got them at a good spot I snapped the centric ring into place.



then popped the shroud/halo unit onto the projector in prep to re-shield and heat shrink all the wires together and make it look factory again.



Got all the wires through and used a heat gun to shrink the heat shrink. held the gun at one spot to long and melted the shielding a bit in one area so I used a little electrical tape to secure that area and make sure it was covered/protected well. turned out great and looks like this now!



Got all that done and then re-installed the whole thing into the headlight housing. everything went together very well, very solid feel and looks great. the new shroud worked out perfectly I think, giving me enough clearance to reseal the lens to the housing and not hit anything. Here is a pic of what it will look like :arsenal I still have to pick up some high temp silicone to adhere the shroud to the projector and make sure it never moves and also to run a thin bead along the area where the lens and housing go together, just in case I miss an small areas with the new adhesive, it was also like this from the factory. so once i get that (maybe tomorrow) i'll finish it up!



I tested the halo and the high/low solenoid to make sure everything worked before buttoning it up. the solenoid worked just as it should. the LED Halo ring is BRIGHT! I tested it and that little ring lit my entire garage up light it was Christmas haha...both awesome and impressive. I think it will make a great DRL.

I also want to pick up a few more male and female 9006 connectors so i don't have to splice anything at all when wiring it all up to the bike, gives a cleaner look and is much easier to take off and put back on as well when doing maintenance and what not.

Hope you enjoyed the long post lol!!
 
#136 ·
Awesome detail on the headlight project! Can't wait to see that baby lit up! :clap:
 
#139 ·
Picked up new little bolts and nuts to replace the rivets I drilled out on the airbox. Also the silicone I need to finish the headlight. Need make sure I have the projector aligned horizontally first and then seal it up. Hoping to have some time today but we'll see.

 
#140 ·
Finished up the headlight...250 degrees for 10 minutes, press together untill it snaps in place and let cool. Ran a bead of clear silicone around the edge just to make sure. Put all the vents and threaded inserts back on, attached the face cover, and installed the little bulb up top (this bulb is for show since I'm using my halo as the DLR). I snipped the wiring off the back of it and just plugged the bulb and holder in place, then put silicone over the small wire holes to weather proof them.

 
#143 · (Edited)
No I haven't yet...waiting for my larger fork brackets to come. The company had to make them special because I need such a large size. I have a set of rubber ones that won't even stretch haha! I might be able to rig it just to hold it....let me give it some thought see if I can come up with something.
 
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