Suspension; Front Suspension Inspection - Honda CRF450L 2019 Owner's Manual & Off-Road Handbook

Refer to Important Safety Precautions on page 33.
Loose, worn, or damaged suspension components
may adversely affect the handling and stability of
your motorcycle. If any suspension components
appear worn or damaged, see your dealer for
further inspection. Your dealer is qualified to
determine whether or not replacement parts or
repairs are needed.

Front Suspension Inspection

Off-Road use only
• When your motorcycle is new, break it in for
approximately 1 hour to ensure that the
suspension has worked in (page 30).
• After break-in, test run your motorcycle with
the front suspension at the standard setting
before attempting any adjustments.
• For optimum fork performance, we
recommend that you disassemble and clean the
fork after riding your motorcycle for 3 hours.
See page 106 for front suspension removal.
• Replace the fork oil every 8 races or 30.0 hours
of running. See page 111 for oil capacity
adjustment after changing the fork oil.
• Replace the damper oil every 8 races or 30.0
hours of running. See page 115 for damper
fork oil replacement.
• Use Pro Honda HP Fork Oil, SS-19 or an
equivalent which contains special additives to
assure maximum performance of your
motorcycle's front suspension.
Periodically check and clean all front
suspension parts to assure top performance.
Check the dust seals for dust, dirt, and foreign
materials. Check the oil for any contamination.
• Refer to Suspension Adjustment Guidelines
(page 150). Make all rebound and compression
damping adjustments in one-click increments.
(Adjusting two or more clicks at a time may
cause you to pass over the best adjustment.)
Test ride after each adjustment.
• If you become confused about adjustment
settings, return to the standard position and
start over.
• If the fork is still too stiff/soft after adjusting
compression damping, determine which
portion of the travel is still too stiff/soft. This is
an important step that will help you solve
suspension problems.
1. Make sure that the fork protectors (1) and dust
seals (2) are clean and not packed with mud
and dirt.
2. Check for signs of oil leakage. Damaged or
leaking fork seals should be replaced before
your motorcycle is ridden.
(1)
(2)
(1) fork protectors (2) dust seals

Suspension

3. Inspect the wear rings (3) for wear or damage.
Replace the wear ring if it is 0.06 in (1.5 mm)
or flush with the outer tube (4). Remove the
fork leg when replacing the wear ring.
Install the wear ring with its end gap (5) facing
rearward.
(4)
0.06 in (1.5 mm)
(3)
(3) wear rings (4) outer tube
(3)
(3) wear rings (5) end gaps
Servicing Your Honda
(3)
(5)
(cont'd)
105