Suspension; Front Suspension Inspection - Honda 2005 CRF450R Owner's Manual

Refer to Safety Precautions on page 19.
Loose, worn, or damaged suspension components
may adversely affect the handling and stability of
your CRF. If any suspension components appear
worn or damaged, see your Honda dealer for
further inspection. Your dealer is qualified to
determine whether or not replacement parts or
repairs are needed.

Front Suspension Inspection

• When your CRF is new, break it in for
approximately one hour to ensure that the
suspension has worked in (page 15).
• After break-in, test run your CRF 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 CRF for three hours.
See page 97 for fork disassembly.
• Replace the fork oil every 3 races or 7.5 hours
of running. See page 76 for oil level
adjustment after changing the fork oil.
• Replace the damper oil every 9 races or 22.5
hours of running. See page 100 for damper
fork oil replacement.
• Use Pro Honda HP Fork Oil 5W or an
equivalent which contains special additives to
assure maximum performance of your CRF'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 114). 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 CRF is ridden.
(1)
(2)
(1) fork protector (2) dust seal
3. Inspect the wear rings (3) for wear or damage.
Replace the wear ring if it is 0.06 in (1.5 mm)
or flat with the outer tube (4).
Install the wear ring with its end gap (5) facing
rearward.

Suspension

(4)
(3)
(3) wear ring (4) outer tube
(3)
(3) wear rings (5) end gaps
4. Make a quick check of fork operation by
locking the front brake and pushing down on
the handlebar several times.
Servicing Your Honda
(3)
(5)
73