Huggies

Help the NewB! I've been riding and racing quads all my life- looking to make the switch from my YFZ450 to a CRF450. I ride dunes/rutted beach/desert. I've been told at 5'6" and 160 pounds, riding sand may be too much for me or just a pain in the arse. Since I'm completely new to dirt bikes, I have no idea. Any comments or suggestions at all would be appreciated. Thank you.

turtlemann14

how much have you ridden dirt bike any?

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Huggies

none on a dirt bike.

BansheeRider

anyone can do it, its just gonna be harder than a taller person

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tigmaster

well, with that weight and you height i would almost consider a lowering kit at least for the rear. granted you may be able to just take some tension off the rear shock spring but this will screw your sag up and this will cause handling problems especially in the sand. a lowering kit usually consists of a new pivot joint which is the triangle shaped part that connects the swingarm, linkage, and rear shock.

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gscx

yea, but you should get a stiffer spring since you have less travel

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199? KX60- Bone stock and in process of complete rebuild and restoration

TDB303

im 5'6 too but i way a little bit more, just try it out and see how it goes, thats the best thing to do.

turtlemann14

ya, just don't get on and pin it, get accustomed to it first then decide what need to be done to help you

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gscx

yea most companies set up thier bikes for a rider that is about 5' 10" and aroung 170. so you dont really to make any adjustments to the spring rate on the front forks, but if you get a lowering kit i would go for the one where they trim some of the shock shaft off. its more permanent and expensive but im not sure how the bike would react when you put a lowering link on it but you kept the shock shaft the same, maybe the tire would hit the fender and stuff but i dont really know alot about it, either way, you have a big bike, and there will be a very long learning phase, dont do anything to the bike for about 2 months,unless it is completely impossible to ride, probly not considering WR, a member here is 5' 5'' and rides a WR 250f, both of these bikes are the same size physically. but just do things slow, i think thats the best advice you can get at this time

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199? KX60- Bone stock and in process of complete rebuild and restoration

tigmaster

like gscx said, dont change spring rates. this would be bad because the spring is set for about your weight as it is now. as far as the lowering kits, they usually proportionally change all 3 pivot points so you dont lose any travel or anything for that matter. compression and rebound rates stay the same. personally i would stay away from shock shaft trimming because with my option you still take advantage of the full travel of the shock to dampen the hit.

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