I just picked up the HRC kit for my 2006 450R, in looking through the literature that comes in the box it states that the piston should be replaced after 6 Races or 15 Hours of Riding. Just wondering if anyone has experienced a piston problem or received any feedback from their dealers in relation to melting a piston? Hopefully it's just Honda being ultra-conservative.

 

that motor will last alot longer than 15 hr without a new piston MAYBE if you race like a pro I would change it out in 15 hr but as a sport rider it will last a long time

 

I guess I should have read the whole instruction sheet because I missed that part. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]
If I had to use logic (allowing plenty of room here LOL) I would say that the piston skirt would be the weak point. Please correct me if I'm wrong here. If this is the case and the shirt fails, we're talking damage to cylinder and ca$e$.
I'm a guy who prefers durability over performance or at least an acceptable compermise between the two so, now that I am in the know, I'm tearing her down for top-end inspection sooner then previously planned. I'm thinking somewhere around the 25 hour mark considering I mostly ride dunes and desert and I keep the RPMs down as often as possible. No need to flirt with desaster.
Any thaughts or insight?

 

im thinking about buying a 06 450R, someone told me you have to keep the oil changed very often, if this is true, how often do you have to keep it changed, they also told me that you have keep alot of maintenence on it, any insight would be helpful

 

I would agree with your logic regarding the piston skirt however I don't really want to be the first to find the weekpoint. I think the 25-hour mark would probably be a good point to do some preventive maintenance especially if it can save the cylinder. I dropped the bike off yesterday to have the HRC kit installed, in talking with the service writter he said that was probably put in the manual for Honda's protection. He also said that this particular dealership hasn't seen any problems.

 

The manuals says to change the initial break-in oil at 10 hours and every 15 hours after that (I'm working off of memory here but I'm sure its close to that). The cool thing is that the crank case only take 3/4 quart and its very easy to change as is the filter. It will cost you about $12 a shot using premium oil and new filter.
The transmission take seporate oil and go much longer between change intervals so its not really a problem. One of The great things about having searate crankcase/trans oils is that you can run full synthetics with friction modifiers without worring about the clutch and you can run oil in the trans that makes it shift easier while helping the clutch to work better.
This is a very high performance engine so it does require more maintenance then your ATC. Its a trade-off that is more then welcome in my book.

 

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Bye the way CDuBose, you will have to let us know the difference that the HRC kit makes. I would but I put mine in before I ever rode the thing so I don't know what it was like without it. I have always been curious.