new bike want to make sure I take good care of it, I will be beating on it and drag racing it so what are some good habits to get into as far was what to check and what to use oil wise and such!! thanks

 

welcome to the forums
I love my 450r couldnt see myself on any thing else.
First off is that be sure to get the valves checked at the first 20 hours.
Also change your oil as frequently as possible. I change mine ever 6-10 hours.
as far as oil goes i would use what the owners manual says thats at least what i run and it seems to be a good oil.
Recon Ranger will be here shortly to chime you in on all about what oil to use.
Also make sure you keep up on your valve adujustments after the initial one. like every 100 hours or so.

If you keep up on the maintence you will have a great bike for years to come.
I beat the livin tar out of mine with no problems so far same with all my friends.
Its an awsome all around bike in the right hands of somebody.
Have fun!

 

If you are going to be drag racing it, then change your oil every 3-4 trips to the dragway, maybe even sooner since you are running the bike extremely hard (max RPM's breakdown oil faster). Also adjust the valves sooner if you are running it hard (drag or mx racing) since you are at higher RPM's more often. I would get a valve shim kit right away so that you can adjust the valves yourself to save the time and hassle of having to take it to a dealer or local atv shop. I run Maxima 10W-40 Synthetic oil and I race my bike on MX tracks. Also make sure you spray the radiator and oil cooler out after every ride, they seem to catch a lot of dirt and mud even when you least at expect it. And if you are running an O-ring chain, make sure you lube it, otherwise it will wear out extremely fast, most local atv shops carry the chain lube.

 

All the 450's tolerate a lot of compression blow-by. That means that the fuel mixture rapidly contaminates the oil, diluting it out. So, you need to do frequent oil changes! My goal is 5-10 hours max for cross-country riding.

http://www.belray.com/...ts/.....4a4cf6d0144

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This engine can benefit from a high quality synthetic oil. I run Redline ester synthetic (API SG/JASO MB) in the engine side. This oil is very slick, and I am seeing a horsepower increase with it. Maxima Extra (Maxima Ultra if you race) is another oil I highly recommend, but they are JASO MA. Motul and Klotz also have ester based oils.

http://www.redlineoil....rod.....tegoryID=11

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In the transmission side, I run Redline MC Gear Oil with ShockProof. Some other good gear oils are Maxima MTL, Motul Trans Oil, and Honda's own HP Trans Oil.

http://www.redlineoil....rod.....tegoryID=11

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Some good oil reads: http://www.thumperfaq.com/oil.htm

http://www.p1-performance.com/pdf/oildoc.pdf

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http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0308_oil/index.html

Do not neglect the first valve adjustment at 20 hours!