GV Bikes at Taunton were very good and loaned me a 450 yesterday. Do contact them if in the area - they are a great dealer and know the RE range very well.
My thoughts on the 450:
First - how do I start it? Once explained it was sort of obvious but I needed help!
The bike was given to me on the centre stand. Pushing it off the stand on level ground it felt very unstable….the bike has to go a long way up before going over-centre to fold the stand. I did not quite drop it but it felt very top heavy.
Onto the bike. I am about 5ft 8” tall and the bike had the high seat set in the lower position. And once on it, it again felt very top heavy. I was sitting ON the bike, not IN it, as with my 411 Himmy.
Rode off, all OK, but after a few miles I was scratching my head through my crash helmet wondering about the power. It felt like the 411. Stopped and had a think, and realised I was in ECO mode…..so reset it to the higher powered mode. That felt stronger!
Instruments - very clear. Loved the digital MPH display and rev counter. Found the indicator warning lights useless (they are there to warn you if you have left an indicator on but they are at the bottom of the display and very small - the 411 has them higher up and brighter). The mpg read out was locked at 99.9mpg so not sure what was going on there but otherwise all was obvious and easy enough to use with the LH toggle switch.
Noise - exhaust note just right. Not intrusive but noticeable, the horses I passed were OK with it at 3000rpm.
Mirrors - no problems.
Handlebars - closer to the rider than on the 411? Comfortable crank on them. The offset ignition key in the headstock annoyed me - why not have it in the middle? The USB looked cheap but may be OK.
Brakes. They work! So much better than on my 411. Good feel and light enough. As is the clutch.
Gear ratios - much better than on the 411 with a lower 1st gear and a smaller jump to second. On slow roads I found I was in one higher gear than on the 411 - which meant I inadvertently started in second a couple of times. On a flat or down sloping road this was absolutely no problem, with little clutch slipping needed. The bike really does have good low down torque. I could chug at 5-6mph in first with zero throttle and zero snatch. Great.\
Gear changes were silent (my 411 can clunk through the lower gears) but it was difficult to feel neutral. On my 411 I can feel neutral and it shows a green N on the dash to confirm this, on the 450 the N is less obvious as it is the same colour as the other gear numbers.
Handling - this bike had much more road orientated tyres than my 411 and it rolled into turns feeling very secure on the dry roads I was on as you would expect. Suspension was more supple than on the 411.
Fueling - seamless. Really could not fault it. No add ons needed.
After about 10 miles around the Quantocks on slow roads I headed to the M5.
Fuel tank - wide at the front so it kept the wind off my knees.
Footrests too high, even though my seat position was also a little too high. So if I had a lower seating position the footrests would feel much too high, and my legs are not very long!
Up to 60mph in 6th all OK. The tiny windscreen took the wind off me very well.
BUT….as 5000rph was approached the vibration increased. I had already noticed this on slower roads but as I was changing the RPM up and down it was not really an issue. But on the M5 at 70mph / 5000rpm the vibration through the footrests was bad. Is that why RE fit rubber mounts to the footrest brackets? There was vibration elsewhere on the bike but much less than through the footrests. And this was with the rubber footrest inserts fitted (I do not have them fitted on my 411).
So the comfortable cruising speed was 60mph (as on my 411), but with a lot more in reserve for overtaking.
Away from the motorway I took it up a steep single track road. On this road my 411 is either revving a bit too high in first or feels like it is slogging in second (it is a steep hill!). The 450‘s extra power and better gear ratios meant I was in second with ample extra power. Much better.
Stopped to put some fuel in. Terrible fuel cap that needed to be held open. Put the bike on the side stand and it almost fell over…WHY IS THE SIDESTAND SO SHORT??? With wear the bike will only lean more and with extra fuel the bike really was heavy to pick up (by comparison I today carried 3L of oil and a 12AH battery in the tank panniers of my 411, about 7kg of weight high up, yet the bike did not feel top heavy)
I rode home and parked it up. Had lunch, forgot about it as other things intruded….strange, when I first had my 411 I rode it a lot. Yet the 450 was left in the garage. This bike is more modern but blander than the 411. Shorter stroke so it needs to be revved higher (into the vibration range) if you want it to perform.
The 450 has a lot of good points but riding back home on my 411 it felt like putting back on a pair of old but comfortable shoes. I like the ‘long stroke’ feel of the 411 and can tolerate it’s limitations, so it stays.