This bike is a man eater. I've only ridden mine about 4 times, but every time it gets better. I thought it was fast, until I put a new rear tire on it. I'm riding in the wet conditions in New Zealand, and now all the uncontrollable wheelspin is gone and the front wheel is aiming for the clouds. I've found the most dangerous times are when I get tired and my wrists get lazy and I start leaning on the throttle. Just by blipping the throttle you can flip one of these things. A friend of mine has just purchased a new CRF 450X. He hasn't has a chance to go riding yet, but came round to have a look at my bike. He was amazed that after one trail ride my new back tire was looking shreaded. I'm looking forward to making that 450 look like old technology. If these bikes were released with new plastics and a new frame, revised ergos, and the power was smoothed out when they were released from the factory, they could restart the 2 stroke revolution. If all the aftermarket parts can make these things more manageable, then the factory should wake up, release a better 500.