I raced my friends new 450R over the weekend on a back road.We were right next to each other fron 1st to 4th gear.I started pulling away in 5th,and when I got in to 6th gear I thought he backed off because I pulled so far ahead.I rode it after that,and it has lots of low end,but when your in 5th gear your looking to shift again.I also think 1st gear is way to tall.