Honda CRF150R
By TMX Archives on 19th Oct 06
"The all-new Honda CRF150R? if you're our age and you don't want one of these, then you are totally off your head," so say T+MX News crack squad of Youth motocross testers, 13-year-old's, Sheffield star Christian 'Turbo' Taylor third in this season's BYMX National Small-wheel 85cc Championship - and ace club rider, Cumbrian Steven Dixon.
We can all see that the face of motocross is changing from a world of two-strokes to four and as the thumpers continue to dominate in the adult ranks, every manufacturer is racing to be the first to raise the bar still further.
With its development of the Worlds first mass production, Youth specific four-stroke machine, the CRF150R, Honda has done just that, setting the motocross World on its head and undoubtedly showing the way for all future developments in the design and production of Youth motocross machines in the process.
And what a head-turner and class burner this ground-breaking machine - and make no mistake it genuinely is a revolutionary bike - is likely to be in both 85cc classes - or maybe its OWN class? The jury is still out on that one!
As you would expect, everything on the CRF150R is a completely new design, from the engine down to the plastics, and Honda is more than confident that they have produced a machine that not only far outstrips any two-stroke machine on the market in terms of performance, but that will still be regarded as the benchmark for 150cc four-stoke motors years down the line.
Power for the bike comes from a scaled-down and updated 149cc version of Honda's much vaunted and race-proven, four-valve, SOHC Unicam engine and features steel exhaust and inlet valves, and carburized steel cam, crankshaft and connector rods.
The head is coupled with a close-ratio five-speed gearbox and six-plate clutch, 32mm Keihin carb to feed the torquey motor, and the whole package produces a claimed 22BHP at 12,500 rpm, while revving-out to 13,500rpm.
The whole engine block is mounted in a specially built, compactly proportioned double-cardle type steel-tube frame with bolt-on sub-frame and is suspended by the latest incarnation of Showa's fully adjustable 37mm inverted cartridge-type front forks and an aluminium Pro-Link swingarm with Showa shock.
The bike also comes equipped with steel 'bars and steel foot-pegs, and the whole package finished off by aggressively designed bodywork, surprisingly weighing-in at 80.3kg and 82.3kg respectively, just five kilo's heavier than their two-stroke CR85 brethren.
It is obvious that Honda had been working very hard indeed on this baby for quite some time and waited until everything was perfect before launching it in September.
Eager to get our hands on the most important and controversial bike of the 2007 model year, T+MX recently gave our dynamic duo, Turbo and Dixie, the opportunity to test ride both the Small and Big-wheel versions of the machines for us on the beautifully prepared sandy circuit at Trax, at Preston Docks, and sitting down to discuss their reactions and impressions after a few hours on the machines it was easy to see how much they loved them - in fact, Turbo immediately asked his dad to swap his brand new Yamaha YZ85s for a new CRF150R such was the impression the bikes left on the rising star.
Here's what our teenage testers had to say on Honda's latest...
Christian 'Turbo' Taylor:
"Like we said earlier, if you're our age and want to do well in the 85cc classes next year, you want one of these, simple as that. The CRF150R has the ability to make a not so good rider so much better and a good rider possibly unstoppable, it's that good.
As it looks tall when you see the Big-wheeler, and at first I thought it would feel cumbersome and a bit heavy, but although yes it's a little heavier than your average 85cc bike (5kg), it doesn't feel any different when you're sitting on it or throwing it around, and it's only two millimetres taller at the seat than the 85cc two-stroke in reality so no issues there either.
The 'bars, levers and the throttle are all in the right places - good start -and the engine does just that.
Neither bike had been run-in and were just out of a crate so we had to be gentle with them to begin with - yeah, right! Once they had been run-in though (honestly Mr Harvey we did run them in) the Big-wheel took only a couple of kicks to boot into life and the Small-wheel engine thumped into life on first kick pretty much on every time, which is a BIG bonus, especially when it comes to racing and kids are stuck on a camber or in deep sand, tired and looking to get the engine back into life again quickly.
The motor did sound loud close-up, but I am sure it'll be fine in regards to noise testing and from a distance it is noticeably quieter, and not that far above two-stroke levels. It's maybe that we are used to the ringing two-stroke sound that made them sound so loud as well.
I had to move the gear-change lever up a couple of notches, but I am sure riders modify their new bikes to suit themselves anyway, but other than that it feels really comfy to take charge of.
After a few warm-up laps and time to get used to it I didn't want to get off the Big-wheel bike, its an absolutely amazing bike!
The four-stroke power is so smooth and torquey compared to the either full-on or full-off two-stroke power that you cannot help but feel good on the bike and in no time at all I felt as fast on it as my own bike that I've been racing all year.
It took a short time to realise I had to shift-up a lot sooner than I do on my two-stroke bike as obviously we are used to hearing the two-stroke scream more and if we are screaming the four-stroke we have gone into over-rev, so remember to feel the power and change up when if dies a little. Once I'd adjusted to this though the bike really showed it's class and power and shifted flawlessly all day.
I did get into top gear (fifth) easily and quickly on the fast sand track as the four-stroke motor copes so well with deep sand with its torquey strength.
The one thing that really stood out on to me on the test was that cornering is so easy on the CRF150. I just had to drive into the corner, in third gear usually, and just keeping the power rolled-on smoothly it just drove into, through and out the corners with no feeling of being out of control at any point - it was magic and the torque from the motor was very impressive, making a lot less work for me to get through corners quickly.
I'm confident I could get out of corners quicker and smoother on the CRF150, whatever the soil, and be ready for the next straight or jump.
Another thing I had to get used to was the natural four-stroke engine breaking. It is strong on the bike and does actually help quite a lot going into corners, but coming from a two-stroke though it does feel a bit strange initially. Once i'd settled into the bike though it was plus point for the bike I feel.
Landing from jumps wasn't a problem at all either, the Showa kit front and back is brilliant straight out of the crate. It didn't matter if it was a big heavy landing or firing through whoops, the suspension soaked up whatever I threw at it which really gave me a lot of confidence in what I was wanting to do with the bike, throw it around a lot!
It will cope with adults on it, so it'll work well for kids.
The only thing I wasn't too happy about, and its maybe this is more to do with my two-stroke based technique just now, was that the motor bogs a little on landing from big jumps. Just as I landed and gunned the throttle there was a small flat spot that takes a split second to clear and go into the power again. It isn't big grumble but it could catch you out in a rhythmn section maybe.
Changing down in mid-air before landing would help maybe?
The brakes are great too. They worked well all day and they were put through a hard test with a lot of work and they never faded and provided a lot of confidence as well.
All in all the CRF150 is a better bike than I imagined and as I said earlier you should want one if you want to go faster. I do want one dad!"
As quick test of whether Turbo was actually as fast on the bog-standard CRF150 compared to the fully tuned two-stroke he has been riding all year we timed him around the Trax circuit on both machines. After numerous laps on each we were surprised to find that Turbo's best lap on each machine was exactly the same and that he consistently set lap times on the CRF150 that were effectively as fast as on the bike he has ridden all year. If this is the result after just three hours, image what he, and you could do to your lap times after three months on the CRF.
Steven Dixon:
"As Turbo says the CRF150 bikes do look taller and heavier than the two-strokes that are around, maybe because there is more machinery going on in the engine department of the four-stroke and there is a 5kg difference in weight between the two. However, riders won't be able to tell the difference when they mount-up and head onto the track.
The Small-wheel machine I rode is exactly the same bike as the Big-wheel version but with smaller wheels - 17" front and 14" rear wheels as opposed to the Big-wheeler's 19" front and 16" rear wheels- and the performance is equally impressive as it's big brother.
The seat is very comfy and leads up to the petrol tank which is just like my Honda two-stroke's and I felt at home very quickly.
The engine fired into life first kick, which is great, and when it's warm just remember to use the hot-start lever on the 'bars and it'll fire up first kick again.
I am not as fast as Turbo, but I used the motor to the best of my ability and I feel that it is a very Clubman friendly engine.
You can tell right away that the power is obviously there if you want to use it, and when you do, riders of my ability will not be frightened or taken by surprise as it comes in very smoothly and in a controlled manner, not in one big hit that makes you feel that it wants to rip your arms out their sockets like some two-stroke engines do.
That's the main plus of the Honda CRF150, that anyone, of any standard, will feel comfortable on it and in using the power.
Turbo covered the main points of the suspension and brakes which both performed very well, but my only grumble is that I felt that the brake pedal was a little hidden under the engine casing for my liking, so keep an eye on that for your own personal use, you might want to make some adjustments there.
Looking at the bike as a package, it is a delight to ride and throw about as the controllable power flatters a rider and will help you ride faster and smoother, and pull you out of trouble no matter how much trouble you are capable of getting the bike into. I was very impressed indeed with the CRF150 and it has set a high benchmark for others to try and achieve.
Specification:
Engine
Type: Liquid-cooled four-stroke, four-valve SOHC single.
Displacement: 149cm3.
Bore x Stroke: 66 x 43.7mm.
Compression Ratio: 11.7: 1.
Max power output: 16.6kW/12,500min-1 (95/1/EC).
Max Torque: 13.6Nm/10,000min-1 (95/1/EC).
Carburation: 32mm Keihin FCR flat slide carburettor with throttle position sensor (TPS).
Ignition: Solid-state Capacitor Discharge (CDI) with electronic advance.
Starter: Primary kick.
Transmission: 5-speed.
Final drive: Roller chain.
Chassis
Type: Semi-double cradle; steel tube.
Dimensions: (LxWxH) 1,882 x 770 x 1,133mm.
Wheelbase: 1,260mm.
Caster angle: 27° 2'.
Trail: 78mm.
Seat height: 832mm.
Ground clearance: 301mm.
Dry weight: 75kg.
Kerb Weight: 80.3kg.
Suspension
Front: 37mm inverted Showa leading-axle telescopic fork with adjustable compression and rebound damping; 275mm axle travel.
Rear: Pro-Link with single Showa damper, adjustable compression and rebound damping; 273mm axle travel.
Wheels/ Tyres: Big/ Small-wheel
Front: Aluminium rim/ wire spoke.
Rear: Aluminium rim/ wire spoke.
Rim sizes
Front: 19 x 1.4/ 17 x 1.4.
Rear: 16 x 1.85/ 14 x 1.6.
Tyre Sizes
Front: 70/100-19 (42M)/ 70/100-17 (40M).
Rear: 90/100-16 (52M)/ 90/100-14 (49M).
Brakes
Front: 220 x 3mm hydraulic disc with single-piston caliper and sintered metal pads.
Rear: 190 x 3.5mm hydraulic disc with single-piston caliper and sintered metal pads.
Fuel tank capacity: 4.3 litres.
