Honda CRF450R
By TMX Archives on 27th Sep 07
It seems like this bike has been round for an age now, and in fact it has, the first CRF450R came out in 2001.
I remember it well. I was racing a DRZ 400 in the British Four-stroke and MR Thumpercross champion-ship and remember turning up at the first race of the season and the paddock being a sea of red. Nearly every lad in the paddock had bought a CRF450R that year and boy were they fast, and as the years have gone by the CRF450 has just got better and better.
There have been handling problems sporadically be-cause of chassis changes but in general it has been a rock, always topping the tables in magazine shoot-outs and dominating line-ups from clubman races to GPs.
Anyway, looking round the 2008 450R it is virtually identical to its little brother and adorned with the new plastics too and, in fact, it is only just short of 8kg heavier than the 250R.
Obviously, like the CRF250R, the CRF450R comes fitted with the HPSD unit too which, on the considerably more powerful 450 machine, where unweighting of the front-end is more of an issue, is a bigger bonus.
I'll not go on about the workings of the damper too much because it's exactly the same principal as the CRF250R and you've already read about its effect on the handling of the bike, but I would say everything that impressed with it on the 250F impressed me even more so on the CRF450R.
When you are really on the gas on the CRF450R, the front-end has had a tendency to feel a little bit loose and light, which when big kickers and rough tracks were thrown into the mix could generate a bit of head-shake and front-end unstability, but the HPSD really helps to combat this and the front-end now feels rock solid.
It is also a lot easier to snap the bike around and throw it into corners too, thanks to the 2mm steeper front-end which results in an impressively nimble handler for a big 450. My confidence in the front-end of the CRF450R has increased significantly.
The power on this year's bike is improved again too, which is amazing really, considering how much grunt it already has.
There is a new tapered header pipe to improve low to mid-range power and I have to be honest, the delivery was amazing. It's very strong indeed and continues to build all the way up to the very top-end with impressive grunt.
The CRF450R also comes with a new multi-map CDI system with a transmission gear position sensor which helps the torque feel stronger in first gear and produces a wider powerband in second gear and a better stronger throttle response in the top-end torque of the last three gears and, out of the corners, I could feel just how much drive and torque the new model had. It physically pushes you back on the seat and just by riding the bike in prime of the torque it was very easy to get over the bigger jumps.
It is surely the strongest 450 motor on the market and I realised how unfit I was, after just playing around for the last four years, very quickly.
Don't get me wrong, I totally enjoyed riding the CRF450R but I could only manage about five hard laps before I was breathing out of my...well you know what I mean!
As far as suspension was concerned, like its little brother, it is running a slightly stiffer set-up, but on some of the more polished-up corners and choppier sections I found the front-end a little bit stiff or possibly over sprung for my liking. I prefer a more progressive feel to the front-end and I didn't get much feeling from it. It's easily rectified, but perhaps Honda went a bit too far this time. The rear end was fine, however, and tracked perfectly well all day.
In general, the CRF450R is again a great all round bike. It's in its eighth year of production now but the CRF450R seems to keep pushing on and improving every year, and although all four Japanese manufacturers have a very good 450 of their own now, the CRF is still the bike to beat and will flood paddocks everywhere again.
Specification:
2008 model Honda CRF250R/ CRF450R
ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled four-valve SOHC single four-stroke
Displacement: 249.4/ 449 cc
Bore x Stroke: 78 x 52.2 mm/ 96 x 62.1 mm
Compression Ratio: 13.1 : 1/ 12 : 1
Max Power: 32kW @11,000 rpm/ 37.8kW @ 9,000 rpm
Max Torque: 29.3Nm @ 8,500 rpm/ 46.9Nm @ 7,000 rpm
Carburation: 40 mm (with TPS)/ 41 mm Keihin FCR flat-slide carburettor
Ignition: Computer-controlled digital capacitor discharge with electronic advance
Starter: Primary kick
Transmission: 5-speed
Final Drive: #520 roller chain
CHASSIS
Type: Semi-double cradle, aluminium twin-spar
SUSPENSION
Front: 47mm Showa inverted leading-axle twin-chamber cartridge-type telescopic fork with 16-step adjustable compresion and rebound damping
Travel: 315 mm at axle
Rear: Pro-Link with Showa damper, adjustable low-speed (13-step) and high-speed (3.5- turn) compression and 17-step rebound damping
Travel: 313 mm/ 320 mm at axle
WHEELS
Front: 21 x 1.60 aluminium rim/ wire spoke
Rear: 19 x 1.85/ 19 x 2.15 aluminium rim/ wire spoke
TYRES
Front: 80/100 21 (51M)
Rear: 100/90 19 (57M)/ 110/90 19 (62M)
BRAKES
Front: 240 mm hydraulic disc with dual-piston calliper and sintered metal pads
Rear: 240 mm hydraulic disc with single-piston
DIMENSIONS
Length: 2,170 mm/ 2,189 mm
Width: 827 mm/ 825 mm
Height: 1,277 mm/ 1,283 mm
Wheelbase: 1,477 mm/ 1,489 mm
Seat Height: 965 mm/ 955 mm
Ground Clearance: 362 mm/ 340 mm
Weight: 101.2 kg/ 109 kg
Fuel Capacity: 7.3 litres/ 7.2 litres
