2019 HONDA CRF450L
FULL TEST
P86
T
he 2019 Honda CRF450L's arrival
is highly anticipated to dual sport
freaks and geeks. The hype train
following its announcement back in May
has been plentiful, and it's muscling its
way into a set of popular motorcycles
powered by a market segment that is
seeing rare growth.
In other words, dual-sport is so very
hot right now. And Honda's presence ush-
ers in an air of undeniable legitimacy and
should fuel the dual-sport trend nicely.
With its awaited arrival comes a lot of
expectations. A lot. This bike is under
the microscope of a gaggle of experts
who have enjoyed the trenches of dual-
sport riding for a while. And based on the
amount of strong opinions, misinformation,
misleading comparisons and misguided
advice on this bike already afloat in the dirt
bike ether, we can safely assume this bike
is high on the consideration list for many.
Really, the most common question
we get about this bike is: "What is it?"
And that's not cut and dry. Is it ready to
line up at an enduro and compete head
to head with the European bikes? Will it
put the rest of dual sport out of busi-
ness with more performance than the
stalwart models but keep the comfort?
Is it worth the premium price tag? How
much does it weigh?
We attended the press launch
Honda held in the soggy Pacific
Northwest and came away decently
impressed with the new Honda in our
first impression report. It's hard to get
critical or even over-analytical when
you're riding in scenic terrain on epic
dirt with a full belly of fantastic food.
So, we grabbed a test bike back here
at our home offices and hunkered
down for a real review of the all-new
CRF450L.
BY JESSE ZIEGLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
THE
EXPECTATION
GAME
THE LONG-AWAITED CRF450L IS HERE
AND WE PUT IT TO THE TEST
