2019 DUAL-SPORT SHOOTOUT
COMPARISON
P80
It hides its weight pretty well when going straight
and while accelerating or hitting bumps (the addi-
tional pounds probably help its stability) but as trails
get narrower or your turning arc gets tighter, the
Honda becomes a bike out of its element.
The handlebar and fuel tank/headlight zone
seems lazy and sluggish to input and the rear end
resists coming around naturally. Plus, both ends
seem to be where the fight originates when react-
ing to technical trail conditions or sandy terrain.
The bike feels a little top heavy. As mentioned, the
muffler alone weighs 13 pounds and it doesn't get a
lot higher on the chassis than that. Under the rear
fender, there's a full aluminum skeleton, as well,
surely adding to the bulk and the top-heavy feel.
High-quality electronics supporting headlight and
bike computer function are also mounted up top.
Furthering the tighter terrain challenges for the
450L is its tendency to stall. These bikes are all
running with relatively lean air/fuel mixtures and that
can cause a pop-stall scenario. The Honda requires
more careful clutch work to reduce this in rocky
terrain. Still, it will happen.
Finally, a few component choices and main-
tenance issues deserve comment. First, the bar
bend on the 450L has a comfortable configuration
for smaller riders and those sitting down. If and
when you stand up, the bars will be in your lap a bit
more than the more race-focused, straighter bars
on the other bikes. Lastly, the Honda air filter main-
tenance is a project. It's two t-handles (10mm and
8mm) and a tight squeeze into a hole. Not having
tool-less air filter access is a tough pill to swallow
on a bike intended to ride on dirt most of its life.
The bottom line on the Honda CRF450L is this:
It is a lot heavier than the current crop of competi-
tion and that definitely shows when the trail gets
narrow or changes in direction are urgent. We
expect aftermarket companies and parts swapping
to help a lot here, but as a stock machine tested
against other stock machines, all of our test riders
ranked this bike at the bottom except for one. This
