2004 Honda CRF450R
RELATIVELY FEW. BUT SIGNIFICANT. CHANGES
MAKE THE ALREAOY·GOOO CRF4S0R EVEN BETTER
light by big-bore four-stroke standards,
it was still a "porker" compared to
250cc two-stroke standards, and since
two-strokes and four-strokes are on the
track at the same time these days,
Honda's first step when it came to
improving the '04 450 was to continue
trimming weight wherever it could.
Basically, if it didn't absolutely have to
be on the bike, it came off for '04. Or if
it could be redesigned or constructed
of a new material in order to shed
weight, it was.
For example, the '04 CRF450R
has new fork guards and engine
guards that are said to be lighter. and
even the front hose clamps have been
discarded for lighter ones. The igni-
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KIT PALMER
h retend for a moment that you're a
I' Honda engineer and you've been
given the assignment to make the
CRF450R better without increasing
its price (at least not much). Well,
there goes that titanium frame idea.
As you can see, Honda had a difficult
task on its hands when it came time
to improve on the 2003 CRF450R.
After all, it was already an outstanding motocross bike that hardly needed improving - or did it? Apparently,
Honda thought it did.
Weight has always been an issue
when it comes to big-bore four-strokes.
Even though the '03 CRF450R was
20
AUGUST 13.
2003'
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