Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128235
7lDD@ r!A!lIJDDDD@[?g Honda CRF450R All of ou r test riders pic ked the Honda CRF4 50R as their favo rite in the 2004 450cc Four-Stroke MX Shootout , so it' s obvious wh at our winn er is. Th e bike wo n j ust about every shoo to ut aro und last yea r. and the n wh at does Honda do? It wor k s hard to m ak e it lighte r. faster and more nimble. Wh at else can we say ? Honda apparentl y doesn't want the competition to catch up . and the best way to do th at is to co ntinually improve a package tha t few thought needed improving . Grea t j ob Honda! We could n 't get o ver the high-CG feel of the YZ450F. Perhaps it won't be fixed until Yamaha adapts a crad le-type frame sim ilar to the CRF' s. or the Kawi fou r-strok e 250. It seems . with the overa ll larger size of the engines co m pared to two-strok es. espec ially once you figure in dou ble overhead cams and all that. by requiring the top fram e rai l to desce nd directl y over the engine whil e stil l leavi ng eno ugh room for all the essentials to fit in between. it's hard to m ove all the weight of fuel. rider . etc . do wn for a lower CG. Hond a beat this design issue with a frame that ca n sur ro und the to p of th e engine and enc ase the fuel. electronics and so on . thus allo wing the weight to be m ov ed downward in compariso n. And what's KTM's exc use? Well . all we can figure is that the engine is so much more com pact that it doesn't force the CG so high to begin wit h. We figure tha t . alt houg h the YZF seem s to be th e ho rsepo wer k ing . handling is what it' s all abo ut wi th these b ikes. as non e of the m are starv ing for po wer. Honda wins the handling war. and the shootout , while KTM finishes seco nd in both . while also providing sup erior brakes. handl ebars and mor e. We've found that the YZ450F just couldn 't live up to its com petitors in the hand li ng department . despite ov erwhelming suspension improvements. Plus . Yamaha 's the only bike left in this shoo tout with cheesy steel handlebars. so it loses a little there as well and finishes th ird - albei t a close third. 2004 HONDA CRF450R LIST PRICE . ... .. .. . .• .. . . • . . . .. . .. . ... . .. . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . ... ... .. .$6499 DISPLACEMENT .449cc ENGINE TY PE Liq uid -cool ed . single-cy linder. SOHC fo ur-valve fou r-stroke BORE x STROKE 96 x 62 . 1m m CO MPRESS ION RATIO 12:1 CARBURETION Keihin 40mm flat -slide IGNITION Soli d -state CD w/electronic adva nce Close -retio fiv e-speed T RA NSMISSI O N STARTING SYSTEM Kick FUEL CAPACITY 2.0 gal. 58. 5 in. WHEELBASE RAKE/TRAIL 26 .9 1°/4.25 in. SEA T HEIGH T .37 .6 in. FRO NT TIRE 80 /1 00 -21 REAR TI RE 110/90- 19 .47mm inverted Showa cart ridge fork w/16-position rebound FRO NT SUSPENSION . and co mpression damping adjustability 12.4 in . FRONT·WHEEL TRA VEL REAR SUSPENS IO N Pro-Link Showa single shock w/spring preload . 17-position rebou nd dampi ng adj usta bility and high - and low-speed co m pression damping 12.4 in . REAR ·WHEEL TRAVEL 240mm disc FRO NT B RAKE REA R BRA KE 240mm disc FINAL DRI VE .. .. . .. . . .. . . . . ... . .. . . . . . . . . . . ... ... . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. • .. . . .Cha in 222 Ibs. CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT 2 004 KTM 450 S X LIST PRICE $6498 DISPLACEMENT : .449.39cc ENGINE TYPE Liquid -cool ed. sing le-cylinder . four-st roke w/four·valve/OHC w/rocker lever BOR E x STROKE . . ... ... ..... .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . .. . •.. .95 x 63.4mm COMPR ESSION RA TIO 12:1 CARBURETION Keihin MX FCR 4 1 Kokusan digita l 4K -3A IGN ITION TRAN SMI SSIO N Four-sp eed STARTING SYSTEM Kick FUEL CAPACITY 1.8 gal. .59 .2 in . WHEELBASE TRAI L .4.48 in. SEAT HEIGHT .3 7 in. FRONT TIR E 80 /1 00 -21 REAR TIRE 110 /90 -19 Up side-dow n 52mm WP fork s FRO NT SUSPENSION 12 in. FRO NT ·WHEEL TRAVEL REA R SUSPEN SI ON Wp ·PDS linkless shock absorber 13.4 in. REAR·WHEEL TR AVEL 260mm wav e rotor FRO NT B RA K E REAR BRAKE 220mm wav e rotor FINAL DR IVE Chain 224.4 Ibs. CLAIMED DRY WEIGH T 2004 Y A M A H A Y Z 4 5 0 F LIST PRICE . . . . .. .. .. . . . . . ... ... . ...... .. . . .. . .. • . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . ..$6299 DISPLACEMENT 44 9 cc ENGINE TYP E Liqu id -ccol ed, 5 -va lv e. DOHC. four-stroke BORE x STROKE 9 5 x 63.4 m m COMPRESSION RATIO . . . • .. ... . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . ... . .. . . . ... . . . . . . . .. 12.5 : 1 CARBURETION . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. .... ... . . ... . .. ... ... . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . • . . .FCR39 IGNITION CDI TRA NSMISSION . • . . . • . . • • . .. . ... . .. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . .4 -spe ed STARTING SYSTEM Kick w/auto decompression and m anual hot sta rt 1.8 gal. FUEL CA PACITY ' 58.5 in. WHEELBASE RAKE/TRAIL 27 .2°/4 .7 in . SEAT HEIGHT ... .. ... . ... . . .. . . . . .... . • . . ...... .. . . .. . .. . ...... . ... .. . .39 .2 in. 80 /1 00 · 21 FRONT TIRE REAR TIRE 1 10/90· 19 .48mm upside -down fork w/com pressio n and rebound dam ping FRO NT SUSPENS IO N FRO NT ·WHEEL TR A VEL 11.8 in. Single shoc k w/s epa rat e high and low-speed co m pression adj ustme nt REAR SUS PENS ION 12.4 in . REA R·WHEEL TR A VEL 25 0mm single disc FRONT BRAKE 245mm single disc REAR BRAKE FINA L DR IVE .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . .. . . . • . . .. . . .. .. . ..... . ... ... . ... . .. .. .. .. . ..Chain 221 Ibs. CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT cycl." n ." _ S • O CTOBER 8 . 2003 25