2017 HONDA CRF450R
FIRST RIDE
P72
ALL-NEW MEANS ALL-NEW
All-new is an overused and worn
out term, but there really is no
better way to describe the 2017
Honda CRF450R—it is 99% new,
enough to easily and freely call it
that tired and often times inac-
curately used term. At the center
of this truly all-new CRF450R is
the engine, which is now more
compact and lighter while retain-
ing the basic previous design.
An all-new Unicam design is
more compact and uses a finger
rocker arm on the intake valves.
All valves now use an oval-coil
cross-section valve reducing the
overall engine height. Narrower
valve angles help to improve
combustion, while the intake
valve size increased 2mm to
38mm. Honda claims the head
changes increase intake efficien-
cy by 19% and exhaust flow by
10%. With a revised squish band
and new combustion chamber
the compression ratio jumped
from 12.5 to 13.5:1.
In the never-ending quest
for more durability, a four-hole
piston oil jet replaces last year's
two-hole oil jet. Gone are the
days of separate oil compart-
(Left) Many, including
us, are happy to see
Honda going back to
coil-spring forks. (Right)
Finally, more power for
the CRF450R and it's
all usable.
The 2017 CRF450R is truly all new.
