this package. Spring forks are a huge plus, too, although set-
tings were still a little soft for me. Ergonomics allowed me to
sit right up front through tight ruts and stay locked in, while
allowing freedom to move back over the bike with jumps."
In a nutshell, the Honda gets the gold medal for being the
best all-around package while coming in with a compara-
tively reasonable price tag. (It's not the "cheapest" bike of
the group but it's far from being the most expensive.) The
Honda does everything well without having any glaring
faults, other than it being a little on the heavy side, but the
Honda hides its weight extremely well on the track because
it's so well balanced, and turns so easily, and you can at
least justify the added weight by getting a much-improved
coil-spring fork and electric starting.
The Honda also gets high marks for its Dunlop MX3S
tires, good grips, handlebar-adjustable mapping, powerful
brakes, and excellent fit and finish. We're still not big fans
of the dual mufflers, however, yet Honda believes it's a big
reason why the CRF450R handles so well. If that's the case,
then we guess we can continue living with them.
Congratulations Honda for being our well-deserved 2018
450MX Shootout winner.
VOL. 54 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 24, 2017 P105
HONDA CRF450R
PROS
•Great suspension
•Excellent engine
•Predictable turning
•Electric start
CONS
•Gained weight in 2018
•One of the loudest 450s
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
•Weight (full fuel): 251 lbs.
•MSRP: $9149
GEAR ID'd
GORDON KECK
GEARSET: ANSWER
BOOTS: ALPINESTARS TECH 10
HELMET: VEMAR TAKU
GOGGLES: SCOTT
