Honda CRF450R First Ride Review

The 2017 Honda CRF-450R is the most anticipated motocross bike of the year, and it proves to be worth the wait!

We got our chance to test the 2017 CRF-450R at the amazing Monster Mountain MX Park just outside Montgomery, Alabama. After spending a full day, including more than 80 laps on the all-new CRF, we can absolutely confirm that Honda has a serious contender for top honors in the 450cc MX class. If you ride red, or you’ve been thinking about it, now may be the time to pony up for a CRF-450R.

It’s been a long time coming, as production of the CRF-450R was delayed when a massive earthquake damaged Honda’s production facilities in Kumamoto last April. Eventually, spy photos of the CRF-450R were leaked, showing a machine powered by an all-new version of Honda’s Unicam engine instead of the DOHC engine tested by HRC rider Akira Narita in the All Japan MX National Championship. The photos also showed a CRF that featured a chassis that placed the shock much lower in the chassis and also did away with the KYB PSF air fork. The 2017 model would get a new 49mm Showa coil-spring fork that was of the same spec as Honda’s factory A-kit suspension.