Honda CRF450L DANCING IN THE DIRT
Tricky trails and twisty Tarmac, Honda’s motocross-inspired CRF450L can do it all.
Dual-sport motorcycles live in a land of compromise. The jack-of-all-trades of the motorcycle world, they’re just as happy tackling trails as they are splicing through town traffic and tearing up some twisties. But Honda’s new CRF450L is more capable than most.
Building on the massive success of Honda’s CRF250L and CRF250 Rally, Honda has finally released its hotly anticipated CRF450L trail bike after years of begging from off-road enthusiasts the world over. Created from the bones of Honda’s flagship CRF450R motocross bike, Honda has worked hard to turn an out and out competition machine into a capable all-rounder – and from what we’ve seen, the Japanese factory’s done one hell of a job.
Now I’ve got to be honest. I’ve been waiting to ride this bike for a long time. I love the CRF250L, and as a result, genuinely couldn’t wait to get some miles under my belt on the new 450. Trying (and failing) to suppress my innate bias for dual-sports as it rolled out of the van in front of me, my first impressions of Honda’s latest trail bike were overwhelmingly positive. But even if you don’t love diving around in the dirt, there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a very well-made machine. It’s a Honda after all. And it looks good, too – doesn’t it? Sharp lines, bright red motocrossinspired graphics and knobbly tyres; yes please.
Settling into the saddle for the first time, there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s tall. With a 940mm seat height, I could (just) get both feet on the ground, and I’m 6ft 1” with long gangly limbs. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted it any taller. Thankfully, it only weighs 130kg, so although it might be a bit of a stretch to swing your leg over, once you’re in the saddle and the suspension compresses, shorter riders should be able to bank it over and get a foot on the floor without too much trouble. More importantly, that tall seat height means masses of ground clearance for when you get into some tricky terrain off-road. But never mind all that, what’s it actually like to ride?
ON- AND OFF-ROAD
As far as I’m concerned, there’s no other bike on the market right now that handles both on- and offroad riding as well as the CRF450L does right out of the box. Its frame, motor, six-speed transmission and suspension are all virtually the same as the motocross machine, bar a few tweaks – and looking at the two machines side by side, the only obvious changes are the addition of lights, indicators, mirrors and a licence plate. Ok, so power is dramatically reduced when compared to the competition machine too, with the CRF450L kicking out a fairly meagre 24bhp. There is a reason behind it, though. Honda’s pared the motor back to increase service intervals and meet strict emissions regulations. Fair enough. And to be frank, torque is a fairly respectable 23.6ft/lb, so there’s still more than enough grunt to have a hell of a lot of fun out on the trails or Tarmac, no matter whether you’re really wringing its neck or taking a sedate sidle to the shops. On the road, you’ll be able to get up to a top speed of 90mph, and while a dual-sport isn’t the most natural choice for A-road scratching, the CRF450L takes it all in its stride. Even with its IRC off-road rubber, it’s planted and predicable. Off-road is where it really comes into its own though; from gentle green lanes to hard-core hill climbs, it’ll tackle the lot. And it doesn’t mind taking a beating either – if you really want to push it to its limits.
Its USD Showa front forks and rear monoshock are essentially the same as the CRF450R competition machine – aside from a few small tweaks to improve on-road stability. And in practice, it’s a very capable set up, performing extremely well both on and off the road. Stiff enough on the road to allow you to push harder than you’d probably expect, with enough travel to soak up the worst lumps, bumps and jumps you can throw at it off-road. Equally, the CRF450L’s brakes are well up the job too, offering ample stopping power from its 260mm front and 240mm rear discs. Nothing ground-breaking, but they’re nice and progressive, which means you won’t grab a handful unless you really mean it. And with riding off-road a neverending battle for traction, grabbing too much brake is one sure-fire way to end up in a heap on the floor before you know it.
As a round-the-world adventure machine, I’m sad to report that the CRF450L doesn’t quite match up to its smaller CRF250L sibling, though. Its seat is rock hard, it’ll only manage a (claimed) 110 miles from its 7.2-litre fuel tank, and while its service intervals are better than its most obvious 450cc competition, it’s still too short if you were planning on covering some serious miles. We’re talking just under 20,000 miles for a full engine strip down and 600 miles for an oil, oil filter and air filter change. Ok, so with a little thought and a few clever modifications, I’ve no doubt the CRF450L would make a hell of a lightweight adventure machine, but in its standard form, it’s not quite up to the job.