Honda CRF450L EXCLUSIVE TEST If you long for the days of XRS, DRS and XT’S or simply want to do a bit of trail riding – novice or hoonigan – Honda have just the bike for you…

IF YOU DON’T want an enduro, a motocross bike or a bulky adventurer, what new bike do you buy if you fancy a bit of trail riding? It’s a question Honda have boldly answered with their new CRF450L – a fully homologated, dual-sport off-roader and trail bike for a new generation… At Honda’s Off-road Centre near Taunton, for the bike’s launch, and servicing/reliability emerge as hot topics because this 450cc engine boasts 18,000 miles between major services, which is huge for a dirt bike. Part of the process of making the 450L reliable and user friendly was to halve the CRF450R motor’s power to 25bhp and just under 25 lb ft of torque. It doesn’t sound much but crank inertia grows by 12% to produce usable torque – a twisty Tarmac ride before a day of dirt action in Devon quickly prove the point. The six-speed gearbox gets plenty of use delivering 70mph comfortably and with a friendly, Euro-4 compliant exhaust it doesn’t alarm the locals either. The CRF450L is accommodating to ride just like a trail bike should be – not too tall, not at all fierce but friendly and with no sharp edges to put off the novice. A slightly longer wheel base (18mm with 6mm longer trail than the CRF450R) plus a narrow 120 section rear tyre make it stable but happy to turn on and off road. Ripping around various awesome trails behind Honda legend Dave Thorpe proves the 450L can hustle too. Basically we rode the wheels off the thing and proved the breadth of the 450L’s skill-set stretches from novice to hoonigan. Trail bikes ordinarily have suspension closer to a damp sponge than a coiled spring. The 450L’s Showa suspension is soft and forgiving in the initial stroke but soaks up hard hits better than you’ll find on some enduro bikes. I was more impressed by that than anything. The CRF450L can be a Sunday dirt bike, your first trail bike and even a great basis for an awesome rally bike. It’ll do all that and easily tackle a club enduro (it just needs grippier tyres instead of these dualpurpose IRC ones). I’d add a set of handguards, plus a different exhaust (saving weight) and you’d be good to go. My main concern is that its high price will inhibit potential customers from making this their first dirt bike and that’s a shame. The world is surely ready for a new version of old trailies such as the XR, XT, KLR and DRS. The CRF450L is that bike but at least 30 years better.