First ride: Honda CRF450L
Honda’s new CRF450L offers proper dual-purpose fun. But at what cost?
THE GOOD NEWS is Honda has a new, bang-up-to-date, street-legal enduro bike, the CRF450L. The bad news is… actually, let’s leave that for a bit. Let’s talk about the lovely way it rides first. The 450 is unexpectedly adept at what it’s built for — trail riding. I rode one for a day and went from doubter to fan in just three hours. My initial scepticism came from its power figure. It makes a weedy sounding 25bhp, around half what its rivals make. I couldn’t help thinking life was about to become dull.
But it never did. Optimism began even before setting off, the realistic seat height solving my usual mounting struggles. Once underway, it was happy times. Though 25bhp sounds lame, the gutsy way the 450 delivers it makes it remarkably useable, friendly, tractable and sufficiently speedy.
No doubt its chassis helped me stay (mostly) upright and based on the CRF450R motocross bike, its spec is impressive. It has an alloy chassis, quality suspension and manageable 137kg wet weight. More fun on the dirt convinced me the CRF is perfect for green-laning. It won’t scare or tire you like any other modern 450 will, and comes with an unheard-of two-year warranty.
What’s not to like? Well, a couple of things: the £9469 price and the 600-mile minorservice intervals. Being a pukka enduro model, that’s normal. Even so, to honour the warranty you’ll spend £125 every five or six trail rides. It runs nicely on roads between trails but that’ll rack up the expensive mileage quicker. It’s your money, so you decide. The CRF450L is a great dual-purpose bike, but it’s potentially expensive.