Then came the road legal
XR650R which was just a
weapon everywhere...
I still miss it to this day
F
irst up I’ll admit I was sceptical. Just how
was the new Honda CRF450L going to
stack up as a trail bike? Sure, Honda’s
CRF450R is an amazing MX bike and the 450X
is a pretty hardcore cross-country bike… but…
seriously, a modern machine based on a
motocrosser as a trail and road tool? I wasn’t
so sure. Perhaps getting to ride all sorts of
wonderful machines in my KR testing role
was clouding my judgement? But neither the 600 or the 650 had as
hardcore a dirt focus as the new CRF450L
appeared to have. So, I’ll admit that it came
as somewhat of a surprise just how much
fun, and how capable the 450L has turned
out to be as a ‘trail’ bike. And, dare I say it,
surprisingly refined. In fact, Honda has gone
to a lot of trouble to make the 450L as quiet
and civilised as possible for long hours in the
saddle.
Back in the day, running-in Honda XR600s
over the Gentle Annie was a heap of fun and,
though they were very trail-oriented for their
time, they seemed quite happy being pressed
into road, trail and off-road work. But then,
they had a reasonable fuel range, a wide-ish
seat that was moderately comfortable long
term and a big old, bullet proof, air-cooled
engine that could crack 160km/h when
pushed. Okay, so they weren’t ultra-smooth…
but they weren’t too bad either. Then came
the road legal XR650R which was just a
weapon everywhere – I still miss it to this day. Both crankcases and the frame have been
widened a little to accommodate a wide-ratio
six-speed gearbox. Yes, serious stuff. Plastic
lower engine covers with sound and vibration
deadening material behind them have been
included and the sprockets have rubber
bonded to them where the chain rides to
absorb vibration and noise too.
These last two may seem like small things,
but the improvement they make to the
smoothness and overall riding pleasure
add up to a big difference – particularly
for extended road work. This is something
KIWI RIDER 49