SECOND OPINION
EX WORLD CHAMP BEN TOWNLEY
C
limbing aboard the 2017 CRF450R was
interesting for me. I was curious to see
if the hype for the new bike was all
that it was built up to be. As I threw a
leg over, I could feel that the seated
position, or pocket as a I refer to it, felt
a little more neutral, and I say that in the sense
that the previous two models (‘09 and ‘13) didn’t
have that completely neutral feeling out of the
box. When I rode them from ‘09 through ‘15, I
always modified the sub frame to combat that
feeling, so it was good to see Honda has looked
at that aspect and made some progress there.
Going through the controls, there is a significant
difference in the throttle spring for the new
model, which in my opinion is a really simple, but
necessary addition. From there the hand controls
have a nice little upgrade, specifically the front
brake which has noticeable power added to the
braking power, again a really simple but much
needed upgrade. The footpegs felt well placed,
again something I had changed on both of the
previous models, slightly moving the footpegs back
to gain better pressure over the rear of the bike
and gain a more balanced weight bias across the
bike. So all-in-all some really positive and effective
changes, but no button to fire the steed into life.
Once out and on track there was a real sense
that this model is different to the previous two
version – as soon as I cracked the power on. I tested
the bike at home, so I know my track fairly well,
and it was surprising how much better the bike
pulled, even though there had been some talk
that this bike would have more grunt, it definitely
did. The most noticeable thing for me was (once
I hooked fourth gear) how it kept pulling like a
runaway train on the faster sections of the track.
The engine response was also noticeable right
away, as I dialled on the throttle to start, it had
the ability to short-shift so the torque range was
there and that’s how I most like to ride a 450. It
felt the only downside in the power plant was that
I tended to find third gear a bit short at times – I
ride a lot in third and I found myself shifting to
fourth early, but that simply might be because
it makes good progressive metres quickly.
Another thing which stood out to me was how
the low centre of gravity feeling still remains at the
fore of this model, that has been something Honda
moved to in the previous models, so it doesn’t – in a
sense – feel like a 450 at times. Previously, with the