2017 Honda CRF450RX First Riding Impression

Photos By Cory Walters

Honda is getting a little more serious, if not more focused on off-road racing. Not that they haven’t been out racing, but now they have a very specific model that fits the need. The 2017 CRF450RX is a closed-course competition model (Red Sticker in California speak) Following in the path of KTM and Yamaha, Honda has taken its motocross bike and added just a few of the features that are needed, but not too much.

It differs from the CRF450R by coming standard with electric start (with a kick-start backup),and a less aggressive ignition map setting. Chassis differences include off-road focused suspension settings with a softer rear shock spring (.48 fork spring, 5.0 shock spring), and less rigid upper engine mounts. The CRF450RX has a larger (2.25 gal. plastic tank, MX bike fuel tank is titanium), forged-aluminum side stand, 18-inch rear rim and Dunlop Geomax AT81 tires. Honda felt the close-ratio transmission (unchanged internal ratios,one-tooth larger (50T) rear sprocket) is better suited for racing applications.
So how does it work. DBT was at the first day introduction of the new bike at Cahuilla Creek to get a first impression. Straight up two things come apparent. The electric starting is awesome and when the tank is full you can feel the additional weight of the bike and its off-road parts, mostly when pushing the bike around and throwing it on a stand. We’ll get you an exact scale weight when we get a test bike of our own but we’re told the weight increase is 18 pounds and we believe that figure. The claimed weight is 261 pounds full of fuel and that is still eight pounds lighter than the CRF450X, which by the way is still in the 2017 Honda lineup.
Honda did not tame the X much to speak of. It is an aggressive package from the moment you let out the clutch. The bike feels as thin as the MX version when you are riding it and that weight we talked about when moving the bike around, well it disappears too, though you can feel the last gallon of fuel which rides high in the tank.

First gear is tall by off-road standards and when farting around doing photos we did stall it a few times but in any sort of off-road racing short of extreme enduro or a bottleneck, first is low enough. Then the bike pulls with authourity through the five speeds. How fast is it? Well top speed was not possible to get and we used a long straight along a fence line where fifth was still pulling strong at close to what we feel was 80MPH. The real fast you are looking for is how quickly it accelerates. We are sure this CRF will give even the ferocious KTM 450XC a run for its money. It makes a YZ450FX in stock map configuration seem a little less aggressive. The engine feel is a little out of character for Honda who is known for very smooth and sometimes sleepy engine traits. But we feel most riders will appreciate this boost, if anything it is really fun…
The clutch pull is light and has good feel for a cable clutch. From our time on the R we know a clutch abusing rider can get it hot where the feel at the lever will get soft and warn you. But for the most part, the clutch isn’t even necessary since the engine has plenty of boost with throttle alone. Switching between maps there is the same change as we found on the R. The second or less aggressive map kills the bottom and lower mid to a flat feeling, then there is a step or bump going into the top end. The third or more aggressive map livens up the the engine even more, allowing gear-high riding and an even more robust roll-on.
The chassis and suspension feels, dare we say it, almost identical to the MX bike. It has a stiff and stout nature and carries MX sharpness to the trails. Most riders could easily track ride this bike without issue, even on jumpy tracks. Is it too stiff for off-road? More time will tell when we get it on more technical trails. Yet for racing type trails, that are usually more beat up and whoopy, this type of setting is becoming more and more necessary. We played with some of the clickers and every improvement in one direction was met with a trade off, so we feel Honda did a good job of setting the bike stock. Just softening the clickers does not just soften up the ride. When we went softer, the fork especially, tended to ride more in the mid-stroke and feel even more harsh on sharp bumps. Bottoming was rare and very controlled and overall movement of the shock and fork could be described as heavily dampened in stock form. 
The chassis definitely has a stiff feel and we’re sure the less rigid engine hangers really help tone down the sharpness of bump feel. As does the 18″ rear wheel. Aggressive but not to the point of being uncomfortable in faster off-road riding. Again it is the direction off-road race bikes seem to be going as off-road races now include much more MX-type terrain and the courses get rougher. It is a stiffness that is required for precision handling and this CRF has that type of feel. It has a good balance between being a front end turning bike while still having a very easy to slide rear end. Slide in a controlled way with throttle control to make it easy.

If we have one thing to complain about it, it’s the noise. This bike, while quiet at idle and at different RPMs during acceleration, it has a bark that is loud and piercing. Maybe a little too much for some ears in a sport where we have to keep an eye if not an ear on this.
We’ll be getting a test unit to spend a lot more time on in the very near future where we’ll get it on our more tight and technical racing trails as well as high-speed desert race courses to see what the CRF450RX is totally about. But in our first day riding impression we are pretty sure Honda has hit the target straight on for the off-road racing crowd looking for a 450cc weapon.

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