Night & Day Improvements To The CRF
Story by Brent Farrell, Photos by Trevor Hunter
Our avid readers may recall we spent a lot of time on the 2023 Honda CRF450RX and while feedback was positive in some areas, we struggled in others. We put over 100 hours on the bike and made quite a few changes as we searched for ways to address some problem areas. We liked the motor a lot, absolutely loved the durability of the machine as a whole, and found the fit and finish to be as good as any in the class. Our criticism was mostly related to chassis feel. It was very sensitive and needed to be set up perfectly for the rider and conditions on demand. Different triple clamps and more flexible motor mounts helped a lot, but most of our riders still felt it was unpredictable at times, especially when traction was lacking.
When the 2025 model arrived, one of the big changes was a revised chassis. Visually, it looks very similar aside from the new bodywork, but that’s not a good indicator when it comes to the frame. A change in material thickness, a gusset position, or even a different sized relief hole can make noticeable differences. In this case, it was pretty dramatic.
We raced the new RX at the 24 Hours of Glen Helen with several of the same team members that rode the 2023 edition a couple years ago and we had a flawless ride. Aside from normal maintenance (air filters, one rear wheel change, and one rear brake pad change), we didn’t touch the bike throughout the event. The feedback, especially from the riders that rode the previous generation bike, was very positive. Honda did a great job of addressing our, and most others as well, areas of concern. The new chassis feels more compliant and far more consistent in varied conditions – the biggest positive we wanted to see.
Personally, I (Brent Farrell) felt much more confident and never got the surprise reactions I noticed with the previous generation bike. TCS Powersports did re-valve the suspension, but we used stock triple clamps and motor mounts which were almost a necessity on the last bike for our west coast grand prix/hare scramble type terrain. The harshness, inconsistent front end feel, and lack of consistency overall have all disappeared in the 2025 model. It’s one thing for a bike to perform poorly in a consistent manner, but when a bike performs great one corner then poorly the next, it’s not very confidence inspiring and tends to lead to a slower, more tense riding experience. Not only does this bike now perform consistently, but it performs consistently well and is competitive with some of the best handling bikes in the class.
Overall, we were very impressed and felt the changes resulted in a huge improvement in the bike. Where I was definitely a little critical in the past, now I would put the new bike at or near the top of the class in terms of handling. On top of that, the motor has always been good and that remains true with this 2025+ model. Add in some of the best durability and finish in the industry and the result is a formatable off-road weapon with a lot of strengths and very few weaknesses.
Links to additional information on the 2025 CRF450RX
First impression https://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/first-impression-2025-honda-crf450rx/
Vet set up tips https://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/2025-crf450rx-vet-setup-tips/
Comparison with Yamaha YZ450FX https://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/this-or-that-crf450rx-vs-yz450fx/
Maverick Shuey –
“I was given the opportunity to ride the newly revised 2025 Honda 450RX at the 24 Hours of Glen Helen. I am primarily a Vet Expert/Pro level desert racer with some enduro background, and I wouldn’t say grand prix style events are my strong suit, but I can hold my own when needed. I also come from a strong Yamaha platform my entire career. Jumping onto the 450RX, I did feel mostly at home.
There were three immediate things I noticed about the Honda: the levers, the chassis feel, and it was a bike I could quickly trust through rough chop. Three things I found I didn’t like: it’s lack of ability to “lug” in the lower RPM range, its unpredictability in the rocks and jagged inconsistent terrain (more when talking about suspension setup), and that the tank area was very wide.
Overall, the Honda was a great platform for this race. As the race progressed and we went through its paces, I started to find areas in the bike that I felt were nuances or areas I was seeking comfort. First off, the Honda with the IMS tank is a wide platform at the knees. It was noticeable when cruising through the pits or sliding forward coming in the corners and affected my riding all around. I come from a Yamaha four-stroke which has no added width when an over-sized tank is used, so this took a bit to conform to. BUT, IMS did a great job creating a tank that still maintained that pocket kind of feel up front. As I would ride the bike through the creek trails and unpredictable rocks and ledges, this is where the bike showed its chassis prowess.
TCS Powersports handled the valving on the bike and overall it felt very solid and planted in 90% of the course. During some bench racing and evaluating with my team members, we kind of just thought the chassis exemplified that firm feeling through the rocks. We also seemed to notice that it would “relax” a little if you found the pace to be able to shift up a gear and carry a little more momentum throughout the sections. This is typical of any 450 and it showed true on the Honda under race conditions.
I can say the rigid chassis feel at times was related to motor RPM and when I had to rev it more than I’d like, which leads me into my final critic: the motor. My only bug with the motor was the lack of low end torque. From my background, I have developed a good feel for riding in the bottom end of any motor without much clutch use. My personal bike, a 2024 YZ450FX, loves that sensation with the proper map. The Honda just did not like allowing a lower RPM “lug”. I found that you really have to ride the bike a touch higher than I have grown accustom to and I ended up learning and adapting but it was my largest learning curve of the three.
Now there were a ton of good things about the CRF that I grew to love during the race. As silly as it sounds, I LOVED the levers! Honda put some real time and development into the levers. They always felt tight. They had zero up and down play, and even with tipping over and 24 hours of abuse, they never changed in feel. It’s the little things.
Likewise, I quickly noticed that I could corner that bike confidently. Cornering skills is something I lack in being a true desert racer, but the Honda made me feel like I knew what I was doing and noticeably helped my cornering speed and precision. Moving onto the suspension and chassis, if you have ever ridden Glen Helen at the 24 Hour or even just a Thursday evening after work, then you know how rough the steep descents from Shoei or Mt St Helens can get. I had a ton of trust in that bike coming down through that chop at any speed. And the same goes for the long straights. It did really well keeping straight, even after our stabilizer pin connecting to the post mount fell out leaving us with no stabilizer!
Touching on the motor, it felt smooth and planted. Besides the lack of lower RPM torque, it had good power from bottom through top, revving through the range in a smooth manner. Power was always there when you wanted it and although I’m not typically a top end rider, I did run into the top end on the long straights and it had enough range to go as fast as I wanted to go.
Overall, the CRF450RX was a great bike that gave an average GP rider solid confidence and helped strengthen different riding techniques and adaptations. The platform would be great for anyone looking for a good all around bike providing a solid rider triangle with good overall power and chassis predictability.
Todd Davis –
In 2023 Honda was gracious enough to give us a CRF450RX to race in that years Glen Helen 24hr. That bike performed flawlessly with typical Honda reliability, fit, finish and friendly easy to manage power delivery. The chassis unfortunately was another story. Through testing in the months before and for the race itself we struggled with chassis rigidity (harshness) and front-end grip on hard pack and edgy surfaces. We added some different parts to address these issues, which were a big improvement but in the end the issues persisted. Fast forward to 2025. Honda once again came through with a 2025 CRF450RX. What was this bikes biggest weakness has now become its biggest strength. The chassis feel is outstanding on all surfaces with nothing more than a spring change and re-valve with no special parts. Everything else is typical Honda great ergonomics high build quality and good engine character although we will be looking for some more low RPM torque when we get our 26 model. Through 24hrs we went through one rear tire one set of brake pads and about a gallon of gas per hour and all the riders from 170lbs to 230lbs felt comfortable riding the bike. You can’t ask for much more from an endurance bike than that. In closing the ’25 CRF450RX has become my new favorite of all the closed course Race 450’s.
At the end of the day, this generation CRF450RX feels much improved over the past bike and what’s most impressive is how stock we were able to keep it and not feel like we’re still searching for anything. We didn’t need motor mounts and triple clamps looking for a better chassis feel, rather we felt comfortable and fast on a stock package. Kudos to Honda on making this bike a serious contender right out of the box in 2025!
