I have always like the Honda CRF450R. It just fits me and is easy for me to ride as fast as I need to go. I like it’s layout, the light feel, the smooth power delivery, the turning and the history of durability. If I were to say the things I don’t like about the bike is that it is kinda boring and lately I’ve heard and noticed that the durability is not what it once was.
On just about every account Honda has made this a better bike. The power has a bit more character without losing its charm, plus with its triple maps and through the HRC tuner I was able to make my perfect powerband. The fork is improved a lot for me and I have always liked the air fork. It is less progressive where it needs to be and still resists bottoming when I need it to. I’d prefer to have some more control of the rebound on the shock, but I’m picky. And in being picky I was just never able to feel like I could achieve a perfect setting no matter how much I tried. Everything I changed had an effect on something else I didn’t want to change. It was never bad, in fact it was always good. Just never excellent.
If I were looking for a 450 MX bike I’d seriously consider the CRF. And honestly if it had electric starting I’d pick it first. But I think we’ll all be waiting a long time for that feature on a Red motocross bike.