When it comes to 450’s, I tend to be very outspoken with my opinion on them. I find them to be overpowered, easy to get in over your head, and the only reason why most people buy them is due to testosterone. I did not expect the CRFRX to be any different from the other modern 450’s I’ve ridden, but due to either me riding nothing but clapped out 125’s recently or because of how the RX delivers power, it was the first race inspired 450 I have ever ridden and not felt like I was in over my head with power. I found the stock mapping to be just perfect for my riding abilities due to it having the perfect balance of snap and power for me. Especially in the desert. The mild setting made it a little too sluggish when I wanted a little blip of power in the tight stuff. I made the mistake of going straight from the mild setting to the wild and almost gave the bike a new shade of brown. Once I had gotten over the initial shock of how quick the wild setting was, I found myself having a blast with it because it instantly would fix any mistakes I would make with a twist of the throttle while still not feeling like the bike wanted to kill me. I have to say that Honda did a very good job with this bike and is competitive among the other bikes on the market that share its purpose of being a strict off-road race bike.