2021 Honda CRF 450 First Impressions

nick610s
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nick610s 10/18/2020 8:43pm
10/18/2020 8:43pm
nick610s wrote:
Posted this to my insta today first rides.. I’m a washed up almost +40 vet B rider when I feel like getting in shape to race...
Posted this to my insta today first rides.. I’m a washed up almost +40 vet B rider when I feel like getting in shape to race.. but mostly race sprint cars now. Still love moto and new bike days are still Awesome!

Well break in rides are done on the new 450! Started out the morning with a couple 15 minutes slower sessions cruising around going through the gears but still putting a load on the motor. Went out for the third session today and started to give it more gas. This is a fast bike! No doubt about it but the power is metered and not crazy very controllable. Just rode it in map one most of the day and tried a moto with the traction control after water. That was cool. Went through some slick and got on the throttle and it didn’t spin. As far as handling goes the bike carves lines really easy. Will settle into a rut and follow it no problem. Can turn out of a flat corner line easy too. Point and shoot for sure! Suspension wise it was too soft for me. I’ll have to go up on spring rate. But it still held up well enough to get some good feed back. As far as the chassis feel, the harshness and pitchiness on corner entrance I feel is gone. This was my main complaint on the last bike. It got choppy at argyll today and I made sure I ran over the stuff at speed and the bike tracked straight and settled in to the corners. All in all this bike is a huge improvement over the previous generation and I’ll be setting it up more to my liking as we go along! Sad part is more guys can’t get their hands on one because they are literally sold out in NorCal.
wr74 wrote:
Nice review. Did you feel the rich condition/hesitation at low rpm that the mag's have been talking about ?
I feel like it’s so overblown by the mag test riders it made me see if I could feel it.. yes it’s there.. but the bike moves passed it so quickly you really gotta be lugging it.. I’ll see when I get on a more technical track that’s slower.. Where I went today was a faster open hard pack with ruts and square edges. I will most likely get the mapping cleaned up though. Otherwise it’s a rocket ship that feels very connected to the throttle. “Keefer term”
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gk260
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gk260 10/18/2020 9:49pm
10/18/2020 9:49pm
Rode my bike for the first time as well this weekend with Pala Saturday and Perris today. I'm pretty pumped... the bike is really good!

I'm definitely not a great test rider or as fast as most of the riders in the shootout videos so take this with a grain of salt. I didn't notice any hesitation or issues with the mapping. I've pretty much only ridden on map 1 so far and whatever TC setting is default. Setting two maybe? Was trying to get comfortable on the bike before playing with all of the modes. Coming from a KTM 450 there were a few standout differences for me. First, the bike sits much higher than the ktm.. it just feels tall and that took some getting used to. Compared to the ktm the engine is extremely free feeling with almost no engine braking. Almost two stroke like. The '19 kx450 is the only other bike iv'e regularly ridden recently and it feels like this to me as well but the crf was even more so. It also felt quite a bit faster than my old bike but the power delivery is very smooth and manageable. The ruts is where this bike really impressed me. It just dives in and feels very planted unlike any other bike i've ridden. But on flat corners it doesn't seem to have the front end traction the ktm did.

The suspension felt pretty good for me at 160 lbs but I haven't ridden a very rough track yet to really get a feel for it in the bumps. Most of my day at pala was spent on the vet track trying to get comfortable on the bike. At first the bike felt more foreign to me than I thought it would. Rode the main later in the day but it really wasn't that rough on Saturday and I still wasn't comfortable enough to start pushing the pace on it. Perris is always pretty smooth so thats not great for feeling out the suspension either. I'm curious to see how this thing does when it gets really choppy.

By the end of the day today I was feeling fast on the bike and comfortable enough to push it a little more. Very happy with it so far!

Oh one other thing.. has anyone else who's ridden one noticed how easy the throttle turns? It's by far the easiest turning throttle I've ever felt and my ktm has the pro taper ball bearing throttle tube on it. Gotta watch out for the whiskey throttle late in the motos on this one!
4
COAL-TRAIN
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COAL-TRAIN 10/19/2020 10:17am
10/19/2020 10:17am Edited Date/Time 10/19/2020 10:18am
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/10/18/454645/s1200_1017202054_HDR.jpg[/img]

nick610s wrote:
Where you get that?
CMT USA...(not the euro company). My company...I made it.
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nick610s
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nick610s 10/19/2020 10:22am
10/19/2020 10:22am
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/10/18/454645/s1200_1017202054_HDR.jpg[/img]

nick610s wrote:
Where you get that?
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
CMT USA...(not the euro company). My company...I made it.
Does it have a extra hole to access oil plug? I’m interested in that you got a website I can check out?

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gk260
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gk260 10/19/2020 10:24am
10/19/2020 10:24am
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
CMT USA...(not the euro company). My company...I made it.
Nice work looks awesome. I want one!
hubbardmx50
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hubbardmx50 10/19/2020 10:43am
10/19/2020 10:43am
gk260, can you please stop talking? You’re making me want one! Laughing
Glad you like it, sounds like it’s going to be a great generation CRF450. It’s looking like 2022 will consist of suspension and map changes but everything else sounds solid.
I raced SwapMoto at Glen Helen yesterday and a few guys had them. They looked like they were much easier to ride later in the day than the 2020 and my 2017. I want to try one already.
4
mxvet90
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mxvet90 10/19/2020 12:48pm
10/19/2020 12:48pm
I asked a few weeks back and understand they will only make so many but does anyone know why dealers in the southeast, primarily East Tennessee, Carolinas and Georgia haven’t received a 2021 yet when it seems that they have arrived in most other parts of the country? The dealer I’m getting mine at now says it’s showing first part of November. Thanks
wrc777
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wrc777 10/19/2020 12:51pm
10/19/2020 12:51pm
I saw one on the show room floor in central Indiana Saturday.
nick610s
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nick610s 10/19/2020 12:54pm
10/19/2020 12:54pm
mxvet90 wrote:
I asked a few weeks back and understand they will only make so many but does anyone know why dealers in the southeast, primarily East Tennessee...
I asked a few weeks back and understand they will only make so many but does anyone know why dealers in the southeast, primarily East Tennessee, Carolinas and Georgia haven’t received a 2021 yet when it seems that they have arrived in most other parts of the country? The dealer I’m getting mine at now says it’s showing first part of November. Thanks
It depends on allocation availability and location and percentage of bikes sold by that dealer.
COAL-TRAIN
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COAL-TRAIN 10/19/2020 1:47pm
10/19/2020 1:47pm
nick610s wrote:
Where you get that?
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
CMT USA...(not the euro company). My company...I made it.
nick610s wrote:
Does it have a extra hole to access oil plug? I’m interested in that you got a website I can check out?
If I make it available to the public I will let ya know. Thanks...and yes it will have an oil drain plug but it's not on the one in pic. Thanks for your interest.
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mxvet90
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mxvet90 10/19/2020 2:25pm
10/19/2020 2:25pm
The allocation availability of the bikes makes sense but seems weird theirs not a high volume dealer in East Tennessee or Georgia. Just getting anxious to get one. Thanks
Honda820
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Honda820 10/19/2020 2:38pm
10/19/2020 2:38pm
It comes down to the bikes being delivered into the port of Los Angeles. They deliver to the west coast first and work across to the east coast. What doesn’t make sense to me is why they have them in PA and Ohio and none south of there.
mxvet90
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mxvet90 10/19/2020 2:49pm
10/19/2020 2:49pm
Exactly what I’m thinking. It’s like the truck got hijacked before it got to us, lol
Meister
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Meister 10/19/2020 3:24pm
10/19/2020 3:24pm
Mine hasn't showed up at a large dealership in Ohio.
Bogett287
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Bogett287 10/19/2020 4:59pm
10/19/2020 4:59pm Edited Date/Time 10/19/2020 5:00pm
I had drove from New York to Indiana to get one . In 15 minutes from the border long ride but was worth it .
Chance1216
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Chance1216 10/19/2020 5:22pm
10/19/2020 5:22pm Edited Date/Time 10/19/2020 5:22pm
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/10/18/454645/s1200_1017202054_HDR.jpg[/img]

nick610s wrote:
Where you get that?
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
CMT USA...(not the euro company). My company...I made it.
Awesome piece. If I recall correctly, you've said in the past, you could fabricate parts as long as you had a reference in hand?
COAL-TRAIN
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COAL-TRAIN 10/19/2020 5:47pm
10/19/2020 5:47pm
nick610s wrote:
Where you get that?
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
CMT USA...(not the euro company). My company...I made it.
Chance1216 wrote:
Awesome piece. If I recall correctly, you've said in the past, you could fabricate parts as long as you had a reference in hand?
No...i just run my composite company. I usually don't make stuff until I'm contracted and paid but I loved this new Honda so much I had to do my little bit of my own work to help it be perfect.
3
Chance1216
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Chance1216 10/19/2020 7:10pm
10/19/2020 7:10pm
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
CMT USA...(not the euro company). My company...I made it.
Chance1216 wrote:
Awesome piece. If I recall correctly, you've said in the past, you could fabricate parts as long as you had a reference in hand?
COAL-TRAIN wrote:
No...i just run my composite company. I usually don't make stuff until I'm contracted and paid but I loved this new Honda so much I had...
No...i just run my composite company. I usually don't make stuff until I'm contracted and paid but I loved this new Honda so much I had to do my little bit of my own work to help it be perfect.
My mistake. Nice work you've done regardless.
1

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Timo_2824
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Timo_2824 10/20/2020 6:06pm
10/20/2020 6:06pm
That frame is begging for a 2-stroke conversion.
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H4L
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H4L 10/20/2020 6:47pm
10/20/2020 6:47pm
hubbardmx50 wrote:
gk260, can you please stop talking? You’re making me want one! :laugh: Glad you like it, sounds like it’s going to be a great generation CRF450...
gk260, can you please stop talking? You’re making me want one! Laughing
Glad you like it, sounds like it’s going to be a great generation CRF450. It’s looking like 2022 will consist of suspension and map changes but everything else sounds solid.
I raced SwapMoto at Glen Helen yesterday and a few guys had them. They looked like they were much easier to ride later in the day than the 2020 and my 2017. I want to try one already.
Was thinking the same thing I'm starting to get that itch to sell my 20 WE & buy a 21. It's going to be hard waiting on the 22 WE.. Cool
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#434
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#434 10/21/2020 6:21am
10/21/2020 6:21am
Timo_2824 wrote:
That frame is begging for a 2-stroke conversion.
But not the airbox setup..
MBR
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MBR 10/27/2020 11:34am
10/27/2020 11:34am
Sorry be a little late for the party, but here is some thoughts (& whips) on Honda CRF450R by Tommy Searle and Andrea Bartolini.
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skeef
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skeef 10/27/2020 11:46am
10/27/2020 11:46am
How are you guy's welds on the header? I noticed it is messy, un-even and even seems like a weak point. I get welding on ti isn't easy but the welds on the tank is beautiful. Just curious If I got a weird one. Don't have a picture for reference atm.
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