So after an underwhelming new CRF450R intro

9/18/2020 5:23am
It got me wondering...whatever happen to Honda’s electric bike they debuted in Japan? It looked pretty close to production ready, and you would think that they wouldn’t show their hand in public unless the introduction was imminent.
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Markee
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9/18/2020 6:17am
Umm, what did you expect? They improved on a great bike by making it lighter, feels lighter, useable power improved, better straight line stability, turns great, ergonomics, spring forks, looks great, one muffler that isn't 2 ft long....
DoctorJD
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9/18/2020 6:22am
Markee wrote:
Umm, what did you expect? They improved on a great bike by making it lighter, feels lighter, useable power improved, better straight line stability, turns great...
Umm, what did you expect? They improved on a great bike by making it lighter, feels lighter, useable power improved, better straight line stability, turns great, ergonomics, spring forks, looks great, one muffler that isn't 2 ft long....
Agree. I'm wondering what everyone was expecting. AMA minimum weight? Autopilot mode? Bakes cookies in the airbox? Really, what am I missing?
9/18/2020 6:32am Edited Date/Time 9/18/2020 7:10am
I’m not saying anything bad about the new bike, it just isn’t as earth shattering as I expected after listening to Keefer hype it up on PulpMX the last couple months. I’m just wondering what is going on with the electric bike. I’m pretty confident that electric will be the future, for MX, anyway.
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AH387
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9/18/2020 7:12am
I just think Honda always seems to have the most built up hype from the community, since they have long been considered the top brand, for most of our lives. Each time in the social media era that Honda had a new bike coming out, you would expected it to completely shatter every other bike, based on the hype. But so far, that hasn't happened (09, 13, 17 and 21.) They were all good bikes, but never seemed like they were the clear-cut best 450. There is no way the bike could ever match the hype. That being said, whether people like it or not, the 16 KTMs were the real game-changer (17 if you want to really pin-point it, because the suspension was finally good.) That was and still is the bench mark for the Japanese brands to get to as far as quality components, good neutral handling, motor, weight, hydro clutch, a good electronics package, brakes etc. I know people hate KTM but that's the truth. In '21, the japanese brands still are chasing some of the things that KTM brought in '16. So it is what it is.
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bayodome
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9/18/2020 7:25am
I’m not saying anything bad about the new bike, it just isn’t as earth shattering as I expected after listening to Keefer hype it up on...
I’m not saying anything bad about the new bike, it just isn’t as earth shattering as I expected after listening to Keefer hype it up on PulpMX the last couple months. I’m just wondering what is going on with the electric bike. I’m pretty confident that electric will be the future, for MX, anyway.
It's an ICE dirt bike. Geometry, power, weight...there's only so much that can change. There's a reason that 20 year-old bikes can still be competitive today: Not a whole lot has changed because manufacturers have more or less found the sweet spot of performance among all of the required categories. Earth shattering news, as you said, will be a race ready electric MXer from one of the established companies.
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nskerb
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9/18/2020 7:30am
If it doesn’t pull wheelies in every gear I don’t want it
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mxracer828
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9/18/2020 7:49am
No cookies in the air box? I’m out
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MX558
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9/18/2020 7:51am
It does seem over hyped for sure . Yes it's better but every test rider definitely had complaints about the suspension and mapping which I guess is an easy fix but I for one expected honda to hit it out of the park for all the hype it received .
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mxb2
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9/18/2020 8:07am
Bike looks great. Imo.
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captmoto
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9/18/2020 9:23am
I think it's only underwhelming because people are expecting revolutionary changes like the cartridge fork in 86(?), the motor and razor sharp handling in 92 and the way improved 08 CRF450. Remember the day of Hondacorss Action people bitched about?
FGR01
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9/18/2020 9:37am
People are dumb. The bike was already excellent and a very popular machine. Honda specifically addressed the common gripes about the bike to make evolutionary progress in the right direction. They smoothed out the power, made the suspension plusher and the chassis less rigid, lost weight, and improved the handling. It sounds like they added just enough KX450 and KTM450 to satisfy most people. Sounds like a pretty damn good bike to me.
skeef
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9/18/2020 9:47am
It sounds better than my KTM.
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sandtrack315
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9/18/2020 10:17am
You people are insufferable. I am sure it's a great bike, Honda just put the forks too far down in the clamps and had the suspension a bit soft for most test riders.

The only real issue is the ECU mapping, where it is too rich right off the bottom. Honda should be on that. Keefer said the test unit he worked on did not have that. They must have made a mistake somewhere. Easy fix, though.
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crowe660
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9/18/2020 10:24am
RV was right about Keefer?
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Steve125
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9/18/2020 10:44am
If you think its underwhelming..(I don't) Just wait til the Red valve cover comes out. It should have the mapping sorted.
SwapperMX
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9/18/2020 11:30am
Well I'm interested in the actual question and point of this thread. The electric bike that Honda tested. My guess would be that it would be way too expensive for them to release that bike as a production model at this stage. And 2, they will likely want better battery life from the batteries before making production models. That bike sure did show a lot of promise though for what is possible from an electric model. I wonder if the MXGP or the Japan MX series would add an E-bike only championship similar to what MotoGP have done??
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Brent
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9/18/2020 11:52am
I’m not saying anything bad about the new bike, it just isn’t as earth shattering as I expected after listening to Keefer hype it up on...
I’m not saying anything bad about the new bike, it just isn’t as earth shattering as I expected after listening to Keefer hype it up on PulpMX the last couple months. I’m just wondering what is going on with the electric bike. I’m pretty confident that electric will be the future, for MX, anyway.
...so the Keefer clickbait hype for the "earth shattering" CRF 450 sucked you in? I find that hard to believe.

That bike for all it's new shit, still weights almost 1/8 of a ton.

Brett you have been around long enough to know better...
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