Perhaps more than any manufacturer, Honda is synonymous with motocross, which is understandable considering the brand's rich history in the sport. For half a century, Honda CR and CRF models have performed at the elite level, with legendary riders delivering a huge collection of National and World Championships. The legacy that started with Gary Jones's original, 1973 CRF250M Elsinore leads directly to the current pinnacle of motocross technology and performance – the modern-day CRF Performance line, campaigned by Team Honda HRC riders Chase Sexton, Ken Roczen and Jett and Hunter Lawrence. For 2023, Honda celebrates that heritage by offering a 50th Anniversary Edition of the model, featuring a livery reminiscent of the legendary '80s CRs that ruled AMA Motocross and Supercross. Both the standard version and the 50th Anniversary Edition feature important engine upgrades to improve corner-exit acceleration, as well as chassis updates to improve handling.
HISTORY
The year is 1973. Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, and construction of the Sears Tower is nearing completion in Chicago. The sport of motocross is all the rage in the United States, and Honda is eager to get in on the fun with its first dedicated motocross bike.
Founded just 14 years ago, but already having transformed the U.S. motorcycle industry, the company's American subsidiary plays a major role in the new project. Large Project Leader Kazuhiro Okimoto is based at Honda Motor's Japanese headquarters, but he and U.S. R&D man George Ethridge remain in close contact throughout. The bike – the CR250M Elsinore – is even named after the Southern California Grand Prix made famous in On Any Sunday (which premiered in 1971), and it boasts 7.1 inches of front-suspension travel, weighs a paltry 214 pounds and has a 248 cc two-stroke engine that produces 28 horsepower. Its retail price is $1,145, but the magazine tests defend the lofty sum: "A production motocrosser that is more 'works' like in power and components than any machine to date," raves Cycle News, and Dirt Bike enthuses, "It's difficult to write a test on a motorcycle that has so little wrong, and so much right."
Honda enters the AMA Motocross National Championship's sophomore season and enlists the help of a young, motorcycle-mad family from Hacienda Heights, a half-hour east of Downtown Los Angeles. Don Jones is the team manager, and sons Dewayne and Gary are riders, along with a 16-year-old phenom named Marty Tripes. Even mother Melinda is involved, sewing the riders' now-iconic red, white and blue jerseys and (to address rider complaints of glare from the bikes' polished-aluminum fuel tanks) providing the forest-green sewing-machine paint that is used to add a less-reflective stripe.
Gary Jones gives Honda its first AMA Motocross National victory at the May 13 opener in Hialeah, Florida. He goes on to take a total of eight overall wins, with Tripes adding two, and on September 9 in New Orleans, Gary wraps up Honda's first AMA Motocross National Championship.
The next year, Honda follows up with a 123 cc version, the CR125M Elsinore, which touts 20 horsepower and weighs just 180 pounds. In fact, whereas the 250 has an aluminum tank and rear sprocket, Honda uses steel for those parts on the 125 in order to stay over the FIM minimum weight of 176 pounds. "The little Honda two-popper will consistently outride most any bike," Cycle News says. "At the same time, there is no sacrifice in precision."
With a retail price of $749, the 125 sells even better than the 250, and a hot new Team Honda phenom named Marty Smith races it to the inaugural AMA 125 National Motocross Championship in 1974, repeats in '75, then rides a works Type II RC400 Honda to the 1977 AMA 500 National Motocross Championship. Honda's American motocross program becomes so successful that in 1979, the CR250R Elsinore becomes the first Honda vehicle of any type to be produced in the U.S., at the Marysville, Ohio, plant (preceding the first U.S.-manufactured Honda automobile by three years).
An exciting new motocross variation called supercross is now dazzling stadium crowds across the country and pushing U.S. riders – previously a step behind their European counterparts – to new levels. Now under the direction of Dave Arnold and Roger De Coster, the American Team Honda motocross project begins to dominate '80s motocross and supercross. In 1981, an all-Honda Team USA travels to Germany and Belgium and takes America's first Motocross des Nations and Trophee des Nations wins, with riders Donnie Hansen, Danny LaPorte, Johnny O'Mara and Chuck Sun. The following year, Hansen delivers Honda's first indoor AMA crown, and another all-Honda lineup – this time with O'Mara joined by David Bailey, Danny Chandler and Jim Gibson – again sweeps the Motocross and Trophee des Nations, in Switzerland.
Over the course of five decades since Jones's initial title, Honda will produce a long list of successful motocross models, including a transition to four-strokes beginning with the 2002 CRF450R. During this time, riders like Sun, O'Mara, Ron Lechien, Bailey, Darrell Schultz, Micky Dymond, Rick Johnson, Jeff Stanton, Jean-Michel Bayle, Mike Kiedrowski, Doug Henry, Steve Lamson, Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael and, in 2021, a teenage Australian named Jett Lawrence, add a long list of AMA Supercross and Motocross National Championships, while their overseas counterparts do likewise in the FIM Motocross World Championship.
In 2022, Honda celebrates its motocross heritage by introducing a special 50th Anniversary Edition of the 2023 CRF450R.
UPDATES FOR 2023
- To celebrate the milestone of Honda producing motocross models, an available 50th Anniversary Edition features graphics and colors that are a nod to the CR models that dominated 1980s AMA Supercross and Motocross. This version features a blue seat cover, white number plates, gold rims, gold handlebar, gray-metallic triple clamps and special graphics.
- Narrower intake-port shape and longer intake funnel, for improved engine response and torque, resulting in improved acceleration on corner exits.
- Cam profile is changed, further increasing torque.
- Throttle body diameter is reduced from 46 mm to 44 mm, for smoother power deliver at low speeds.
- Frame rigidity optimized by increasing material thickness at front joint and at upper shock mount, enabling freer functioning of front and rear suspension.
- Engine hangers changed from aluminum to steel, to match frame changes and improve front traction.
- Because changes to frame rigidity allow freer suspension movement, shock's spring rate is increased without introducing harshness.
- Fork setting changed to match rear suspension and ensure front/rear balance.
- Muffler is quieter thanks to change of inner-pipe design. Switch to heat-treated aluminum for the muffler body increases strength without increasing overall weight.
- Radiator shroud graphics feature new HRC logo.
ENGINE / DRIVETRAIN
The CRF450R engine boasts exceptional bottom-end and midrange power and torque, making for a linear delivery that is strong but manageable, even as the rider tires, while peak power is also very good. A five-hole piston oil jet and dual 12 mm drum scavenge pump manage lubrication.
Cylinder Head: The design of the Unicam® cylinder head, with the decompressor system's counterweight on the left end of the camshaft, contributes to combustion stability in the extremely low rpm range and for a strong-but-manageable power delivery on corner exits, for example, as well as resistance to stalling. For 2023, engineers followed the direction of Team Honda HRC by updating the cam profile for better low-end torque. As before, the cylinder head cover is magnesium, with a thin-wall design for weight savings.
Intake: The CRF450R features a downdraft intake design that delivers strong, efficient power, and a large air boot (4.1 liters on the clean side of the air filter) achieves in strong torque at low rpm. Following feedback from HRC, the throttle body has a smaller diameter (44 mm instead of 46), for smoother power delivery at low speed. In addition, the intake port has a narrower shape, while the air funnel is longer, a combination that results in increased low-end torque and improved throttle response. The air box is accessed with the removal of a single side-panel bolt. The 60º fuel-injector angle enables the spray to reach all the way to the back of the butterfly, thus cooling the upstream side of the intake path for maximum intake efficiency and torque feel.
Exhaust: The engine's exhaust port is centrally located, has an oval shape and is very straight, optimizing exhaust efficiency and torque characteristics. With the engine's central exhaust-port location, the exhaust header and muffler are positioned close to the vehicle's centerline for a slim profile, contributing to freedom of movement for the rider. For 2023, the muffler has a new inner-pipe design to reduce noise without affecting power or weight (the entire system weighs 8.5 pounds). In addition, the muffler body is now made from a new aluminum material called A6061-T6, which is five times more resistant to impacts. As before, two resonators (one after the front U-bend and another at the upstream end of the muffler) boost power and reduce noise.
Clutch: The clutch is hydraulically actuated and has eight plates and a large volume for good durability with minimal slippage and light lever pull.
Electronics: A gear-position sensor allows the use of three specific ignition maps for first and second, third and fourth, and fifth gears. There are options for Standard, Smooth and Aggressive ignition maps, selectable via an all-new handlebar-mounted switch, enabling simple tuning depending on rider preference or course conditions.
In addition, Honda Selectable Torque Control offers three levels of intervention. HSTC monitors rpm spikes and responds by temporarily reducing torque by retarding ignition timing and controlling PGM-FI to aid rear traction. The three different modes differ in drive-management level, for differing riding conditions or rider preferences:
- Mode 1: The system intervenes most lightly and waits the longest to do so—useful for reducing wheel-spin and maintaining control in tight corners.
- Mode 2: A midpoint between modes 1 and 3 in terms of how quickly and assertively the system intervenes.
- Mode 3: The system intervenes most quickly and assertively, which helps in conditions that are slippery or muddy.
The CRF450R's handlebar-mounted switch allows selection between three modes, depending on conditions and rider preference. The HSTC system can also be switched off completely.
HRC Launch Control provides the best option for a strong start and also has three modes to choose from:
- Level 1: 9,500 rpm, for high-traction conditions and/or advanced riders
- Level 2: 8,500 rpm, for high-traction conditions and/or average riders
- Level 3: 8,250 rpm, for slippery conditions and/or novice riders
The Engine Mode Select Button (EMSB) alters the engine's characteristics and three maps are available to suit riding conditions or rider preference:
- Mode 1: Standard
- Mode 2: Smooth
- Mode 3: Aggressive
CHASSIS / SUSPENSION
The motorcycle's heavier components are positioned centrally and as low as possible for precise cornering without sacrificing high-speed tracking, and to achieve minimal squat under acceleration and negligible pitching during hard braking. For 2023, updates to the suspension settings and frame improve stability and turning.
Frame / Swingarm / Subframe: The frame uses narrow main spars and features optimized reinforcement ribbing on the backside of the pivot plate, contributing to the low frame weight of just 18.5 pounds. For 2023, frame rigidity has been optimized by increasing the thickness of the aluminum material at the front joint, from 4 mm to 6 mm. Similarly, the material at the upper shock mount has been increased from 4 mm to 6 mm. These changes allow the front and rear suspension components to move more freely and avoid binding, improving stability and bump absorption. In addition, the engine hangers are now made from steel instead of aluminum, a switch that works with the revised frame rigidity to improve front traction.
As before, the subframe features a simple design that weighs just 2.0 pounds. The swingarm is narrow, providing good clearance in ruts, with rigidity tuned to maximize rear traction and cornering.
Suspension: As before, the Pro-Link® rear-suspension system uses a Showa shock absorber with adjusters on the right side and an ultra-light steel shock spring. Because of the updates to the frame rigidity, the shock now moves more freely, which allowed the switch to a stiffer spring rate (from 54N/mm to 56N/mm) without introducing harshness. Hold-up is improved as a result, for better performance in ruts.
Front suspension comprises a 49 mm inverted Showa® coil-spring fork and a gas-liquid separation structure. For 2023, the fork setting has been updated to the changes to the shock, for proper front-rear balance. The upper and lower triple clamps are designed to offer a good rigidity balance for optimum handling and feel through corners.
Wheels: Black D.I.D rims deliver durable performance and good looks. Petal-style brake rotors disperse heat, and a low-expansion front brake hose gives strong feel and consistent stopping power. The CRF450R comes with Dunlop's excellent Geomax MX33 tires, generally considered to be the industry standard for soft to intermediate terrain. Developed with the help of top motocross pros, MX33s feature technologies that deliver superior grip, slide control, bump absorption and durability.
DESIGN
To celebrate Honda's five-decade legacy of producing top-level motocross models, the 2023 CRF450R is available in a 50th Anniversary Edition version that features a look reminiscent of the RC and CR machines that dominated AMA Supercross and Motocross in the 1980s. On this version, the seat cover is blue, the front and side number plates are white, the rims and handlebar are gold, the triple clamp is gray-metallic, and there are special graphics.
As before, both versions of the CRF450R have slim bodywork, with a smooth junction of the radiator shroud and side panel, facilitating rider movement and cornering. Each radiator shroud is produced in a single piece instead of two separate parts, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) were used to design air-outlet vents in the shrouds. The radiator grills optimize the number of fins and their angle, maximizing cooling performance.
The seat base has rearward-facing tongues and front-located mounting tabs, easing installation, and using acceleration forces to keep the seat securely in place. The 1.7 gallon fuel tank is made of lightweight titanium.
Only eight fasteners are used to secure all of the main bodywork components—both radiator shrouds, both side panels and the seat, and all of the bolts for the main bodywork parts have 8 mm heads, simplifying maintenance.
A single switch cluster addresses several functions: engine stop, ride-modes and Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC). The starter and HRC launch control are on the right side of the Renthal® Fatbar® handlebar. There are two locations for the handlebar clamp, and the clamp can be turned 180º; as a result, four different mounting positions are possible, through a range of 26 mm.
