bike test - X hits the spot!
By TMX Archives on 13th May 05
The Isle of Man is a special place for the massive Honda corporation - after all, this is where the foundations of their racing heritage were laid.Here at dbr we aren't big into the road racing scene but being an Ulsterman - with a boyhood hero The Isle of Man is a special place for the massive Honda corporation - after all, this is where the foundations of their racing heritage were laid.Here at dbr we aren't big into the road racing scene but being an Ulsterman - with a boyhood hero who went by the name of Joey Dunlop - I can't help but have total respect for pure road racers.Honda chose the Isle of Man for the long-awaited CRF450X launch and test as the bike is made to touch all angles of performance for the off-road racer and general riding enthusiast.The 450 enduro market is growing so Honda know they have to get things right to make the desired impact. And with the launch being delayed until late April they seem to have been putting in the hours to get this puppy dialed-in to storm the market.This bike is made with a competitive edge, so I couldn't wait to get on track with the big red to see what was going on behind the headlight and side-stand action... Was the 450 power going to be too much for mere mortals? Was the chassis going to be too harsh and motocross style for the more gentle requirements of the average trail and enduro rider? Read on for the answer to these and possibly some other wee questions...Seating position and set-up is pretty easy with a Honda as everything just seems to feel right. So with a couple of tweaks of the bars and levers to a comfy setting I was off and running. With a whole 0.4 kilometres on my allocated puppy's clock I knew it wouldn't be too easy to get a feeling for the CRF-X for a while as it would need a bit of runnin' in.The track for day one was in great condition for testing as it was loose and dusty as well as having a few jumps and quite technical sections to give the bike a good seeing to over different types of terrain. When reeling off the laps it was easy to duck into the woods and streams to really get a feel for how the bike would react in competition on both checks and special tests.With every lap she just seemed to get better and better as the motor and suspension bedded in from its initial 'tight' feeling. There are a lot of moving parts in the modern four-stroke engine so things do take a while before they reach their maximum performance.The same thing goes for the suspension department as there was a harsh feel to the chassis to begin with. The Showa suspension fitted to the CRF-X is the same as the CRF-R model with a softer setting to help with long trail ride comfort without losing too much performance in the full-on world of competition. This in itself creates a dilemma for the manufacturer as they have to find a fine line between comfort and performance-related handling.From my point of view the guys at Honda have made a bike that suits my 15 stone frame and reasonable speed. With the forks and shock adjusted three clicks softer on the compression clickers the chassis started to feel really stable and balanced in all the different sections of the circuit as well as the technical stream and rock sections dotted around the riding area - although this didn't stop me getting stuck in the river!One simple change like this can sometimes make a big difference to the balance of the bike by allowing it to sit a little lower in its stroke, making the thing an all-round easier bike to ride in almost all situations (unless you're gonna jump 16 double decker buses at Wembley Stadium). This kind of balance is hard to find in any chassis so the engineers have really done their job well to come up with this kind of confidence-inspiring stability on the CRF-X.The only slight negative with the bike's handling would be for some of the fun riders out there who only really get a chance to ride the bike on the trails of this ever decreasing land. For these guys the fork and shock could do with being slightly softer as I failed to get any feeling of bottoming from either end - even when flat-landing into hillsides. As I said before, the chassis is pretty much perfect for me but probably a bit hard for the average trail rider.The handling of any four-stroke is relative to how the motor produces its power. The 450's fantastic handling is clearly helped by the motor which really can only be described as superb. Honda could have really got it wrong in the enduro market if they hadn't done a lot of development on the CRF-X motor. They have found a perfect power output from the lump which enables you to ride for hours with ease over whatever terrain you choose.The confidence you feel when riding the CRF-X is great. There were a number of road bike journos on the test with varying degrees of off-road experience. Chris 'Chile' Moss (a freelance journo and instructor at the Ron Haslam race school) really summed up the ease of ride when he commented on just how much he was enjoying the bike at the end of the two days of riding, even though his off-road experience amounts to two trips into the gravel at Donington and two clashes with the hedgerows at the TT!Honda have gone to town with some of the parts to make this CRF-X a solid and reliable beast. The massive radiators keep everything running smooth and if things do get a little bit too hot, the rad's header tank is situated down behind the sump guard in a low position to help with overall cooling flow.The footpegs, levers, rear brake pedal, Renthal bars and seat all give you a feeling of quality and control which helps makes the ride extra enjoyable.Over the two days of punishment I never had a loose spoke or problems with any other part on the bike which speaks volumes for the quality of the CRF-X. Even the larger capacity fuel tank doesn't really affect the ride as enduro and trail bikes have to be accepted as always being slightly wider than most MX machines.So there we have it, the CRF450X is finally here and after a day-and-a-half and 100-plus kilometres on the MX track and 100-plus miles on the great trails of the Isle of Man, I think I can safely say that the bike has been truly tried and tested.The verdict? The Honda CRF450X is a great bike - in fact, it rates as one of the best bikes I have ever ridden! Gold stars all round to Honda.A big thumbs-up to Roger, Scott, Helen, Greg and the rest of the Honda staff for working so hard to keep things moving. Oh yeah...thanks also go to Mossy for acting as entertainments manager!CRF450XBore and stroke: 96mm X 62mmCarburettor: Keihin FCR 40mmFront forks: Showa 47mm USD (315mm travel)Rear shock: Pro-Link/Showa (313mm travel)Front brake: 240mm discRear brake: 240mm discSeat height: 963mmWheelbase: 1481mmDry weight: 113kgWords by Geoff Walker