Great handling starts with a superior frame. The CRF450RX’s chassis was designed to be narrow, lightweight, and more responsive thanks to reduced lateral rigidity. The result is a bike that gets into, around, and out of corners faster.
For 2023, we’ve made the cylinder-head engine hangers stronger and stiffer, and made the frame thicker where the hangers attach. The whole assembly is more rigid now, to enhance handling.
More robust suspension mounting points this year enhance chassis and suspension stability. When the suspension works better, the chassis works better, and you get better drive and handling everywhere.
Designed in conjunction with the frame, by using narrower main members (just like the frame uses narrower main spars), we’ve matched the swingarm’s lateral rigidity to the rest of the chassis. What you get is a balanced, fully integrated approach to frame stiffness, letting you get around corners faster and with better feel.
The battery box is positioned low, for an improved center of gravity. It’s also easy to service, as well as water-tight, so there’s less to worry about when racing in wet conditions.
Increased front suspension stroke offers better handling and rider comfort. The axle holding fixtures are positioned at the bottom of each fork leg to help increase rigidity, and enhance steering precision and suspension performance.
The CRF450RX is a perfectly matched package. With the frame and swingarm featuring a retuned lateral stiffness, and the fork legs featuring a stiffer axle fixture, we joined the two with upper and lower triple clamps. Working in concert, they help improve and balance total rigidity, responsiveness and turning performance.
We’ve optimized the shape of the rear shock to match the frame, and gave it settings to work with the chassis. The shocks valving resets faster for better response. And, of course, the RX gets its own shock settings optimized for Enduro riding.
The 49mm Showa® fork is specially tuned just for the CRF450RX, and features a conventional spring design that helps increase the CRF450RX’s front-suspension precision, handling and feel.
The CRF450RX’s swingarm uses a special fabrication technique that lets us fine-tune the flex to work with the chassis and give you better rear traction and cornering precision.
The single-muffler exhaust is positioned closer to the center of the bike to help improve weight distribution.
New this year, we made the CRF450RX muffler stronger, by using a new outer shell. We also changed the inner pipe construction. Even with these improvements, it still weighs the same. Changing the muffler’s construction to a pressed-alloy design last year let us reshape it too, for better rider ergonomics and lighter weight.
The CRF450RX includes the first hydraulically actuated clutch we’ve offered outside of our works bikes. Made by Nissin, it’s the same design as in our Grand Prix MX machines, and performs better than third-party conversions. You get a clutch-lever pull that’s ten percent lighter at its peak, even though it’s paired with a stronger clutch. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about making a clutch-cable adjustment, even during the longest events.
Changing terrain requires changing power character. No worries: The CRF450RX features our Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC). You can choose from one of three settings to perfectly dial your bike in depending on how much traction is available.
The CRF450RX’s large front-brake disc measures a whopping 260mm. You get great brake feel and a pattern that cuts down on weight. Front and rear brake-disc guards are part of the package too.
This simple handlebar-mounted button lets you dial in engine power delivery character with a push of your thumb. Choose between Standard, Smooth and Aggressive, depending on track conditions or rider preference.
The 2.1-gallon capacity will let many riders complete a three-hour Enduro with just one fuel stop.
No detail is too small for our engineers—especially if they can make it smaller and lighter. That’s why they reduced the number of attaching fasteners from six to four last year.
Using computer-aided Computational Fluid Dynamics, we’ve fine-tuned the CRF450RX’s radiator shrouds to increase cooling. They’re now a one-piece design, but more important, better cooling equals more consistent power, longer into a race, especially when you’re really on the gas and working the engine hard.
We’re talking about a special ECU program here: push the button to select the mode, hold the throttle open, release the clutch, and the CRF450RX will do the rest, launching you into the first turn with a big advantage. It turns your bike into a holeshot-seeking machine!
On an enduro racer, less weight is always better. That’s why our engineers are such fanatics when it comes to trimming grams from the CRF450RX. You’ll feel the benefits everywhere: in acceleration, in suspension action, and most of all at the end of the day.
Brakes are for more than just stopping: they help you set up the bike in turns and jumps. Which is why we pay so much attention to detail like brake pads. They’re designed to last longer and give you even more stopping power—a real win/win to help you win.
The air filter and airbox shape are designed to help deliver more torque. You can access the airbox through the left number plate. And because the filter has no rubber gasket where it interfaces with the intake boot, cleaning and servicing the filter is faster and less messy than ever.
Kickstarting? Maybe if you’re riding in the vintage class, but not here. By ditching the kickstarter entirely, our engineers can make the CRF450RX lighter. Electric starters and lithium-ion batteries are so light now and so good that putting them on a bike like this is a win/win combination. And winning is what a CRF450RX is all about.
Controls used to be your bike’s shifter, clutch, and brakes. Now you have things like launch assist, selectable power modes, and more.
The CRF450RX’s Dunlop Geomax tires are specially designed for Enduro use. You read that right: the CRF450RX rolls on an 18-inch rear wheel.
To help boost the CRF450RX’s low-and midrange power delivery, for 2023 we’ve made changes to the intake tract and throttle body to boost intake-mixture speed. New ECU settings, ignition maps, and cam timing using less overlap are all inspired by our factory HRC racebikes, and all work together to help you get on the gas sooner and roost out of corners faster and harder.
Honda’s Unicam® cylinder heads combine the best of single- and double-overhead-cam designs. The configuration contributes to a compact engine that saves weight over a comparable dual-overhead-camshaft motor and also permits a narrow included valve angle. This flattens the combustion chamber to facilitate ignition flame propagation, allowing a high compression ratio. Since less space is taken up in the cylinder head, the camshaft sits lower in the head for a more compact engine and a lower center of gravity.
You can’t see this unless you take the engine apart, but you’ll notice it on the track. Our engineers redesigned the auto decompression hardware last year, and also moved it from the right side of the cam to the left. The result is less stalling at extreme low RPM (think deep into a turn without downshifting) as well as better rideability.
Together with the single-muffler exhaust, the oval-shaped centralized exhaust port boosts power from 5000 rpm up, and increases exhaust efficiency.
The CRF450RX features a downdraft intake tract and FI body to help increase both power and fuel-metering precision. It’s part of the reason the CRF450RX offers such explosive power and massive torque, especially out of the starting line and in the critical first 100 feet of the race to the first turn.
Lightweight titanium intake valves cut down on reciprocating mass and permit the use of smaller valve springs, reducing overall engine height.
By steepening the angle from 30 to 60 degrees, the injector now sprays fuel all the way back to the throttle butterfly. The engine gets a cooler, denser fuel charge for more power and better torque. It’s little details like this that put the CRF450RX up front.
The CRF450RX’s fuel-injection system sprays twice per intake cycle. That helps increase fuel atomization without adding the weight or complexity of a second injector. The better fuel atomization means more power in the midrange and on overrev—you’ll feel it the first time you race.
Honda engineering at its best: The CRF450RX’s cylinder head features a highly refined combustion-chamber shape and generous squish area, allowing an impressive 13.5:1 compression ratio for superior efficiency and power.
The CRF450RX uses our latest finger-follower rocker design. The Unicam cylinder head remains one of the most efficient in the off-road world, giving you the design and performance of a double-overhead-cam layout but the compactness of a single-overhead-cam design.
A factory skid plate is light and offers the engine and lower-frame protection that a racer demands.
Narrow bodywork makes it a lot easier to move around on your bike, and maximizes your riding freedom.
Fully integrated handguards attach right to the control-lever pivots, are color-matched to your new bike, and are even vented.
The aluminum Renthal Fatbar features a bend that’s even better than the legendary Honda “CR” bar. It’s the new standard of excellence—you’re gonna love it!
Sometimes you need to think out of the box—that’s what we did with the CRF450RX’s seat. We moved the attaching bolts from the rear to the front, and the tongue from the front to the rear. The result? When it’s time for service, removing and installing your new CRF450RX’s seat is easier than ever.
The CRF450RX features a flat seat/tank junction, including a titanium fuel tank. The superior ergonomics make it easier to move forward and back on the bike, increasing your control.
They may not help you go faster, but the black DID DirtStar rims sure look good.
Real enduro bikes need a sidestand, and we’ve given the CRF450RX a great one. Since there’s no muffler on the left side, we could tuck the sidestand in closer when it’s folded for better clearance.
You may not notice it at first, but re-routing the CRF450RX’s throttle cables and hydraulic clutch line let our engineers shave almost half a pound off the bike. Light is always right!
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