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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by George Guille, It's going to be a long 300km... Bolivian Amazon

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by George Guille
It's going to be a long 300km...
Bolivian Amazon



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  #1  
Old 23 May 2018
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new honda crf 450L next year

so next year will be really interesting, new yamaha T7, new ktm 790 adventure and new honda crf 450L dual sport with longer service interval, weight 289 lb (131kg)

https://www.upshiftonline.com/bikes-...-model-release

https://thumpertalk.com/articles/hon...l-launch-r871/


Last edited by tremens; 23 May 2018 at 20:39.
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  #2  
Old 23 May 2018
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There's been a very similar 'street legal' CRF 450 RXL racer around for a couple of years in the UK. See pic.
Looks near identical to this 'new' one, both based on the 450R.
It's possible America never got the 450RXL which is why they're getting so excited.

It's not the softer tuned, bigger version of the 250L trail bike I was hoping for.
It's more like a 'red 450EXC' or WR450, but that could be good enough for some.
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new honda crf 450L next year-s-l1600.jpg  


Last edited by Chris Scott; 23 May 2018 at 23:02.
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  #3  
Old 23 May 2018
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It seems to me that the engine is just slightly modified crf450x. The compresion ratio is the same. Service intervals will be adequate.


It is not a stonger version of crf250l that we all were waiting for...
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  #4  
Old 23 May 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomek View Post
It seems to me that the engine is just slightly modified crf450x. The compresion ratio is the same. Service intervals will be adequate.
you're probably right, looks like crf450x "tuned" for European market,
but over 12 kg more of street @#$? They promise longer service interval though, so maybe takes more oil in.
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  #5  
Old 24 May 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
There's been a very similar 'street legal' CRF 450 RXL racer around for a couple of years in the UK. See pic.
Looks near identical to this 'new' one, both based on the 450R.
It's possible America never got the 450RXL which is why they're getting so excited.

It's not the softer tuned, bigger version of the 250L trail bike I was hoping for.
It's more like a 'red 450EXC' or WR450, but that could be good enough for some.
Im afraid youre very corrcet about this one. 2,1 gallon tank (US gallon) price 10600 USD, its an enduro bike, not a potential travel bike. What are the service intervals btw?

Disappointing from Honda this time....
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Old 24 May 2018
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25 HP and oil & filter changes every 1000 kms/620 miles???

2019 Honda CRF450L Review of Specs / Features + R&D Info | All-NEW Dual-Sport Motorcycle!
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Old 24 May 2018
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Quote:
25 HP...
You quoted correctly but surely a typo - more like 45+.

Anyway, it means we can now put the idea of a CRF450L travel bike out of our minds and all settle for a nice Himayalan ;-)
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Old 25 May 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
You quoted correctly but surely a typo - more like 45+.

Anyway, it means we can now put the idea of a CRF450L travel bike out of our minds and all settle for a nice Himayalan ;-)
I think I will go for an old-fashioned Bullet...
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Old 26 May 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
You quoted correctly but surely a typo - more like 45+.

Anyway, it means we can now put the idea of a CRF450L travel bike out of our minds and all settle for a nice Himayalan ;-)
not a typo, just corked street legal specs, same with ktm for instance.
I couldn't ride it until dealer removed emission nonsense stuff.

Last edited by tremens; 3 Jun 2018 at 09:41.
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  #10  
Old 27 May 2018
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I think you are right.

Quote:
Edit / Update: Quite a few people have expressed concern on multiple forums, comment section below and on social media etc that the CRF450L’s horsepower rating on this page is a typo or incorrect. The horsepower rating below is not a typo on my end. The 2019 CRF450L horsepower and torque numbers are directly from Honda. Thanks as always for the feedback though .... hondaprokevin
Quote:
... The street-legal bike will also boast longer service intervals than its motocrosser brother, with the first major service [others call it 'rebuild'] coming at 32,000km. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of power and the new bike will make just 24.6bhp.

Based on the new ~60hp 450R they say, but massively detuned to make a tad more hp than a 250L - but with 40% more torque. Nice.
But then it gets a '7.6L titanium tank', dirt racer looks but no ABS (mandatory for EU OTR, no)?

All seems very odd, but should be amazingly economical.

Perhaps a rally-ised CRF450L 'Africa Single' coming soon – once they win the Dak.

More interesting speculation

I admit I am slightly more interested. A low-tuned and therefore reliable long-distance motor inside a great chassis. I recall thinking that of the XR650L (after previous Teneres).

My PoV here

Last edited by Chris Scott; 28 May 2018 at 10:43.
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  #11  
Old 27 May 2018
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Qqqq

Looks like a mini sub industry will crop up to bring this new CRF450L to life.
But will it be worth it? Already see problems selling it as a dual sport with massive 37" seat height! Right away, Honda has limited their market. Dirt bikes sales still suck in this segment. Dual sport doing better, but this bike may not attract the hordes they hope for.

Next is the price. Absurd. At least $2K too high, IMO.

If in the market for such a bike I'd prefer to start with a CRF250L or WR250R and upgrade to a 350cc (or whatever)power up kit. Not that expensive to do and some kits are proving quite reliable long term.

With current 250's, aftermarket support is already there, so no waiting for important upgrades which will take Honda and aftermarket years to achieve.

But I'm glad to see Honda launch this boat. It will have to cross an ocean to get where it needs to be. But the world has waited for a 450 dual sport from the big Four for about 10 years now.

This would be the PERFECT time for Suzuki to finally step up and do their long promised major revision of their old DRZ400S. A Suzuki rep (corporate guy from Brea,CA HQ) said this bike was coming back in .... 2007!

Imagine a modernized, all new DRZ400 or 450. Suzuki could do a full "Adventure" version or Rally version.
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  #12  
Old 2 Jun 2018
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fwiw. I speculated that this new Honda is likely to have the same sort of short-throttle stop that the Euro-homologated WR450F comes with, and also KTM EXCs (although these are almost always removed prior to actual sale/delivery) - it's a way to keep the drive-by noise low on competition-enduro derived machines, by restricting the maximum RPM mechanically.

Sure enough, someone better than me at maths over on ADVrider crunched the number recently:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hellequin
Ok so google tells me:

Power = torque × revs ÷ 9548.8

Assuming the (peak) torque figure of 32nm is correct, to get 18.4kw we need to be at 5500rpm. Seems way too low to me for peak power.

Even in L configuration tuned for reliability and durability, it surely has to redline at at least 10,000rpm, with peak torque between 7 and 8000 and peak power between 8 and 9??

Of course torque output varies throughout the rev range but just at an initial glance the much-touted power and torque figures don't make sense.
Which would certainly suggest that while this bike may only make a 'maximum' of 25bhp and 32Nm of torque, it's at 5,500rpm - nowhere near the actual redline this machine is capable of.

De-restricted I can't see how this engine would make less than the mid 40s bhp, and offer a similar improvement in torque higher up the rev range too.

Jx
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Old 3 Jun 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMo (& piglet) View Post
fwiw. I speculated that this new Honda is likely to have the same sort of short-throttle stop that the Euro-homologated WR450F comes with, and also KTM EXCs (although these are almost always removed prior to actual sale/delivery) - it's a way to keep the drive-by noise low on competition-enduro derived machines, by restricting the maximum RPM mechanically.

Which would certainly suggest that while this bike may only make a 'maximum' of 25bhp and 32Nm of torque, it's at 5,500rpm - nowhere near the actual redline this machine is capable of.

De-restricted I can't see how this engine would make less than the mid 40s bhp, and offer a similar improvement in torque higher up the rev range too.

Jx
Both WR Yamaha's (250 and 450) in USA also came restricted. My '07 was a Carb version and not only restricted at throttle stop but also electronically. You had to cut "the gray wire" to get the right ignition curve. Better but you weren't done yet.

Then ... you had to change out the stock (very mild) needle, change are air or leak jets and such ... and finally ... the thing made A LOT more horsepower than stock bike.

As I said in post above ... a mini industry could arise in derestricting these new CRF450's.

And I think you and others are correct in that 40 HP is totally doable on that bike since the full race version makes over 60 HP.

I'm guessing that clever tuners will quickly figure in a hotter cam and high comp piston into the mix. top it off with different F.I. map and better breathing.

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Old 3 Jun 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMo (& piglet) View Post
fwiw. I speculated that this new Honda is likely to have the same sort of short-throttle stop that the Euro-homologated WR450F comes with, and also KTM EXCs (although these are almost always removed prior to actual sale/delivery) - it's a way to keep the drive-by noise low on competition-enduro derived machines, by restricting the maximum RPM mechanically.

Sure enough, someone better than me at maths over on ADVrider crunched the number recently:

Power = torque × revs ÷ 9548.8

Assuming the (peak) torque figure of 32nm is correct, to get 18.4kw we need to be at 5500rpm. Seems way too low to me for peak power.


The problem with this calculation is that Honda hasn't told us what rpm the HP and Torque numbers occur at. Peak torque and HP seldom if ever occur at the same RPM.In order to solve the above equation for RPM, we would have to know torque and HP at the same RPM, or peak torque and HP at their different RPM, and that is not provided by Honda in anything I have seen yet.

Inertial dynos work by measuring the rate of acceleration of a known mass (the drum) through an RPM range, to get a HP curve, then a Torque curve is calculated from HP and RPM.

Think of it this way, after the RPM that peak torque occurs, HP can and usually does, continue to rise with RPM, because RPM is rising faster than torque is falling, at least to a point.

Anyway, the point is, the data we have to work with is incomplete.
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  #15  
Old 3 Jun 2018
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Reports I have read suggest 6 gears, different cam/timing and longer service intervals than the X/R.

Not just an Enduro racer with lights..

Until Honda release official date, we're just speculating. And even when they do, it doesn't make it fact !!


I guess we'll find out shortly.
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