Honda CRF450L Unveiled: The Dual Sport Everyone’s Been Wanting?

I would love one of these. I wish there were more off-road options in KW and surrounding area, esp for a machine you could ride to the trails, muck about and then ride home.
 
I'm intrigued. It should slot in somewhere between a DRZ400S and a KTM 500 EXC-F.
 
Ash said:
I'm intrigued. It should slot in somewhere between a DRZ400S and a KTM 500 EXC-F.
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Possibly priced more like the EXC-F than the DRZ... And sounds like the maintenance schedule is closer to the KTM as well. Might as well go team orange for the $500 more and get the made in Austria cred...

The trouble with dual sport is that tires that can withstand pavement are crap on the dirt (at least the sand conditions we get here). And the high riding position of Sumos don't lead to fun on the street/cornering. Sometimes best to have a street bike _and_ a dirt bike...
 
FLSTC said:
Possibly priced more like the EXC-F than the DRZ... And sounds like the maintenance schedule is closer to the KTM as well. Might as well go team orange for the $500 more and get the made in Austria cred...

The trouble with dual sport is that tires that can withstand pavement are crap on the dirt (at least the sand conditions we get here). And the high riding position of Sumos don't lead to fun on the street/cornering. Sometimes best to have a street bike _and_ a dirt bike...
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Exactly.When i saw the 450 info release,i kinda thought....shoulda waited! But after reading and thinking about what the price of performance always is,i'm still happy with my 250 Rally.1,000 km oil changes and motor rebuilds every 25k.No thanks.
Does look like a very nice job that Honda has done tho.
 
Why is it so heavy if it has performance specs? If i have to live with high performance maintenance it should be 50lbs lighter

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Ugh,my Rally is 10.1.Maybe there is a Rally 450 coming?
 
At 165km it takes 5.2 l to fill it.So it should be possible to get almost 300km.It only has 1200km on it.It might get a bit better.
 
Nope. I'd go Austrian before this (or see if Yammie follows with a 450 version of their own).
 
Ash said:
I'm intrigued. It should slot in somewhere between a DRZ400S and a KTM 500 EXC-F.
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Did I read this right? $10,500USD MSRP? 25HP? 20000km TBOH?

Not for me.
 
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Mad Mike said:
Did I read this right? $10,500USD MSRP? 25HP? 20000km TBOH?

Not for me.
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Wow, I am surprised they got that little power out of a 450 (the 450R has 60hp).

This part here is almost enough to push everyone to orange. How much would it cost you to cut 34 lbs out of your bike? My guess is thousands if it's even possible.
"the CRF450L is about 34 pounds heavier than a KTM 500 EXC-F. Also, depending on your budget, the target price of $10,399 might be a little steep but it is still about $600 cheaper than the Austrian 500s of the same style."
 
I made a mistake on the engine life - the CRF450L engine is designed to 20,000 miles (32,000 km) before it needs a full overhaul.
 
Lightcycle said:
That must be a typo. The CRF250L makes 24HP...
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The CRF450X which was apparently the base for the L makes 45 hp which makes much more sense. But data apparently direct from Honda says this engine is more breathless than a 70's V8.

http://www.hondaprokevin.com/2019-honda-crf450l-review-specs-motorcycle-dual-sport
"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 guys, you keep me on my toes when it comes to information like this and at times I do make mistakes so having thousands of extra eyes on the information can be helpful."

https://hondanews.eu/eu/en/motorcycles/media/pressreleases/131076/2019-crf450l10
This is from Honda's official webpage in Euroland.

I seriously doubt that Honda would release a ****ed up press release and if they did they would not let it stand for two or more days without either correcting it or deleting it.

While the chassis was more straightforward to convert from its CRF450R moto-crosser specification to a dual-purpose performance level, the 449cc engine needed more consideration from Honda’s engineers. Requirements were several: the need for it to pass EURO4 emissions and noise regulations, and to be usable for a wide variety of riders in many differing situations both on and off-road.

Peak power is 18.4kW, with peak torque of 32Nm. Important from the hobby trail-rider’s perspective is the engine’s reliability and gap between service intervals. And this is where the CRF450L’s build quality and design really stands out; it will go 32,000km between major strip downs, with an air filter oil and oil filter change every 1000km.
 
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GreyGhost said:
Peak power is 18.4kW, with peak torque of 32Nm. Important from the hobby trail-rider’s perspective is the engine’s reliability and gap between service intervals. And this is where the CRF450L’s build quality and design really stands out; it will go 32,000km between major strip downs, with an air filter oil and oil filter change every 1000km.
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This makes no sense. The CRF250L only requires oil and filter change every 12,800kms!

So the 450L makes the same power, has a smaller tank and a more intensive maintenance schedule than the 250L? And all this for TWICE as much money?

Are they trying *not* to sell this bike?
 
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If this is correct,then Honda has totally missed the mark.A D.S. in the real north american market needs much more street ability than that.My 250 Rally manual says 12.8 oil changes and 25.6 between valve "inspections"!
 
The suspicion is that the motor is neutered to achieve compliance and a few simple modifications (airflow and fueling) might bring back the lost 20 hp. Still, that's a lot of money for something that will be denied warranty because you have the motor setup the way it should have shipped.
 
I don't understand why they wouldn't just use the CB500 motor to make a CRF500L like they did with the CB250 motor to make the CRF250L? To me if you're making a dual sport motorcycle for recreational trail riding and you want it to be usable on the street too as a true dual sport, this would have been a no brainer.

The DRZ is getting pretty long in the tooth and there are a lot of guys who'd love a fuel injected Honda DS bike. The R+D on the 500 motor is already done so it's literally just figuring out how to bolt it into a moto frame and get the suspension right and you're done.
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