In other news....

hershey

hershey

PR Elite
Tomac passes on MXoN
Webb is going factory yami in the 450 class with Reed next year
JS7 , to the dismay of John259, is still racing with Suzuki next year

Anyone else care to add new mx news??
 
How about j-mart to geico on another 250 deal? That's gotta be a win for Honda. Outdoor titles are legit and he's done it twice.


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Why in the world would J-Mart go to Geico? That's nuts.

Webb will be awesome at Yamaha. He has an old school never give up attitude. Not many riders today have that instinct.

Bubba.........well, Mike Webb obviously is not on a performance contact with Bonuses because he has not done anything as a team manager in years. His biggest accomplishment is losing Ryan Dungey.
 
Hearing Yosh might be an all 250 team next year. Not sure where that puts bubba. Who knows if that will happen though. And j-mart didn't have a choice. Had an rch deal that fell through for 450s and he and star don't get along. He's currently pitting out of an ez-up behind the rig...


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I'm excited to see Webb on a 450. I watched that kid tear it up when I stayed at crystal coast on 85s.
 

Can't believe this isn't being discussed at all ...


First Look: 2017 Honda CRF450R and CRF450RX 3
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It's finally time, the bike that's had the most talk of the year, the 2017 Honda CRF450R and its official info are finally revealed. After seeing it through a fence and down our lens a few weeks ago, we're glad to see that the rumors were quite true and to confirm a lot of what he had learned the other day, along with surprising us with some goodies we didn't expect.


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Starting off, the forks, what everyone wants to know! Yes, the 2017 CRF450R does come with spring forks. More specifically, a production version of Showa's latest generation twin-chamber A-kit level suspenders. These forks feature 49mm lower tubes, 14mm damping rods, and 25mm pistons; the same stuff used in Honda's own works level forks just a few years ago. Having these forks on a production bike are a huge step, namely because of the cost involved in production. Just to confirm for those still scratching their heads, yes, these forks have springs in both sides and no air chamber to fiddle with.

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Probably the second highest question on people's minds, does it come with electric start? Not quite, but the rumors were true, it will be an optional part. The CRF450RX comes with it stock and you can get the electric starter and wiring harness as separate part numbers for the R model. This kit doesn't have an exact price yet, but is expected to cost around $650 and doesn't include a battery. The quality and weight of battery will depend on how much you'd like to personally spend. The electric started will be fairly straight forward to install, as there are mounting points on the back of the engine case for it, along with a plug in the backside of the kickstarter housing, which can be removed to insert the drive mechanism from the new electric starter. Optionally, the kickstart mechanism, shaft, and lever could be removed, then plug that case area to lose a bit of the weight gained by the electric starter.

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Massive talking point for the new CRF450R is in the power plant. While the engine is technically all new, there are a few key changes. One, the intake is a downdraft design, similar to the Yamaha, but without spinning the cylinder head around. Due to a lower mounted shock, they were able to get their intake tract above the shock, giving it a straight shot into the cylinder head (without having to wrap around the shock first) and allowing for less intake angle while entering the combustion chamber. To match this, the valve angles have been decreased, and the valves enlarged by 2mms.

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Beyond this, they've also bumped the compression ratio from 12.5:1 to 13.5:1. Along with more aggressive cam lift and duration, this engine pumps out quite a bit more power. How much? According to the American Honda staff, the 2016 model produced 54.5 horsepower to the crank on their engine dyne, while the 2017 engine is putting out just about 60 horsepower on the same engine dyno. Equating to roughly a five-and-a-half (5.5) horsepower gain! Putting the Honda back into a more competitive fight in pure numbers when compared to the competition.

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These diagrams and models will give you better insight into the work Honda put in on the intake tract and overall design.

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Because of this new intake design, the shock layout needed an overhaul. The top mount for the shock was moved 39mm father down in the frame, the angle was changed, along with the shock reservoir design. In the end, with a lower hanging linkage as well, they were able to keep a similar stroke length to the 2016, even with the massive move.

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A look at the new swingers shows the work that went into centering everything possible on the new bike.

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I think most would agree that another large surprise is the fuel tank. While we originally guessed by our spy photos that it was aluminum, Honda took it to the tenth degree and actually stamped the tank out of titanium. Purely for weight, this tank helped trim the Honda back to its previous weight, after the Showa spring forks packed on a few extra pounds.

full_17_Honda_CRF450R_tank.jpg


Moving farther down into the engine we can see some of the changes to create a more compact engine. Surprising is Honda's change from two separateoil systems, which they've long used in their CRF line, to a single oil system, along with lowering the overall oil quantity in the engine.

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Jumping back into performance, the Honda crew had an interesting pitch at the event, namely about getting the ultimate holeshot. A lot of focus with the gained power and chassis changes have helped towards directly increasing the bikes starting line performance. By how much? Well, they broke it down for us in a simple chart to show what their personal testing against the 2016 model had revealed. To put it basically, they had decided that in the first three seconds of the start, their new bike was worth one and a half bike lengths over the outgoing version.

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Keep scrolling down to dig into the tech specs of the bike, along with more breakdowns of each new area of the bike and more photos/diagrams.

Specifications - 2017 Honda CRF450R
  • Engine Type: 449.7cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke
  • Bore x Stroke: 96.0mm x 62.1mm
  • Compression Ratio: 13.5:1
  • Induction: Programmed fuel-injection system (PGM-FI); 46mm throttle bore
  • Ignition: Full transistorized ignition
  • Transmission: Constant-mesh 5-speed return
  • Final Drive: 520 chain; 13T/49T
  • Valve Train: Unicam® OHC, four-valve; 10.0mm intake, steel; 8.8mm exhaust, steel
  • Front Suspension: 49mm fully adjustable leading-axle inverted telescopic Showa coil-spring fork; 12.0 in. travel
  • Rear Suspension: "Pro-Link swingarm system; fully adjustable Showa single shock; 12.4 in. travel.
  • Front Brakes: Single 260mm hydraulic disc
  • Rear Brakes: Single 240mm hydraulic disc
  • Front Tires: Dunlop Geomax MX3S 80/100-21 55M with tube.
  • Rear Tires: Dunlop Geomax MX3S 120/80-19 55M with tube.
  • Rake (Caster Angle): 27°22’
  • Trail : 116.0mm (4.6 in.)
  • Seat Height: 37.8 in.
  • Ground Clearance: 12.9 in.
  • Wheelbase: 58.3 in.
  • Fuel Capacity: 1.6 gal.
  • Color: Red
 
Wow- ! Those are some major changes.
Spent some $ on the press release too..

Ok, Who's getting one???



.......prettybike?
 
Bike looks awesome but I don't see how the price tag won't go up quite a bit. Is the cost of that titanium tank worth the .13lb ?
 
very interesting. I wondered if i should hold out for one..but im hesitant on a first year model with that many changes. I really liked my 2013 even with the air forks.

However the one big thing I liked most about the honda was how rideable it was. It was pretty mellow but thats what I liked about it as a 450. It didnt beat me up, I could ride the bike vs the bike beating the crap out of me.

So for those wanting some power im sure the changes will be nice, but I'm wondering if it may lose that characteristic that I liked so much about it before...
 
.13 lbs saving for a ti tank but what does that second silencer weigh?
Kinda looks like a Husky before KTM took over.
10K dirt bike? I don't understand.
 
Everyone goes gaga over the forks being a spring fork. What I noticed about the 49mm, especially with the cutaways, is this is basically the same fork Suzuki put on the 99 and 00 RM125 and 250 (49mm inverted Twin Chamber).

Also, anyone catch that the clutch has been redesigned? Fewer plates that have more thickness per plate.

New frame design / shock mounting is going to give all the motor-swap nutjobs a headache too.
 
How is it possible that in 2017 Honda is still releasing bikes with 7/8" handlebars? Interesting that they are moving away from the dual oil system.

Lots of cool changes. Nice to see spring forks. Not sure my eyes are getting a handle on the shrouds....looks too Y2K Husky'ish to me right now.

Oh jeez...the more I look at the shrouds the more it looks like a Cannondale to me! I need to stop looking at it.
 
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