Hello there!
Today we are talking about Honda CRF450R 2021 and 2020.
For mutual understanding let me tell you, this bike is for motocross.
Honda produces it in 4 years cycle.
So inside of these 4 years Honda makes just some small changes.
So this bike was in production from 2017 to 2020.
And despite the pandemic , lack of the parts, problems with logistics, finally Honda presents in 2021 all-new bike!
The bike is very interesting and it made hype among motocross fans.
Let me tell you, that official Honda promo video has got 1 million views just for one week. And now it has about 3 million views.
That is because of the bike is really interesting, innovative and now we will tell you about it in details.
There is no any reason to tell you what was changed in this bike, because the bike was changed completely.
As you can see, the bodywork is all new. On my mind the motorcycle looks more athletic, it looks lighter. And it is really lighter now.
The only thing that looks the same on these motorcycles is the engine. The engine is more powerful now and it is more friendly now.
The fuel injector is modified. The angle of the injector is changed.
The exhaust system is completely new.
Starting from the exhaust port, which is now centrally located. And this allowed to move exhaust pipe closer to the engine.
Further you can see expansion chamber for better power delivery. And in the end you see one muffler instead of two.
As you can see on the old model the pipe is rather far from the engine. This is a problem, because it is often damaged even during small crashes.
The dream of any Honda rider was to have hydraulic clutch. And finally it is installed in stock. Very soft, very cool clutch.
The problem of the cable clutch is not only it is harder to pull, but it is also regularly dried out, banded.
It is already creaking, while the motorcycle is not so old.
Because of the slave clutch cylinder appeared here, the oil filler is moved to the right side.
There is a clutch basket under this cover, and you cannot check oil level by probe. That is why oil level window is here now.
It is very easy to check oil level now, but you cannot quickly change oil by syringe.
Other changes in the engine are decompression system and what is more interesting is the clutch has more capacity now and includes one more disk.
What I like very much about Honda is there are no any hoses under the engine.
Crank case ventilation system is closed here.
It is especially good for enduro riders, who prefer RX model, you will not have problems during passing water obstacles.
Here you can see a hose, which goes out of a cylinder head and comes in to the filter box.
Previous model protector of the ignition cover fits here.
The only difference you see here is a shape of oil filler, but it is not disturbing anyone.
By the way, 2020 clutch cover protector also fits here.
Use it as a life hack for free, because spare parts and aftermarket parts are available with a delay for new models.
Now you know what protectors you can use.
It is interesting, that quantity of plastic parts is less now.
Previously here were three parts: radiator shroud, number plate and filter box cover. Now this part is absent.
Titanium tank is opened now, without plastic cover, like it was in 2020.
I hope that the set of plastic will be cheaper now.
The rear side of the motorcycle is about 7 cm narrower now, mostly because of there is no second muffler any more.
2021 model has the same fatbar.
And you still have an opportunity to install handlebar holder in two different holes.
All hoses and cables are collected now in one place.
It is for better and smoother handlebar turning.
On the old model hoses and cables goes in front of the handlebar.
By the way, there were cases, when cables erased frame number.
Regarding electronic systems the bikes are equal.
They both have: engine mode, torque control and launch control.
Switch set case is rather big and bulky now.
On my mind it is disadvantage, because it can be easily damaged.
As you see, old model has two small switch sets.
By default they are installed here on the left side, but they are always damaged, when you fall down.
That is why I placed them in the center.
Here I placed cheap button for 20 cents.
You can see it is already damaged.
And if the original switch set is here, it would be already destroyed.
I noticed that the starter button is modified.
Obviously it is to avoid accidental pushing and breaking out it by your knee.
You see here it is sticking out.
Seat bolts are here now, but there is no any necessity to remove the seat, because air filter is maintained now thru side panel, like in KTM.
To get access to air filter you need to remove one bolt and to move this cover to the right.
First look shows good access to the filter.
For example new Kawasaki has also side access to the filter, but air filter box is very small, so maintaining there is inconvenient.
By the way here you need to drain some waste periodically.
Old bike has this thing here.
Pay attention to the battery is moved here.
Now it is not disturbing you during air filter maintaining.
But it is not clear what will happen with all this electronics, if you are for example crossing water obstacle on RX model.
Here on 2020 model to maintain the filter, I need to remove the battery with it case every time.
Ground clearance is increased on 8 mm.
Rear shock is completely redesigned.
Adjustment clickers moved to the right side now.
The spring is much lighter now.
Previously adjusters were from the left side, here, on the top and on the bottom of the shock.
The travel of the front fork is 5 mm more now.
On the old model radiator louvers are much opened and of the small quantity.
So the radiator is often full of dirt and damaged by stones.
New model has louvers with more reeds.
Foot pegs were already replaced with aftermarket ones by a new owner.
By the way 2021 model has just the same foot pegs as 2020 model.
It is cool that the stock chain is gold now with anti-corrosion coating.
Full weight of the new bike with full tank of fuel is approximately 110 kg.
Some people compare new Honda with KTM.
And it is true, that look of it and technically motorcycle is closer to KTM now.
So it took advantages of KTM and it keeps advantages of Japanese bikes, I mean usability and reliability.
For example the fork is still with springs here, very reliable.
Chain tensioner is mechanical and reliable.
Strong sub frame. And so on.
So I prefer Japanese bikes.
On my mind new bike is great and cool!
It will be my dream.
Let us say thank you to Motomasterstvo school for this bike.
And personal thanks to Alexey Yarygin, master of sports and excellent coach.
As you know, nothing is perfect.
So this bike also has some small disadvantages.
Honda moved rear shock down since 2017, under the intake path.
That is why shock is often full of dirt.
Dirt exit holes are too small and closed by rubber damper.
That is why it is necessary to make these holes bigger during shock maintenance.
As you can see on my bike the shock has not been maintained yet so the holes are still small.
On my previous bike it was made.
Chain damages this slider screw for about 20 hours.
So the slider replacement is a problem after this.
I recommend you to replace this screw with a bolt like this.
New bike sub frame ends approximately here.
So rear fender may be torn off thru some time, when you move bike like this.
And I don’t understand how to install strap.
Distance between sprocket and crank case is very small.
Unfortunately this disadvantage was not fixed.
For my bike I specially find O-ring chain, that fits the bike.
And you can see that almost there is no space here.
So what, my friends! The bike is excellent!
Hype around it is understandable.
But I will continue to use 2020 bike.
Because you can buy any parts or tuning for it, for example from Stuntex guys.
Gennady Zyrin was with you. See you on the track!
Three year ago I bought graphics from Russian company MX Graphics.
During this period I used it on three different bikes with about 300 hours of hard usage.
You can see it was contacted by tires, it was bombed by stones and dirt.
It was often wiped by dry rag. Frost was here.
But it is still alive!
So now with no hesitation I ordered new graphics also from MX Graphics.
I recommend this producer to all. The link is below.