AS the patent images you can see here confirm, a new Honda CRF450R is on the horizon and it features a raft of updates over the outgoing model.
The image was published by the New Zealand IP office, so it’s assumed the spec of this bike won’t vary massively from the bike we’ll be buying back in Blighty.
It’s not the first time the CRF450R has been seen in the flesh either, as the bike has been getting some thorough testing in the 2020 MXGP championship – until it got cancelled anyway!
The new bike has been created ‘from the ground up’ to deal with everything an MXGP rider has to deal with and features a host of changes compared to the outgoing model.
Honda CRF450R 2021 updates
Looking at the pictures comparing the previous and next-generation bikes, the family resemblance clearly shines through (both bikes are wearing only slightly altered bodywork after all) although dig a little deeper and there are some major changes between the two models.
The exhaust system is the most obvious change, with Honda ditching the dual exhausts in favour of a single outlet pipe and end-can. And while we’re on the subject of the exhaust, the muffler fitted to the bike in the patent images is also quite large, probably down to it now doing the work of two silencers. Overall, the engine of the new machine looks quite similar to the 2020 model, aside from the exhaust changes, although that alteration has affected the frame's construction. The headers pipe exits directly from the front of the engine instead of off at an angle like on the CRF450R. The new header pipe routing required a shorter downtube on the frame, and a higher split into the lower cradle. The change also meant the radiators are in a slightly different position to the previous machine.
Another big change that’ll help racers and casual MX riders alike is the switch from a cable to a hydraulic clutch. The MXGP bikes have run the hydraulic system for a while now, although it seems to have taken the production bikes this long to catch up.
Honda has confirmed that the CRF450RW will still be a 449cc, four-valve, Unicam design, running a 96.0 mm bore, and 62.1 mm stroke, although it’s highly likely there will be lots more internal modifications still under wraps.
