Dirt and Trail June 2020-2
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Brian explains that on the 250, he is<br />
not interested in fast, <strong>and</strong> he uses the<br />
bike for events like EWXC – <strong>and</strong> we can<br />
underst<strong>and</strong> why. Low gearing lots of<br />
torque <strong>and</strong> clearance – <strong>and</strong> it does not<br />
cost a fortune to convert. And he has<br />
proved that bike is competitive – last year<br />
he took one of the wins in the senior class<br />
against some pure enduro machines.<br />
The St<strong>and</strong>ard 250RX is a great, fun to<br />
ride, a quick, nimble easy trail bike. If<br />
tech, rocky riding is your thing with the<br />
gearing selection <strong>and</strong> fan, you basically<br />
get a whole new machine.<br />
An interesting mod for sure.<br />
The <strong>2020</strong> CRF450R:<br />
We are not going to kid you – the Honda<br />
450 is a fire breathing race machine. We<br />
each rode this on a bit <strong>and</strong> agreed that it<br />
was best left to a pro rider.<br />
They tell us that for <strong>2020</strong>, Honda’s<br />
flagship CRF450R—the same platform<br />
raced by Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen<br />
<strong>and</strong> Justin Brayton—puts more engine<br />
management choices at the fingertips of racers,<br />
with the addition of Honda Selectable Torque<br />
Control (HSTC). The system maximizes reartyre<br />
hookup to keep all of the Unicam engine’s<br />
horsepower driving the bike <strong>and</strong> rider forward.<br />
The system measures rate of rpm increase <strong>and</strong><br />
adjusts delivery accordingly, <strong>and</strong> a h<strong>and</strong>lebarmounted<br />
switch enables selection from three<br />
levels of delivery.<br />
In addition, the CRF450R’s front-rear balance is<br />
refined <strong>and</strong> h<strong>and</strong>ling is improved thanks to internal<br />
suspension updates, <strong>and</strong> a new battery position<br />
that lowers the machine’s center of gravity.<br />
We quizzed Brian on the differences from last<br />
years 450 R.<br />
“The bikes feel very similar”, was his reply.<br />
“If anything, Honda has, once again just made<br />
the bike – I don’t want to say smoother – but<br />
it definitely more rideable. After reading up on<br />
the bike, it seems that they have not done much<br />
with the geometry on the <strong>2020</strong>, small things like<br />
shock internals, repositioning the battery but<br />
somehow, it just feels like it turns better.” And<br />
then he grins – “Not that we have a track to ride,<br />
they are all closed…”<br />
32 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JUNE <strong>2020</strong> DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JUNE <strong>2020</strong> 33
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