Cycle News Staff | July 25, 2018
As you probably know by now, Honda is offering two versions of its premier motocrosser. The 2019 CRF450R is back with significant changes, and with it comes a brand new model, the 2019 CRF450RWE, the WE standing for “Works Edition,” which is fitted with a premium race package. This is the 2019 Honda CRF450RWE – CRF450R First Test.
2019 Honda CRF450RWE – CRF450R First Test
The 2019 Honda CRF450RWE (left) and CRF450R (right) waiting to be ridden.
Starting with the “standard,” the 2019 Honda CRF450R features a number of changes, most notably a new exhaust header and swingarm, updated front brake, black rims, three levels of launch control, revised fork settings and new handlebars with more overall rider adjustability. Honda ditched the kickstarter lever, too. And we won’t go looking for it, either. Honda says the 2019 CRF450R is almost two pounds lighter than the 2018 model.
The WE gets the same mods as the standard and then some. The 2019 Honda CRF450RWE gets a number of upgrades in key areas, designed to attract the more hard-core racer. The most obvious difference is the Ken Roczen-replica graphics, but there is a lot more to the WE than that. Further investigation reveals a “works” hand-ported cylinder head, titanium Yoshimura slip-on mufflers, “special” ECU settings, updated suspension, higher-grade D.I.D DirtStar LT-X rims, and a super-cool gripper seat cover. There are other differences, as well, but these are the juicy ones.
The premium Honda CRF450R Works Edition also comes with a premium price–$11,499 versus the standard’s $9,299.
For more technical details, click here for the 2019 Honda CRF450R First Look and here for the 2019 Honda CRF450RWE First Look.
We recently got the chance to throw a leg over both bikes and we came away pretty impressed.
2019 Honda CRF450R First Test
Honda made a lot of effort to make the CRF450R more comfortable to ride. Photo: Drew Ruiz
When it gets down to it, if you like the 2018 Honda CRF450R, you’re going to like the ’19 even more–mainly in the comfort department. It has a little more adjustability with handlebar clamps that can be adjusted fore and aft. In all, there are a total of four different handlebar positions. The new Renthal Fatbar is positioned a little lower than before, giving the bike a slightly more aggressive feel, and a lighter feel when it comes to steering.
The footpegs have a new shape that we liked and they are designed to shed mud better.
The Honda still feels light and agile. Photo: Drew Ruiz
The Honda also feels lighter–not a lot, but every little bit matters, even if its just a psychological thing. Overall, the Honda was already quite comfortable and very ergonomically friendly–it’s a little more of both now.
Engine-wise, the 2019 Honda CRF450R feels a bit snappier and livelier than the ’18, but, again, not by a whole lot. It also seems to have slightly more over-rev, which is something our test riders welcomed.
The Honda corners like a dream, but what else is new? Photo: Kit Palmer
The Honda handles very similarly to last year’s; in fact, almost identically–at least on this day. And that is a good thing since the Honda was already a solid-handling motorcycle. Suspension feels a lot like last year’s, as well. Again–so far.
Overall, the 2019 Honda CRF450R feels a lot like it did last year but with a bit more power and increased comfort. There are a lot of things to like about the Honda, most of them things we’re already familiar with.
2019 Honda CRF450RWE First Test
The 2019 Honda CRF450RWE inspires confidence right away. Photo: Kit Palmer
You can’t ride the new 2019 Honda CRF450RWE without comparing it to the standard, so here we go:
The first thing our testers noticed between the standard and the WE was the suspension, both of them saying the WE‘s is noticeably better. Basically, they were referring to the forks. Internally, both forks are identical, right up to the clicker settings, but what sets them apart, and what appears to make a big difference, is the high-tech Kashima coating on the WE‘s fork tubes and titanium-nitride coating on the WE‘s fork legs. These coatings fill surface micro-pores and reduce friction to improve fork action and, ultimately, performance. Before, only the factory racers got these special treatments done to their forks.
The CRF450RWE’s upgraded rims survived a day full of this. (Can’t quite say the same for the R‘s rims.) Photo: Kit Palmer
One of our test riders said the WE‘s forks simply felt plusher than the standard’s forks, especially on the compression stroke. He also said that the WE‘s front-end tended to push a lot less in flat turns.
Honda didn’t ignore the WE‘s shock. The shaft has been coated with titanium-nitride, as well. Our testers said the shock felt good, too, but it was the fork that impressed them the most.
Next was the engine. There is a noticeable difference between the two, our testers noting the WE‘s engine being more responsive off the bottom and through midrange. “It has a little more pull out of the corners and has more revs on top,” said one of our testers.
Our test riders felt right at home almost immediately on the Honda CRF450RWE. Photo: Drew Ruiz
We also got to experience the higher-grade rims in action on the WE. One of our test riders who was airing out both bikes over the jumps for our cameras actually put a small flat spot on the standard’s front rim, while the WE‘s showed no signs of stress from many of his hard landings. So, we can say from experience that the WE‘s rims are indeed stronger than the standard’s.
The Yoshimura mufflers, which have been tuned for the WE‘s special ECU setting and head mods, is remarkably quiet and look 100-times better than the stock mufflers.
Yoshimura already offers a complete aftermarket exhaust system designed specifically for the WE.
And speaking of Yoshimura, they already offer a special aftermarket header/muffler combination exhaust system built specifically for the WE; in stock form, the WE and standard share the same header. We haven’t tried Yosh’s full system yet, but someday…
The gripper seat cover is a nice touch. It works and if nothing else, it looks good.
The 2019 Honda CRF450RWE or CRF450R – Which one to buy!?
Handling, corning, it doesn’t matter, the CRF450RWE does it all quite well. Photo: Kit Palmer
At the end of the day–literally–our test riders were impressed with both bikes; they are also expert-level racers (one of them, a privateer, who has qualified for all four nationals that he has entered so far this year) and would, without question, choose to race–in stock form–the WE over the base model because of the WE‘s better power and suspension. But is the WE $2200 better? That is the big question, really.
For the serious pro, the standard model might be way to go, because, WE or not, they will most likely still modify the exhaust, engine and suspension to their own specific tastes and that extra $2200 might be better spent in doing that. But for the local pro–or any racer for that matter–who just wants to buy something really, really good right off the showroom floor and head straight to the track and race, then the WE might be the better option.
Either way, it’s a nice choice to have.
Look for a more in-depth test of both bikes in a future issue of Cycle News magazine.
Click here for more Honda motorcycle reviews and news.
Click here for the latest Cycle News Motocross bike reviews and news.
