Caught red-handed? Yeah, I'll admit I have a thing for riding works bikes. And after riding Chad Reed's YZ last month, I jumped at the chance to ride the perfect motorcycle. For Ricky Carmichael, that is. RC is renowned for having what we would politely call a "unique" ergonomic and suspension setup for his bike, but there's no doubt it works for him. Yet it seems interesting that his switch to the 450 four-stroke also saw some changes in riding-compartment and suspension settings to a more-typical arrangement. I'd ridden RC's CR250R supercross bike in 2002. Extremely low in the back, the setup was not complemented by a top triple clamp and bar bend that placed the grips in my lap. So I was really happy (for my sake, mostly) to see the bar come up a bit and the rear end of the bike appear to have more than 8 inches of travel. Plus, it seemed that Ricky mellowed a bit on the CRF, really taking to the big thumper's power, putting it onto the ground and in the face of the competition. It was going to be really interesting to see what Team Honda and RC had hidden inside the CRF450R. We met Team Honda at I-5MX in Gorman, California, for a few hours of ride time.
Yes, the bike sits low, and Ricky has the bar positioned and bent lower than I'm accustomed to. Like many other diminutive factory riders, RC has the subframe lowered to allow him to get back farther without hitting the seat. And there's no concern about the tire rubbing on the fender when the rear shock bottoms, as there would be on a production bike. Tire clearance is easily controlled with linkage or overall shock length options, and if the tire does scar the underside of the fender, it can be replaced. Carmichael likes a wide and sharp footpeg to help his boots grip. And the cut seat still has enough foam of a decent enough density that you can sit down, which RC does a lot, and not get beat by the seat base or frame rails. He also likes a step cut in the foam to hold him forward. The step actually started out as sort of a joke, but it has turned into an integral part of bike setup for many riders piloting the brutally fast thumpers.
The power generally mirrors the production CRF's power delivery but is boosted to a level that is hard to explain. It remains very ridable on the bottom but with such a strong pull that you have to be careful how fast you turn the throttle. For anyone but Ricky, that means open it slowly! Much more slowly than on any other bike, because the response is phenomenal and the surge potent. For the few straights on which I had the guts to hold it wide open, the top-end didn't seem all that impressive. Maybe it was disguised by the impressive low and mid-power? Wrong! I realized there was a quarter-turn of throttle left. And then it pulls forever. I quickly found out the best method was to short-shift the motor; then the pull is still similar to holding a standard bike wide open and revving it. The clutch is best used to control the power, not to try and amplify it. RC chose not to use a slipper clutch, since his motor, similar to a standard one, doesn't have excess compression braking. And with a five-speed transmission, the gaps aren't spread too far apart. Speaking of the tranny, Honda claimed the ratios were stock, but first gear felt really tall; the spec sheet says it is an "HGA works type." There's no way of ever really knowing as the final-drive ratio is also quite different, running bigger sprockets and very little slack in the chain. Team Manager Erik Kehoe said that in the beginning, both RC and Kevin Windham were looking for a very smooth and ridable power package. But week after week, they got used to the available boost and wanted more. So slowly they've reached this setting. And Kehoe was sure there remains untapped potential. I'm still impressed the massive peak power can be used anyplace other than at the start.