Pay no attention to those maintenance schedule numbers. It’s a Honda 4 stroke. Change the oil every 2000 miles, replace the piston and ring when your grandkids are old enough to ride it.

Many CRF450L riders, including John T Young, as well as myself, have safely doubled the oil change interval to 1,200 miles. It still may not sound like much, but oil analysis reports have shown no issues in doing so. It makes street riding on the bike way better.

I’ve got 2400 miles on mine so far - agreed with the go up a gear. I’ve done a couple multi day trips on Kentucky keep trails and IN back roads, a few days of wooded trails at out local OHV park, tons of gravel road and creek crossings, and plenty of pavement to and from work for three months. It’s the most capable dual sport I’ve owned, but also the most hyper responsive one too.

What most dual sport riders want is a 450cc machine with good trail torque, light weight as possible without sacrificing toughness and normal maintenance intervals and engine longevity of most bikes that are not racing oriented at a price that does not require a 2nd mortgage on the house . Basically a modern better suspension, lighter weight version of the DRZ 400 with 50cc bump in cc, fuel injection and a wide ratio 6 speed transmission would sell like hot cakes! Most real dual sport riders would gladly sacrifice a 10-15% in top performance nerfed figures for the 2-2500 mile oil changes and a motor capable of going 40,000+ miles with just regular maintenance required.

On vacation with the family last month...we parked by this track to watch kids on small sportbikes ripping it up. (paved track as well). My kids were amazed. Loved it. Beautiful place.

Very informative. I have 35+ years of riding experience and I have had a couple Hondas, but never a dual or dirt bike because of exactly what you said here about it.(the cons) If I had any desire to give my money a shot on one today, you just saved me the trouble. Thanks TFL! :)

I don't understand why they didn't remove the Mosko moto bags? It's one thing if they were on trails or overnight trip. But leaving them on for an MX track and titling the video "street level MX"? I don't mean to bash but as moto media this is part of the job. Do it correctly, not half-cocked.

Great breakdown!

I had the CRF450L, and did not keep it long. I've owned many dozens of bikes over 47 years of riding, starting my dual-purpose riding on a XL500, and including a couple of DR650s, a couple of DRZ400s, a couple of EXC500Fs, and a couple of WR250Rs. The CRF450L had several bad points, one of which was fatal. The seat is ridiculously uncomfortable - so I bought a Seat Concepts and fixed the problem. The forks were way too stiff and and had way too much stiction (yes, I loosened up up the clickers). Honda should emulate the EXC5000F suspension - those are done right. The engine was corked up with wonky fueling, so I dropped of money on ECU and exhaust and fixed the problem. The chain was a pain in the ass to lube due to that rubber donut on the rear sprocket that prevents you from directing the chain lube were it needs to go, between the links. Those were the problem areas.... ignoring the short fuel range, and high maintenance requirements. The fatal flaw though was the engine vibration. It was absolutely horrendous. It and the EXC500Fs were about equally bad. If I was cruising down the road at 50 or 60 MPH and pulled in the clutch and closed the throttle, smooth as silk, but as soon as the engine started spinning again, may as well be taking a paint shader down the road. Seems a miracle to me those things can hold together for more than a few thousand miles. Crazy that a cheap DRZ 400 or the even bigger 650 thumpers can run so much smoother than the CRF450L. In any case, the vibration level would literally give me blurry vision and a head ache if riding sitting down, like you do on road. As such, I found the bike completely worthless as a dual-purpose bike.

Why would you do a rider track review of the bike with a full set of luggage on the back filled with who knows what, and then complain that the bike feels heavy?

I’m gonna help you guys out. It’s a street legal dirt bike with dirt bike intervals. Meaning 500-600 oil change, top end rebuild around the 10k mark if I remember right. Valve adjustments. So, if that’s what you like then get it. I have one, I love it. A new ecm and pipe really open it up.

Andy the influencer- "can't go wrong with a Honda". True statement though. So cool to see you in these videos!!!

Took my first ride yesterday on my 2023 CRF450RL, it was quite an experience, the torque really surprised me! Changed out the seat for a seat concepts brand, very nice, at 5’6” I cannot flatfoot but I knew that when I bought it and have no intention of lowering it, just need to ride and practice, so much talent to follow online now, there really is no excuse to not become a better rider! Great bike!

There's a French SM team converting one of the variants into a SM. Stronger brakes and reworked suspension.

I'm a 5'6 owner of the 2020 CRF450l and I lowered the seat 1 inch with seat concept and It's perfect. No lower links. No supermoto conversion. I ride everywhere. Road, dirt, traffic, mountain, etc. I don't need it to be anymore lower than it is.

maint intervals makes this bike illogical for ds riding imho! For MOST dual sport riders and the 2 gallon tank

Do you have merch with Andy's name on it?

@ 3:24 Big crack under the engine!!!

I’ve had my 2022 for a month and love it.

Every 600miles an oilchange for normal use? 😅😅 At first i loved the bike, but thats a No Go haha Gonna stay with my Honda XL500

Love my 2019 version.

Ill keep my 2020 beta 390 plate and all cheers

I have 6000 miles on my 450L. Lots of off-road. Desert, mountain single track, the bike has seen it all. I'm still on the original piston and valves are in perfect spec. Just change the oil and keep the air filter clean and this bike will be a reliable bike. I have the vortex ECU and FMF exhaust. The bike has a very smooth throttle response now and quite a bit more power with less weight.

I looked like you had Graham Jarvis as a test rider and it turned out to be Andy

I would chose the Honda but is red so I will be going with the Kaw sm.

Could you install the abs system of the 300 rally on this?

If your an older guy then throwing around heavy bikes on dirt is a lot harder. These bikes are not track bikes and are terrible at both track and road but if you want to road ride and then pull off and take an off road trail thru the woods they are great.

Cole Seely built one a bit and rode it on a pro level supercross track.

Super lean is the EPA’s doing. Throw a fuel programmer of your choice on it, open the air box and exhaust and you have a whole new animal!

It's worth noting that the CRF250L has MUCH more forgiving maintenance intervals. I believe the oil change intervals are something like 8,000 miles with street use. Sure it's only 22-24hp, but it gets the job done for dual sport duties.

And I thought desmo Ducati's had frequent service intervals. Nice bike though...

😂 can’t believe all the people who have no idea what service intervals are like on ALL bigger dirt bikes.

We like Andy ! He’s old … but he can ride !!! 😂👍🏻👍🏻

I have been really intrigued by the 300L. Would be interested to see that on here.

Im curious, is that a Reckless 40 on your bike ? Perhaps a Reckless 80 ? Id love to know.

after 27 years on a xr65ol thinking of adding a 450rl to my garage what is your opinion on the difference between the two of them is the 450 really to powerful to ride slow on dual sport ride or tight single track?

the manuals bs it'll last a very long time on the original piston. my yz250fx says the same kinda thing and it's still going strong

You need Larry Enticer to do some testing for you.

I’m 6’3 and when I got on this bike it seemed way tall & it felt as if it wouldn’t tolerate MX riding the way I ride being this tall. If you are on the shorter side & thinking abt buying this sucker u BETTER sit on one first !

Idle the bike up just one setting. It will mellow it out on the jerky throttle. Also a throttle tamer will help even more

Looks like just the bike for Roman...and I've gone one (2019 CRF450L) going up for sale soon...

If Honda made a Rally version of this bike with longer service intervals I'd pick one up ASAP. Such a shame and a missed opportunity.

Andy is a KZfaq influencer

So... my 2002 XR 650R is lighter, more reliable, has a bigger fuel tank, has way more torque and power.

New piston, rings and drivetrain and u haven't even driven it to work for a year! No way man. Doesn't belong on the street

I got a ‘21 CRF450RL to build a street legal Super Moto. I got it without riding it first. The EPA strangled engine is garbage in stock form. The rev-surging is horrible and it just flames out. I got the Vortex ECU and it became a new animal, even with the stock exhaust and air box. The oil change interval isn’t bad considering it only takes 1.5 quarts. It’s about a 15 minute change. I own a Honda Africa twin and a Harley Pan America and when I pick my bike for the day, I usually wish I was on the 450.

At 3:22 is that a crack!?

BOO, HISS. Dual sport bikes shouldn’t have a maintenance requirement that the “piston get replaced” after X number of hours. My 2002 DRZ still runs fine, with the original internals with the 16k miles it has on it now. Sounds like the RL has the same “mysterious flame-out” tendencies that so many other videos talk about on the 450L

i have been riding and racing All my life !! and my 2022 Honda CRF 450 RL is the most stiffist and roughts ride i have Every had in my life on any bike i put $1000 in to my supention $3000 it all my up grades so far but dont Ever Ever Ever!!! take it off Road!!!!!!! a covered wagan is much smoother!!!!!!!!

The title of the video is why all these comments are being made. Because if you want to do a true dual sport trip on 2000 miles or more then having to change your oil every 500 miles is just too much of a pain.

I was leaning towards this as a dual sport....Until I saw the maintenance schedule....No way. Where's the reliable XR's from the 1990's?

Andy went 1-1 and got the overall and never even rode the bike before

Where is EMS for Andy?

now we,re talking....

I have been looking for one of these used crf450's now but cant find one nearby.....I might just have to swing by the dealership to get my fix. I knew that I needed more education about the bike though and this video helped big time. I am now leaning towards the X version as it's lighter and more biased towards more offroading......why is the L so much heavier than the X, they are both street legal right ?

My 300l honda bottoms out on the track we need to know if your shocks on the 450 can handle the jumps higher then 1 to 2 foot like in videos 8 to 10ft mine bottoms extramly hard and sounds like bike braking in half even at 4 to 5 it bottoms out some one has to know that really puts there bike to the test and not just putting around on it and slowing down before the jumps really hitting the jumps

I love those Mosko Moto bags … please don’t be a jerk and criticise them !

Im Riding Mine Just LiKe I Ride My 2023 Honda XR150L

Does this guy look just like Tony Destefeno or what?

I like this bike but the maintenance is insane. Hondas new 300DS looks like a winner however for now Im going to hold out for yamaha to hopefully release the WR250r's replacement next year. Im thinking it's going to be a 350 but a 300 or 450 is fine by me. The day I hear about it i'm running to the dealership with my $2500 deposit... Cant wait. If they did release a 350 they would no doubt dominate the DS scene, $8000 would be okay, LED lights all around...

How about review on Honda crf 300L thanks

So why did they even do this? Oil changes aren’t bad but valve checks every 1600 miles?

Does it still flame out like the 2019

Change the pistons after 8 hours ???

Thanks for showing the maintenance side. I wanted to like this bike, but I think I would be terribly disappointed with how much I would have to work on it. I'm going to look and see if you have a KLX 300 review.

If Honda would only make a Rally edition with the 450 as they have in the CRF300L Ralley.... bigger gas tank, better service intervals .... build it Honda! We will buy it

That maintenance is crazy ill stick to a kawasaki 300sm or a yamaha wr250

The guy in the video misinterpreted the first quote he used from the service manual. He says the stuff he had highlighted indicated that the “average riding condition” meant on the street……when it says “maintenance schedule-off road use” at the top …. Not arguing with his synopsis or anything, but that’s improper information and chart use that we are taught in grade school.

My modded CR500 I used to race made well over 70HP. Weighed 238 lbs. I was lucky to have raced/ridden a big-bore 2-stroke. 4-strokes just don't do it for me.

I love Honda however, I, like so many others, expected this bike to be the updated version of the DRZ400. The maintenance intervals ruin the execution and puts this bike in to a much smaller market. It could have been much more successful, and reached the larger crowd who wanted the modern dual sport! DRZ is still king

Too much money for what you get. I'll take a Tenere 700 for the money.

With that maintenance schedule any serious rider would be doing an oil change at least once a week. That is insane when you consider the cost addition to owning the bike.

Take the bags off if you don’t like them

Maintenance intervals are a no go for me. Hard pass.

To much maintenance required to often for the money you pay for this bike! Thumbs down for me! 650l is twice the bike for way less money

I went out and looked at this bike in person. I didn’t get to test ride it but I was aloud to sit on it and it is pretty comfortable. I want something I can ride to work and go trail riding on the way home. Would you recommend this bike to me for what I want to use it for?

I think most people looking for this type bike would be better served by the Honda CRF250L or the newer version the CRF300L.

Come on TFL you never said if it had a five speed or six speed transmission. If this is a true dual sport for some touring you’re gonna want a 6 speed.

I think the KTM 500 has similar high maintenance...not a gas n go bike

i want one so bad but the throttle jerk is what"s getting me.. every video i see mentions it.

It seems this bike is more enduro than dual sport. It's 20 pounds lighter than the new CRF 300L with nearly double the horsepower, comparing against MX bikes seems a little pointless?? I'm surprised Honda chose the KTM 500 EXC as a target for this displacement when it seems the world is clamoring for a lighter version of the 690 Enduro (which is really a dual sport) In the end it's lacking in the specific segment they chose when it could have dominated if built as a true dual sport.

250 and 450 both have skinny rear tyres

If these 300s are powerful enough I don’t understand the attraction. Why not get the 450? If Kawasaki made a KLX450R I wouldn’t own a KLX300R. LOL

Want to sell those bags? I have been looking for some.

Just give the 300 better suspension Honda, Yamaha? WR 300r?

The crappy drumbeat while I'm trying to listen to what you're saying saying, drove me out of here. Could not finish watching & didn't feel like turning the volume off and reading the cc.

youre pretty much changing the oil every week. so no. it cant do it all

So many people whining about maintenance. Takes 10 minutes to change the oil and you can run cheap Rotella and go 2k anyway. You can tell how many street guys are intimidated by even doing a few oil changes. This is a cruel sport bike, if you don't plan on trail riding, stick to boring paved road machines.

DRZ IS a 🦖 High Maintenance really 15 min oil change, The engine stalling go’s away completely after break in. Before spending any extra money except seat just ride the damn thing it’s a Honda . This bike comes with more power then most guys can ever use. The after market ECU and performance exhausts is a wasteful money, just give it some time. Will it go faster yes but you will shorten the life of the engine and your fuel range will suffer and so will your wallet, believe me it has much more power then most of us can handle.

I've forgotten how shitty it sounds with the stock exhaust.

Do yourself a favour and change the playback speed to 1.5X on this one folks, guys talks like snufalufagus

"It's a Honda" It sure don't have the maintenance intervals I would expect with a Honda.

How old is that guy? Guy still rips! They are very corked from factory but they have potential with pipe , programmer and re-gear. I drag race a stock 450 with my modded wr250r. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p9ilgJVlrszWp2g.html

O

3;25 broken plastic garbage Honda produced. Dual sport a 650r and have a real bike.

Oil change every 600 miles... that's pretty much every weekend for a serious rider... Gotta do better than that Honda.

Any looks a little big to be riding that bike