ambassadors
Compared to the WorldSBK machines, MXGP bikes might seem a bit like a blunt instrument, but nothing could be further from the truth. Although these machines have been developed to compete in the rough stuff, they are extremely high-precision machines and every gram of weight counts. Right down to the weight of the stickers. HRC’s World Motocross coordinator Roger Shenton, gives us the run-down on this amazing piece of kit.
CRF450R (racing)
1: Engine: 449cc Liquid-cooled 4-stroke 4-valve Uni-cam engine that is very similar to the one in the production model.
2: Tyres: Pirelli tyres that are very similar to what you can buy off the shelf apart from their weight. Their tyres are competition spec tyres and are lighter that the commercially available versions.
3: Yoshimura performance exhaust supplied by Yoshimura USA.
4: Hinson Clutch pack: Competition clutch system, lubricated by Motul. This is an all-in-one lubrication system. The engine, clutch and gearbox are all lubricated with the same Motul 300V oil.
5: Honda Nissin Brakes: Very similar to the factory set-up apart from a few little tweaks here and there.
6: Showa suspension: specifically designed suspension which is constantly being tweaked and refined by the people at Showa. There is a Showa engineer who actually travels with the HRC-team to every race and every test session to help with the set-up.
7: Bodywork: Lightweight service plastics. We do everything we possibly can to save weight. We even use thinner stickers and single-piece stickers for each partner instead of one big sticker to cover an entire piece of bodywork.
8: Radiator: An aftermarket radiator which is longer and thinner, and allows the air to pass through more quickly resulting in better cooling.
9: Fuel tank: Honda won’t disclose the capacity of its fuel tank but the one they ran at Imola was one made from titanium, while the one they used at Lommel was a custom carbon fibre tank to slightly increase the capacity.
