Great handling starts with a superior frame, and that’s one place where the CRF450R chassis puts you out front. First, it’s light—over a pound and a half lighter than the previous generation’s. By making the frame’s main spars narrow, we save weight, but more importantly we make the chassis more responsive by fine-tuning the lateral rigidity. The result is a bike that gets into, around, and out of corners faster.
For 2023, we’ve made the cylinder-head engine hangers stronger and stiffer, and made the frame thicker where the hangers attach. The whole assembly is more rigid now, to enhance handling.
More robust suspension mounting points this year enhance chassis and suspension stability. When the suspension works better, the chassis works better, and you get better drive and handling everywhere.
Designed in conjunction with the frame, by using narrower main members (just like the frame uses narrower main spars), we’ve matched the swingarm’s lateral rigidity to the rest of the chassis. What you get is a balanced, fully integrated approach to frame stiffness, letting you get around corners faster and with better feel.
The CRF450R subframe is nearly three-quarters of a pound lighter than the last generation’s part. We’ve simplified its construction too.
Three key features you should know about: The battery box sits low, for improved center of gravity. Second, it’s also easy to service. And third, it’s water-tight, so there's less to worry about when racing in wet conditions.
We’ve changed the suspension settings on the 2023 CRF450R, fine-tuning them for better damping and handling. And note the axle holding fixtures at the bottom of each fork leg—they help increase rigidity, and enhance steering precision and suspension performance.
The CRF450R is a perfectly matched package. With the frame and swingarm featuring an optimized lateral stiffness, and the fork legs featuring a stiff, solid-feel axle fixture, we joined the two with equally refined upper and lower triple clamps. Working in concert, they help improve and balance total rigidity, responsiveness and turning performance.
The CRF450R’s frame design lets us fit a special rear shock. We optimized its shape to match the frame, and gave it special revised settings for 2023 to improve handling and ride. The shocks valving resets fast for better response. In addition, it features a special steel spring that cuts weight without cutting performance. With the RWE, you get additional special A-Kit shock tuning and valving.
The 49mm Showa fork features a conventional spring design that helps increase the CRF450R’s front-suspension precision, handling and feel. The spring rate provides better bottoming resistance and improved handling. Plus, on the CRF450RWE, the inner rod has a special Kashima coating, and the outer tubes feature a titanium oxide coating.
Along with the single-muffler exhaust, the CRF450R naturally uses a single-pipe header. It routes close to the center of the bike, and its light overall construction helps improve weight distribution.
New this year, we made the CRF450R muffler stronger, by using a new outer shell. We also changed the inner pipe construction. Even with these improvements, it still weighs the same. The CRF450RWE’s exhaust is another premium item. It uses a stainless header along with a titanium midpipe and muffler, made specially for us by Yoshimura. Super light and super trick, the exhaust tucks away for better ergonomics too.