Well, the wait is finally over! The most anticipated bike of the 2027 model year has finally landed, and we have our first ride on it. Enter the all-new 2027 CRF450R, which has been teased to us from over the pond for a while now with the MXGP riders. Honda flew us out to the historic Spring Creek Motocross track to get our first laps in on the 2027 and even brought a 2026 to directly compare them. Did Honda improve on all the areas it needed to? Did they mess it up and go backwards? We find that out and more down below!

New for 2027

• New bodywork matching the works bikes used by the Honda HRC Petronas MXGP team.
• New tricolor livery unifies the Honda Racing image and brand.
• New larger-capacity titanium fuel tank.
• New swingarm, chain slider, and plastic chain-guide plate.
• New engine with a more rigid crankshaft assembly and new bearings.
• Cylinder bore size is now 1mm larger.
• Full transistorized ignition and ignition coil, with updated fuel-injection and ignition settings.
• New airbox, air filter, and air funnel.
• Evolved Unicam valvetrain system.
• Larger intake and exhaust valves, a more aggressive cam profile, and a switch to titanium exhaust valves.
• Steeper angle for all valves and a shorter, steeper downdraft intake.
• New clutch with a lighter design and innovative back-torque limiter.
• Redesigned transmission is smaller and lighter, with revised, taller gear ratios.
• Redesigned, lighter, more reliable starter system.
• New exhaust system designed to meet AMA sound limits.
• New main wiring harness.
• New design for the main frame and rear subframe. About 70% of the main frame's components are new, while longitudinal and torsional rigidity are increased by about 10% without increasing weight.
• Suspension has changed internals, oil, and settings
• Kashima coating added on internal suspension parts, front and rear.
• Stiffer front suspension springs. Fork spring rate increased from 5.0 N/mm to 5.2 N/mm.
• Fork switches from the traditional Bending Control Valve configuration to a Dynamic Blow System main-piston-valve structure 
• New shock linkage with a revised ratio and a new thrust needle bearing.
• New rear-wheel hub design.
• Dunlop MX34 tires front and rear (rear with a new size).
• Extensive detail updates to simplify bike maintenance.

To see the bike in action and hear our thoughts, click on this video. If you'd prefer reading, keep scrolling down.

First Impressions

First off, you can't start this without mentioning that Honda went aggressive and put an all-blue rear fender and side number plates on their red machine. At first, I was like, "Ehhh," but the more I see it, and especially once you see it in person, it really grows on you and looks pretty damn good. Like always, a Honda just sitting there makes me want to ride, and this hasn't changed for 2027. The new bodywork looks cleaner, and the transition from the shrouds to the number plates is much smoother. Although Honda did change the rider geometry a little bit from 2026, it still has that gold-standard rider triangle that I love about the red bikes. Starting this thing up, it has a quick, consistent start, and you can quickly notice this bike isn't as loud as before. I could go on forever about the noise regulations and all the crap behind them, but they're here, and we have to deal with them. As I hopped onto the famous Millville track, I quickly realized that I was in for one of those days you remember for a long time. Track conditions were as perfect as they could be, the weather was great, and this CRF450R, even after just a few laps, was telling me a lot of really good things.

Engine

Let's start with the engine, where we see major changes for 2027, as weight savings and trying to produce more power with less noise were the targets. I really enjoyed this engine in 2026 and only had a few complaints that I wished were better, and I swear they were listening to me. They nailed this engine as they somehow got more power, yet made the engine smoother and easier to control. This engine character has to be one of the best 450s I've ridden, as it's still strong enough to be playful but is linear and doesn't have so much power that it's unrideable. Low-end power and torque are still as good as last year's, with a great throttle-to-rear-wheel connection. Mid-range power is also strong, which will give riders confidence with how easy the RPMs are to control. What I was really impressed with this engine is the transmission. Second gear is one of, if not the longest, second gears of any 450 right now, and it's so usable. In the early stages of development, they put a race team transmission in the bike to see the direction they wanted to go.

Obviously, it's not the same as the race team setup, but it's much more usable than other bikes. The spacing between second and third is also very good, as there's no rpm drop off. Top-end power and over-rev were complaints of mine on the 2026, and man, did they fix that. This bike has a longer, stronger top-end pull and over-rev feeling with way less vibration. This engine is now very similar to how smooth a Yamaha engine feels, where there's almost no vibration. I will put these head-to-head to compare them. Even Hunter Lawrence was riding and came off, saying how strong the top-end power on this bike was. So that's a pretty decent confirmation. Mapping is the same as it has been, with the three different maps and traction control options. While I would have liked to see an app come with this bike by now, it really isn't a big deal when they nailed the engine so well, and each map option is easy to feel a difference with. Overall, this engine is pretty impressive, and it can only get better as it has to meet sound regulations. So I can't wait to open this beast up even more.

Chassis

This is where I was really, really hoping they made a calmer, more predictable chassis for 2027. Like, I was praying for it. I wanted it to be better that much. Well, there is a God out there that listens to me because they improved this chassis a ton! Calm is the main keyword for this new chassis. This bike now enjoys being in the bumps and soaks them up with ease, which gives you, the rider, more confidence to push harder. With losing nine pounds, I was worried they would lose stability, but somehow they gained it! Last year's bike was lacking a little front-end traction and contact feeling in certain areas of the corners. The 2027 has fixed that, as now the front end is calmer and more stable while having increased traction at lean angle. I could push harder into ruts and corners, knowing there was no sudden loss of traction or quick movements. 

Although the track wasn't crazy rough by any means, there were a few sections that developed some decent bumps, and it was a big difference in comfort and chassis movement in those areas. When you improve stability, you normally sacrifice some agility or cornering performance. This is an area where Honda could afford to sacrifice a little because this is already the best-turning bike in the class and almost too sharp of a turning machine. While it does feel a little slower at lean-in, that's actually a good thing because the bike doesn't react as quickly and oversteer. A cool little note on the chassis is that in the beginning stages of development, they had the braces on the bike that you see on Jett and Hunter's bikes. It was then, after the test, that they were put on the brothers' bikes. Normally, you'll see race team parts sometimes fall over into production, but not often the other way around, which is really cool to hear. Guys, we have a very calm, stable, and predictable CRF450 chassis again! While I was riding, I was having flashbacks to the 2022 YZ450F chassis, which many, many people have praised, even Trey Canard himself. Well done, Honda crew, and thank you!

Suspension

When it comes to suspension on the CRF450R, last year's bike was lacking some comfort, and the balance was a little off, as the front fork was soft compared to the shock. I have been hard on the Showa settings in the past for feeling a bit harsh, and I wanted to feel more comfort from them. The 2027 enters the game with just that: more comfort. A much better stiffness-level match between the shock and fork makes this bike's ride attitude more level, with less pitching compared to the 2026. The fork's beginning to mid-stroke is very plush and has great comfort, accepting bumps well and having a slow-moving character. Some small switchbacks at Spring Creek had some good bumps in one of the ruts we were using, and this fork really accepted those slow-speed bumps with a calm feeling and made them feel like nothing. Where I had a little struggle was with the fork's end-stroke performance, as the damping seemed to ramp up quickly and too much, creating some noticeable stop feeling. I opened up the rebound one click, which helped it go through the end stroke easier, but made it feel a little deeper and softer.

I talked to Trey Canard, and he suggested dropping my forks from 5mm to 3mm, which helped keep the bike a little higher in the stroke and even improved stability even more. With that change, though, it did affect cornering slightly and made it a little more difficult to lean into the corner. The rear also felt slightly lower with the fork change. So I went stiffer on low-speed compression two clicks and slower on rebound two clicks, which held the shock up better and gave me a more level ride attitude. Cornering performance was also improved with that, and these small changes were the money spot for me. Comfort and performance, both front and rear, were great, and I was just floating around the track feeling like I could hit or do anything. I have a feeling this bike is going to have great track toughness, as many media guys who were there only made minor clicker changes to get happy. This bike will be a click or two away on multiple tracks for me, which is one of the best traits a bike could have. While I'm really impressed with the suspension, I feel the fork could be improved slightly for that end-stroke toughness, but as a whole, they did a great job with this Showa setting.

Other Bits

This clutch design is all-new for the CRF450R, and I have not been a fan of this hydraulic clutch in the past. While I'm still a cable guy and will choose that all day, I was quite impressed with the improvements of this new clutch. The old one was very on/off and had a small window between engagement and disengagement, which made it hard to control the RPMs. Now we have a wider range to work with and a smoother feel, which makes it much easier to modulate the power with the clutch compared to before.

The seat has been one of my top dislikes of the 2026 CRF, and again, Honda went to work and fixed it. We went very aggressive in recent years, trying to make these bikes as skinny as possible, and Honda went the opposite direction and made their seat a little wider with a more square shape. I used to feel the seat base if I was sitting on the edge and hit a bump hard, and that's fixed for 2027. The side panels are easier to grip, and the bike feels just a tad bit wider, but that's a positive for me. I can maneuver the bike with my legs more now, and I feel more in control of the bike. The larger fuel tank is also a positive for many privateer racers. While I won't be worried about running out of gas in 40-minute motos, some guys are, and this increased capacity is much appreciated. Honda finally changed to MX34s from MX33s, which I thank them for. Another small thing is the new rear wheel collars that now seat better, which makes it easier not to drop them when putting your wheel on. You can thank Lars for that.

The Final Word

So if you can't tell by this point, the bike is fucking good. Honda really knocked it out of the park with this bike. Every complaint I had about this bike in 2026, they completely fixed. Calmness, controllability, and comfort. That's what this 2027 CRF450R is all about. With a price tag of $10,099, which makes it only more expensive than the Suzuki in the lineup, you are getting a bike that I have a feeling we are going to talk about in 20 years, like the 2008 CRF450R. Between the Lawrence brothers and this new CRF450R, I think the glory days of Honda are back!