While in Melbourne recently I took the opportunity to have a close look at the new model and came away very impressed. Honda only had a single unit for display purposes so unfortunately I wasn’t able to swing a leg over and fire the new beast in to life.

Honda makes no bones about this new machine; it is built to race with little compromise in the design for user friendly features like a reverse gear or electric start. For that you will have to look elsewhere, the TRX450R is a stripped down machine built to conquer the motocross track.

It has been fifteen years since Honda produced a full monty race specification ATV, it looks as though the wait has been worthwhile.

Honda’s CRF450R motocross machine has more than proved its pedigree and much of the powertrain for the TRX450R has been developed directly from the successful motocross racer.

The engine has been strengthened in a few areas to aid reliability as in ATV use the engine will be under much load due to two fat tyres available for traction, compared to the motocross machines relatively skinny single hoop. Some of the major changes to suit the ATV include a three-ring cast 10.5:1 piston with a 28.4mm skirt length, steel valves and a much larger baffled twin sump lubrication system.

The Unicam design allows for an extremely narrow cylinder head.  Inside, the lightweight carburized single camshaft directly actuates a pair of 36mm steel intake valves, while the exhaust lobe opens and closes the 30mm exhaust valves via roller rocker set-up. Covering the valve train is a lightweight magnesium cover.

The healthy grunt is transferred through an eight plate clutch to a manual five speed gearbox with new ratios for ATV use, terminating in the normal chain final drive layout.

Feeding the single cylinder engine plenty of premium unleaded is a 42mm Keihin carburettor kitted out with a throttle position sensor which provides cues to the electronic ignition. A generous 14.5 litre fuel cell should mean a tank of fuel definitely outlasts the rider’s fuel reserves when putting this machine through its paces on the motocross track.

The kick-starter swings through a forward arc like many ATV machines and is aided by an internal auto-decompressor. Helping the machine to keep its cool is a high capacity radiator rated at 17.2kw and aided by a flat fan.

Showa provide the high quality race specification suspension on the TRX450R. An independent double wishbone front end is damped by a pair of Showa shock absorbers which are adjustable for rebound and compression damping while the spring preload is set by threaded collar. At the rear a fully adjustable shock aims to keep the wheels driving forward and offers 229mm of travel.

Bringing the 159kg machine to a halt are a pair of twin piston calipers clamping on 174mm discs, while a single 190mm disc handles the retardation at the rear of the machine.

Lighting the way ahead for those night sojourns are adjustable dual 30-watt headlights just in case you want to take this racer camping.

Price is yet to be set but an educated guess would have the machine being priced somewhere between $11500 and $12500.

Plenty of optional HRC gear will be available to extend the performance of this fire breather even further if your ability and bank balance allows…

Specifications - Honda TRX450R

• Engine: 450cc, single cylinder, Unicam, liquid cooled
• Bore x Stroke: 94mm x 64.8mm
• Compression: 10.5:1
• Induction: Keihin 42mm carburettor with TPS
• Starter: Forward kick with auto decompressor
• Transmission: Five speed
• Final Drive: Sealed chain
• Length x Width x Height: 1844 x 1176 x 1107mm
• Wheelbase: 1251mm
• Seat Height: 828mm
• Dry Weight: 159kg
• Fuel Capacity: 14.5 litres
• Tyres: Front _ 22x7-10; Rear _ 20x10-9
• Suspension: Front _ Independent double wishbone with Showa fully adjustable shocks; Rear _ Pro Link with single fully adjustable Showa shock
• Ground Clearance: 114mm
• Brakes: Front _ Dual 174mm discs with twin piston calipers; Rear _ Single 190mm disc with single piston caliper
• Price: To be announced
• Warranty: Six months
• Available: May 2004