Honda Dirt Bikes - History And Bike ReviewsHe picked up batch of unwanted two stroke electric generator motors and set about adapting them to fit into a bicycle frame. The result was quite successful and Honda started to develop a complete purpose built motorcycle. The Honda Motor Company was founded in 1948 and in 1949 the company produced the D-Type motorcycle. This was the first actual motorcycle produced by Honda, this machine was the realisation of Soichiro Honda's dream to build a complete motorcycle and so was dubbed 'The Dream'. In 1958 Honda released the C100 Super Cub which would go on to become the biggest selling motorcycle of all time. The bike had a centrifugal clutch making it easy for beginners to ride and also had a step through frame configuration which made it popular with females as well as males. The Super Cub also became the first Honda motorcycle to be sold in the U.S.A and in the same year Honda also launched the 250cc C72 Dream in Europe, the first Japanese manufacturer to release a bike there. In 1960, the company began motorcycle production at its factory in Suzuka, Japan. Honda has always been a company that is race inspired and the development of the Honda dirt bikes range led to the company taking the win in the first Baja 1000, held in 1967. The first serious Honda dirt bike was the 'Elsinore', released in 1970. The bike later became available in a trail version. The SL125 was the first genuine trail bike released by Honda and was soon re-released with a 250cc engine. The SL's went on to become the XL range in 1973. The development of Honda dirt bikes has gone from strength to strength since then, the CRF450 is arguably the most popular mid capacity four stroke motocrosser on the market today. While a small number of their dirt bikes have been part of a Honda recall in the past, these motorcycles have mostly kept up the excellent quality that Honda is known for. They've surely played a large hand in converting consumers to bike enthusiasts once they've decided to try something a bit different than new and used cars. '09 Honda Dirt BikesCRF450The all conquering leader of the Honda dirt bikes, the CRF450 has had a pile of work done to it for '09. The biggest news is the fitment of fuel injection, the injection system delivers a broader spread of power and increased fuel economy. This allows a smaller capacity tank to be fitted saving weight. The weight savings go further with a new thin walled crankcase that saves a further 200 grams and the decompressor is integrated into the camshaft which further saves weight. There are all new plastics this year as well, the side covers flow into the rear guard, similar to a KTM, and the frame has been revised allowing the bike to be slimmer overall. The 450 still has KYB suspension front and rear but the forks are bigger now at 48mm and there's a steering damper fitted standard.
The '09 CRF250 has also undergone some updates, the engine has a new cylinder head designed to improve low to mid range power and the engine is also lighter than last year. The transmission has had changes made internally which are to improve gear shifts making them smoother when shifting under load. There's the usual suspension setting revisions and the steering damper settings have been updated as well. Both the 250 and 450 have redesigned brake rotors which save 65 grams of weight. The 250 is available in a trick black color scheme as well as the usual Honda red.
The CRF150 has only received cosmetic updates for '09, the 150 is still available in the Expert specification as well as the base model. The Expert has a 19 inch front and 16 inch rear wheel which raises the bike about 1.5 inches to accomodate taller riders. The 150's have a high tensile steel tube frame and 37mm Showa inverted forks up front with a Showa shock and Pro Link rear suspension. It also shares the same front brake set up as the CR125 and CR250.
Click here to check out the full range of '09 Honda dirt bikes. Check out the '08 motocross range here Click here to have a look at the 07 Honda dirt bikes Please note that to protect our younger visitors to Motocross 101, SafeSearch is turned on in these search results.
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