2023 Honda CRF450R vs 2023 Kawasaki KX450 Comparison

The competitive motocross segment is bustling with fresh options for 2023.

And at the top of the list for many buyers are these two Japanese juggernauts, the Honda CRF450R and Kawasaki KX450.

Amid a wave of heavily updated 450s from KTM, Husqvarna, and Yamaha, the revised Honda CRF450R charters new territory for 2023, with a more rigid frame, smaller throttle body and revised suspension among its headline changes.

So how does it fare against a Kawasaki KX450 that is much cheaper at the purchase point, but has gone without meaningful change for a couple of years? Let’s get to it.

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There are plenty of ways to spin this comparison test, but the headline figure for many buyers is the price. And it’s an immediate nod to the Kawasaki.

At $12,794 ride away, the Kawasaki KX450 is some $1300 cheaper than the 2023 Honda CRF450R, which comes in at $14,098 ride-away in Australia as a comparison.

The pricing difference stands to reason when you consider the Kawi is likely to get its next major overhaul for the 2024 model year, having had its last meaningful update in 2021.

Even so, it still stands up as a quality package on paper and is regarded by many as one of the evergreen machines in the competitive 450 category – even winning some overseas comparison tests this year.

The Kawasaki’s 49mm Showa A-kit-replica coil spring forks are the same units found in the Honda, but with different valving. Also shared between the two are Dunlop Geomax 33 tyres, Nissin brakes and hydraulic clutch units.

The Kawi is the slightly lighter option in this comparison (at 110.2kg claimed versus 110.6kg claimed for the Honda), while its 449cc liquid-cooled four-stroke engine boasts slightly less power in terms of total output; manufacturers do not advertise their official power figures but the general consensus is the Kawi offers 55hp and the Honda 57hp.

Over in the red camp, the 2023 Honda CRF450R picks up a host of meaningful changes in its latest incarnation, the culminated effect being a bike that is purportedly more user-friendly than before.

Honda has introduced a narrower intake-port shape and a longer intake funnel, plus revised cam profile and 2mm smaller HRC-developed throttle body diameter (now 44mm), plus updated mapping to suit and a muffler body now fashioned from a tougher heat-treated aluminium.

The result is a purportedly smoother power delivery and increased torque at the lower end of the rev spectrum, with marginally less power at the top.

Elsewhere, the CRF450R’s frame has been strengthened in “strategic locations” – believed to be the front joint near the steering head, at the bottom the radiators and at the top shock mount – while aluminium has been swapped out for steel on the engine mounts and engine hangars.

Honda has also taken the opportunity to revisit suspension, introducing stiffer shock spring and revised fork parameters to better match the engine and chassis tweaks. The Japanese manufacturer believes the changes deliver increased tyre grip and improved stability and bump absorption, “making the bike more stable and delivering faster turns”.

As before, the Honda CRF450R offers three-stage mapping, traction control and a three-stage launch control feature, which are all configurable from different switchgear on the handlebars.

This compares with a three-stage mapping system on the Kawi (see our caveat in the next section), launch control but no traction control.

When it comes to brakes rotors, the Honda features a 260mm disc up front and 240mm at the rear, while the Kawasaki offers 270mm-250mm options.

Both bikes are fit standard with Renthal fat bars.

Evident from the moment you sit on both these bikes is just how different they are. Whereas the Kawasaki is soft and relatively wide, offering more options for handlebar and footpeg positioning, the Honda feels decidedly racier, with a harder, 10mm higher-set seat and slimmer ergonomics.

In terms of plastic quality, fitment and alignment, it’s a clear win to the Honda. Already subject to about 10-15 hours of abuse before our comparison, the Honda’s red plastics align better and feel more durable than the two-ride-old Kawasaki’s bright green guards.

Even after a handful of hours, the Kawi’s radiator shrouds and air box bears more obvious black marks from where knee braces have rubbed. Based on your tester’s previous experience, the Kawi somehow manages to chew through consumables including chain guides, plus its standard chain and sprocket set, quicker than its red foe.

Elsewhere, the Honda trumps its opponent with the standard fitment of a front disc guard, fork guards that cover a broader area of the lower legs and more superior protection of the chassis rails and sump, thanks to a black moulded piece that covers the entire section.

In either case, it’s easy to get comfortable on the CRF450R or KX450. Both offer ample lever adjustment and an open cockpit that facilitates short or taller riders alike. Fuel capacities here are virtually line-ball: 6.3 litres for the Honda and 6.2 litres for the Kawasaki.

The CRF offers slightly easier removal of the air filter, with the KX requiring the removal of two different-sized hex bolts, one 8mm and the other 10mm.

The CRF feels narrower through the middle section, with tapered edges to its seats and softer grips. The Kawi’s ergonomics feel dictated more by its perimeter aluminium frame: narrow in the middle of the seat, widening above the engine hangars and then narrowing again. The green machine offers a softer, square seat and similar upright ergonomics, but the Honda just seems to do the 1 per centers better and enables easier transitions along its seat.

Our comparison test takes place the Macarthur District Motorcycle Club, located in Appin, NSW.

We’re using the traditional Appin layout, and it’s traditional in every sense: muddy and waterlogged in the morning before turning hard-packed with a skatey surface in the afternoon. If you know, you know.

Both machines are set with 13psi tyre pressures, run on identical 98 octane fuel and are running 105mm of sag.

It’s the Kawi we concentrate on first, since it’s been a couple of years since we’ve visited the green machine.

And what a stable, confidence-inspiring 450 it is. The Kawasaki KX450 is plush and surefooted on Appin’s varying layout; it feels like a long motorcycle, offers excellent front-end grip and stability and its power delivery is relatively mellow in nature. Soft and forgiving, the Kawi could be initially mistaken as too plush in its fork action and ergonomics, yet it accommodates both riders on the day quite admirably.

The standard suspension is plush, especially over the front, yet it moves evenly through the stroke and shows no sign of blowing out suddenly.

At no point does the Kawi’s front end feel as though it wants to tuck on you either, even on approach to loose, off-camber corners. But on the flipside, the KX450 is at-times approximate with its precision: harder to place in ruts and less willing to change direction.

In the words of Glenn Kearney (former enduro pro), the KX450 is a machine that most novice and intermediate riders would gel quickly with, such is its ability to inspire confidence.

“I think the average punter would feel really comfortable on this bike. It’s really plush, really soft and fairly well balanced,” he said.

“We ended up tweaking it a bit because it was really hard-packed and skatey later in the day. I didn’t have any trouble with knifing the front on it but I did have trouble getting it stopped and turned so I ended up pulling the forks up through the clamps a bit, trying to weight that front end a bit and getting the turns a bit easier.”

Digging deeper, Glenn finds the header of the exhaust on the Kawi impedes his approach to right-hand corners. It juts out about a good 15mm more from the clutch cover compared with the Honda, and as someone who transitions his weight right over the front wheel through corners, he finds it a hindrance.

We also took the opportunity to test each of the Kawi’s three engine maps, using the white, black and green ‘couplers’ or plugs provided. The devil is in the detail here, because unlike the Honda, the Kawi has to be taken back to the van to change map settings, not via the handlebars – hardly a nuisance for most weekend riders who rely on a solitary setting, but not as easy as it could be.

The most aggressive setting brings added crispness to the Kawi’s power delivery, with a heightened sense of urgency across the rev range. Irrespective of maps, the Kawi features an apparent jerkiness upon small throttle openings in this company; not bad, but just not as smooth as the Honda.

Interestingly, the KX is also a bike that conveys what’s happening more prominently in terms of sound: more chain noise and more engine noise on track.

Moving onto the 2023 CRF450R. What’s quickly apparent to both riders on the day is how racy it feels in the presence of the KX450.

There’s much more immediacy in directional changes, easier placement in ruts and a more metered power curve. That is to say, incredibly linear at the initial throttle opening yet capable of better response and punch when it’s called upon.

With all that said, don’t mistake aggressive for unforgiving. If anything, we found the CRF450R’s superior turn-in response led to less fatigue over a moto compared with the Kawi.

The downside of that is a bike that feels comparatively knifey over the front if you don’t have your wits about you. On some of Appin’s crumbly, off-camber corners, the CRF450R requires patience upon braking and turn-in, yet drives straight under power.

As Glenn puts it: “I found on the Honda you can change direction and pinpoint the line I wanted in the corner. I could move wider and hit the apex where I wanted a little easier on the Honda than on the Kawi.

“That’s definitely geometry but it’s also the ergonomics: I feel like I can move around a little easier on the Honda.

“I feel like you’ve really got to ride the Honda. You’ve got to be on top of your game to use it to its potential, so for the average punter that doesn’t get out every few weeks – it might be a month or two between rides – they may find the Kawi a lot more forgiving.”

The Honda’s electronics feel a step ahead of the Kawi, both in terms of ease of use (handlebar switch block versus swapping out physical couplers) and in the interventions. The CRF’s added bonus of traction control is a handy safeguard for riders, too. For a big, bustling 450, you can go a long way in mellowing its temperament.

Both machines here are line-ball where braking, clutch and gearbox performance are concerned – sound, though not as delicate as the likes of KTM and Husqvarna.

In short, we reckon the CRF is a bike with a higher dynamic ceiling for most riders, albeit one that asks for a defter touch on the rider’s behalf. That might not be apparent upon first riding it, especially with the tendency to tuck on looser corners, but ride to its strengths and it responds with a really enriching and enjoyed set of dynamics.

In reality, both these bikes are winners.

You could happily ride out of the showroom on a KX450, content with your decision and the fact you’ve now got a theoretical $1300 to spend on suspension or aftermarket parts.

The Kawi is confidence-inspiring, stable and strong in everything it does. With an anticipated new model around the corner for 2024, it is also evidently off the pace in some areas.

That leaves the Honda CRF450R. It’s a rider’s bike; one that requires you to be on your game yet delivers on its promise of being racey and ready to rip.

In Glenn’s experienced hands, the Honda consistently laps two seconds faster than the Kawi around the baked Appin surface (2:21.76, 2:23.51 and 2:23.89 for the Honda versus 2:23.47, 2:25.70 and 2:24.03 for the Kawasaki).

It’s enough to hand the win the red machine for both riders, but there’s not a lot in it.

Glenn neatly sums it up this way: “I don’t think anyone would be disappointed if they rolled either of these out of the showrooms. But for me it’s the Honda that wins it: it pips the Kawi on a few little things here and there and that gets it over the edge for me. Mainly the way the power’s delivered and how easily it can change direction.”

ENGINE
Type: Four-stroke, single-cylinder
Capacity: 449cc
Bore x stroke: 96/62.1mm
Fuel supply: EFI, 44mm throttle body

TRANSMISSION
Type: Five-speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet, multiplate, hydraulic

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Twin-spar aluminium
Front suspension: 49mm Showa inverted telescopic fork, 273mm travel
Rear suspension: Showa single shock with linkage, 315mm travel
Front brake: 260mm disc
Rear brake: 240mm disc
Tyres: Dunlop Geomax MX33, Front 80/100-21, Rear 110/80-19

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed kerb weight: 110.6kg
Seat height: 965mm
Ground clearance: 336mm
Fuel capacity: 6.3 litres

OTHER STUFF
Ride-away price: $14,098
Colour: Red, white

ENGINE
Type: Four-stroke, single-cylinder
Capacity: 449cc
Bore x stroke: 96/62.1mm
Fuel supply: EFI, 44mm throttle body

TRANSMISSION
Type: Five-speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet, multiplate, hydraulic

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Perimeter aluminium
Front suspension: 49mm Showa inverted telescopic fork, 305mm travel
Rear suspension: Uni Trak single shock with linkage, 307mm travel
Front brake: 270mm disc
Rear brake: 250mm disc
Tyres: Dunlop Geomax MX33, Front 80/100-21, Rear 110/80-19

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed kerb weight: 110.2kg
Seat height: 955mm
Ground clearance: 340mm
Fuel capacity: 6.3 litres

OTHER STUFF
Ride-away price: $12,794
Colour: Green, black