Honda CRF450R 2017-2018 Service Manual

Cycle World's own confirmed review doesn't pull punches about how quickly Honda moved the goalposts within this exact two-year span: "after receiving a complete redesign for 2017, Honda's range-topping CRF450R motocrosser surprises with a few further upgrades for 2018. These include (yes, finally!) an electric starter in place of the historically conflicted kickstarter, perceptibly firmer springing and damping rates for its 49mm Showa coil-spring fork and shock, and revised engine mapping. As Mr. T would say, 'I pity the fool!' who bought a 2017." Dirt Bike Magazine's own confirmed testing echoes the same sentiment: "the bike was conceived as a kick-start model with the option of an electric-starter kit. Now, it's electric start only with no kick-start lever in sight."

Power comes from a 449cc liquid-cooled Unicam single, delivering a claimed 53 hp at 9,000 rpm and roughly 35.4 lb-ft (48 Nm) of torque at 7,000 rpm through a 5-speed transmission. Ultimate Motorcycling's own confirmed 2017 launch review details the genuine internal rework that year: "the top end receives narrower and larger valves, a revised valve actuation, a higher compression piston, and a straighter downdraft intake layout," with three switchable engine maps — Standard, Smooth, and Aggressive — selectable via a handlebar-mounted button. Autoevolution's own confirmed account flags the real chassis change accompanying that new engine: "an air-assisted fork replaced by a Showa coil spring unit" — a genuine departure from the KYB air fork used on the previous, fourth-generation CRF450R.

Vital MX's own confirmed 2018 testing details the exact suspension tuning that changed for this second year: "new spring rates front and rear (stiffer), along with some new upper engine brackets," plus a genuine mapping refinement — "a small mapping tweak really cleaned up how the base map runs. This mapping tweak eliminated a flat to spike spot that last year's bike had... now it has a more progressive pull from low-to-mid." Wikipedia's own confirmed account summarizes the two years plainly: "the 2017 CRF450R offers a new engine design and optional electric start... the 2018 offers standard electric start and new engine mount [that] offer[s] more chassis flex."

Dirt Bike Magazine's own confirmed testing flags a genuine, persistent complaint worth knowing across both model years: "our biggest single CRF450R complaint for several years running has been the clutch. Honda redesigned it last year, but it still has a stiff pull and a vague feel. It heats up quickly and then wears out." Suspension consisted of a 49mm inverted adjustable Showa fork with 304mm of travel and a Pro-Link swingarm with an adjustable Showa shock offering 312mm at the rear. This exact fifth-generation configuration ran through 2020 before Honda's sixth-generation redesign in 2021 brought a slimmer frame and single centered exhaust.

This factory service manual covers the procedures, torque specs, and diagrams needed to keep a 2017-2018 CRF450R running the way it was built to.