A full serving of the Honda 450 with an extra helping of Jett sauce
Be happy that talent can’t be bought. If it could, then motocross tracks all over the world would be filled with guys named Bezos, Musk and Gates. It would be a terrible sport for spectators and riders alike.
With that in mind, Honda has released the 2025 CRF450RWE, aka ““Works Edition, aka “Jett’s Jett.” The guys at Honda aren’t dumb. They know that they have something special in Jett Lawrence and are hoping to sell a little bit of it to the public. Thus, the RWE has the look of a factory Honda and some of the parts that make it special. It can’t make you ride like Jett, but it can certainly help you look the part. To be fair, the Honda RWE’s history goes back to 2019, long before the Jett age. Back then, it was made to capitalize on Ken Roczen. It was also designed as a counterpunch to the KTM 450SX-F Factory Edition. The KTM, however, started with a very different genesis and motivation. In 2012, it was seen as a one-time move to get the latest motocross bike into the hands of newly signed Ryan Dungey. AMA homologation required 400 bikes, and that number sold quickly and for a good price, so it became an annual tradition. Today, almost everyone sells special editions, not so much as a means of giving their race teams any kind of advantage, but rather as a tribute to them.
THE WORKS TREATMENT
So now the 2025 Honda CRF450RWE has arrived, but as far as AMA homologation rules are concerned, it’s the exact same bike as the standard 2025 CRF450R. Honda started there and then put together a package of upgrades designed to give it the works look:
• Hand-polished cylinder head ports
• Hinson clutch basket
• Hinson clutch cover
• Twin Air filter
• Throttle Jockey graphics
• D.I.D DirtStar LT-X rims
• Yoshimura exhaust system
• Kashima and titanium-oxide-coated lower fork tubes
• Re-valved suspension
• RK gold chain
• Revised ECU settings
• Black triple clamps
You also get an upgraded price. The 450RWE sells for $12,599, which is $2900 more than the standard version. For the balance sheet that you probably are seeing in your head, here are some aftermarket prices to get you started: Yosh RS12 exhaust system, $1089; Hinson clutch basket, $299; Hinson clutch cover, $199; head porting, $400. The suspension upgrades are hard to put a number on because they typically come with personalized valving, which you might need anyway. Plus, Honda doesn’t put the stock parts in a milk crate for you, so if you are trying to justify the price to your parents or spouse, give up now. You pay extra for an unquantifiable cool factor and the hope that some Jett magic will come with the bike.
UNDER THE HOOD
To back up a little, the bike under the RWE makeover has some substantial changes for 2025. The standard CRF450R got a new, more rigid frame, as well as some more rigid parts in the linkage, fork and subframe. The airbox and intake were completely revised to provide a straighter shot into the throttle body and eliminate the upside-down filter along the way. The Nissin front brake caliper is new, and all the bodywork was redesigned to provide a little more gripping surface for your legs. Even before the RWE’s re-valving and premium coatings came into play, the suspension got some mechanical changes. Same goes for mapping. The standard model had changes, and those were further altered to support the pipe and port polishing for the RWE.
For the standard bike, all that added up to what we consider the best Honda CRF450R in 17 years. Honda has long been hunting for an identity for this bike. At times it has been preposterously powerful and virtually unrideable. Other years it has been a virtual enduro bike. All along the way it has had very quick steering that teeters on being downright nervous. For 2025, the standard Honda had the best combination of all. It gained power over the 2024 model (one of the enduro bike years) and the handling settled down. Best of all, the suspension was right on the nose for a typical sportsman rider—an intermediate in the 175-pound range.
GIMME THE WORKS
When you ride the RWE back to back with the standard version, there’s a bigger difference than you might imagine. First of all, there’s a distinct improvement in power. It’s still all about low to mid-range, but with the pipe, porting and mapping, it’s all more linear. The surge down low is smoother, and on top when the power tapers off, the end isn’t a sharp decline. It tails off and gives you a moment of extra time to find that new gear. It still works best to shift early and take advantage of all that low-end power. The Honda makes more torque below 6000 rpm than any motorcycle on the track. On top of that, the mapping is smooth, and free of pops, coughs and hiccups. You can safely ride the bike at low revs without the fear of stalling. You still have to be ready on the clutch just like any other 450 motocross bike, but if you’re careful, you don’t have to do all your braking with the clutch in. On a side note, we still love the Nissin hydraulic clutch. The Honda always needed this, going all the way back to 2002. The engagement is predictable and the pull is reasonable. The standard 450 has this as well, even though the standard CRF250R doesn’t.
There is also a noticeable difference in suspension, although it’s not what you might think. Mechanically, the fork and shock are the same as those of the standard edition right down to the spring rates. The valving is different, and both the fork and shock surfaces have Kashima and titanium nitride coatings. On the track, you get the initial impression that the suspension is softer. That’s because the fork in particular has less friction and moves more quickly. This can feel like more dive under braking. We compensated with more damping, bumping up both compression and rebound. The only riders who might have issues with the standard settings are those who are on the faster/heavier end of the bell curve. Those riders are precisely the ones who are in the target market for the RWE.
Overall, though, the suspension for this bike, like the stocker, is outstanding. The new frame removes some of the lateral flex that gave the 2024 model a reputation for nervousness. Now, the Honda turns and handles as well as ever, but you don’t get the occasional “what was that?” On the pro level, Jett and Hunter started the season chasing settings for the new frame. That was probably because they had already cured the frame-flex issues, and now they have to start all over again. For the riders in the real world, the new chassis is nothing but better.
BE A JETT
The bottom line is that the standard 2025 Honda CRF450R is a great bike and the RWE is just a little bit improved. Whether or not it’s a $2900 improvement is a question that you and your banker can deal with. The Honda CRF450RWE is motocross jewelry that exists at the elite level of the sport. If you believe that buying one is somehow going to save money, then congratulations, you win the award for best attitude. And, your prize is one of the best-handling and coolest-looking bikes in all of motocross.