2008 Honda reviews

My son and I enjoyed some road riding last summer, but his passion became motocross. The bike served its purpose well; ie, figuring out what type of riding to which he was going to gravitate. At 17 he far surpassed the bike's limitations for real off road riding. He now has a CRF 450R, which he had no problems handling. The 230L was naturally unable to do the things he needed to keep up with friends due to fork travel, torque and DOT tires. He had become too fast for the machine off road, to the point where it was dangerous. The front tire would wash out while cornering in sand. The bike was very dependable and sold and I give it 5 stars. He ran the machine hard and a professional motorcycle dealer friend bought it for himself. My son now has his motorcycle license and can turn to road riding and be considered an experienced rider and therefore lower insurance. I will write an update on 2008 CRF 450R (new at purchase) later. Show less

After a long search I narrowed down my choices to a KTM300, WR450F and a CRF450X. Being that I live in California, it was a priority that I get a green sticker so I had to let the KTM go, and despite what those KTM guys say, it was a good decision. After extensive reviews and blog searches I purchased a CRF450X. It performs way better than I was expecting. The motor is very good and very usable. I rarely found myself wanting more. The gearing is spot on for how I ride. A low first, nice gap between second and third and so on. The suspension is on the firm side and that's exactly how I like it. I can ride it through some trails and on the way back to my truck I can hop on an MX track and the suspension handles all but bad landings very well! It feels very light in the air, and corners better than my previous KX250 two stroke. For fun I have also put on some laps on a flat track in a figure 8 design and again the suspension was up to that task. Like the suspension, the brakes are amazing! It's very strong and very easy to modulate. When you start taxing the engine on some tracks, you realize it's designed to be a fast trail bike, not a racing MX bike. that's OK with me because no other stock motorcycles I have previously owned could handle such a wide array of situations as well as the CRF450X. Hands down, I cannot say enough about the motorcycle!!! And it's bone stock too! With a few mods this motorcycle would be second to none! Show less

This is a very powerful bike and I can hardly keep the front tire down which is a good thing. I mostly trail ride it and it is great. Show less

I owned one of these from 2008-09 and had lots of fun on it. It was light enough for just me to pick up since I rode by myself a lot. The seat is kind of hard and takes a little getting used to. I knocked down the comfort a star or two for that. There's also a little vibration when you get up to speed especially if you're getting above 50 mph. I'm not sure if this is normal or if maybe my forks got a little twisted when I dumped my bike in the sand. Still, this bike was like my own personal work horse. I rode on the street, dirt trails, railbeds, mud, gravel and sand. This bike ate it up! A word to the wise, don't ride above 60 mph. The engine really whines and the back end will start to wiggle. I mean you do what you want, but I'm keeping it under 65 mph. Sorry I sold this bike, but looking forward to owning one again some day. Show less

This is a great bike. I bought it used and am very impressed with it. The braking needs improvement and the speed is perfect for this scooter. Any faster with the braking system and you are a having problems. There is room to make this scooter better than it all ready is. They just need work on the braking system. Besides that, the gear oil needs a fill hole, two bolts for it - one for air and drain plug which it has. Besides this I would rate it a 10 across the board. Show less

It's a very nice bike indeed. As with so many others, I agree, at 3500 RPM the bike comes to life. At 5500 RPM, game over, as the flapper mod opens. Its about this time the rider smiles. There's no mistake she is a liter bike but you would never know it cruising around the city under 5000 RPM. The bad side is the seat, on long rides two hours+ - your backside will hurt. I heard the after market seat has good marks. The bike will seem laggy until 2500 RPM. It can be fixed with exhaust or fuel mapping if you wish to do so. Though, I see no need if it's a street-only bike. Power: Um, power wheelies 1st through 3rd gear confirmed, no clutch, just twist the throttle. Speed: 1st gear 98 mph., I have been clocked at 177 mph. 6th gear and the tach was still wrapping around the clock at a nice pace. Overall: this can be a beginner's bike. Just keep the RPM below 5500, change the seat and you will have yourself a very, very nice ride. Show less

It has great reliability and overall it's a nice bike. The only thing it needs is power, at least a 400cc engine. As a beginner, I've outgrown this bike in a month. Show less

This is a follow-up to my other post from May of last year. The bike is now broken-in and has nearly 3,000 miles on it. The acceleration has gotten a lot better since break-in, but I was noticing a significant drop-off in MPG - down to 79. I took it into the shop for inspection earlier this year and told the shop and they cleaned the carb. This made some difference in acceleration, but it was only when I purchased and started using Star-Tron fuel additive that the MPGs went back up to 86 MPG (back again!!!). Apparently the Ethanol treated gasoline is really causing issues with engines - both carbureted and injection, but seen more on the carbureted due to the vacuum passages being so small and prone to clogging. This is still a great commuter bike and fun to ride. Show less

I love it. This is my bike- not my kids- mine ! I've ridden it on trails, through mud, up hills, down hills, and it's light and has plenty of pulling power. I may pull the mirrors next time I ride off road so I can push it even harder. I've also ridden it to town and had no problems keeping up with traffic on the North Shore Expressway. The mileage is fantastic. But I do have to be honest about something - the seat. It may be good for a 20-year-old but I wish it had more padding. That is one thing I definately have to look into - an aftermarket seat upgrade. Show less

I love my CRF150RB...it's a great size for me, and it's just as fast as the big bikes. My boyfriend and I both ride this bike and all our friends with full-sized bikes are always surpised that we can keep up with them. It's great in trails and on the track. Show less