Taming The Red Dragon

Riding a Honda off-road can be a handful sometimes, so we enlisted Jay Clark for a 2024 CRF450RX build that was meant for some fun trail riding with his son and the occasional west coast style GP. We wanted to keep this build very simple with minimal engine mods. The engine on the Honda has plenty of power, so adding a Vortex ECU to massage the engine character was a must. Twisted Development handled that for us as Jamie has a long list of maps to choose from. We also wanted more durability from the Honda clutch, so adding a Torque Drive Rekluse system helped clutch durability and performance. Getting some added comfort in the stiff-feeling Honda chassis was also an important mod, so installing Works Chassis Lab Engine hangers for improved traction and a planted feel was also another key feature. Of course, none of this will work unless the suspension works properly. We’ve heard great things from AHM Factory Services for off-road suspension setups, so Jay got them to build a set that would work with the type of riding we were going to do.