I was at the track i always ride at , and this guy i have seen there a few times (he is 62 but really fast , like reeeeaaallly fast) was on his new 19 , so I was following him around the track for a few laps trying to keep up , I was on my 02 CRF450R , so anyways , after about 5 hard laps , he pulls off , so I do as well , and follow him back to his van
So we start talking , and then I asked him how he liked it , so he said , "Do you want to try it ??" , so I got off mine and said , Yes I do !! , so the first thing I notice is its really tall in the rear , that was a struggle for me but luckily I did not have to kick start it , so it was not really a issue , just getting my leg over the rear fender was , but that button sure was nice..... The next thing i notice is the throttle response , its like a lightswitch , and man is it sensitive to input , like barely move it and the bike revs .....so now I go out on the track
The first few corners , i was really squirrly , it feels like a 250F , it feels just like there is no weight compared to my 02 which is 10 lbs lighter but feels 20 lbs heavier , its very nimble and narrow feeling , I was struggling to keep the front end on the ground , as it rocketed forward , man this thing hauls butt ..... The suspension was surprisingly plush feeling , especially with my crappy wrist , I hardly felt any chop , but i did notice when coming into a corner hard , the rear skips a bit on the braking bumps , he warned me it would do this , so it was not a issue , and it was not out of control , just the rear needs a little work to keep the wheel on the ground coming into a corner with any speed where there is chop/braking bumps , he did have a aftermarket linkage dogbone , so not sure if it caused the issue , or that it did not fix the issue , but the bike just stayed planted once I was in the corners , this is on a dry sand track with some hardpack , it was impressive , but it was still a little twitchy , I think in most part that his bars were cut down , so it was really sensitive to pressure input , it was almost best to try not to turn in the corners , just lay it over and let it go , it went where it was pointed , and did it quickly , it pulls really hard , and right from nothing , its instant power everywhere in the throttle range , ....... Jumping was also different , the jumps i found were a lot different than with my 02 , the front felt so lite , that it was really hard to keep the front end from going high on the jumps , it just wanted to go up , so i had to lean forward a bit more on the jumps and be very careful with throttle input , it seems when jumping neutral on the bike it was front lite , it was so sensitive that you could easily change the attitude of the bike in the air ,by body position and throttle input , again , it did this very quickly , so I would prefer a heavier spring on the throttle so its not as easy to get whiskey throttle-ish with it , ....... After a few laps , i had to get off , as if I would have kept riding , I don't think he would have got his bike back , it was that impressive
Bottom line is , Honda got it right with this one , me at 59 and 195 lbs could easily ride it in stock form and be happy with it , the bike felt that good , like it was already set up for me , i have worked for 10 years on my 02 messing with suspension and tweaking on the bike , and it in no way , shape or form with the exception of the Honda logo on the engine ,does my 02 resemble this new bike , I really want one now , man was that thing a blast to ride , I am completely impressed with what Honda did with this 19 , the last newer gen i rode in comparison to this was a 09 , and this is hands down a complete different bike , and not just different , but better different , it is everything you could ever ask for in a MX bike , I want a R/X now really bad ...... I am completely blown away with this bike , all the magazines say its sketchy and out of control , if your not a pro its too much bike , it is a handful , a big handful , but i was less tired riding it than my own bike i that am used to and comfortable on
Funny thing is , when i got off it and back on my own bike and did a few laps , I was wondering where my old bike went and where this heavy slug I was riding came from , how impressive I thought I had felt on my 02 , was gone after riding that 19 , it was like i jumped on a XL600R , and it took me a couple laps to settle back into being comfortable on my antiquated bike , I could in no way , push mine as hard as I could the 19 .......now I am bummed .... I really want a 19 .......