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I have ridden withe the 23.5mm Ride Engineering clamps on the 2025 Honda CRF450R recently but wanted to get a “regular rider’s” opinion on them so I shipped my set of test clamps to Jesse Heninger who purchased a Honda CRF450R after he rode our Yamaha vs. Honda comparison earlier in the year. Jesse went and paid full pop on a new 2025 Honda CRF450R and has been complaining to me that his red machine still felt a little harsh and unstable on faster, hard pack tracks. To back up my claim that you don’t need to be a professional rider or tester to feel your way around the bike, I thought I would just put Jesse’s words down here in this article for you all to read. Below are Jesse’s raw words after spending a few weeks on the Ride Engineering clamps. This is a real world “here are some clamps to try” type of evaluation. -KK
“I was excited to try the newly redesigned Ride engineering 23.5mm split triple clamps on my new 2025 Honda CRF450R. Here on the west coast of Southern California we experience a large amount of dry edgy conditions especially in the afternoons at our local tracks. In search of some added stability, comfort as well as trying to get set up for corners better we thought it would be a great idea to try out the clamps to see if we could gain some improvements in those areas.
Right away once installed on the bike I noticed added comfort and flex when loading the front end entering corners and slap down landings. A calmer feeling chassis was also noticed when the track got rough as there was less movement from underneath me. The clamps helped the harsh, edgy (deflection) feeling through the front end on the edge of tire as well, so overall bump compliance was improved for me. Although I gained some improvements entering corners (areas 1-2), I did notice a slightly less planted feeling while exiting the corners especially corners with nothing to bank off of (area 3). I could maybe start experimenting with fork height more which is what I did. Raising the fork height does improve the vague feel in area 3 of corners so if you do have that sensation like I did, you might want to raise your fork up a couple mm’s. Keefer recommends 2mm with t he stock clamps so maybe going as high as five mm’s can help get the front tire more planted to the ground on exits of corners.
Overall, I think if you are a faster intermediate to pro rider who caters towards stability you will really enjoy the improvements adding these clamps makes. If you are a Novice to intermediate rider and maybe don’t have as much technique through corners you may not notice as much. Personally I think as a rider you really should ask yourself what kind of rider you are and what works best for you. I personally think this has helped my Honda feel more stable and that has helped me have more confidence in this CRF450R.”
Traces Tested: Glen Helen Raceway, Cal City Mx Park and DT1 MX.
