JCR Honda CRF450R and CRF250R: RACER TEST

Cycle News Staff | February 18, 2016

What do you do after you win 11 Baja 1000 titles, five Baja 500 titles and countless other Baja and desert titles? You go GNCC racing. Huh? Well, that’s what Johnny Campbell and his Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR)/Honda Team did.

It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense at first, going from one extreme form of off-road racing to the other—not to mention going from one coast to the other—but when you really want to challenge yourself, this does indeed seem to be the way to do it.

Johnny Campbell’s name is synonymous with Baja, but at the end of the 2013 Baja-racing season, Campbell chose to get out of his comfort zone and try something completely different. He chose GNCC racing, something on the opposite side of the spectrum from what he’s used to doing. And Honda, who already let Campbell run its off-road racing program, was on board, too, so off they went to the east coast to the Grand National Cross Country Series.

You can read the original magazine story by clicking HERE.

That first year, 2014, Campbell hired its sole rider Chris Bach who grew up in North Carolina and cut his teeth racing local hare scrambles, and OMA and GNCC races and would be the perfect rider for the fledging JCR/Honda GNCC team. With the help of Bach’s experience, the team learned a lot that first year and used their new knowledge to improve rather significantly in 2015. That year, they earned their first GNCC victory and finished out the season in fourth place. Campbell and crew are fast learners.

For 2016, the JRC/Honda Team expanded by picking up another rider, Trevor Bollinger, who will compete in the XC2 (250cc) division. Bach will again compete in the premier class, XC1, on a Honda CRF450R and Bollinger on a CRF250R. Of course, these bikes are heavily modified from their original motocross state, and we got a chance to ride them both—Bach and Bollinger’s actual race bikes—in California before they got loaded up hauled off to the east coast for the opening round of the GNCC Series, which will be held in Florida on March 6.

TRANSFORMATION

As mentioned, both Bach’s and Bollinger’s bikes are 2016 CRF-“R” MX models. Honda does offer a 450 off-road version—the CRF450X—but that bike hasn’t seen many updates from the factory since its 2008 debut. The X, however, was and still is the perfect foundation for Baja racing because of its stable chassis, wide-ratio gearbox and electric-starting. It’s heavier than the R but for long-distance and fast racing like Baja, weight really isn’t as big of a factor as it is in GNCC racing; in fact, it might even help in Baja when it comes to high-speed stability. But for slower and more technical trails, those typically found in GNCC-type racing, light weight and quick handling are critical, so the JCR Team uses the R models as their platform.

So where do they start when it comes to transforming an MX bike into a GNCC racer?

“The first thing we do to it to go GNCC racing is, one, we need the fuel capacity and a dry-break re-fueling system for that style of racing, so we add the bigger tank,” says Campbell. “The next thing we do is add Pro Circuit suspension, tailored to the individual rider. Another thing we do that we think is a big performance improvement in handling is put a 22mm offset triple clamp on these bikes (stock is 20mm); it really aids in stability in an off-road setting. It makes it track well. Yes, steering is a little lazier but it’s more predictable for this style of racing.

“One of the real key things in setting up a bike for us and specific for a JCR model is attention to detail when we’re assembling the bike. That means making sure that the torque specs are proper on anything bolted to the chassis. Alloy chassis’ are sensitive and they need attention to detail to have the best possible handling. So, we torque the motor mounts and the swingarm pivot, and some of them we’ll change the torque specs depending on the type of tuning we want to do for certain applications.”

Campbell said that the different torque settings to the motor mounts can drastically change the way the Hondas feel on the trail.

The CRF450R already pumps out plenty of power, that is not an issue, so when it comes to modifying the motor, they spend all of their time making the most out of the power the Honda already has.

*Johnny Campbell with his babies: Chris Bach’s 450 and Trevor Bollinger’s 250.*

“Chris likes a motor that’s is easy to ride. You have to ride a 450 four-stroke off-road for three hours over not-so-easy terrain, so you want one that is super rideable and not grossly powerful to where it has a big spikey hit. Sometimes that’s really exciting and that’s all good if you’re riding it short periods on a track, so we try to broaden the power out and smooth it out through the range. We want to be able to ride first gear over super snotty, technical, rocks, and we also have to be able to go fifth-gear on a grass track, so we need real broad power that, one, won’t stall; two, we can click it into fifth and hit 70 miles an hour if we need to.”

That same kind of philosophy goes into suspension setup.

“Suspension: in GNCC racing, a lot of the tracks have been raced on for several years now, forward and backward, and the holes are getting pretty big, and so are the roots and the rocks,” says Campbell. “So it’s kind of a tricky deal how to set up a GNCC bike, because you need the suspension firm enough to be able to go over holes and big dips and ravines and stuff like that, and whooped-out trails, but you also need it soft enough to absorb sharp rocks, sharp roots, in a very consecutive form. So, kind of the path that we use with suspension is, we need to ride up in the stroke, but we need it to react quickly, like high-speed quickness for the rocks and roots to where it’s not getting knocked all over, and you’re not losing traction. On top of that, we can’t have it bottom in big G-outs and holes. So it takes quite a bit of tweaking. Bones (Jim Bacon) at Pro Circuit has helped us with that, with suspension settings.

“Our 450 has been in development for two years and now I feel like we have a really good winning package. Chris proved last year that he can win; overall, it’s coming together.”

*Bach’s CRF450R Honda is built for speed and comfort.*

Campbell says that setting up bikes for Baja and bikes for GNCC racing are two completely different animals.

“Setting up a GNCC bike is quite a bit different than Baja,” says Campbell. “Baja was kind of easy for us in a way, because that is the type and style of racing I did growing up doing and that came second-nature to me. How do you make a [Baja] bike handle? I could ride down a dirt road and know. But once you get into the woods, the rocks, the roots, that’s been a learning curve for us, which I enjoy; it’s been a challenge. It broadens my education in dirt-bike setup and everything.”

Dialing in a 250 is a whole new challenge for Campbell and his team. After all, in Baja, you don’t race a 250 if you want to win it all, so Campbell has zero experience working with 250s; that’s where Bollinger comes in. He already has a lot knowledge riding a CRF250R in the woods.

“The 250 is a new bike for us as far as setup and stuff. We’ve only scratched the surface with the 250,” says Campbell. “Now that we have Bollinger on the team, he has quite a few years on a CRF250R, we’re learning that bike as well. It’s not too different than the 450 setup, but when you ride the two bikes, they seem quite different because of the mass of the motor and the weight and stuff. So, with the 250, what we’ve been doing is just working on getting torque out of the motor but at the same time keeping that free-rev and light-feeling motor character, and we have achieved that, I believe. Trevor is real happy with the bike. He says it’s faster than his ’15 that had more motor mods than what this bike does. This bike is stock with some head porting and mapping. We stuck an aftermarket air boot on it, which was surprisingly beneficial, and with a Pro Circuit exhaust, I think the bike is good and we’re going to start the season and see where we land.”

“As far as suspension, Trevor is a little bit bigger than I am [and Bach], so he likes a little firmer setting than Chris and myself. He rides a lot more aggressive; the 250 allows you to ride more aggressively, so him being a bigger guy that rides more aggressive, it can accept a lot firmer suspension setup and chassis setup. With the 450, you kind of have to do a little bit of a ballet with it, because you have plenty of horsepower.

“Watching Trevor ride the 250, he rides at higher rpm’s and takes different lines than the 450 riders, because you have to be able to keep your momentum up, so we don’t want to go too crazy on the motor before we start the season, because we want to see where we’re going to land with this and want to keep the dependability and durability of Honda. But right now Trevor is happy with it and I think we’re off to a good start.”

OUR TURN

We got the chance to spin a few laps on the exact same track that both Bach and Bollinger have been using to test their 2016 race bikes. The entire team was in California for the month of January and they spent every day of it on a short GNCC-style course that they designed near the JCR race shop, which meant that what once was a super-fun, super-smooth single-track trail that happily zig-zagged through the trees had become a massively rutted-out, whooped-out, and rooted-out trail that was more fierce than fun. But perfect for GNCC testing.

It’s hard to say which bike impressed us the most but what we do know is that both bikes did impress us a lot. With the 450, what stood out first for us was the front end. We immediately noticed the different offset that gave the bike—just like Johnny said—a lazier feel. On a motocross track, we probably would not have liked that, but on the trail, the JCR Honda didn’t feel nearly as twitchy or nervous up front, which made the bike easier to guide through the trees and to keep steady on the narrow trail. The bike also felt more planted in the ruts, meaning it didn’t want to climb up the sides nearly as much as a stock CRF450R would. Don’t get us wrong, the JRC 450 still responds quickly to handlebar input, but with the slightly more stretched out front end, the bike just feels more predictable in the steering department, which is very important in GNCC racing when you’re turning the motorcycle every few feet!

The bike also deals with the ruts extremely well. Dropping into them isn’t a big deal at all; the bike just settles in and stays put until the right spot comes along to where you can pop out easily. The suspension helps out here, as well.

Bach’s 450 is super compliant and soaks up the smaller bumps and sharp edges like they aren’t even there. We’d certainly say that both front and back suspensions felt plush but not mushy, or overly soft. There is still a hint of firmness overall that gives the bike a super stable and confidence-inspiring feel, overall. The front end is very predictable and provides excellent feedback. Both Bach’s 450 and Bollinger’s 250 are fitted with spring forks, rather than air forks. Campbell says that the spring forks offer better feel over the smaller bumps, are easier to dial in and remain more consistent in a longer three-hour race than air forks.

Bach’s motor is simply amazing. It still produces big power, just as you would expect from a 450, but is delivered in a very predictable and civilized manner, especially off the bottom. You can still chug it in the tight, slow-going stuff in both first and second gears without that herky-jerky feeling you often get on a 450 motocrosser when you’re gingerly working the throttle between the off and on positions. And the bike never stalls, which we certainly tested on one particular dry, slick and rocky uphill section on their test track. The 450 chugged its way to the top in first gear every time, and did so quite easily, aided by the solid and smooth-working clutch.

We absolutely loved Bach’s front brake, which was very strong but not grabby at all. For motocross, we would’ve complained that it was way too mushy at the lever but for off-road use, with all of the ruts, off-cambers and almost-always slick terrain, Bach’s front brake was superb. You could grab a handful of lever and not worry too much about the front end locking and tucking underneath you.

Overall, Bach’s 450 was remarkably easy to ride, not to mention fun, but it’s still a 450—it has tons of power, isn’t exactly featherweight light and is a big-feeling bike, but we could see us making it to the finish of a three-hour GNCC with a smile on our face, no problem.

Bollinger’s 250 is also outstanding on the trail and just as fun as Bach’s to ride but in a different kind of way. It has a lighter feel, handles a little quicker and loves to be revved out more, but it, of course, doesn’t have the torque of Bach’s big 450. Still, it has very good torque for a 250F and great bottom-end performance, making it also a blast to ride on the tight single-track trails. Like the 450, the 250 had no problem clawing and scratching its way up the big uphill, and, also like the 450, the motor never stalled on us. Not once.

*It’s not often you see Johnny Campbell on a 250, but he can still shred on a 250 or 450. Wide-open or single track, it doesn’t matter.*

Bollinger’s suspension is noticeably stiffer than Bach’s but still has a hint of plushness at both ends, and we thought it would work really well on a motocross track, too.

We did miss electric starting on both bikes, but, to be honest, they both are easy to kick over, even when the motors were hot. We expect both Bach and Bollinger to nail some holeshots this year in GNCC’s dead-engine starts.

You could notice the larger fuel tanks between your legs, but it was not a hindrance whatsoever. In fact, both bikes still feel narrow and very comfortable in the saddle. We were a bit surprised, however, how low both Bach and Bollinger like their handlebars positioned, but that is no doubt an off-road thing, since you’re often sitting down and hunched over more than you are in motocross.

Overall, both these bikes are amazing machines that are easy to ride yet still capable of winning the pro class in GNCC racing, which Bach proved last year. All that’s left now is to go racing.

Photography by Kit Palmer

You can read the original magazine story by clicking HERE.

For more Cycle News Off-Road motorcycle reviews, click HERE.

For more Honda motorcycle reviews, click HERE.