There’s one man who knows production Honda motocross machines like nobody else, and that’s former GP rider and AMA pro Mark Eastwood. As a Honda off-road dealer for decades, he still rides at expert level and helps the UK’s main Honda race team with machine set-up.

He’s ridden the bike a lot, including putting it through its paces on Jake Nicholls’ private track, as well as stripping it down to check out every detail. From the suspension and linkage to clutch and motor, there’s nothing that has escaped his attention. MotoHead’s Dave Willet caught up with him to talk CRF450s and get the inside on this milestone new machine.