HONDA CRF450L

I realise I might be very lucky to have a job testing bikes, but handing some of them back isn’t always easy to bear. Returning the keys to the owner for the final time, my mood always serves as the best measure of just how much I’ve enjoyed being with a bike. The sadness I felt as I kicked the Honda CRF450L’s sidestand down, marking the end of the three months I’d spent with it, told me all I needed to know.

HAPPY MEMORIES

The trail bike had delivered plenty of good times, especially along green lanes. It had made my winter significantly less depressing, allowing me not just to continue riding through the bleaker months, but have a ball while I was at it. Then just as spring arrived, so did the need to call time on my relationship with the 450. As the saying goes, all good things…

That final