Hall of Fame: 2004 Honda CRF450R

Coming off a practice injury that had kept him out of the AMA Supercross season, Ricky Carmichael faced what many thought was an uphill battle with the start of the 2004 AMA Motocross Nationals.

In addition to the injury, Carmichael had switched to a four-stroke machine for the outdoor campaign—this CRF450R.

But neither the injury nor the change in bikes was an issue. Carmichael once again showed his dominance of the sport by winning both motos of the opening round. He then went on to win every single moto of every single event through the season. Carmichael had repeated a feat that he first accomplished in 2002, winning 24 of 24 motos to notch another perfect undefeated season in what would be a Hall of Fame career.

The performance was a result of reliability as well as speed. On both fronts, Carmichael’s CRF450R delivered. The bike was developed by Honda Factory R&D in Japan, with a factory Honda cylinder head, camshaft, piston, hubs, brakes and five-speed transmission. Carmichael raced on Dunlop tires, and the suspension was works Showa.

Carmichael’s 2004 Honda CRF450R is on loan from American Honda.