Justin Brayton has raced a Honda CRF450R for the past three Monster Energy AMA Supercross seasons with the Smartop/Bullfrog Spas/MotoConcepts Honda team. For 2020, the veteran racer has moved to Team Honda HRC, which marks his second stint with the factory effort he last raced for in 2012.
In his return to the factory Honda organization, the 35-year-old has notched top 10 finishes in the first four rounds of the season, his best result so far a sixth place at round 4 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. One week prior at Anaheim 2, we spoke with his mechanic Brent Duffe to learn about the Iowa native’s factory Honda CRF450R.
Duffe began by telling us that while some riders prefer relatively smooth power, Brayton wants everything they can give him. The CRF450R powerplant is made up almost entirely of unobtainable HRC components, along with a few aftermarket parts—only some of which are available to the public.
“You can kind of say the whole engine is aftermarket, but it’s all Honda components,” Duffe explained. “What’s different about these [Team Honda HRC] engines are they don’t come as a complete engine that is modified. They are all built from parts from HRC; well, 100 percent from HRC. [We use] a works ECU, [and] all the mapping is done by Honda Japan. We also have a Yoshimura exhaust; it’s a factory, works system that is not available to the public.”
The hydraulic clutch system on Brayton’s bike is yet another unobtainable part. Inside the engine is an eight-plate clutch, which he recently switched to for both feel and durability purposes.
“As far as true aftermarket, the clutch is available to the public and it’s from Hinson [Racing],” Duffe said. “We’ve been running a seven-plate for the first few rounds [at Anaheim 1 and St. Louis] and we’ve just switched to an eight-plate [for Anaheim 2]. The extra plate just gives it a little more grab. He’s typically been really easy on the clutch, but [during] racing, he’s a little harder on it, so we’ve gone to the eight-plate for durability as well.”
The Showa fork and Showa shock are both works components that are unobtainable by all but factory 450 teams like Team Honda HRC.
“[The suspension components are] Showa works stuff, and he and Kenny [Roczen] are on a nearly identical setup. Justin has been on a bit different setup for the last few years, and this weekend [at Anaheim 2] is going to be the first time we’ve tried a little different shock setup than he’s used to.”
Brayton prefers a lower rear end feel. To help provide him with that, Duffe installs a subframe that is lowered by 10mm. The linkage on the bike is factory but uses the stock measurements.
“Justin always runs a low, squatted rear; it kind of gives [the bike] more of a planted look and feel through the whoops. He likes to set his bike up for the whoops; that’s normally his strongest point on the track, so he normally likes it ‘low and slow’ in the rear, but this weekend [at Anaheim 2], we are going to a little bit stiffer setup.”
All of the engine mounts on Brayton’s machine are stock. Holding the front end down on starts is a Works Connection Pro Launch holeshot device. Duffe mentioned Brayton runs a Renthal 997 Twinwall handlebar that is rolled forward a bit more than most riders to open up the cockpit area. ARC provides the front brake and clutch lever, both of which are different lengths than stock and left in place at all times to suit his preferences.
“Justin runs a short and stubby [front] brake lever really close to his finger and a longer ARC lever on the clutch just to give it more feel,” Duffe noted. “He’s very, very particular about the placement [of both levers]. In fact, I don’t remove the perches on build days just because he likes them to be exactly the same every week.”
When asked what separates Brayton’s bike from Roczen’s, Duffe told us, “They are primarily the same. They run different handlebars, but really the only difference is setting them up for comfort and feel between the riders. One thing you’ll notice if you sit on and grab the motorcycles is Justin runs a shaved-down throttle tube, and it’s strictly just so it can be a skinnier feel in his hand to help reduce arm-pump.”