Source: Bike Bound
Hand-painted Honda ready for La Ruta Del Nabab…
The Honda CRF450RX is Big Red’s big-bore competition off-road racer designed for closed-course GNCC, NGPC, and WORCS events. Unlike the green-sticker trail-legal CRF450X, the RX looks much closer to a full-on motocrosser, only with an 18-inch rear wheel, larger fuel tank, and kickstand.
It’s a highly aggressive machine that comes with a hydro clutch, multiple map modes, traction control, and an engine that puts down nearly 53 horsepower at the rear wheel:
“Plain and simple, the 450RX motor is a beast. It has gobs of power at all times and is one of the fastest bikes in its class.” –Dirt Bike Test
CRF450R vs CRF450RX
Recently, we heard from our friend Giorgio de Angelis of Rome’s De Angelis Elaborazioni. Back in 2022, we featured the Royal Enfield Himalayan he built to ride that year’s La Ruta Del Nabab — an invitation-only rally across 1000 kilometers of Morocco, mostly off-road.
Ruta Ready: “The Legend” Royal Enfield Himalayan
Now Giorgio back with this 2018 CRF450RX built for the even longer 2023 edition of the rally:
“The motorbike will be used in May for the adventure in the Moroccan desert, La Ruta Del Nabab, 1500 km in 9 days between sand dunes and endless stone and earth roads.”
La Ruta Del Nabab / Photo: Manuel Portugal
We’ll get to the modifications in a moment, but first we have to address the very special, one of a kind paint scheme on the bike and helmet.
“It’s completely hand-drawn by my 4 year old daughter, Adele. I also named the motorbike after her: La Bambina, The Little Girl :-)”
If there was ever a livery that could add a few horsepower and a hell of a lot of heart to a bike, it’s these sweet drawings from Adele.
Other modifications include vintage metal vintage metal mudguards at the front and rear that give the bike a more classic look. And if the headlight looks familiar, it’s the well-known but rare headlight from the Honda XR500R — the bike that gave Honda their first victory in the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1982.
Giorgio installed a complete GPR Italia racing exhaust, and he kept the Showa suspension but had it calibrated for sand and outfitted with XTRIG ROCS yokes. He’s running a 28/22mm variable section handlebar (28mm at the clamp area / 22mm at the grips), and the saddle was covered in brown leather.
The wheels have been wrapped in Rebel tires with Technomousse Italia mousse, and Giorgio installed an oversized 12-liter Acerbis Italia tank for the long days ahead.
All in all, this is one sweet yet potent 450, and Adele’s hand-drawn livery is sure to keep Giorgio’s heart rooted at home in Italy even while he’s 1000 miles away, blasting through the middle of Morocco.
We’re wishing you a safe and adventuresome journey, Giorgio! And you better hold on to this bodywork — not only will it be a treasured family heirloom, but if little Adele grows up to be a famous artist, who knows what it might be worth! 🙂
Follow the Builder
Builder / Rider: Giorgio De Angelis (@deangelis_gio)
Facebook: Giorgio De Angelis
La Ruta Del Nabab: Web | Instagram | Facebook
Photos: Giovanni de Angelis (@giovannideangelis1)
More De Angelis Elaborazioni Builds…
La Bambina: Rally-Ready Honda CRF450RX Custom – Hand-painted Honda ready for La Ruta Del Nabab… The Honda CRF450RX is Big Red’s big-bore competition off-road racer designed for closed-course GNCC, NGPC, and WORCS events. Unlike the green-sticker trail-legal CRF450X, the RX looks much […] Ruta Ready: “The Legend” Royal Enfield Himalayan – “Lose your mind, find your soul…” This is the motto of La Ruta del Nabab, an invitation-only rally across 1000 kilometers of Moroccan roads, trails, dunes, and creeks, scheduled to run May 28 – June […] “Sand 650”: Honda FMX 650 Desert Sled – The Honda FMX 650, available from 2005-2007, was a factory supermoto that utilized the venerable 644cc RFVC engine used in other big singles like the XR650L and NX650 Dominator. While Euro 2 emissions compliance curbed […] Honda GL1100 Goldwing by De Angelis Elaborazioni – The Honda Goldwing may not seem like an ideal donor bike for a custom build, but the big Honda boxers are increasingly finding their way into the hands of builders all over the world. The […] BMW K100 Custom by De Angelis Elaborazioni – The BMW K100 may seem an unlikely candidate for customization, but builders have discovered the beauty in the “Flying Brick.” The heavy block of engine, laid flat in the frame, keeps the center of gravity […] Aprilia Mana 850 Custom: “OnlyOne” – One hot Aprilia cafe racer…that can be ridden with only one hand! The Aprilia Mana 850, offered since 2007, is a naked bike with a 90° V-twin engine and automatic transmission. The continuously variable transmission […] BMW K100 Scrambler by De Angelis Elaborazioni – Giorgio De Angelis, the man behind De Angelis Elaborazioni of Rome, has been turning out a staggering collection of Bavarian specials. His BMW K1100 cafe racer was one of our most popular bikes of 2016, while […] BMW R80GS Scrambler by De Angelis Elaborazioni – Giorgio De Angelis of De Angelis Elaborazioni is the man who built this incredible BMW K1100 cafe racer, which easily made our list of last year’s best cafe racers. Now Giorgio is back with another burly […] BMW K1100 Cafe Racer by De Angelis Elaborazioni – Today we are thrilled to present this incredible BMW K1100LT cafe racer built by Giorgio De Angelis, a computer programmer living in Rome. He says he builds bikes “for pure hobby” — which warms our […”}]]
