Confused? It's a Honda CRF450 frame, with a CR500 motor, a swingarm from an Aprilia RXV, and pipes that belong on an R1.

Taffymoto on supermotojunkie has been working on this project since December of last year. He has taken a powerful CR500 motor, put it in a modern and stiff CRF450 frame, added state of the art supermoto suspension, and finished it off with high end components everywhere else. Modern 450Fs are plenty fast, but there's nothing quite like a well tuned 500cc two stroke in a lightweight modern chassis. Even though they haven't been built for years, the CR500 is still easily the most powerful motocross bike ever produced. The original steel CR500 frame is heavy, overly flexible, has outdated geometry. That's where the CRF450 comes in. It's a huge improvement in all the areas the CR500 is weak. The only problem is that the CR500 motor doesn't physically fit.

Taffymoto cut up and rebuilt the lower part of the CRF frame where the motor sits. The modified frame and stock RXV swingarm are powdercoated black, and the motor is painted with VHT. The suspension consists of a set of Marzocchi 50mm forks, Ohlins TTX rear shock and a $700 Ohlins steering damper. The bike rolls on a set of used BST wheels that needed a little TLC in the form of some black paint and clear coat. Fancy Pro-Carbon bodywork is super pricey; each tank shroud is $160 before you factor in shipping. The carbon tank is $592.70. It appears that the owner decided to use the side panels and rear fender from the twin-piped 2009 CRF250R to clear the Akrapovic CRF250 slip-ons.

I have to say, the idea of a supermoto dripping with cash and lacking a license plate seems strange. Typically, supermoto bikes provide the closest thing out there to cost-free crashing. With a $592.70 tank, expensive Aprilia swingarm, and no sliders anywhere, riding this particular bike around the track is a stressful proposition. Crashing this supermoto would probably cost more than most 2007 CRF450s are worth. Still, there's no arguing that the end result is nothing short of impressive.

via Supermotojunkie

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