2 0 2 0 H U S Q VA R N A F E 3 5 0 V S . F E 5 01
COMPARISON
P58
The big-bore power and torquey nature of
the FE 501 beast means it's more capable
for longer-distance excursions like travers-
ing Idaho's backcountry or dropping down
the Baja peninsula for a week loaded with
luggage. It's the do-it-all platform that only
shows weakness in the most technical,
throttle-control-vital situations.
THE BORE-ING TRUTH
Everyone I ride with on a regular basis has a
version of the full-size KTM or Husqvarna off-
road bike platform—mostly 450 or 500-class
XCF-W, XC-F, EXCs and FEs, even a Beta
or two in that range. In California, EXC and
FE-S versions are hard to beat with open-
road legality of license plates and the longer-
distance chops of bore and stroke math
coming to the rescue if/when you need to
powerline-road it home. The question of bike
size for many out here is one of, "Why not?"
as in, "Why not have 500 instead of 350?"
It's with this legacy many 350s are not con-
sidered after that point. This is the land that
developed the Honda XR650R into the king
of the desert, after all. The 350 pitch often
falls on deaf ears in comparison.
Generally speaking, both the
Husqvarna FE 350 and FE
501 have very similar handling
characteristics.
