2021 HUSQVARNA FC 450
R I D E R E V I E W
P86
The FC 450 still rips, especially in
the power department. Our 20-year-old
test rider who qualified for four 250SX
West Supercross mains this year, and
is no stranger to 450s, described going
up one of Glen Helen Raceway's notori-
ous uphills on the FC 450 as "like being
shot out of a cannon." Yet, the FC, he
says, delivers all that power in a very
smooth and linear fashion, making the
FC's motor remarkably easy to manage
and control, despite all that crazy power.
Our test rider was impressed with the
Husky's engine, to say the least.
However, it wasn't a big surprise that
he spent a part of our first day on the
FC 450 stiffening up the suspension a
bit. At 170 pounds,
he's not exactly
heavy, but he is
an extremely ag-
gressive rider and
needed a bit more
resistance at both
ends than what the
stock settings were
giving him. But the
key thing here is
that he made a few
tweaks here and a
few tweaks there
and was able to
get the suspension
to perform to his liking. Overall, he's a
fan of the FC's WP AER 48 fork that he
says it works well and has a wide range
of adjustability. WP never gave up on
pneumatic forks and their commitment to
them shows.
And speaking of the fork, it has a new
adjustment knob at the bottom of the
fork leg. You can now make rebound
damping adjustments by hand. A screw-
driver is no longer needed.
(Top) The WP Xact
AER 48 pneumatic
fork is 10mm
shorter in length
but damping
characteristics of
last year's longer
fork remains the
same. (Bottom)
Husky was able to
lower the rear end
without reducing
rear-wheel travel
by making changes
to the linkage and
the shock.
