2014 HUSQVARNA FC 450
RIDING IMPRESSION
P58
Again, nice little feature that the
KTM doesn't have.
Clutch action is one of the best
in the biz, thanks to the single-
spring pack and hydraulic actua-
tion. It's light, smooth and strong.
And when you pair the Husky's
awesome clutch with a solid five-
speed transmission you have an
excellent transmission system
that offers buttery smooth shift-
ing with positive feel.
The Husky, like the KTM, has
electric starting. We'll take the
extra few pounds E-start adds
over kicking any day.
Chassis is stable and has a
good feel but, as mentioned, it
does transfer a little more vibes to
the bars and pegs than the Japa-
nese 450s. The vibration, how-
ever, isn't a game changer and
you probably won't even notice it
after a while.
We love the Husky's ergos,
just like we do the KTM's. Again,
the Husky seems to be a little
wider in the midsection than the
orange bike, but not by much.
Handlebar bend is a little on the
flat side for our tastes and the
seat-foam density is a little on the
stiff side; still, overall rider posi-
tion and comfort are way up there
on our like meter.
Suspension works well over-
all. It's not the best in class nor
is it the worst, but it's a thousand
times better than the previous
BMW-built 450 Husqvarna mo-
tocrosser. The 48mm closed-
cartridge WP fork and WP Dual
Compression Control (DCC) rear
shock have a balanced feel and
work in harmony with each other,
giving the rider a sense of confi-
dence that you want in order to
attack the track without having to
worry about the bike doing any-
thing out of the ordinary. A lot of
this has to do with the Husky's
rock-solid stability.
Fork compression adjustment
is a breeze, thanks to the large
One of the biggest physical
differences between the FC
450 and KTM SX-F 450 is the
Husky's plastic subframe with
integrated airbox.
