VOL. 51 ISSUE 20 MAY 20, 2014 P59
finger-adjustable nob on the top
of the fork, there's no need to
pull in for a tool. You'll still need
to adjust the fork rebound and
shock clickers via a flat-blade
screwdriver but usually you go to
the fork compression first when
dialing in the suspension. We in-
creased both compression and
rebound on the fork and shock in
order to get the bike to ride high-
er in the stroke and, at the same
time, provide more damping for
increased control.
Faster riders will notice a nar-
row window for finding that sweet
spot with the fork, but, overall,
the suspension works well for the
average rider and vet racer.
Cornering on the Husqvarna is
predictable. It has a planted/con-
trolled feel. The bike holds its line
in ruts and tracks well on hard-
packed and off-camber terrain.
As always, suspension balance is
most important in order to utilize
any bike's turning capabilities,
and we certainly found this to be
true with the FC 450. The bet-
ter we dialed in the suspension,
the better it turned. It's no Suzuki
through the turns but it does rival
and, in some cases, even turns
better than the other Japanese
machines.
Like the KTM, the Husky's
Brembo brakes are amazing.
Stopping power with these units
is second to none. Modified units
on the Japanese bikes come
close but none are as good as
the Husky's (or KTM's) right out
of the box.
One thing about the Husky
(and the KTM) that we would like
to see is a larger bar pad. The
Husky's is extremely small and
hard, and we feel offers minimal
protection. Plain and simple, it's
not safe.
Conclusion
Pretty much as we expected, the
new Husqvarna FC 450 is an out-
standing motorcrosser; after all,
it is essentially a KTM 450 SX-
F, which placed second in our
2014 450 Motocross Shootout,
just one spot behind the Kawa-
saki KX450F. But, like we said,
it does have its own personality
and it's one that we would be per-
fectly happy living with. Thanks to
KTM, you can be proud to have
a Husqvarna in your garage once
again. CN
The FC 450 gets
in and out of the
turns with the
best of them.
