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2015 HUSQVARNA FE 350 S AND FE 501 S DUAL SPORTS FIRST RIDE P78 long enough to where you need to do very little shifting so you fo- cus on the terrain ahead of you. On the road the gearing also works well. After the light turns green, you don't find yourself shifting three times before you're through the intersection. On the top part of the scale, the Husky 501 holds its own as we got up into the 80 mph range, and I felt little straining from the machine– just the usual vibration. Like with the 350, the clutch action is superb and is without a doubt one of the best in the business; there's no chatter and it has excellent bite. Paired with the Husky's positive six-speed transmission, changing gears is a pleasant experience. The Brembo brakes are amazing as always; there's plenty of control- lable braking power on tap. Compared to the 350, the 501 vibrates a bit more and has a bulkier feel. The suspension works well, but compared to the 350, I feel the 501 would benefit from either stiffer fork springs or more preload, as the balance of the chassis and the plushness of the fork isn't as impressive. I played with the fork's clickers a bit and I did improve the balance by adding compression, but it also ended up hurting the plush- ness, which is something that's important to me on the trail. With both bikes, there were a few things that didn't sit well with me, the first being their seats. Plain and simple, they are un- comfortable and just way too hard–not good for long rides, or even short ones for that mat- ter. I searched for a comfortable pocket or plush area but, in the end (literally), the only relief was to stand up as much as possible. I did miss not having a manu- al kickstarter on the bikes. The stock batteries are weak and I found that out first hand when I left the key on (for only for a few minutes) after shutting off the bike. Kick starting is better than having to bump start a dead bat- tery. Husky does offer a manual kick as an accessory but it should come stock (after all, these bikes aren't cheap). Finally, the stock Michelin DOT tires left me wanting more in the traction department in the dirt. Same holds true on the pave- ment. The tires, however, seem to hold up well to the abuse. At the end of our ride, the Michelins showed very little wear on the tread. Unfortunately, the Husky dual sports will probably clean out your bank account. Both eclipse the $10,000 mark: $10,049 for the 350 and $10,249 for the 501. Gulp! But, no one said that per- formance is cheap. It never is. As with most dual sport rides, this one came to a close all too soon. Except for the seat and tires, I was extremely impressed with both the FE 350 S and 501 S. The bikes have a long list of pluses, including impressive looks and fantastic performance. The few things we weren't so thrilled about are all things that are easy fixes, so my hat's off to Husqvarna for producing these models, and I can't wait to get my hands on them again for a longer evaluation. CN Get ready to pay a high price for high performance. The two Husky dual sports will set you back more than 10 grand each.