2018 HUSQVARNA FC 450 ROCKSTAR EDITION
FIRST TEST
Husqvarna basically took
the standard 2018 FC 450 and
tweaked on it with the goal of
making it feel lighter, peppier
and more comfortable to ride.
The standard 450 is already a
fantastic motorcycle; in fact, it
finished third in our six-bike 2018
450 MX Shootout, eeked out for
second place by its near-twin
KTM 450 SX-F. So, Husky had a
great starting point for its Rock-
star Edition (RE).
Husqvarna gave us the keys to
the RE for the day and we made
the best of it by hardly turning it
off before it was time to load up
and head home. So, what did
we notice first? Undoubtedly,
weight.
The Rockstar Edition does,
without question, feel lighter
on the track than the standard
FC 450. But the funny thing is,
one the scale, the RE weighs
the same as the standard! The
meat of the RE actually did lose
some weight thanks to a new
0.5-pound lighter two-piece
subframe and a redesigned and
more compact SOHC cylinder
head (the cam is positioned
15mm lower), but it gained all of
it back with the addition of things
like a carbon fiber skid plate and
a front disc brake guard, and
a mechanical holeshot device
that the standard model does
not have. But thanks to a rede-
signed frame that is narrower
in the midsection and has been
modified to reduce side-to-side
flexing while allowing a bit more
front-to-back flexing, the RE
definitely feels more agile and
Jason Anderson's 2018
factory race bike began as the
Husqvarna FC 450 Rockstar
Edition. You can have one too,
but you must act fast and get in
line quickly if you want one.
P86
