Husaberg FE450
Revolution Done Right
What do you get when you add ingenious engineering, a company built on true passion for riding and the manufacturing clout of a Big Five bike company? The KTM-built Husaberg FE line, that's what. Easily the biggest mover-and-shaker in the 450 off-road segment, the radically new Husaberg series of enduro-specific motorcycles are here to kick roost on traditional dirt bike conceptions. It's not the newest newcomer to the group (that's the BMW), but this Husaberg is truly like nothing else. Every rider who rides a new-generation Husaberg is blown away by more than one thing.
The Facts
* Throttle and engine response come first since we usually shake hands before we dance. Husaberg greets you with perfectly tuned power and response for immediate, controlled, strong and fun performance. The bike's closed-loop EFI calibration is absolutely perfect and is now the benchmark to which all future binary-jetted bikes will be judged.
* Along with superb injection tuning, the engine's power is also potent. Talk about tractable and strong delivery! Wow! It all starts with the connection between throttle and response and continues with the most-usable spread of power we've experienced on a stock bike. It will quite literally lug two or three gears up on the shifter down low and perform just as impressively when the pace gets up to the upper midrange. The delivery to the ground might be the best part as the connection from your wrist to the knobbies is a direct link.
* Transmission gaps and overall gearing handle super-tight to moderately fast riding-a versatile spread for sure. In wide-open spaces it suffers a bit.
* WP's current fork and shock setup are installed, and their performance matches the '09 KTM bikes in supple-yet-controlled action from slow to go. There is a negative facet with the 'Berg in that you have to remove the subframe and tank to change rear spring preload (or remove the shock), and the rear spring is soft for riders above the 180-pound level. But the suspension, even when max-cranked on the shock, is still wildly better than any Husaberg from the past. It has even handled some motocross days just for fun.
* This bike moves, handles and reacts as close to a middleweight two-stroke as any bike you'll find in the 450 class. Its mass centralization and reduction of weight out of center (thanks to the gnarly degrees of its slanted cylinder and higher, more centrally placed crank) lets it flick, lean, duck and dive with less effort than any other four-stroke.
* The bike weighs in at 267 pounds (tank full)-second lightest next to the KTM-but rides and works like a 200-pound bike. Yet it feels the heaviest when you push it into your truck or throw it on a stand-strange!
* While it's a close cousin to the KTM, this bike's frame and ergonomic geometry are way more compact. Bigger riders (taller than six feet) will be tight on the bike and require more room via bar risers, taller seats and likely stiffer suspension valving. Or they just won't get along with it.
* The brakes, clutch and other components are as blessed as the Orange bike's.
* You can use Torx bits or regular sockets for almost every chassis bolt on this bike! Air-filter maintenance is tool-free.
* This bike was tested completely stock, other than hand guards, and as such it's missing the necessary night-riding equipment (headlight). But that's it.
* We will like it a lot less if the battery ever goes dead. No kickstarter! It hasn't happened, but we're just saying.
The Verdict
This bike is a winner. It can easily win the hearts of a lot of traditional enduro bike owners in the United States. It shines with an unbelievable package of true enduro performance. It will work well from the desert of the West to the chunky, rock-infested, root-infected trails of the East. It has low weight, high ground clearance, superb technical riding capability, insane bottom-end torque, completely controllable power and radiator shrouds shaped like Viking axe blades. 'Nuff said.