2010 Husaberg FX450

You may have noticed that Husaberg is missing something in its line-up. It has the enduro market well served with the 390, 450 and 570, but where are the motocross bikes? At this point you may well exclaim: "Who gives a stuff Ashenhurst. Why would it start building them now?" Well, it wouldn't be just starting to build them. Joel Smets won the 1995, 1997 and 1998 World 500cc Motocross Championships on Husaberg beasties, so the MX heritage is there, but the bike isn't.

Husaberg has attempted to solve this problem and keep two factions happy at the same time. New for 2010 is the FX450 'closed course' bike. "What is a 'closed course' bike?" you ask (aren't you full of questions today). It is as the name suggests a bike that can only be ridden on a closed course such as a motocross track, or a track that doesn't touch gazetted roads and therefore has no registration requirement.

NINJAS STEEL SUSPENSION?
We've seen this before. Husqvarna has been down this 'un-gazetted' road before with the TXC range and the response was lukewarm. For some reason this concept doesn't fire the imagination. It should though because in principle it's a great idea.

Basically the folks at Husaberg ripped the speedo, headlight, tail light and blinkers off an FE450, then snuck over to the KTM factory and (I like to imagine the next part happened in the dead of night, using Swedish ninjas), made away with a bunch of suspension parts, stolen not from the EXC range but from the SX instead.

What they now had was an FE450, free of the registration junk and sprung by the more robust boingers of the KTM motocross machines.

I'm reading your mind right now and I know you're going to ask why they would do this, and does Sweden really have ninjas. I can answer both questions but the ninja thing will have to wait.

The $12,995 FX450 can be ridden on a motocross track without looking completely out of place and the performance improvement gained by loosing the enduro suspension means you'll probably look like less of a complete knob doing it. It still has the FE's enduro engine so it's not exactly a motocross bike, but it does pack a close-ratio gearbox.

Let's turn out attention then to the sprint series. In Australia, off-road races are held on closed courses and often incorporate a motocross section therein. This means the FX is racing on a track that has it's name written all over it and as the bike already has the better suspension as stock, the set-up costs aren't as high as little needs to be done to get the best from your machine.

The real story here is that SX suspension. Anyone can rip the ADR gear off their bike and call it a 'racer,' but if you really want to ride faster, the first place you should look to improve your bike is not a dyno chart, instead it should be the performance of your suspension.

The SX forks are closed cartridge units which are different to the FE's in that the oil that dampens is contained in a separate cartridge to the oil that lubricates and resists bottoming. This makes the action more precise and able to provide a controlled reaction to the much bigger hits that are found on the motocross track. The concession to the enduro mob is that the valving is set to suit off-road and therefore the FX's ride is plusher than a straight-up MX bike.

The shock is also SX specked and again has greater bottoming resistance than the standard kit.
The FX's engine is a blast and the close-ratio gearbox makes it all the more fun. I tested it on what could best be described as a natural terrain motocross track in shitful conditions and found the bike to be a fair bit easier to ride over the really rough gear than most we've had on that track.

The Husaberg 450 (FX and FE), does have an 'active' front-end. which I didn't find with the 390 and is kind of similar to a two-stroke. It can be disconcerting at times but it's all for show because the 'Berg's front-end is solid even in limited traction.

WHO'S BUYING?
In October last year, a fellow named Mark Ackerman debuted the FX 450 at the DMX Motocross Championship, held at the Jebel Ali Motocross track in Dubai. Here's what Mark had to say after finishing first in MX1 and fourth overall: "It was a tough day. Thankfully, the Husaberg FX450 had the power and handling to make my job easier. Right out of the box the bike was awesome and I look forward to doing even better in the coming races."

Now, Mark is probably a great bloke and I'm not questioning his honesty, but he isn't going to say the bike sucks is he? However, that's a pretty good result for a first outing against pure-bred MX monsters.
I can see how it's possible. I liked riding the FX450 and I'd love to see this approach taken to the 390.

Around Australia we have far too few opportunities to recretaional rego our bikes, and that's where the FX will suffer. In Victoria it's full steam ahead, but most everywhere else it's the sound of gnashing teeth and wildlife officers throwing darts at pictures of dirtbikes. Oh, why can't we all just get along?

The FX isn't an enduro bike and it's not quite a motocross bike, so who the hell would buy one? The first in line should be the occasional motocross rider. The person who gets out to the track maybe five or six times a year. The Husaberg won't overpower them, but it won't let them suffer for lack of grunt either. The second person in line would be the sprint racer who wants the most complete machine straight off the showroom for that application.

If you ride on a private property then the FX is an easy choice. Ditch the rego gear and go up a peg on the suspension so you can ride your motocross track or your enduro loop without having to own two bikes.  

THE VERDICT
The FX is a fine bike and the closed course idea is valid, but we need to be able to access rec rego for a bike like this to shine because the motocross crowd won't keep it afloat alone. So the FX will be looked at by property owners and sprint racers and will probably suit what they're after perfectly. It won't be brought into the country in large numbers and so if you want one you'll have to get in quick.

It doesn't take a lot of thought to figure out whether the FX will suit you and if it does then you'll be happy to know you're on a ripper of a bike.

In regards to those Swedish ninjas, all I can say is You Tube has the answer and it isn't pretty. Must be a boring place to live.

Check out the FX450 in Bike Showroom.