2009 Husabergs
I got a chance to (briefly) ride a 2009 FE450 while I was in Romania. All I can say is WOW. Best handling thumper I've ever ridden. Handled almost as good as my Gasser. Almost. Fuel injection is awesome. My buddy Shane Cuthbertson was racing it in the Red Bull Romaniacs. Even after a crash with a hot bike, it started right back up with the electric starter barely getting a workout thanks to the EFI. There is no four-stroke gyroscopic effect from the engine. The bike is very flickable and responds well to input at the pegs. Handled better than a CRF250R which is saying something. Engine is still traditional Husaberg, even with the new design. Feels like an old school THUMPer. Very chuggable. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the power because I'm used to a zippy two-stroke. But, the flickability made up for the somewhat docile power. The new composite subframe is cool and I think it's going to be durable. All of the plastic is high quality. Quick release seat is very nice.
My one gripe is it uses a KTM swingarm, so it has the offset shock. Didn't get to ride it enough to see how it felt but my gut feel is it won't be as good as a GasGas, but probably better than a KTM as Husaberg seems to know how to valve a shock better than KTM.
Very cool bike and it's probably the first non-GasGas bike I've been excited to ride in a long time. I'd really like to try a GasGas 450 to see how they compare as I after I get a trials bike and a new 2-stroke race bike, I would like to add a thumper to the garage for the open stuff.
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