Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

70 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.au

MX kin g

Husqvarna FC450

The winner of our shootout is the Husqvarna

FC450 and, for 2018, it did it fairly convincingly.

The bike has a well rounded engine package

that impressed all our testers. It was smooth

enough to be rideable for the lightest of them

but still punchy enough to get their adrenaline

going down the big straights.

The chassis is superb, with a nimble feeling

on the track while also providing superb flex

and feedback. The WP AER fork matched up

extremely well to the rear-end and the overall

suspension package was ranked very highly by

all riders. The Magura brakes on the Husqvarna

were something that we spoke about as a group

to consider if they were a step down from the

Brembo units that are still running on the Kato

and that have been so successful in the past.

Everybody agreed that we couldn’t really feel

much of a difference between the Maguras on

the Husqvarna and the Brembos on the KTM.

The obvious stuff such as the electric start,

Magura hydraulic clutch and strong brakes

played a role in the Husky’s win, but overall it

was the combination of all of its parts that

added up to a spectacular package.

Each year the white machines are distancing

themselves more and more from the KTMs and

on this track, on this day the FC450 felt like a

completely different bike. The carbon

polyamide subframe that Husqvarna chooses to

run must play a huge factor. There’s also a

different end cap on the muffler which I’m told

contributes quite a bit to the different feeling.

In winning the 2018 450cc ADB Shootout the

Husqvarna will now take on the 2018 Honda

CRF450R in a head-to-head battle to see who is

at the pinnacle of our sport for the coming year.

With both Husqvarna and Honda already

having won multiple shootouts in the U.S. this

is a kick-boxing carnival not to be missed.

WHERE I RANKED IT: 1ST

NOTABLE CHANGES:

• Tweaked graphics


• Magura front and rear brakes


• New lithium-ion battery for better energy output


• New grippier seatcover

KEY FEATURES:

• Carbon polyamide subframe


• Electric start


• Magura hydraulic clutch and brakes

2018 MX SHOOTOUT I 450CC BATTLE