062 DREAM RIDE DEAN WILSON’S ROCKSTAR ENERGY RACING HUSQVARNA FC 450
The handling and suspension are what re-
ally set this bike apart from anything I have rid-
den. Dean switched the stock 22mm offset triple
clamps in favor of more stability provided by a
24mm offset; however, to compensate for a lag
in cornering, he raised the forks up in the clamps
considerably for quicker reaction. The results were
staggering. On the fast, rutted straights where
the stock bike wallowed and drifted, Dean’s bike
tracked straight as an arrow, never even wavering
from my intended line—but the cornering wasn’t
hampered at all. The bike carved the ruts hard,
never exuding the lazy push sometimes encoun-
tered when bike has too much offset. In fact, one
of the most telling tests was actually on the vet
track. By this time of the day the slightly banked
turns were hard, sunbaked and dry—no ruts or soft
loam. I expected some front-end drift as I pushed
harder and harder into the slick turns, but it never
happened. The front-end stuck right where I put
it and carved like I was on Velcro. The balance of
the bike was incredible.
But the biggest difference between Dean’s bike
and the others was the suspension. To put it bluntly,
it was like cheating. The first quarter of the stroke
offered some reasonable plushness for comfort
and feel, although you could tell there was some
integrity behind it. As the action worked deeper
into the stroke, it got progressively firmer in a hurry.
The cool part was that there was no harsh point in
the mid-stroke that is often found when trying to
find the balance between a supple feel and good
bottoming control. The action always felt smooth
but was so substantial that bottoming out was nev-
er a consideration even on the biggest jumps. We
have all gone long on big jumps before and felt the
crack of a harsh bottom accompanied by a neck
snap and a huge out-of-control rebound, right?Not on Dean’s bike. The suspension soaks up the
big hits and keeps the wheels on the ground—so
confidence inspiring! I could ride so much harder
into the turns because rather than skipping, and
hopping, and pitching into the corners through the
braking bumps, the Husky stayed tight to the track
surface. Sure, you could feel the bumps, but the
bike never reacted. It felt like riding a bicycle down
a set of stairs: bumpy, but planted. The difference
between the American factory bike and the Euro-
pean factory bike was amazing. While I think Max
Nagl’s bike actually had more power, I couldn’t use
it all. The suspension was so foreign to me I felt like
I couldn’t do anything right, where on Wilson’s bike
it felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong. There was
no excess. The suspension didn’t move any more
than it needed, the wheels seemed to always re-
main connected to the track, and it felt like I always
had the right amount of power for the situation, no
more, no less.I wish everyone could have the opportunity to spin
a few laps on a factory bike to see just how good a
bike can be. It was an awesome experience. Thank
you to the guys at Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvar-
na and thank you to swap for the text!