Joined Feb 2003
3K Posts | 384+
Escondido, Ca. USA
I got to spend about five hours in the saddle of my new steed yesterday. A quick visual and fully topping off the battery with an Optimate III charger was the only prep work it received after picking it up at the dealer.
Starting is a breeze. Choke on, no throttle, hit the button and it starts right up. After about four to five minutes it idles down signaling me to take the choke off. The idle is set a little low for my liking so I raise it a bit. I like the idle set a tad bit high as it prevents flame outs and seems to aid kick starting.
Once underway the suspension feels very stiff but I tell myself that it will break in after awhile. The first big difference from say my 01 470 (and 97 600) is that the rake seems pulled in a lot. Reminds me of a CR250. This thing is going to corner good. But will it headshake? Over some whoops the front end feels very light. In fact the whole bike feels extremely light and flickable. This may be partly because of the small engine size but my 470 is nothing like this. As I thought it may be the cornering is quite quick. Kind of unbergish. Once the suspension loosens up you realize how good this thing handles overall. You don't have to worry too much about timing the whoops. Just charge at them and the suspension will do the rest. Braking hard comming down from speed the front end felt a little nervous but never shook it head or swapped. In the sand washes the from end was slightly more nervous at slow speed than the older more raked out bikes but the trade off is more than worth it. In the slower more technical sections it really shines. Handling is very precise. Overall I think the engineers did a great job. Too slow handling has always been my biggest Husaberg complaint and they fixed it in a big way!
The motor builds revs fast for a four stroke and initially feels like it doesn't have much in the way of flywheel effect. But in contradiction it is just as happy plonking along as it is screaming. I'll have to think really hard about adding any flywheel weight. Whereas my 470 feels real torquey and builds revs at slower pace the 450 gets up and goes now. The FCR carb performed perfectly. Jetting was richened up a tad prior to delivery and the bike never hiccupped, popped or backfired once. The exhaust is quiet and throaty.
Overall I think this is what Husaberg has been striving for all along. Perfect e-starting, featherweight feel, quick but stable handling, best of both worlds four stroke motor and suspension that is finally worthy of the rest of the bike. In my opinion it is one awesome package.
Starting is a breeze. Choke on, no throttle, hit the button and it starts right up. After about four to five minutes it idles down signaling me to take the choke off. The idle is set a little low for my liking so I raise it a bit. I like the idle set a tad bit high as it prevents flame outs and seems to aid kick starting.
Once underway the suspension feels very stiff but I tell myself that it will break in after awhile. The first big difference from say my 01 470 (and 97 600) is that the rake seems pulled in a lot. Reminds me of a CR250. This thing is going to corner good. But will it headshake? Over some whoops the front end feels very light. In fact the whole bike feels extremely light and flickable. This may be partly because of the small engine size but my 470 is nothing like this. As I thought it may be the cornering is quite quick. Kind of unbergish. Once the suspension loosens up you realize how good this thing handles overall. You don't have to worry too much about timing the whoops. Just charge at them and the suspension will do the rest. Braking hard comming down from speed the front end felt a little nervous but never shook it head or swapped. In the sand washes the from end was slightly more nervous at slow speed than the older more raked out bikes but the trade off is more than worth it. In the slower more technical sections it really shines. Handling is very precise. Overall I think the engineers did a great job. Too slow handling has always been my biggest Husaberg complaint and they fixed it in a big way!
The motor builds revs fast for a four stroke and initially feels like it doesn't have much in the way of flywheel effect. But in contradiction it is just as happy plonking along as it is screaming. I'll have to think really hard about adding any flywheel weight. Whereas my 470 feels real torquey and builds revs at slower pace the 450 gets up and goes now. The FCR carb performed perfectly. Jetting was richened up a tad prior to delivery and the bike never hiccupped, popped or backfired once. The exhaust is quiet and throaty.
Overall I think this is what Husaberg has been striving for all along. Perfect e-starting, featherweight feel, quick but stable handling, best of both worlds four stroke motor and suspension that is finally worthy of the rest of the bike. In my opinion it is one awesome package.
