Traditionally, there’s no center floor on this planet of dual-sport bikes. It’s a realm occupied both by half-liter heavyweights or by bumper-rack campground transportation. So, why has the Husqvarna FE350s turn into a dual-sport mainstay? Simple, it’s probably not a dual-sport bike. Yes, it’s absolutely street-legal and passes all of the obligatory tools exams, however that’s only a entrance. No one ever bought an FE350s for its road capabilities. It’s a pure-blooded dust bike to the core. As lengthy as that getting into, you’ll be nice. For 2024, the FE350s has undergone its first main remake in years. It has a redesigned body, a reconfigured motor and new bodywork. The suspension is new and rather more intently associated to the FC350 motocross bike. The new FE350s has extra racing in its blood than ever earlier than.
THE MAKEOVER CONTINUES
In 2022, Husqvarna put the wheels in movement for an entire makeover of each mannequin in its lineup. That began with the 2022 Rockstar Editions, and now with the 2024 FE350s, it’s full. The 350 really received a extra in depth listing of recent components than a lot of the others, beginning with a extra compact motor. The bore and stroke are unchanged, however the compression ratio is barely decrease. Every gear within the 6-speed gearbox is totally different, in addition to the first and remaining ratios. The general gear ratios are nonetheless much like these of the earlier mannequin; though, in case you’re tremendous delicate, you may discover that the hole from second to 3rd is tighter and sixth is barely decrease. The clutch is new, too, but it surely’s nonetheless the DDS design with a Belleville spring and hydraulic actuation. Those hydraulics are nonetheless made by Braktec.
The body makeover is just about equivalent to what the motocross bikes received final 12 months. Unlike KTM’s dual-sport bikes, which use PDS no-link suspension, the Husky makes use of a linkage-driven design that’s, once more, identical to the motocross bikes. There are additionally modifications to engine place and body rigidity that observe the course set by Husky’s motocross bikes. Even the fork comes from the motocross world. The Xplor fork isn’t any extra for this mannequin and is changed by a brand new model of the WP Xact fork. In this incarnation, the Xact fork has two coil springs; the fixed consideration required by the air forks used for MX was deemed inappropriate for a dual-sport utility.
There are, after all, main variations in setup between the MX and dual-sport fashions. The FE350s’s suspension and energy supply are a lot softer. In each instances, that’s applicable given the FE’s function as an off-road bike relatively than a racer. In the motor division, Husqvarna additionally needed to bounce via formidable hoops to get via the assorted exams for emissions and noise. There’s a reed valve within the consumption boot, and the exhaust system may be very restrictive. The mapping may be very lean, and there’s no map change on the handlebar. The accepted map is what it’s. Even the tires have been chosen with sound stage in thoughts. The Continental TKC80s have little or no rolling noise.
LET’S RIDE
To confess, we didn’t journey this bike with the inventory tires. We had loads of expertise with the Contis on the KTM 500EXC examined on this concern. They really are 50/50 road versus dust, and we did most of our testing within the dust. We put in full knobbies with rim locks, and we have been delighted that we might go anyplace and do something that probably the most severe dust bikes might do.
The most putting facet of the Husky 350 is how mild it feels. On our scale, it’s 248 kilos with out gas. It really gained 3 kilos since final 12 months, however you’d by no means understand it. The 350 handles like a Husky TE150. You can toss it round and usually manhandle it at any pace. This goes to additional show what we’ve got mentioned many times about horsepower being the sworn enemy of dealing with. Half the rationale the FE350s handles so effectively is as a result of it makes unremarkable peak energy. It handles like a 150 as a result of it makes solely a bit of extra energy than a 150. To be truthful, the 350 is way much less demanding to journey. It carries its peak energy without end—from about 6,000 rpm to 11,000 rpm. A small-bore two-stroke hits its peak and instantly indicators off. That’s what makes the 350 so good as an off-road bike. It’s preposterously straightforward to journey. The energy is at all times there whenever you want it. Less displacement means much less engine braking, too, so the FE350s is much less jerky than the massive bikes.
Like any licensed dual-sport bike, the mapping is lean and the exhaust be aware is ultra-quiet. Husqvarna did a great job of constructing it work throughout the required parameters, but it surely’s delicately balanced. The bike takes a very long time to heat up and may, every so often, flame out. The smaller-displacement motor makes this a lot much less of a problem than it’s with a 500, however you continue to must be conscious of utilizing an excessive amount of throttle too immediately.
Also, like some other dual-sport bike, it’s tough to search around for extra energy. Changes to the airbox or exhaust will throw that delicate gas mapping out of whack. Flame-outs, stalls and hesitations will turn into the norm. There are a number of methods to handle this, however all will make the bike a closed-course competitors bike within the eyes of the federal government. JD Jetting has the best and most reasonably priced answer with its piggyback fuel-injection tuners. They promote for about $250 and will let you make modifications to the combination. Coober, Athena/GET and Vortex all have extra refined techniques that permit modifications to the combination and ignition mapping, largely within the $800 vary. The guys at Slavens Racing, Twisted Development and Taco Moto all have some experience on this matter, and might be glad to supply recommendation.
FRAMED AGAIN
Husqvarna has a philosophy of providing one body with only a few alterations for just about all its dust bikes. This era of the FE350s body, as we talked about, was first seen on the 2022 Rockstar Edition. It was thought-about to be a bit of stiff, even by motocross requirements, so the 2024 Rockstar Edition has a new-generation body already—one which’s rather less inflexible in sure planes of movement.
The 2024 Husqvarna dual-sport and off-road bikes have simply gotten on the identical web page because the 2022 Rockstar Edition, so it’s unlikely that they’ll change any time quickly. That’s okay. The points that the motocross guys confronted are utterly totally different from these skilled by dual-sport riders. The suspension for the FE350s is a lot softer that body flex performs a far lesser function. Having mentioned that, the FE’s suspension is stiffer than it was final 12 months. The rear shock went up from a 42 N/mm spring fee to 45. In entrance, the springs are unchanged, however the fork is now a closed-cartridge system with rather more exact valving. It rides greater in its journey and has much less dive. Overall, the brand new suspension setup repositions the bike as a extra severe off-road machine. The proven fact that it has linkage as a substitute of PDS like KTM’s dual-sport bikes provides it much more of a MX-like disposition. PDS guys will proceed to be steadfast of their resolve that the linkage-less design is best for tight terrain and has an enormous benefit in floor clearance. All true, however the Husky’s design feels extra standard and secure at pace. It’s a debate that may go on without end in off-road circles.
When you sum all of it up, there’s little question that the 2024 Husky FE350s is extra dirt-oriented than ever. Beyond that, it’s aimed toward extra aggressive, extra hard-core riders this 12 months. That’s nice with us. This is a motorcycle that sells for $12,599. It can be mindless to spend that form of cash to journey across the neighborhood or campground. The FE350s is a state-of-the-art dust bike. The proven fact that it may possibly have a license plate is only a bonus.
