Living With the Husqvarna FS450

After several years of being a fanboy of supermoto I finally dived into the sport. And then after putting a couple seasons under my belt—and with supermoto racing back on the rise thanks to series such as AMA Supermoto, Supermoto USA, and Golden Empire—I decided it was time to own a more competitive machine.

With Husqvarna’s recent release of the FS450, a race-ready supermoto version of their FC450 motocrosser, the price and functionality of the bike made it a no-brainer purchase. The pre-setup bike had all of the basic parts needed to get around the track, but of course the Husky wasn’t truly mine until I changed out several components to suit my liking. With mostly off-the-shelf parts I modified the intake, exhaust, suspension, bodywork, crash protection, controls, brakes, and tires.

Supermoto racing is very challenging, in part because the tracks often include elements from roadracing, motocross, and flat-track. It’s difficult to set up the bike to be good for each section of the track, so you usually set it up to work well in one or two sections and then you try to survive the rest. The FS450, however, reminds me of the phrase “the right tool for the job.” It is proficient in all the disciplines that make supermoto so challenging. Or at least it comes as close as is reasonably possible.

I enjoy traveling the United States with my FS450 and gear in tow. While most of the racing I do is on the West Coast, there are times that we travel for special events. Each venue has a different vibe, and it is fun meeting and getting to know the new racers at the different racing clubs. The camaraderie also really stands out in supermoto. It’s one big family in the paddock, and I think the atmosphere is what keeps most of us coming back.

Sure, there are tough weekends of racing and it sucks to crash, but it is rare that I drive home from a race without a grin on my face and a story to tell.