#dirtbike #offroad #motorcycle #sports
his month we’ve been collecting all the current dual-sport bikes to prepare for the March print edition of Dirt Bike Magazine, which will be devoted entirely to dual-sport and adventure bikes. Of all of them, the 2024 Husqvarna FE350S is one of my favorites. I don’t even think of it as a dual-sport bike. When I want to go on a legit off-road ride, this is going to be one of the first bikes I reach for. The most striking aspect of the Husky 350 is how light it feels. On our scale, it’s 248 pounds without fuel. It actually gained 3 pounds since last year, but you would never know it. You can toss it around and generally manhandle it at any speed. This is further proof that horsepower is the sworn enemy of handling. Half the reason the FE350S handles so well is because it’s not especially fast. We all know why that is. Between the sound restrictions and the emission equipment, the FE is pretty stuffed up. But that’s actually fine. It’s what makes the 350 so good as an off-road bike. It’s preposterously easy to ride. And it actually does make more power than it did last year. The new motor has just a little more in the middle and on top.In 2022, Husqvarna set the wheels in motion for a complete makeover of every model in its line-up. That started with the 2022 Rockstar Editions and now the 2024 FE350S is on the same page. The 350 actually got a more extensive list of new parts than most of the others, starting with a more compact motor. The new frame is virtually identical to what the motocross bikes got last year. Unlike KTM’s dual-sport bikes, which use PDS no-link suspension, the Husky uses a linkage-driven design which is, again, just like the motocross bikes. Even the fork comes from the motocross world. This is a coil-spring version of the WP Xact fork.Like any other dual-sport bike, it’s difficult to go searching for more power. Changes to the airbox or exhaust will throw that delicate fuel-mapping out of whack. Flame-outs, stalls and hesitations will become the norm. There are several ways to address this, but all will make the bike a closed-course competition bike in the eyes of the government. JD Jetting has the easiest and most affordable solution with its piggyback fuel injection tuners. They sell for about $250 and allow you to make changes to the mixture. Coober, Athena/GET and Vortex all have more sophisticated systems that allow changes to the mixture and ignition mapping–mostly in the $800 range. The guys at Slavens Racing, Twisted Development and Taco Moto all have some expertise in this matter and will be happy to offer advice.Husqvarna has a philosophy of making one frame with very few alterations for virtually all its dirt bikes. This generation of the universal Husky frame was considered to be a little stiff when it was introduced on the 2024 Rockstar Edition. But the issues that motocross guys face are completely different from those experienced by dual-sport riders. The suspension for the FE350S is so much softer that frame flex plays a far lesser role. Having said that, the FE’s suspension is stiffer than it was last year. The rear shock went up from a 42 N/mm spring rate to 45. In front, the springs are unchanged, but the fork is now a closed-cartridge system with much more precise valving. It rides higher in its travel and has less dive. Overall, the new suspension set-up repositions the bike as a more serious off-road machine. Rainy season is just starting here in SoCal and that’s prime dual-sport weather. We all will be riding the FE350S a lot in coming weeks. You can read more about it in the March, 2024 Buyer’s Guide edition of Dirt Bike.
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