Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/117782
The new FE 350 is comfortable in a variety of terrain. has been completely revamped for 2013. All of the bikes get the new bodywork, seat and fuel tank. The 4-stroke fuel tanks have a different configuration that allows the air box to be placed in its traditional Husaberg location under the seat. The 350 is fitted with a plastic skid plate and comes equipped with headlights and hand guards. Unfortunately, Husaberg opted for a grey colored frame over the hot looking yellow from last year. And like the KTM, the frame is a double-cradle, central tube configuration that was redesigned for improved torsional stiffness and stability. The sub-frame is a fiberglass reinforced polyamide with wellplaced hand holds. The weight of the swingarm has been reduced by over a half-pound with the shock mount moved 5mm toward the center. slower, more technical conditions. The forks were ultra plush and soaked up the frozen ruts and chop. Later, when the temperature rose and we dug down to dirt, the forks ate up the roots, logs, and any rock we aimed for. The valving on the shock was a little firm for me and rides higher in the stroke but it was still good. We then ran a little more sag and softened the compression without compromising the cornering characteristics too much. WP still provides the suspension but the forks are now a closed cartridge 4 CS system that utilize a four-chamber technology that lowers the overall weight. Similar to the new Kawasaki, the rebound and compression adjustments are located on separate forks and are accessible from the top of the fork legs. The PDS shock is 7mm longer than the previous year. After pushing through the technical terrain of New England, we headed south to run the ���Berg through the sand, whoops and tight trees of South Jersey. Here, we noticed that the forks were too plush and even had a little sag to them. It turns out that we weren���t alone in noticing that forks sagged a bit as it���s a topic in some of the online chat rooms. After a little research, we ran out the rebound (not completely) which helped hold the forks higher in the stroke. However, fork sag isn���t a consistent issue as evident by the 300 and 250 TE we tested a few months back. I recently race tested the TE 300 and had no issues with the stock forks. The shock was still a bit too firm for me (winter weight of 170 lbs) but Jim Senecal, at 200 pounds, had no complaints. So, if you pick up a Husaberg and the forks sag, running more rebound will reduce the sag. This was a two part test. For the first half, we headed out to western Massachusetts to ride the snow covered nastiness of New England where we loved the bike in the The motor was fantastic across the board and leans more towards the 450, eliminating the need to rev the bike. With no shortage of bottom end chug and lug, the new 12 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com