Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/294885
20 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com forks is improved from a year ago and rides higher in the stroke, so there are no more issues with sagging. The Husqvarna's power delivery is smooth, quick and linear, as is the trend with all off-road two-strokes over the last few years. The 13/50 stock gearing works well in concert with the shorter first and second gears when crawling through technical terrain. When the terrain opens up, however, the Husqvarna needs to be shifted sooner. The jump to third has a little gap to it but isn't too bothersome. We did replace the stock jetting with a 170 main, .38 pilot and a n8RW needle set on the fourth clip, which was a good match for the conditions we ran it in. We also ran 107 mm sag in the technical terrain and kept the tops of the forks flush in the triple clamps. Our first ride on the Husqvarna confirmed it as an excellent en- duro/trail riding specialist. With its plush suspension, linear motor and tractable power, the Husqvarna is a pleasure to ride in a wide variety of single track. The plush forks soaked up the logs and other trail junk with ease. They had plenty of leeway for adjustment in either direction and rode higher in the stroke, improving their feel across the board. The 20mm triple clamps help the bike to change directions quickly and once the suspen- sion is balanced out, the Husqvarna tracks cleanly through the corners. Off the showroom floor, the Husqvarna is well suited to handle a variety of terrain. Part of the smooth power delivery is attributable to the new DDS (damped diaphragm steel) clutch system. The diaphragm spring enables implementation of an additional hub damping mechanism which, depending on your point of view, improves traction. It feels vaguely like the brief spin of an auto-clutch engaging. As we knew we would be riding this bike in the sugar sand and deep whoops of Croom Motorcycle Park in Brooksville, Florida, we decided to change few things. An solid A rider would likely find the stock suspension too soft for whoops or chopped-out, faster terrain, as this bike is a technical terrain specialist and valved accordingly. With that in mind we had Factory Connec- tion revalve the suspension for the Florida conditions. This al- lowed us to ride more aggressively through the sand whoops and improved the fun factor significantly. We also ended up running less sag, around 103 mm. We then installed the red power valve spring and had a great time aboard the Husqvarna. With the changes to the suspension and power valve spring, we were well set up for the Florida conditions. The new Husqvarna is an excellent woods bike off the showroom floor.