Tell me why not to get a Husky FC450.

I Have a 16 FC 450, and have enjoyed it as a snowbike. Never had a need for more power. Had a valve issue that was one in a million and ended up taking out the whole topend. Long story short, it is now a Husky with a brand new 18 ktm 450 motor in it. Best of both worlds! Love the bike and how it handles.

I have a 2017 FX 450 (same bike with a bigger tank and 18" rear wheel) for dirt only. Clutch slave cylinder went out at 22hrs. Put a Brembo rebuild kit in it from a KTM for $45. Seal in the air fork may give out in cold temps, but upgrading to 2018 seal or suspension shop seals should fix that. At 45 degrees on the dirt I have a hard time getting the engine temp above 145 If I have good airflow so a thermostat would definitely be in order. First gear is pretty high but the rest are spaced evenly. Not sure how that transfers over to taking off on a snowbike. 2018s got an updated countershaft bearing for sustained high-load use. Not that I've heard of people having failures with the 2017s.

They have a billet slave cylinder with the seal cold pressed I Oberon..this will solve the failures ..

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was brake problem 450's only -- or 501's also?

Have an 18 FE 501 never run on dirt, to be used for this upcoming snowbike season -- any issues with 501 brakes? thanks

fc 450

had a 2014 with no issues. running this bad boy this season (content taken from our website):

2018.5 Husqvarna FC 450 Rockstar Edition

222 lbs, 63 horsepower, and a bad attitude in general. Husqvarna owns the top shelf when it comes to attention to detail. Stealth version includes:

-137" snow mx kit (TBD)
-Z Broz Trident X1 fork shock
-Fastway Adventure footpegs
-Rekluse Radius CX auto clutch
-full Titanium exhaust and muffler
-fully programmable ECU with Bluetooth capabilities
-Earth X ETZ5G Lithium battery
-Rocky Mountain SnowMX air intake
-Raze inline T-stat
-PST engine Jacket
-Seat Concepts Comfort Seat
-black plastics
-Raze coolant heated handlebars
-Fastway handguards
-Fastway handlebar riser
-Klim Deflect handlebar muffs
-D2 Design Labs custom graphics
-Progressive Signs wrap kit

don't anticipate any problems. and good Lord do they look bad a$$.

jeff

Well if you can’t find a good deal on a newer YZ that would be my second choice.

A big thing to think about if comparing Yamaha to Husky/KTM is if you are going to be modding or running stock. Mr.jackson is creating some pretty mean blue mosters but from my experience and research the engine packages for the husky and pumpkin are further ahead. When it comes to doing a top end on the husky the 490 is a fantastic motor. Couple that with minor head work and a cam grind and you have probably the weapon of choice for the masses other than the two stroke lovers. You can also do a 6 speed conversation easily to that bike.

I love my pumpkins and run this exact package but if I was running totally stock for the life of the bike I would stick with blue 2018/19. That Yamaha reliability is real and you will have a little extra jingle in your jeans. If you gotta be the top dog, pick up that fc and do the package listed above. Cheers.

assaultn said:

A big thing to think about if comparing Yamaha to Husky/KTM is if you are going to be modding or running stock. Mr.jackson is creating some pretty mean blue mosters but from my experience and research the engine packages for the husky and pumpkin are further ahead. When it comes to doing a top end on the husky the 490 is a fantastic motor. Couple that with minor head work and a cam grind and you have probably the weapon of choice for the masses other than the two stroke lovers. You can also do a 6 speed conversation easily to that bike.

I love my pumpkins and run this exact package but if I was running totally stock for the life of the bike I would stick with blue 2018/19. That Yamaha reliability is real and you will have a little extra jingle in your jeans. If you gotta be the top dog, pick up that fc and do the package listed above. Cheers.

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What he said

I rode my buddies 2018 rockstar addition FC yesterday for about a half an hour. Wow! The bottom end power did seem slightly lacking as I’ve heard others complain of but once I got the RPMs up a little the bike just took off. Pulls super hard and super long. Suspension was awesome bone stock for my weight at 175. I don’t think he’s going to snow bike it because he has a 2016 YZ 450 that runs awesome. My only concern would be starting it on cold mornings. When we woke up it was about 30° and he was on that button for quite a while before it fired up. Not a huge issue but I would keep a jumper pack with me. It also felt like my YZ250 when I threw it up on the stand. Pretty amazing how light it is.

i have this exact same bike..put larger tank on it..tried it with air forks first=fail not even jumping it they collapsed and my day of riding was done..sent forks to PR2 for upgrade=awesome,fork issue gone,launch the bike and they soak it up.
e start is great..lil lithium ion battery not great,cut battery box out and put in larger battery..the bike spins a 2017 timbersled RAW 120 kit
excellent combo...go for it

Lachoneus said:

Have an 18 FE 501 never run on dirt, to be used for this upcoming snowbike season -- any issues with 501 brakes? thanks

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No problems with 2017 FE501. There are mods you can do to open em up though and get their entire potential. This is true for any of the non motocross bikes so excf for FE models. FC/FX/XC/SX bikes may not need this level of mod. Ran 70 hours on the snow with a camso kit, flawlessly except one user created problem (block vent tube, below) and 80 hours on dirt/road. Again been absolutely bullet proof. Checked valves and they haven't moved are still squarely in the middle of the spec.



If you do one thing and only one thing, you must make sure the valve cover breather tube gets moved from terminating into the air box and gets wrapped around the engine and gets secured up beside the engine. This makes sure the tube can never freeze up with snow and ice. I didn't do this and lost my valve cover gasket while about 70 kms from the truck, high up in the mountains. Was ok though the gasket is designed to blow out and reseal, so I was able to limp it back to truck. But 5 minutes in the shop and two zip ties and this will never happen to you.



only other changes:

temp guage

some plastic to insert between rad and louvers to block air flow into rads
hour meter

heavier fork springs .63




power mods:



De-smog (block air injector into exhaust with a bolt or remove it and put a plug in) - Free

Remove reed cage in intake - free
remove back screen from exhaust free, leave in spark arrestor, or replace exhaust with aftermakert pipe like FMF $$ (this saves some weight)



Get a JD fuel tuner $$ or ECU like Vortex or the PR2 (vortex with custom maps) $$$$ - this is necessary if you do any of the above power mods as the bike runs lean from the factory and needs more fuel added in. I went the ecu route although the JD Tuner has proven dyno numbers and the difference in power gains is marginal between the two options. JD Tuner has dyno charts and numbers for all these mods over at KTMTalk appears to average about 12hp in gains at the wheel So totally worth the effort



All that said my 501 in 100% stock form was a better snowbike then my 2010 YZ450 , YZ was fine, the initial power on the YZ was nice but its power fell off right when I needed it most. The husky seems to pull harder for longer, after the mods it was night and day better

AZ800 said:

Current snowbike, 2011 YZ450 like new runs great, never seen dirt. Owned for several years now no issues per se.
Aspirations, more power and mostly electric start.
See what looks like a good deal on a '17 FC450 with 20 dirt hours on it.
Yes it's the stepbrother of the coveted KTMs, but I'm into reliability and the least amount of tinkering needed. At the point where pull n go is needed compared to spending nights in the shop modding, tuning, repairing etc.
what are the downsides of the FC?
Air forks? Really that bad? I'm not hucking 30' drops and 99% of my riding is warm weather, borderline raining.... If it's cold I take a sled, lol.
Some issue with the clutch slave cylinder? Why do I want or need a Hyd clutch? My left hand is the last thing that's whipped after a day's riding.
What else? Not brand loyal, but put more stock in blue or red reliability than orange white yellow or green.
Plus, looking for a deal. I'm lucky if I ride 5x a year.

Thinking newer kit at this point too. The Yami has a 2013 ST kit. Wanting better track mostly. Unsure on need for LT in the typical Cascade Concrete.

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i had a 17 XCF with AER air forks and the forks were awesome. I didn't put a kit on the bike but I did ride the bike with wheels in the snow, to about -10c out side and the forks held up beautifully and were cheaper in the long run as I didn't have to buy new springs as stock springs are usually way too light for my gerth. If everyone didn't tell me the 350 was too weak for a snow kit that would have been my snow bike. I do know now that it would have been just fine as a snowbike with the modern kit like the aro 120 or the dts 129

Yamaha engine parts are much cheaper. That’s why I wouldn’t buy a husky 4 stroke for snowbike use