WE RIDE DICKS RACING’S 2016 HUSQVARNA FC450

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There is something to be said for loyalty. And while it doesn’t play well in today’s modern “gimme” society, where riders, sponsors, companies and consumers jump on the latest bandwagon, the MXA gang admires anyone who sticks to their beliefs out of principle, loyalty or even stupidity. Take Dicks Racing for example. Dick Wilk isn’t a Johnny-come-lately to the current KTM craze. Dick specialized in the offbeat European brand, even when they weren’t popular among the motocross elite. In Dick Wilk’s case, he formed Dicks Racing 25 years ago and immediately zeroed in on doing high-performance modifications, engine building, suspension valving and product development for KTM and Husqvarna motorcycles. Dick is hands-on. He races what he builds, and he doesn’t make compromises. In lots of ways, Dick Wilk is a throwback to the good old days of mom-and-pop race shops—much like Pro Circuit under Mitch Payton and FMF under Donnie Emler once were. He lives it, breathes it and tests it himself. If Dick doesn’t believe in a product, he doesn’t sell it.

We don’t think that Dicks Racing has stayed small because Dick doesn’t want a big bank account and a legion of customers touting his greatness. Instead, we think that Dick likes to be small because it gives him the freedom to work hard, test more and be smarter about what he does. And even though he works on and builds parts for all the Japanese brands, he has a warm spot in his heart for the European brands that he cut his racing teeth on. MXA has tested Japanese brands modified by Dicks Racing, but given our druthers, we are more interested in what Dick Wilk can do to his beloved KTMs and Husqvarnas. So, when Dick said he was making the drive from Utah to SoCal for a special event and was bringing his latest 2016 Husqvarna FC450 project bike with him for us to try, we asked him to extend his stay, hit a few of SoCal’s 10 different racetracks and come with us to Glen Helen for a race—where we promised him that we would have several MXA test riders race his bike (and if he was nice, we would let him race it also). Dick jumped at the chance—not just to have us test his bike, but to race it at Glen Helen.

We’ve had enough experience testing Dick’s race bikes to know that he is focused on getting the best out of them, not the most. With his MX1 Suspension, he seeks comfort and fluidity over Supercross stiffness, and his engine mods are marvels of smoothness over brutishness. Since Dick spent the better part of a week in SoCal, he was able to re-valve his WP fork and shock mods to work better on the unique square-edged aspects of California racetracks. For our part, we were easy. Dick wanted to know what we wanted him to do with the valving for our test riders. We told Dick to set it up for his riding style—and we would test it the way he liked it.

THE 2016 WP 4CS FORKS ARE OKAY. THEY ARE GOOD FOR A CERTAIN SPEED AND STYLE OF RIDER, BUT THEY AREN’T “VERY GOOD,” AND THEY CERTAINLY AREN’T GREAT.

MX1 is the company that works on Dicks Racing’s suspension, but to avoid confusion, Dick Wilk is the man behind MX1 as well as Dicks Racing. Dick, as a long-time KTM guru, knows the shortcomings of WP forks better than most. He is of the same opinion as the MXA wrecking crew—the 2016 WP 4CS forks are okay. They are good for a certain speed and style of rider, but they aren’t “very good,” and they certainly aren’t great. Most MXA test riders think that the 2016 WP forks, as found on KTMs and Husqvarnas, are better than in the past, but only for Vet, Novice and slower riders. When pushed, they get harsh, especially in successive bumps and off square edges. On jump tracks or in the hands of fast Intermediates or Pros, they will bottom, despite the insanely high oil level. It should be noted that stock KTM and Husqvarna fork and shock valving are identical. The only difference between a Husky fork and a KTM fork is—actually, there isn’t even a microscopic difference. What works on a Husky will work on a KTM.

MX1’s approach to the 4CS forks was to get rid of the spike by making the mid-valving better able to accept high-speed impacts yet still be capable of preventing the fork from blowing through the stroke. The compression valving was modified with a more progressive damping curve instead of WP’s typical soft initial stroke and super-stiff high-speed valving. To expand the 4CS’ adjustability, Dick added a low-speed compression adjuster in addition to the stock high-speed adjuster. This dual-compression control gives the rider the ability to compensate for changing track conditions. Thankfully, MX1 added a hydraulic bottoming control device to eliminate the metal-to-metal clank at the end of the stroke. The bottoming cone allowed the oil level to be lowered, which greatly freed up the action from the mid-stroke to deeper in the travel. As a final touch, Dick, wearing his MX1 hat, added STR’s push-button air bleeders to allow the air pressure to be released.

MXA test riders have complained about the WP’s 2016 shock setup since as far back as December of 2014—when the first 2015-1/2 Factory Editions were brought into the country. In stock form the WP shock is stiffer than the forks. This is due to the 48 N/m shock spring that WP spec’ed on the bikes. This spring rate, when combined with KTM’s progressive rising-rate linkage, is too stiff for anyone under 190 pounds. MX1 tackled the shock’s issues by using a softer 45 N/m spring with 35mm of static sag and 105mm of race sag. The initial compression damping was increased to hold the rear up in its stroke, while the rebound valving was modified to assist in keeping the rear wheel hooked and driving out of corners. Also aiding in overall shock action was a TBT bladder in the WP reservoir. The rubber bladder reduces heat build-up and pressure gain by lessening the piston friction of the stock WP system. Rounding out the package was an Xtrig spring preload adjuster that replaced the flimsy stock unit, making proper sag adjustment a snap. Like the MXA wrecking crew, Dick Wilk relies on a Slacker digital sag scale to eliminate any errors in setting ride height.

“THEY ROLL DOWN THE SAME ASSEMBLY LINE, AND JUST LIKE LEFT TWIX AND RIGHT TWIX, THERE ARE NO PROPRIETARY HUSKY ENGINES AND KTM ENGINES. SO WHY DOES THE HUSKY FEEL TAMER THAN THE KTM?”

It’s no secret that the Husqvarna version of the KTM 450SXF engine is toned down. Oh, don’t get us wrong; there are no mechanical differences between the two engines. They roll down the same assembly line, and just like left Twix and right Twix, there are no proprietary Husky engines and KTM engines. So, why does the Husky feel tamer than the KTM? Two reasons: (1) Just like last year’s model, the all-new 2016 FC450 suffers from a lack of air getting to the filter because of Husqvarna’s restrictive plastic airbox. Dicks Racing addresses this by installing Twin Air airbox vents into the airbox cover. These mesh-covered vents allow air in but keep small birds out. (2) For some unknown reason the Husqvarna FC450 muffler has the ice-cream-cone-shaped restrictor (from the 2013 KTM 450SXF) stuck in it. The 2016 KTM muffler, which is identical in all other aspects, does not have the restrictor in it. But rather than Dremeling out the restrictor, Dick Wilk opted for a full titanium FMF Factory 4.1 exhaust with MegaBomb head pipe. It not only added power but knocked several pounds off of the FC450’s already light weight.

The most noticeable change that Dicks Racing made to the Husqvarna FC450 engine was invisible. Dick Wilk modified the Keihin throttle body to accept a Thunder Products Quad Flow Torque Wing in the inlet side of the throttle body. This cross-shaped wing eliminates turbulence and increases laminar flow to the air rushing by the butterfly valve and injector nozzle. Keeping the airflow straight means off-idle pressure losses that are inherent in the butterfly design are reduced, resulting in smoother power without jerkiness. The overall result is seamless power metered out in a powerful linear curve.

Apart from the Ride Life graphics, Works Connection covers and plugs, Rocky Mountain ATV/MX seat cover, AME clamp-on grips, STR clutch slave unit guard and Dunlop MX32 tires, the majority of Dick Wilk’s FC450 was stock. The MX1 fork mods cost $575 for the re-valve and setup. The shock mods were $210 (with an extra $379 for the TBT bladder kit and Xtrig preload adjuster). The Quad Flow Power Wing was $195 (installed). The FMF Factory 4.1 exhaust was $949.95.

What did we think? This was a sweet Husky. Every test rider loved the smoothness of the powerband. The Quad Flow Power Wing took all of the burble and burp out of the low-to-mid transition and improved throttle response across the board. The MXA test riders were amazed at how easy the FC450 was to ride. It oozed around corners by carrying more speed with less effort. There was no need to hammer the throttle to go fast because the power curve was almost perfect. As for the suspension, the front fork was a huge improvement over stock. The front 4CS fork didn’t chatter like gag teeth when hitting consecutive braking bumps on Glen Helen’s big, rough downhills. The feel was plush, but without the inevitable clank at the end of the stroke—sweet stuff when mixed with the proper spring rate and valving on the rear shock. Hook-up was improved in tricky situations at both the front and rear wheels.

We like what Dick did. We like that Dick’s KTM and Husqvarna knowledge didn’t start three years ago when the bikes became popular. We especially like that Dick Wilk’s 2016 Husqvarna FC450 project bike is a no-fluff deal. Dick fixed the forks, re-valved the shock and only made mods to the engine that made a difference. We didn’t need more than that. To learn more about Dicks Racing, go to www.dicksracing.com or call (916) 705-3193. For MX1 Suspension, go to www.mx1suspension.com or call (916) 741-8767.