http://www.833team.com/en/ They use the new Husky 450 in the World and European Championship and they get pretty good results. I'd like to know how much their bikes've been modified; they don't seem much tuned in the photos. I like the bike, except this feature: Husqvarna wrote, on the website: «The frame design is the same as the FC 450 motocross model.». I hoped for a supermoto specific design. EDIT: Here there are some interesting pics, like these: Is the fork a 4CS type? It looks like a usual closed cartridge WP.
they don’t sell enough to make a SM specific frame. we were lucky that husky built a sm spec swing arm.
Zero reason for a sm specific frame. They can change all the geometry with proper clamps and swingarm/suspension
The reason for a specific frame is to get a specific flexibility, more suitable for the asphalt. A guy with a KTM showed me some differences between the frame of his KTM SMR and the frame of the enduro KTM of the same year. There were a pair of sleeves welded to make it stiffer and the triple clamps were more distant from each other, to make the fork more rigid. Anyway, most of the riders here use CRFs with different clamps, shortened swigarm, etc. but with the original frame; many of them are fast. Apparently, it's not a must to go fast! (Notice the rhyme ). Lately, here many CRF owner've switched to TM, which have a specific SM frame. They say that TMs are better on the asphalt and worse on the dirt, but maybe it's also due to other differences.
What is 4CS? in the article it says: WP suspension ensures the finest damping comes as standard on the FS 450. The fully adjustable 48mm closed cartridge front forks – with supermoto-specific settings – provide 280mm of travel. When paired with WP’s high performance rear shock they ensure precision and consistency in all conditions.
It's neither an open nor a close cartridge fork. It's a kinf od fork which should offer the same benefits of a closed cartridge despite being simpler and, therefore, cheaper to service. I don't know exactly how it works.
