The Cockpit | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
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The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing has been the only team this year to field three different riders in the 450 class with Jason Anderson, Zach Osborne, and Dean Wilson all aboard the factory FC 450 race bikes. If you follow racing closely, you know that the three aforementioned riders are very different in their body types and riding styles, as Wilson is well over six feet tall and muscular, Anderson is slightly shorter and much thinner, and Osborne is under six feet tall and has a stocky build. The team has a wide variety of items and techniques to build a bike to a rider’s request, especially in the ergonomics, and in Daytona we asked team crew chief Steve Westfall for a quick rundown of each rider’s preferences and the parts that are used. We focused our talk on the cockpit of all three bikes instead of engine packages or suspension settings, as the parts or modifications are things that can be purchased or done by the common rider, which is next to impossible for the engine and suspension. Take it away, Scuba…
“Height-wise, the handlebar mounts for Dean and Jason are the same. Dean runs a different mount, one with rubber dampening in it, to deaden the feeling a little bit. That’s in the Power Parts catalog for Husqvarna. But Zach and Jason both run the solid mounts. They all use the ProTaper Fuzion handlebar, the one with the lock-unlock system, and Dean likes it unlocked for the flex. Everyone else that uses that handlebar has it locked. They all have the same standard offset for their clamps.”
“Dean runs a different mount, one with rubber dampening in it, to deaden the feeling a little bit. That’s in the Power Parts catalog for Husqvarna. But Zach and Jason both run the solid mounts. They all use the ProTaper Fuzion handlebar, the one with the lock-unlock system, and Dean likes it unlocked for the flex. Everyone else that uses that handlebar has it locked. They all have the same standard offset for their clamps.”
“Because of how tall Dean is and where his knees grips, GUTS Racing added the wings to the side for a little more feel.”
Because of Dean’s height and size, and that our bike is a little narrower, he wants a little more of a feel underneath him to grip. He is the only rider on our team with the Acerbis frame guard with rubber grip.
Dean likes the stock foot pegs because he says they really good grip for how his feet are; he couldn’t tell a difference between stock and the Nihilo Concepts ones that we run, so we just left him with stock. The stock foot pegs are a little wider, too.
Zach and Jason both use the solid mounts, but Zach runs a lower mount and lower handlebar bend. He prefers the locked setting of the Fuzion handlebar.
ProTaper makes Zach the kid style grips, the smaller one, because he likes the feel.
Nihilo Concepts makes Zach’s foot pegs and they’re five millimeters taller than stock for his height. He also uses thin grip tape on the frame and on the side panels, instead of the thicker Acerbis frame guards.
Zach has a 25-millimeter lower seat than everyone and it has more of a pocket to it with a bump in the back so he knows where to sit and seat bounce.
