Jalek Swoll’s Factory Husqvarna

The Corona virus swept across the nation so quickly that restaurants, stores, and sports event were cancelled in almost an instant. That included the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross series which was left with 7 races to go after Daytona. After some time off, Supercross announced that the season will finally be completed in Salt Lake City Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium. With the wait over, we decided it was time to go back in depth on some race bikes from the 2020 season that we had sitting in the tank at Dirt Bike Magazine.

Jalek Swoll’s Factory Rockstar Racing Husqvarna FC250 in the pits of Atlanta Supercross.

The Front End

Jed started at the front of the bike at the grips. A half waffle medium compound grip is used and then wire tied for security measures on to Jalek’s race bike. The throttle tube shown in this photo is aluminum and the polished housing is a factory item from Husqvarna.

Jalek is running Pro Taper handlebars on his Factory Husqvarna. They are neutral in position and nothing is modified on the cross bar. Some teams will either cut it under the pad or alter the stiffness of the cross bar for rider preferences and feel.

The clutch master cylinder is a factory component. It is a larger reservoir than stock. The front brake is a stock housing. Both the front brake and the hydraulic clutch are protected with these carbon covers from rocks or debris flying off the bikes during racing.

Jalek’s bike is using factory triple clamps with a 22mm offset. They look very similar to the design found on the Husqvarna Rockstar Edition models.

While the bars are low in profile the mounts themselves are solid mounted and pretty tall. They are 35mm tall factory bar mounts. If you look closely you can actually see the 35 etched into the mount for the team. The team has an array of options for riders to choose from depending on their personal preferences.

For suspension the team uses WP 52mm conventional forks. They are not running air suspension on Jalek’s FC250.

Similar to the Rockstar Edition Husqvarna models the team is running a Kite holeshot device. An integrated ring is built into the fork to grab the button when the forks are compressed down. When the device is engaged the forks are at a 150mm which is fairly deep in comparison to other race bikes.

The fork lugs on Jalek’s FC250 are factory and we are assuming oversized to be matched up with the oversized axle placed through the wheel. Material can vary from steel to titanium depending on rider preference. Some riders swear by titanium and the feeling it gives to the front end. You will also see a Talon ultra light front hub. An A60 wheel is used with stock spokes.

The front tire is a SPEC tire or factory tire. These are usually patterns and material that are being developed to hit the marketplace eventually. Jalek hasn’t done an extensive amount of testing with his tires but he does prefer to stick to the same from tread every weekend.

As for the front brake system a 260mm front rotor is used. A factory disc guard is wrapped around for protection. The Brembo caliper is a factory component and coated. The hangar is stock and anodized blue to give the racey look the team is looking for. The brake line is also stock. You can see the line is safety wired for insurance purposes.

Another look at the factory front rotor guard, oversized lugs, and oversized axle.

The bike is cooled down by stock radiators and the cap is a 1.8 which comes stock on the 2020 Husqvarna models. A lot of OEM bikes come with a lower boil over rate for the cap and are replaced on the factory teams. Husqvarna and KTM are fortunate enough to have little items like this come stock. The hoses are stock but they are wrapped with extra insulation for heat.

On Jalek’s factory fuel tank you will find a custom Husqvarna cap with his name placed inside. The Husqvarna and KTM team have the availability of using the Europe spec fuel tank if they want. It has the same capacity as the USA version but the sizing is a bit different. the cap is changed out because the stock version is plastic and the nipple portion has been known to break in race conditions during Supercross.

The Engine

The engine is done in house at Factory Services. This treatment at one point was available to the public but is now only for the factory effort for Husqvarna and KTM. The team has a few options to choose from and this engine has been tuned to Jalek’s riding style and preferences. Jalik has spent quite a long time on the Husqvarna brand as he moved from a TC super mini 2 stroke into the big bikes during his amateur run. The team is also running a factory wiring harness. This removes the FI light that normally sits on the triple clamps and the team can place it in a more convenient location.

The team akadizes both sides of the engine for protection. The akadizing also helps with heat dispersion off the engine. These bikes take on a lot more rocks and debris than one might think at Supercross. This helps protect the entire engine from something hitting it at 50mph and cracking it open. If you look closer you can see the slave cylinder is supplied to the team by Rekluse. Jed explained to us that it provides a better feel over stock. A carbon piece is added to protect the ignition wires also on Jalek’s FC250. You can also see the Husqvarna Power Parts fuel line the team uses. This has a 90 degree angle on it which protects the fuel line a little bit more than the stock version.

Jalek is using a Rekluse clutch system. It helps with oil volume and he is running a stiffer spring. The stiffer spring helps with engagement needs of the rider.

The Chassis

Husqvarna has the choice of different engine hangars for their motorcycles. Jalek prefers to run the stock over the other materials offered. On the factory KTMs you will see a carbon version quite often.

To protect the engine a factory carbon fiber full coverage skid plate is used. Teams dance around with different materials because it can change the rigidity characteristics of the bike and how it feels on track. This skid plate wraps around with almost wings on it to deflect debris if its shot at the bike in the engine area.

The shifter is a stock component that is polished up to look good. Jalek runs it in a neutral position and doesn’t do anything different.

The titanium footpegs are supplied by Raptor. The pin is stock.

The team does use the stock frame guards that come on the 2020 Husqvarna FC250. The add some grip tape to them and also add in some grip tape to the side panels. You can also see on the side panels that only the the graphic necessary to show Jalek’s number is used and any extra is cut off. This helps with weight. You would be surprised how much extra weight a complete graphics kit can add to a motorcycle.

The side cover featuring holes in it that allows the air box to breathe more is used. A Twin Air air filter is used inside the air box. It is a Supercross specific air filter. Usually they are thinner than what they might use during the Pro Motocross Championships. They will also use that style filter at a race like Daytona.

The Rear End

Jed and the Husqvarna team use a WP Xact Pro rear shock with stock knuckle and factory pull rod. The team has the availability of several pull rods to choose from and can make changes on race day if needed. The spring is also titanium.

The front chain guide is a stock component. On the rear a carbon chain guide is supplied to the team through Akrapovic. It is a bit longer in design to keep the chain from derailing during a race. You can also see the holes cut out for weight and to prevent from mud packing in.

The team uses Pro Taper sprockets. The gearing for Supercross is 13/50 while outdoors is a 14/53 combination. This also helps keep the chain length the same in both scenarios. Jed is a firm believer in using the stock sprocket bolts as well in comparison to other teams using titanium. A titanium rear axle is used with factory axle blocks and stock nut. You can see in the axle it is also plugged up so mud can’t pack in during racing.

For the rear brake the team uses a Factory caliper and a factory hangar that has been anodized blue. A very cool note is that Jalek’s bike is the only one on the team running a titanium piston in the rear brake system.

This rear brake pedal isn’t factory but doesn’t come on the 2020 Husqvarna FC250. This is actually off a previous model Husqvarna. Before the update in 2019 the brake pedal was 10mm shorter. Jalek prefers to use this over the longer one because it can feel a bit too touchy when in use.

You can see the titanium spring in this photo really well. You can also see the rear master cylinder which is a factory component. This master has the site glass removed to protect the system from damage.

Above in these photos you can see the custom FMF exhaust system that is provided to the team. The header pipe is specifically designed around the engine package. If you ever get a chance to go in the pits, check out the differences across the team in the header pipe region.

Jalek prefers to have his Guts seat worn in quite a bit. The team will replace the seat cover and run the foam through several races to have that broken in feel. Nothing crazy as far as the pleats are concerned. About as basic of a set up as you can get.

Factory Effex tops of the bike with their team graphics kit front to back and keeping in mind overall weight and to not add any extra material where it isn’t needed.