Best bang for the buck upgrades GasGas MC450 2024

That bike doesn’t “need” spring forks, especially if you’re riding 2-4 times a month. Honestly, it doesn’t really need anything, but if you’re fishing for the best mods…

Tires (the maxxis aren’t great), ethanol free fuel (to keep things clean while the bike sits), and maybe a bar pad because the GG pad is basically non existent. 

IMO, a vortex by xpr/twisted is the best bang for your buck, but it’s not cheap, and it’s not necessary. 

Are these just open MX rides or is racing involved? 

Suspension (I stuck with the air forks, I actually like them), tires, and seat time. 

Another vote to round-file the Maxxis garbage. I have a 21.5 KTM and my dad bought a 22 (or 23…can’t recall but same bikes) MC450…I couldn’t believe how bad those tires were compared to my bike with the Dunlops. 

As far as air forks, I swapped to 6500’s on mine…if I’d have ridden dads bike first I would’ve just revalved mine and stayed with air. They are really good.

Tires, air filters and oil changes. This is my strategy. When it wears out I'll grab a fresh one.

I'm slow, but the air forks are fine for plenty of riders of different levels.

New brakes,those cheap ass ones are same as Sexton had

FWIW, I have to agree regarding the air forks. I'm running them on a 2024 350SX-F and 2024.5 Husky 450 FE and have really come to like them. I have no desire to convert to spring and I haven't even revalved mine (45+ Vet A/B, 178 lbs.). Anyways, tires, bars (whatever your flavor is), and maybe some chassis mods. I found the Luxon knuckle to be excellent and after doing a same day, back-to-back test of the FCP engine mounts, I was blown away by how much better my 2024 350 was. I have the CUO unit on my bike, and I averaged lap times over 16 laps, before and after, and I was 2.1 seconds faster with the FCP mounts (no other changes). It felt like I had a plusher suspension setting and lean angle traction was improved, giving me a lot of confidence entering and mid-corner. Crazy how much some tiny little chunks of aluminum and a titanium bolt can make.

Ditch the plastic inner frame T coolant hose thats prone to cracking and leaking

Factory triple clamps were a game changer on mine 

Tires.  Also before you spend a ton on ecus spend less than 100 on a gearing change first if your not happy.

This BRP top clamp is one of the best aftermarket items you can put on a euro bike that isn’t factory edition. Breathe on the OEM top clamp wrong and your bar mounts will twist. BRPmoto.com

Tires, bars, two stroke filter cage, and a razorblade for opening up the side cover. Luxon four post bar mounts if you want to kill some vibes and help your hands a bit.

Fastway EXT pegs

Improved steering precision.   I had a hard time holding lines in corners ,  but the clamps changed that

I am apparently not as sensitive as others, but I could feel the difference with the Ride Engineering 23.5 clamps. Very satisfied with them.

If you can find a Factory Edition spend the extra money. It fixes all the weak points and is an awesome bike. 

Helps with the engine braking for sure.  I made some posts about it sometime not too long ago.  Be sure your ECU is updated before trying to connect it though.

I've heard differing opinions regarding the CUO unit, but I purchased it for my '24 350 SX-F and it came on my 24.5 Husky 450 F.E., and I will put it on any Austrian bike I buy in the future. For me personally, it's absolutely worth it, simply for the lap time and analysis feature(s). I have 9 dirt bikes, so I like to be able to really dig into the data to compare the bikes and line choices. I have a Garmin and LitPro for the non-Austrian bikes I have, but with the CUO unit you can see what gear you are in, RPM range, throttle percentage, and other things that the standard LitPro does not offer. Also, I would probably buy the CUO for the ability to adjust engine braking alone - again, for me personally, it's a game changer for my riding style. I want as little engine braking as possible. The CUO maps definitely make a difference, and I like to use the lowest setting of traction control on the 450 in certain situations...I would never use the standard traction control setting as it's too intrusive, but having the ability to adjust the traction control to a lower level is nice (don't need it on a 350). For $250, I would recommend it - but I know others who don't think it's worth it. 

With all these parts people are recommending, if yoi go that route you gotta be close to or over the cost delta anyway I’d think. And you’d end up with a FE without the better wheels/tires. We got our 24.5 250 FE for well under MSRP. 

I've been contemplating some 23.5mm clamps (Luxon or Ride) - was there something specific that you were trying to fix with the clamps? Can you elaborate a bit more on what was better? Thanks.

I had a clear improvement in the feel of the front entering corners and secondarily, they did notch the overall rigidity down a notch. Looks really good too!

Cycle trader has leftovers cheap. There are a few 23 Husk Factory Edit for $8100 no extra fees. Freight ro your door wouldn't be that much. 24 GG FE were $8499 I think.

Rear spring for your weight, stock map switch off ktm or husky, and bars that suit you.