Held on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula since 1962, the Baja 1000 is a desert race like no other. As mythical as it is grueling, finishing it requires skill, willpower, and a little luck; finishing on the podium, even more so.
You’re looking at the motorcycle that took second place in last year’s running of the Baja 1000. Built and fielded by a team from Deus ex Machina’s American operation, it’s a well-prepped Husqvarna FE 450 with a livery that’s all fun?and a parts-spec that’s all business. Affectionately nicknamed ‘The Paloma,’ the bike not only boasts a second-place finish in the Pro Moto Unlimited class of the Baja 1000, but it also bagged second overall in the 2023 World Desert Championship.
The man responsible for the build was Ciaran Naran, who shared race duties with Forrest Minchinton, Nick Lapaglia, and Derek Asserbauer. A previous Baja 1000 winner, Ciaran’s been racing dirt bikes since he was eight years old?and he’s figured out how to make them faster along the way. Working out of Deus’ Venice Beach workshop, Ciaran put countless late nights into turning the 2023-model Husqvarna FE 450 Heritage Edition into this wily, silver medal-winning desert sled.
Even in stock form, the Husqvarna FE 450 is a beast. Thanks to its chromoly frame and carbon fiber subframe, it weighs a paltry 108.3 kilos [238.8 lbs] dry?which is no match for its punchy four-stroke motor. Add a smorgasbord of high-e...