Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125801
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Husqvarna
450CR
I
by John Huetter and the CN Staff
The 450 Husqvarna, with both close
and wide ratio gearboxes, is the top of
the line of the uNew Generation" of
1972 Huskies. It was long anticipated
and everybody, especially dedicated
Husky aficionados, figured that this 450
would be the bike. Yet, surprisingly a
fair number of big bore Husqvarna
riders have stayed on or even gone back
to their 400s. There is no inheren t
reason fOT this in the machine, it is
rather a combination of little things
which
constitute a racing bike's
"personality".
The 450 is, by almost any
engineering standard, a masterpiece. The
frame is well designed and looks more
integral, without all the stray bars and
gussets, than the previous 400. The
engine is lightly larger externally and
seems to be taller. In fact, the whole
impression and reality of the 450 Husky
is a tall motorcycle. You need pretty
long legs to ,ide it comfortably.
The
biggest
single
problem
encountered with the 450 is that it
really doesn't want to turn. It likes to
keep going in a straight line and, in fact,
tltis is what it does best. You have to
muscle it 'chrough corners and even
experienced
riders complained of
oversteer problems. When you do get.it
into a corner, if you do it right, it gets
right out again without any screwing
around. The 450 seems to have
emphasized the requirement for sharply
squaring off all your corners that
Huskies have traditionally presen ted.
Part of the reason for its lack of zest for
cornering is the high placemen t of the
engine, relative to almost any other big
two-stroke. It is placed farther forward
in the frame but a good 2-3 inches
above the CZ or Maico, for instance.
The Husky does have scads of ground
clearance, helped along with the
upswept pipe. You still get a very hot
leg from the pipe. The heat shield acts
more like a heat conductor.
Across uneven desert terrain, the 450
seems more in its element. Pick a
straigh t line to where you wan t to go
and the Husky goes righ t where you
poin t it. The suspension is really
excellent at absorbing the rough jolts of
brush mounds and whoop-de-doos. At
low speed, some riders complained of a'
squirelly feeling. The faster you get
going, the easier, smoother, and more
controllable it gets. It's possible to cover
great lengths of terrain in a very short
time without feeling like you're going
all that fast. Just dial on some throttle
when the rear wheel is on the ground
and you literally fly.
While you're covering that chunk of
desert, the big engine never seems to
work that hard. It pulls well at the
lower edge of the power band with slow
barking strokes. There was good flat
power and lots of it. The power band is
very smooth and never seemed to
"come on". I t was just always there.
Traction isn't as good as it might be bUl
this becomes important mainly in MX.
Now in the desert it runs just about
righ t. The exhaust note really is too
loud with the stock silencer. You'd
think with 450 cc's, they wouldn't be
concerned about a possible power loss
and put a good muffler on it. The
now-traditional Husky bark is amplified.
The shift lever is interchangeable, left
or right side, but it tended to stick. It
sometimes wouldn't ratchet back to
pick up the next gear. It has a fairly
long throw and shifting req uires a very
positive approach.
The starter lever is pretty ridiculous
for a bike of this displacemen t. I t's very
short and fouls on the foot peg. It was
generally hard to slart, both because of
the short travel and the reluctance of
the engine. This difficulty varied from
rider to rider, bUl was definiteh
commented upon by all.
.
All of the componen ts are strictly
first class on the 450, as riders have
corpe to expect from Ilusqvarna.
Akront rims are standard. Grips and
levers are very good and come covered
with the little leather protectors. The
paper air filter element requires
replacement in our opinion (and darn
near everybody else~). Trelleborg tir s
are mounted in 3.00 X 21 and 4.)) X 18
dimensions.
The 36mm Bing carburetor drew
mixed reactions. It was accused of being
the culprit in the starting drilJ and
defended as a basically good unit, which
it probably is. The seat is very
comfortable, even in extended desert
riding, and well-padded enough for most
riders. Husky continues its practice of
the metal tank and the alloy fenders
with the front mud flap.
The brakes are some of the best in
the business. The
all fron t brake
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