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/125981
A true p roduction works bike f or experts only By Jim Gianatsis It's hard to be critical o f any bike which has built up a record like the ' new 19 75 Husqvarna 250 CR. Kent Howerton devastated the 1974 Tr ans -AlvlA Suppo rt Class Series on one, lI eikki Mikk ol a wo n the 1974 5 0 0 c c Wo r l d Champ ionsh ip o n a 360 cc version 6 which o n ly differs from the 250 in th e cran ksha ft, p ist on and cyl inder, wh ic h were o f co u rse larger. T hi s new breed of Husky h as also built up th e reput a ti o n of pe rh aps b eing th e m o st rel iab le Grand Prix racer in existen ce. with Kent and Heikki owing much o f th e credit for thei r victo ries to bikes wh ich ne ver b roke or mi ssed a beat. In th e ,,0 0 World Ch amp ion sh ip , teammate s A rn e Kring and Brad Lackey also fini shed in the top ten p o ints st andin gs with th e new machines. It is logical to assume n ow th at the 360 CR and t he 250 CR have be come p roduct io n bikes, that t he fact o ry wi ll be racing something newer fo r t he 19 75 season . Husky , like other fa ctories, has don e this in th e past, b ecause ho w else can new e r mode ls b e d evel oped ? Bu t since the se new magnesium en gined , ca n tilevered fram ed bikes are su ch a radical d ep arture fro m past d esign and have proven to be so suc ces sful. the factory riders wi ll campaign prod ucti o n b ikes during 19 75. If a ny m odi ficat ion s are m ad e at all , they will p ro b abl y b e in the form of de t ai l refi ne ments such as a more tucked in ex haust sy ste m and perh ap s e x p e r i m en tat ion w i th pressurized front fork s. Bec ause Husky 's fact o ry team riders are prese ntly co mpe t ing o n p rodu ction bikes , machines so t otally stock that the y don't even change rear sho cks, fenders o r h and gri ps , the pew Grand Prix m odel CR s ar e p rob abl y th e only true p roduction work s bikes availab le in moto cross, Our tes t m ode l 25 0 CR was loaned to us by Mik e La Roq ue , wh o is ra cing it in Florida even ts. Befo re getting into d escribing what it's like to ride the new 250 CR , it wo uld b e best t o dis cu ss th e vario us co mp o ne n ts a nd c ha nges th at make the 1975 m odel a co mp le tel y d ifferent bik e from last year's co unterpart. Engine Having undergone develo p me n t an d test ing in Gran d Prix Huskys sin ce the 19 72 season , t he small cas e magn esium e ngine fi rst saw p roduction last year in th e - 1974 mod el 250 CR. Die press ur e cas ti ng of lightweight magnesiu m was first p io neer ed by lIusq varna fo r th eir chain saw line. and it produces an ite m o f exacting dime nsio ns fo r low er cos t the n parts which are san d cast. The li gh tw ei ght a n d co m pac t e ngi ne featu red a 5 spe ed clo se ratio gea rbo x , 8 petal reed valve sys te m , and a sm all 125 Husky ty pe cl utc h , While last year's 250 ~[ ag e ng ine was the best pow e rpl an t in Husky 's lin eup, th is vear 's version is even better and has e nough d etail improvements that it co uld be called a wh o le new engi ne . Fr om the top o n d own , a rad ial head rep laces the o ld square head to keep th e engi ne runnin g co o ler. and a higher co m p ressio n ratio aids starting the engi ne whi le also increasing low rpm torque. And ye s , th e radi a l he ad will fit :9 74 Mag engines . T he cy lind er ret ain s t he same porting, but th e b ridges a t th e in ta ke port now have much better support to prevent the cra ck ing problem last year's cy lind ers had if piston cleara nce was a llowed to become ex ce ssive. O n the bottom end , eve n the main cases have received addi tiona l suppo rt where th e cy lind er mounts to the cases to preven t any problems there. The o u te r clutch co ver is finned, and th e shift er is lo cat ed 2 in ches h igh er on th e CR e ng i ne b e cause .t he engine is p ositioned 2 inches low e r in th e cantile ver frame . The most not able changes are hidden inside th e Mag cases and make t he new Husk y a s t e chnicall y advanced as po ssib le. The first is a new lightweight cl utch which rides on a splined shaft a nd is hel d on wit h a circl ip. T he hub is now rubbe r dam pened to increase drive train life. Screws, rat her th an nut s , hold d own the p ressure p late springs to insure eq ual tension and prevent the nuts from b ack in g off. Equal pressure p late tension, co mbined wit h th e new thrust ro lle r bearing, allows t he cl utch " to be easily hel d in whil e the engine is in T gear and running. without any sign o f wanting to drag or o verheat. The d ays o f Huskys with long th row shifter s that go clu n k a re over. Th e sho rt o uter shift lever is co nnected inside to a new de tent shi ft mechanism t hat makes shifting th e new 6 speed close ra tio gearb ox short a nd quic k . Th e ~ feel is sim ila r to a Yamaha YZ or Ho nd a' Elsino re, The fact th at th e new engine T shifts so easy is nice , because wit h the 6 speed gearbox you rea lly ha ve t o do a ~ lot more sh if ti ng , T he act ual th eo ry " ' beh in d ad d ing a n extra gear to the 250 isn 't because th e powerband needs it , but to allo w th e rider a selection of ' differ ent gea rs fo r differen t tracks w i t ho u t h av i ng t o c h a nge th e co un ters haft sp roc ke t , Mike was running a tall 13 toot h co u ntershaft sprocke t on hi s b ike and th is should ha ve d one much to in crease the wide range versatil it y o f the 6 speed gearbo x, b u t it d idn ' t. First gea r at 2 3.2 7 : 1 is much too low for sta rt s even d in d eep sa nd , wh ich leaves t he rem ain in g~ five gea rs, 2 nd th ru 6th, as the ones to 1 use . T heir ran ge , 2 nd -17 .51, 3rd -13 .9 4 , 4 t h - l1.74 , 5th -9.9 0 , and 6th-8.75, lea ves a di fferen ce of 8 .76 b etwe en the five usab le gea rs . Last y ear's 5 sp eed CRJ en gine had a 1st gear 0 f 18 .2 and a 5 thgear o f 7.9 , leaving a diffe ren ce o f 10 .3. This m eans th at t his vear's bike has its 5 usab le gea rs spread -':it h in a closer ran ge th an last year's 5 speed 250 CR. If yo u ran b oth b ike s a ro und th e same trac ksr yo u' d find yo ursel f sh ifting much mo re often on th e new bike. Whe th er th e new 6 sp eed gea rbo x is go od o r b ad d epends on what k ind of! rider you are. If you're average , meaning ) good enough to win any Am at eur rac e, ' yo u' d go faster o n th e 5 sp eed where yo u co uld put t o good use th e broad power ran g e t he engine p uts out witho ut having to work yourself t o death . If you're an honest to good ness licen se ca rry ing Pro y o u might be able t o han dle th e 6 speed , putting t o go od use th e closer ratio gears whi ch allo w the e ng ine to rev faster and pe rfo rm better at highe r rpms. Added t o the engi ne asse mb ly p ackage is o ne very noticab le imp rovem ent: a new all magnesium. wate r tight airbox , It 's tucked o u t o f the way of the rid er's leg , it breathes fro m under th e seat , and it's easy to se r vice , Inside is th e best moto cro ss filte r availab le . a Twin Air. Ign it io n is provided by th e qui ck reving Femsa C DI un it. This is the latest red wire unit. which is less prone to fai lure d ue t o h eat. The 36 m m Bin g ca rb ure tor co mes j etted p ro perly fo r m ost ar eas o f the co u n try and p erfor m s extremely well. An y prob lems en countered tryi ng t o sta r t th e bike were d ue t o the kick starte r system. wh ich now turns the engine ove r less than ever du e to the engine's lowered pos it ion in the new fram e , whi ch ca us es th e kick lever to h it the foot p eg sooner , Chassis At Sl ; 50 suggested list price, th e new 250 C R G ran d Prix isn 't ch ea p , but th en , what would yo u expect to pay for a 206 lb . wo rks m ach in es t hat is t ot ally race ready ? The ch ro m e mo ly Grand Prix frame is specially heat trea ted to wit hs t and th e increased st ress whi ch th e cantilever rear