Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

: i Kent Howerton, wh ile showboating for the crowd at Daytona, de monstrates the Hus ky's abil ity to exit a bumpy turn laid ove r with t he f ro nt wheel in the air. and the forks pumped up to around 35-40 psi. Fo r most riders though, Dan and ourselves included. there is no re al noticeable differen ce in wei ght saving and performance wh en riding a 3 6 0 with air forks or a co nve n t io nal spring fork like Mikkol a 's stock un it . \\1, at also needs to be co nsi d ered is the hassl e of carrying an air tan k and regulator around to th e r aces, c o ns tan tly h avin g to chec k th e fork 's air pressure, and perhaps having to finish a m ota with collapsed fo r ks if y ou blow th e seals. Maintain ing the 360 CR TI, e fact th at Heikki Mikkola won his World Ch ampionship with the 3 6 0 Husky almost due to the bike 's reliability , which pr oved to be just as important as Heikki's own riding skill, says a lot for its design and quality. The 360 CR co n tinues the Husky reputatio n of re liability an d lo w upkeep co st. An im p o rt an t factor when you pay $1850 fo r a ra ce bike . Other bikes may cost less ini t ially , but the co st of m aking them co m pe tit ive or maintaining the m over a seaso n of racing can quickl y nullify tha t low price. There are a fe w things th at need lo oking over. New bikes, co me jetted wrong out of the crate an d the 360 CR is ve ry sensitive t o h aving the proper jetting. Replace the standard 195 Bing main jet with a 180-1 85 m ain jet, and the needle jet wi th a 3 12-3 16 needle jet. Do not raise or lo we r the needle from the m iddle position. (At sea Ievel. ] The standard rear chain ne eds to be replace d immediately with a be tter quali t y one. The 360 will sn ap the st andard Reynolds with its flim sy side pl at es in a bo ut two hours running tim e. Both the shoulderless Akront alloy rims and the front steering he ad be arings need to be constantly c hec ke d for tightness . Th e Akronts are ve ry so ft aluminum and spokes easily work themselves lo o se. The steering he ad bearings ne ed to set in when new and if they aren't kept tight they 'll smash themselves up in no time at all . Usin g a larger nu m be r of roller be arings packed in gre ase , rat her th an th e caged assembly, is a go od idea if they need to be replaced. The power (and the glory ) Anyone who hasn't ridden the 3 6 0 CR wants to know a bo u t the un -Godly power they figure it has, and how an yone other than Hekki can ride it . After all, it's reputed to be th e fastest Open cl ass bike in the world. Th e recent t est in a monthl y magazin e sa id it was dangerously pipey an d hard to co n tro l, Heikki-the-horrible slides smoothly from th e seat u p onto the tank for front wheel traction. and th e y had the dyno graph t o pro ve it . We'd just love to start a co n tr o versy here . Sure it 's fas t, but it is also easy to co n t ro l an d use . The power is strong and pulls right up from bottom rpm like a 3 6 0 Bultaco , but where the Bul run s out of punch at about 6 ,000 rpm the Hu sk y keeps pulling lik e a ro c ke t. What makes the p ower seem unmanage able a t first is the lac k of re ar wh eel spi n . The 3 6 0 CR puts every pony to the gro u nd and seem s to catap u lt it sel f d own the track eve ry time you gr ab a gear. You 've got to lea rn to love th e alu m in u m gas tan k and or on top of it during accelera tio n of the fron t end will co me up even in fifth gear. Starts are hard because t he 360 doesn 't even li ke to sp in its 4 .50 Tre lleborg even in first . On ce yo u get used to the fact that th e rear of the 360 is goi ng to stick no matter wh at you do, yo u ca n get down to the business of learn ing to ride it. The handling The bike's power and handling are so closely rel at ed th at you soon realize the two are the same. They work with each othe r as a unit a nd th e method to co n tro l how they work is with th e th ro t tl e a nd the sh if t ing of bo dy wei ght. This is th e part whe re yo u realize the lo ng seat , whi ch tapers up o ve r the alu m inu m tan k, was de signed like th at fo r a reason. Th e tank actuall y beco me s part o f th e seat as you slide up o n it to give th e front wheel tr action in turns or o n a smooth su rface when yo u need front e nd co n tro l. On rough surfaces you slide bac k on the seat to ligh ten the fran t end. This even wo rks in turns where the entrance or exit lin e is re all y rough. Just slide back on the seat, a nd wi th the bike still laid o ver, di al on a little throttle to bring the front end up to clear the bumps. The back end will stick and soak them up. You steer th e bik e by leaning yo u r weight, and it 's got to be the ne atest feel in g in the world to power through a rough third gear tum with the front end up and the bike laid over. It's then that you realize the bike has be come a tool. You may never be able to use its full potential in power or handling, but yo u know it's there and it can be controlled. The only complaint an yo ne seems to have with the new cantilever Huskys is th e fact th at t hey are power-on handlers. Back off the throttle on a rough section and the back end wants to bounce like crazy rather than work like it sho uld. This trait is actually m ore pronounced in the 250 CR where yo u have to do m o re shifting and power to the ground isn't as smooth as the 360 CR. It affects both m o d els t hough, during braking fo r a tu m . Pos it ioning yo ur weight back o n the bike wh ile braking will keep the ba ck end trac king and digging in. Also, dragging the rear brake a Iittle on ro ugh straigh ts will he lp . _ Still, the power-off pogo effect of the can tilever suspension persists to some degree , and sometimes it c an be unnerving. The problem co m es fro m the d ampening charac te ristic s of the gas charged Girling shocks and the constant rat e 125 pound springs. The suspension would definitely benefit from a variable rate spring in th e 1 15-13 5 pound ran ge, which a t this tim e isn 't availa ble for the gas Girling. The softer in it ial spring rate o f 11 5 pounds would make the can t ilever suspension m ore responsive to bumps wh en the power is off, and the hea vier 13 5 pound portion of t he spring would prevent th em botto mi ng o u t on ju m p s. The problem isn 't in curable th ough, be cause 12. 9 inc h Bilst eins with their st andard springs solve it. Brad La ck ey u ses them , the onl y modification to his stock 3 60 CR. Heik ki keeps his bike totally st o ck with th e Girlings. What you ca n do with a 360 CR lIusqvam a depends on yo u r own abili ty . It 's proven itself to be the best Open class bike in the world in stock form . It will neve r limit you, but instead the 360 CR offers itself as the tool fo r you to be co me as good a rider as yo u can be. No o ther b ike ca n o ffe r m or e than that. Specifications Engin e . .• . . . . . . Single cylinder two-stro ke Displacemen t 352cc 81.5 x 67mm 10 .5 :1 6-speed 6-disc. alloy Bore X Stro ke Compression ratio Transmission Cluteh Carburetor 36mm center float Bing Electr ics Rear suspension Femsa flywheel mag cantilever Girling gas-filled shoeks Front suspension Tires fr /rr Weight _ . _ . _ _ . . • • • . 3.00 telescopic forks x 21 /4 .50 x 18 212 Ibs. , T he Hu sky d isplays id eal sw inga rm t o to rque arm t o brake rod relati o nshi p. Wheel hop is minimal. , 37

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