Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Cycle News 1979 08 29

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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specifications and the performance of these excellent forks are the same. With the latest shipment of WR bikes from Sweden there has been a change to the cast slider legs in that the wheel axle mounting position has been moved up the sliders by one inch. This gives the fork tubes one more inch of overlap inside the sliders. and coupled together with new external reinforcement ribs on the slider legs themselves. the entire fork assembly has become much more rigid and flex free. It should be pointed out that even though Husky uses the smallest· diameter fork tubes of any of the major dirt bike manufacturers (!l5mm), their hardened chrome steel tubes are probably the strongest and Husky reports no bending of their tubes whatsoever. The reasoning behind the shorter suspension travel on the WR is obvious and necessary. In many situations an enduro rider must be able to touch the ground with his feet for control or balance. The CR or OR suspension is just too tall. We had a 250 CR with us during the riding portion of the test for comparison and it was impossible to foot the ground with the CR when it was being ridden in an upright position.. This could be corrected to some extent by lowering the riding height of the CR's susJ?lension. which can lead to a lot of pitching motion and resulting geometry changes affecting handling. Reducing the CR's suspension travel on the WR to 240mm (9.5 in.) creates a bike which is both easy to control and stable. Together with its relatively short wheelbase of 1425mm (56.1 in.) the WR is extremely quick and agile through the woods. It seems very neutral handling. going around turns very easily without the effort the CR requires and without the light front end. This might seem a contradiction since the shorter swingarrn should cause the WR to be even more wheelie prone. but the WR is just the opposite. This has to be attributed to the power characteristics of the engine. The rear conical hub assembly and brake is new on the 1979 WR. There is a much tighter fit between the brake backing plate and the bub to keep water and mud out of the brake drum. The brake backing plate is nonfloating. anchored to the swingarrn. rather than using the full floating rear brake. Burleson feels tbe non-floating rear brake is more maintenance-free and less prone to damage in the woods. important considerations for an enduTo rider. The brake rod's attachment point to the adjustable height brake pedal is directly in line with the swingarm pivot which prevents brake pedal modulation caused by changes in rear suspension position while riding. A quick rundown of other features on the WR include unbreakable Falk plastic fenders, the rear one incorporating a tail light. The front headlight is a rubber mounted Husqvarna unit. The gas tank is steel and holds !I. 1 gallons. Wheels are gold painted Husky aluminum designs which have proven to be very strong. The rt"ar wheel assembly is a 17 -inch unit and tht" front a 21-incht"r shod with special Barum t;rt"s which arc not available in the United States except from Husky. The rear tire is so exclusive to Husky that each of its rear knobs is embossed with the H emblem. The rear wheel had new heavier duty spokes than the front wheel. There are also Magura power levers. a Gunnar Gasser throttle and a VDO speedometer with resetable trip odometer in tenths of a mile. In all. the best accessory components you could want on a professional caliber enduro bike. From the outside the 250 WR's engine is identical to the 250 CR·s. In effect it is the same engine right down to its cylinder porting. reed valve induction and !lSmm Mikuni carburetor. One change is in the transmission where we [rnd a six-speed wide· ratio gearset more suited to enduro riding. The electrical system is the only other. change is that the CR's quick revving internal rotor Motoplat COl is replaced with a heavier external rotor Motoplat COl with lighting coil. The heavier flywheel effect of the external rotor Motoplat totally changes the personality of the motocross engine. It seems to want to pull stronger and rev slower making the powerband almost tractor-like. The tende ncy in riding the bike is to shon-shift it all the time - usually at about 5.000 RPM. The engine will still rev as high as the CR and produce the same peak power when needed, but at a more sedate pace than the snappier front-wheel-jerking CR. Anyone riding the bike would think the WR's cylinder was ported for only low-end power while the wide ratio transmission tricks you into thinking' you've been in one gear too long and it's time to upshift. . In a hill climbing test t hal' required the CR rider to get a running start in fourth gear and downshift his way to second as the rear wheel spun for tracdon. the WR ridt"r just chugged up the entire hill from a near standing start in second gear. On gnarly trail sections. amid rocks. on the sides of creek beds. and dodging between trees less than a handlebar length apart. the 250 WR was spectacular as it pawed its way anywhere it was pointed wit" a .minimum of fuss and no wheelspin. The engine that wins World Motocross Championships and National Enduro Championships could almost triple as a trials engine. too, The WR's exhaust system appears similar to the CR's. but the chamber is made of double wall steel to help reduce noise. At the back of the AMA noise legal silencer is a removable tail section for cleaning of the U.S. Forestry approved spark arrester. By reputation alone the 1979 Husky 250 WR can be considered the finest enduro bike on the market today, Riders like Dick Burleson have put muoh work into its design to the point that in box-stock condition the WR is capable of winning any National Enduro. Two-Day or ISDT competition. The suggested list price for the Husqvarn.. 250 WR is $1995, which is a bargain for the caliber of machine it is a nd the q~ality of components it is made of. Only two other manufac- turers offer bikes which are in the same league as the WR. that's KTM and Maico. but at a price which is con·siderably higher. ]f you are a desert racer you'll want to opt for the OR Husky with its longer suspension travel. but for anyone else the WR Husky is the best ticket for getting from checkpoint A to checkpoint B on time with the least amount of effort. • Specifications Dimensions _ 84.8 in. Overall length Overall height ................•..•...•......•.............. 47.2 in. Height at seat .......•.............•.................. _.... 36.0 in. Ground clearance .....•...•.......••....................... 12.8 in. Wheelbase ..................................•............. 56.1 in. Weight : 233 Ibs. Engine Two stroke. single cylinder Displacement 245cc Bore and stroke .............................•......• 69.5 x 64.5mm Compression ratio .....•..................................... 13.8:1 Transmission Primary transmission .••...•..•.............................. 29170 Secondary transmission _.. : . 13153 Clutch•.................................•......... &-dIsc light alloy Chain ..............•.................................. 5/8 x 114 in. Gear Box.................................••.........•.... 6-speed Tire Size . Front 3.00 x 21 in. Rear .........•.....•.................................. 5.50 x 17 in•. Suspension Front Leading axle fork with die cast sliders. 9.5 in. travel Rear. . .. Heat treated swingarm. external reservoir Ohlins gas shocks 9.6 in. travel Ust prica ........•................... __ .....•..•............ $1995 15

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