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/126758
Mini-i_pression: 1984 Husky_ WB400 New wave "'lU"pumper By Kit Palmer To many, a big-bore liquid-cooled enduro bike just didn't make much sense. But then the people at Husqvarna think it does. And with their successful enduro and desert racing background, who's to argue? So now we have the new Husqvarna WR400 water-cooled ISDE replica from Sweden. But 32 why water-cooled - e pecially a bigbore woods bike? Even the Japanese manufacturers, who like to experiment with a wide variety of innovations, haven't bothered with Open cl~ss water-pumpers, not even on their motocrossers. Except for a few Japanese works bikes on the world and National motocross circuits. for the public, big-bore water-cooling is a ways down the road. Husky introduced its WR400 late la t year at the 1983 International Six Days Enduro in Wales, and they couldn't have been more pleased with the results when Sven-Erik Jonsson, aboard the new WR4oo, turned in the overall best score. But to a normal, weekly woods rider, does that mean the liquid-cooled Husky is a practical investment? Well, we had a chance to spenc;l a day on the WR400 and we were surprised with our findings. First of all, visually, the changes LO the WR4000ver last year's WR430 are quite obvious, and, of course, the most obvious is the addition of two radiators and loss of cylinder fins. And second. both on this bike and the air-cooled WR500. Husky finally opted fora plastic gas tank that holds 2.8 gallons of gas instead of teel tanks used during past years. Overall, the Husky is very stylish with its glos y white frame, tank and fenders plus it blue and white seal. The WR is the prettiest mOLOrcycle on the din. Starting the WR we found a nice surprise in that Husky finally changed its pretzel-shaped kickstarter for a traight design which is much easier LO use. But sin e the Husky stans so easy, you won't be using it all that much. The Hoosk always started on the first or second kick which is a benefit since the starter is still on the left side, so standing alongside the bike is still in order. However, the lever is a lillie too tall, so LO reduce knee bending, it is best to find a hill, large rock or a milk crate LO stand on. The WR sounds healthy when it fires to life and it should pass sound tests without any problems. In addition to the lack of fin noise. the Husky is muffled quite well and the' silencer/spark arrestor is easily rebuildable. Thanks to the water-cooling, the Husky is cold-blooded and takes a long time to warm up. You have to pUll around on it for at least fi ve min utes before the throttle can be effectively applied, but when the Hoo k is hot and ready to go, 0 can you. Even though the WR400 has been dropped 30ccover last year's machine and 88cc from the WR/XC/CR500, the 400 has an abundance of power. From idle on up, the Husky ends up a huge roost whenever tbe throllle is twisted. The WR thrives down low and has plenty of torque, but the best part about the mOLOr is that it doesn't really feel like a big-bore. Instead, it revs more like a 250 with the grunt of a 500. According to Husky, the WR400 actually pulls stronger than its XCSOO Cross Country brother, and we don't doubt that one bil. Husky allfibutes all that power to the liquid cooling, which they claim permit them LO use higher compres ion and tighter piston/cylinder clearance without the danger of seizure. Plus, they al 0 feel the water cooling is more reliable for weekly racers because the piston and rings will last much longer than in the air- ooled models. However, a well-placed rock an easily destroy a radiator in a simple fall, so there are two ways La look at this rel'iability theory. The only problem we encountered with the motor was that the 38mm Mikuni carburetor wasn't quile jelted up LO snuff. The Husky ran a lillie lOO rich on LOp. but if we had stayed 0[£ the bike long enough LO correct the problem. Husky reps said all we would have to do would be to lower tb e needle one notch, and we were assured the problem would go away. On very tight and winding trails, the WR wa a cinch to handle - no matter how low the going gOl. It S pacifications Engine Type Displacement Bore x stroke Compression ratio Starting system Ignition system Transmission Carburetor Single-cylinder two-stroke, liquid cooled. 395.6cc. 82.5 X 74.0mm. 12.5:1. : Primary kick. C.D.1. Six-speed constant mesh. 38mm Mikuni. Frame Type Front tire Rear tire Chromoly, single downtube, double cradle. 300x21 Trelleborg. 500x18 Trelleborg. Dimensions Wheelbase Seat height Weight (claimed) Fuel capacity Suggested retail price 58.2 in. 37.8 in. 237 Ibs. 2.8 gal. $3195.