Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

..... ..... ~ 0.. -< Forged aluminum i s used f o r the three arms that comprise the rear shock linkage . The system is easy to get at for routine maintenance chores . sho uld be set somew here in th e 250255mm ins ta lled len g th (u n weigh ted ) ra ng e for best perform an ce. If yo u are heavier or lighter, H u sky has a spri ng in stock for vo u, and rhev warn agai n st setti ng the sh ock ,,:ith too m uch preload. Do i ng so a ffects th e low -speed damp ing, w h ich co u ld ma ke th e bi ke a ha nd fu l in the tighter stu ff. Prel oad sho uld be set with th e rid er aboa rd, an d th e proper setti ng is wh ere th e suspension sags from 95 to 100mm. Crafted from forg ed a lu m in u m , the lin kage is fitted with sea led bea rin gs a nd co n sists o f a centra l arm a nd a 'pa ir o f upright a rm s wh ich ti e th e system to th e swinga rm . As with th e rest o f the su spensio n, th e fas tene rs are easy to ge t a t for per iodi c m aintenan ce of th e bearings - th ere is p lenty of room for wre n ches to swi ng. T he swinga rm fo llows the cu rre n t practice of ut ilizing rectangular crosssectio n a lu m i n u m a lloy tubing , a n d is mounted with a pivot bolt a t th e front whi ch p asses th ro ugh ears on the fram e a s well as thro ugh th e rear portion o f th e engine case, The kickstand is m ounted to th e left side of th e swinga rm with a sin g le bolt, For ease of ch ain adj us tme n t. th e rear a x le is eq u ip pe d with a gra b handl e so a wrenc h is o n ly needed on one sid e. th en a seco n d sma ller wr enc h is u sed to posit ion th e adj usters o n ei th er side. T he front suspen sio n is pulled straigh t from th e XC. a n d has 11.8 inches o f trav el ver su s th e 10.6 o n th e WR. Also from th e XC co me th e tri pl e clamps, whi ch feature different o ffset than the WR a nd a swi tch to a llen head bo lts th at thread directl y into th e clamps, rather th an u sing separat e hex nuts. U n like th e r u bbermounted handl ebar clam ps on th e WR. th e XC 's bars mou nt di rectlv to ' th e trip le clamp. While th e fork legs h ave cas t-in mounts for th e di sc br a ke used on the XC , th e WRX uses th e sa me doubleleading-sh oe bra ke as th e WR . At th e rear. th e br ak e has been lifted from th e XC, a nd is a non-fl oat ing desi gn with a h eft y a lu m i n u m sta y arm . The engin e is a co m pact package and a blend o f WR . XC a nd a ll -new com pon ents . Wh a t ' sets th e motor ap art from an y o the r Husky model is th e cy lin der; it's been specifica lly designed to en hanc e th e versa tili ty image. Whi le th e ge neral layout. a cen ter-port exha ust wi th a pa ir of boost P 0 rlS to ei th er side . fo llows th e pattern u sed in other H usky 250s. th e WRX ben efits' fro m low er posi tion ing of the P 0rlS in the cylinder. Th e -resu l t \s:l rf engit'le'Wi th p ow er charac- Cleaning the air fi lt er i s a breeze thanks to a side -cover that comes off without t oo ls and a snap-on retention arm . The cylinder ha s been specifically designed for the WRX. while the rest of the motor isthe sameasa WR . ter isti cs th at fall so me whe re between th e WR a nd XC . The six -spe ed transmission as well a s th e en tir e low er en d is identi cal to th a t i n th e W R a n d XC. and th e engine is fed by th e sa me eig h t-peta l reed valv e. Th e WRX get s th e ro u ndslide 38m m Mi kun i from th e WR (with minimal jett ing cha nges ) ra ther th a n th e square-slide un it o n the Xc. More blending of co mpo nents is visible in th e exha us t svs tern. T he 'exh a ust is very simi lar to iha t used on th e XC . with the proper ben ds to go a lo ng wi th a new ga s tank . but is fitte d w ith a WR steel sp ar k a rrester/ muffler ra ther th an th e a lu mi n u m un it used on th e XC. The fattest portion of th e p ipe is wr apped with so u n d deaden in g mat eria l an d th en covered with an exte r n al steel shell . T he result is a q ui et system wi th a rela tively p leasing no te. W ith the exceptio n o f th eir fo ur stro ke a n d 500AE mod el s. a ll Husk vs a re wa ter-cooled , T he WRX has a pa'ir o f ra di ators id ent ica l to that o n th e WR; the d ifferen ce is th at th e WRX radiators are m ad e to th e same specs The Ohlins shock has easily ad justable compression as well as rebound damping with "clicker" knobs . The WRX is actually seven pounds lighter than its brother, the 250WR , at 231 pounds. The new Husqvarna member carries a $3095 price tag . .11

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