Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

...... New jetting specs and other modifications (above) make the Husky much easier to start than before. The quick-change rear wheel (below) is sa no. The Husky (above) is a serious enduro b ike and fun to ride. Twin aluminum silencers w ith spark arresters come stock. a t the handl ebar; th at m eans th e ri der ca n ' t work th e clutch with one or two ' fingers, beca use th e lever wi ll bottom o ut on the remai ning fin gers cu rled arou nd th e gri p . The sus pe ns io n on th e Husky is downrigh t good, especia lly in the rear; the back en d wo rk s so well that the H usk y doesn 't reallv feel like a big -bore four -stroke a t' spe ed. It's p lus h but does n't bottom ha rshl v compared to ot her 500cc-or-over fou;strokes (ligh ter weight helps here). T he rea r wh eel stays close to the grou nd over th e g nar liest terra in a nd rarely hops a ro u nd uncontrollably. Even after a lo ng , hard trail rid e, th e Oh lins shock ma intains smooth a nd co ns istent ac tio n. jumping o ff rock s, large dro p- off or bi g jumps, th e 510 soa ks up impacts smooth ly. The front end works well too , but th e front forks are a lillie too soft. The front en d bottoms more than the rea r, a nd div es really bad wh en brakin g. This is especially not iceabl e wh en decending steep hills. The front end is ex tremely sens itive to any rid er o r terrai n in p u t, a nd . th e bik e goes exac t wh ere it 's pointed . That ca n mak e it d ifficult to hold a lin e o n n arrow trail s. D ur in g o ur test o f th e stock Husky, we had th e cha nce to ride Larry Roeseler 's four-stroke, th e same one he's us ing in the Na tiona l ISDE quali fier ser ies. H is bike's fro nt forks are set up much stiffer, wi th 15w oi l and m odi fied (heavier ) for k sp rings. T he differen ce is a mazin g. His bike is much more predicta ble a nd easier to con tro l than th e stoc ker wit h the so ft forks . Bra kes o n the Husky worked well. T he front dis c bra ke was strong, a nd o ne or two finders on th e lever usu a lly did the job. In th e rear, th e dru m go t th e job don e n icel y a nd d id n ' t Husqvarna 510 Enduro 28 would do the trick. The kick starter lever itself doesn't require a sharp jab, and, after a lit tle bit o f practice, the H usky can be star ted with ' th e rider sitti ng on th e bike . Once on th e trail, the first thi ng we n oticed was that the Husky vibrates. It doe sn't shake to the point where it 's no fu n to ride , but th e vibrat io n did bo th er so me riders; o thers bar ely even no ticed it. An d the side panels bu lge to clear the exha ust pi pes. fo rei!1gthe rider to ride bowlegged. Somenrnes th e bottom o f th e side pan el sna gs th e top o f th e rid er's boot s, which gets annoyi ng. Besides th o se fla ws, th e Husk y is a p leas ure to ride. The mot or is extremel y pow erful, yet very managea ble. The Husk y is tu ned for pow er; it doesn't ha ve th e giant flywh eels used o n so me big four-strokes, and it doesn 't have as much sloggi ng bot tom end pull as bik es tuned fo r lo w-rp m pulling , with hea vy flywh eels. O n th e o the r hand, th e Husky is lighter; it ha s very strong mid-range torque and top-end power. jump o n th e Hu sk y a nd expect it to ac t like a H ond a or a Yama ha a nd it's easy to stall a t first, because it doesn 't have th e low end grunt yo u 'd expect from a big- bore j apanese fourstro ke. But th e m or e th e bike is rid den. the less frequent stalli ng becomes.' St ill , the Husky isn' t as forg ivin g as some big-bore four-strokes we've ridden ; th e rider ha s to be more co n scious o f wh at gea r he's in or risk being in a gear too ta ll in a tight turn or on a h ill , resulting in a sta lled mot or. If th e rid er's no t sure o n wh at gea r to be in th rough a tight sectio n, it's bes t to pl a y it on th e sa fe side and dow nsh ift. O n th e m o re open, fas ter trails, the Husky delivers excelle nt po wer. Steep hill s ca n ca use p robl em s if th e ride r loses mome ntum in a ru t or ge ts h u ng up in loo se roc ks; the bike loves to sta ll if a fin ger isn't workin g the clutch lever at a ll times. Missed sh ifts weren 't uncommon. The cl u tch held up a nd ha s a fairly ligh t pu ll for a big-bo re. U n fort u na tely , th e clutch doesn 't fu ll y di sen gage until th e clutch lever is a lmost Engine type .. . Air-cooled, SOHC single Bo re x st rok e 91 .5x76.4mm Di splacement 503cc Compression ratio •. . . . . ... 9.5:1 Carburetor . .. • • 40mm De ll'Orto Horsep ow er •• ••. . .... .. .• N /A To rq ue . .. . •. • . .. • • • •. •. • N /A Intake valve size 33mm Exhaust valve size • ••• . •• • 35mm Inta ke valve lift . • . .. . • . •. . N / A Exhaust valve lift . • . • . • • • .• N / A (measuring point) .. ..••. N/A Included valve angle . • • . . • . N / A (m easu ri ng po int) Omm Starting syst em .. . • . Primary kick Ign ition ... . . . .. . . • • . • . .. • • CO l Lubrication .. .. . • ... .• Wet sump Primary drive ....• .• Straight-cut gears Final drive . • •. • • .. .. . #520 chain Gear ratios Primary . .. . •. 76/33; 5.846:1 Final .. . .. .••. 14/48; 0 .292: 1 6th . . . • .. •... 20/27; 0 .740: 1 5th , . 22/25; 0 ,888:1 4th .. ... . •... 24/23; 1 .043:1 3rd . •• ... •. .. 26 / 19; 1 .368:1 2nd . ... •. •.. 29 / 16; 1 .813:1 1st 34 / 13; 2 ,615:1 Frame .•.. S ingle downtube, spl it do uble cradle Rake .. • ... . . ... • . . . . . . •. • 27° Trail • •. •... .. . . . .. ... ... 4 .7 in. Front suspension type . • ... Telescopic fork Fork tube diameter • . .. .. . 43mm Front wheel travel'. .. . . •. 10.6 in. Rear suspension type • . . . Singleshock swingarm Rear wheel travel 12.2 in. Front brakes • • • . • .• . . 9 .1 -in. disc Rear brakes • . •.• • •• 6 .3-;n . drum Fro nt wheel 1.60x21 in. Rear wheel .. .. . . . . • 2 .50x18 in. Front t ire •. . .. 3.00-21 Metzeler Rear tire . . •.. . 4 .50-18 Metzeler Claimed dry weight . . . . . 257 Ibs . Certified wet weight .. . 280.5 Ibs. Overall lengt h . ..... • . .. 86,6 in . Overall w idth . . .•. .. . .. . 31 .5 in. Overall height .. . • . . . .• . 50.9 in . W heelbase _. •. . • • 59.0 in. Fuel capacity . . . . . . • • • • • 2 .4 gal. Ground clearance 13.5 in. Seat height 37.0 in. Co lors . . . . . • . • • . • . . • . . . . White Retail price $3295

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