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/126922
part.s. The The cylind er is made out of magne sium and contai ns no steel Nikasi l nickel- silicon e-carb ide coatin g. bore is treated with a ,/ . ,, - ry is light. The new Husky liquid- cooled 510cc four-s troke Cross Count torque y and power ful motor. handle s well and has a smoot h. Test: 198 7 Husqvarna 510 Cross CountrY_ How cool is it? By Kit Palm er Photo s by Kinne y Jones Hus qva rna is seri ous abo ut its four -stro kes, For 1987, Hus ky is offe ring thre e big- bore four -stro kes in its line up of off- road mot orcycles - 510 Mot ocro ss, End uro and Cros s Coun try mode ls - all featur ing a high-t ech, lightw eight, water -coole d engin e. No other manu factur er has offere d an 22 all-off- road water-c ooled four-str oke. The first water-c ooled, four-st roke· Husky was built in the Husqv arna factory in Odesho g, Sweden , three years ago by Husqva rna'.s Produc tion Engine er Thoma s Gu tavsson , 29. Gustav sson was given the assignment to design. build, test and race a water-c ooled four-stroke. During that three-y ear period, Gustav sson created a high-te ch, lightwe ight, water-cooled four-stroke motor, now found in Husqvarna' s new four-st roke lineup . Husky feels that water-c ooling is essential since the new models run 6070° F cooler than last year's aircooled models , makin g the '87 four- strokes perform better and last longer. Our test bike, the Cross Countr y model, has basical ly the same engine as the rest of the four-st roke line, 503cc water-cooled, four-stoke, SOHC with four valves, 91.5x76.5 bore and stroke and a six-spe ed transm ission (excep t for the Motocr oss model, which has a five-speed). Two separat e radiato rs are mounte d in front of the gas tank, and the water pump is driven off the left side of the cranks haft. A unique oiling system reduces weight by elimin ating the use of a pump. Instead . the cam chain carries oil up to the cam box, and the cam bearing s and lobes are splashlubrica ted; the roller-b earing crankshaft is also splash- lubrica ted. Much effort weh t to lower the bike's overall weight . The cylinde r is comple tely magne sium, and the bore 510cc fourDespit e the additio n of water- coolin g, the 1986 Husky s are lighter than last year's air-coo led model s.. stroke is coated with Nikasil nickel- silicon carbide coating ; there is no sleeve or steel parts in the cylinde r, making it extrem ely light. To help reduce weight and make the Husky rev quicke r, the new graphit e-coate d piston has very shon skirts; on the intake and exhaus t side, the skins are only about an inch long, while the outside s of the piston are cut away, ending just undern eath the piston pin. Last year's air-coo led four-st r9ke used three rings, now the Husky has just two (a compre ssion and an oil ring). The oil ring is now made out of a new, lighwe ight materia l to reduce friction . Other motor change s include larger and stronge r cranks haft bearing s, a silver-p lated connec ting rod, hardchrome d valve stems and bronze valve guides. The Husky still uses a 40mm Dell'O no carbure tor and twin exhaus t pipes to reduce noise; the end of each pipe carries an alumin um, U.S. Forest Service -approv ed spark arrester . No major suspen sion change s were made. The single- shock rear suspen sion still uses a Swedis h-built , piggyback reservo ir Ohlins with new dampi ng setting s and a softer spring. The shock is rebuild able and feature s plenty of externa l reboun d and com- pressio n dampi ng adjustm ents. The alumin um-all oy swinga rm is lighter this year, and the shock linkage s have grease fiuings . Rear wheel travel is 13.7 inches. Up front are all-new , air-assi sted, 41mm Husky -made forks, with new dampe r rods and springs and II. inches of traveL. Rake and trail ar 27°/4.7 -inches , and the wheels ar made out of alumin um alloy wit non-str aight-p ull spokes . It come stock with Metzeler tires. Brakin g is handle d by a 9.06-in c hydrau lic disc, using a rubber hose in the front, and 6.3-inc h drum in th rear. There are onl y a few differen ces be tween the Cross Countr y and Endur models . The Cross Countr y doesn' have a headlig ht, speedo meter, over hangin g rear fender and tailligh t lik the Enduro has, and the Cross Coun try has slightly more travel front an rear. Interna lly, the two are exactl the same, includ ing gear ratios an ignitio n. The Husky Cross Countr y we rod wasn't totally stock, coming with fender brace, a mud extend er on th front fender, Larry Roesel er-ben handle bars, diHere nt footpe gs, master cylinde r guard, fork protec tors, alumin um radiato r guards an non-sp ark-arr ester silence rs, All 0