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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127250
tion is handled by a si ngle 40mm Dell 'Orto and horsepow er is transferred to the rear wh eel via a sixspee d · transmission (on the mot ocro ss versio n - the enduro model uses a five-speed a nd also comes with lights). We are told that the Husaberg's transmissio n is a co p y of a transm ission once u sed .in a SOOcc Ho nda works road racer. A single radiator is used on th e Husaberg - less co m p lica ted th an the two radiat ors used by the Husky - and th e wa ter pump is driven off the end o f the camshaft. L ike the H usky, the Husaberg engine fea tu res an 'automatic compression release to aid starting . . Un like the engine, however, its heavy -duty chrome rnoly steelco ns tructed frame (pai nted blue ) bares Jittle resemblance to that o f the is manufactured by Acerbis in Ital y. The alu mi n u m handlebars ar e made b y Renthal in Eng land. Does it roost? I Ever since the first single-cylinder, big-bore, four-stro ke off-road motorcycle ro lled o ff the assembl y li ne, there's been a constant dem and to m a ke st arting easi er. Husa berg engineers have obvio us ly been listen ing to these demands , because the MCSOI is' easy to start - ho t o r co ld. Our Husab erg started in a few kicks when it was cold and a lmost a lways o n the first kick whe n it was hot. All you have to do is pull in th e com pre ssio n release lever and kick the eng ine th rough until you find to p dea d cen ter (TDC) ; th en g ive the ki ckstar te r a fai rl y smooth, 'ye t authori ta tive kick a nd th e H usa berg The liant silencer does a good Job keeping the Husaberg quiet. Husky, although ' its geometry is nearly identica l. It has a hefty, threeinch-square, box-sectio n ba ckbone (instead of th e circular tubing on the Husky) and has a bo lt-on rear subframe section. T he huge backbone section of th e • frame al so acts as the a irbox. A TwinAir filter element bo lts directly onto the fram e's backbone underneath the - 2. l -gallon gas ta n k. Air is funneled down th e frame to a rubber boot near th e gas ta n k/ sea t junction, which co n nects to the ca rb uretor. This design elimina tes th e need for a sepa ra te a irbo x uni t. A fuel p u m p is needed on th e H usa berg because the left side of th e gas tan k hangs below the carbu re tor. T he fue l p ump is mounted on the in side of th e left over hang and .is ope ra ted b y a single rubber tu be that .con nects to the cra n kcase vent. T he pressure for med ins ide the crankcase creat es a vacuu m that ca rr ies the gaso line across the ta nk to th e petcock. T he sus pe nsion is ha ndl ed by a single Ohlins shock wi th a piggyba ck · reservoir in th e back , a nd a White Pow er u pside-down cartridgetype fork u p front. T here 's mor e tha n I I in ch es of wh eel tra vel a t both ends , a nd bo th the shock and fork ar e full y adj ustable. A 330mm dis c brak e (iden tica l to . th e H usky b ra ke except for pad m at erial ) h a ndl es th e st opping cho res up front, while a 220mm d isc (the Husky has a rear drum brake) does the trick in th e back. . The well -used Husaberg motorcycle we rode for th e da y was loa ned to us by Malcolm Smith Motorcycl es of Riverside, California, a nd was fitted wit h semi-new Metzeler tires, . a ltho ug h the new producti on unit we photographed sporte d a pair o f Dunlops. T he grips a nd levers are . made by Magura in Sweden, and mo st of th e blue-and-yell ow plastic wakes u p. The left-side . kickstarter lever , however, ' is ver y tall a n d d ifficu lt to g et a leg on, eithe r positioned standing alongside the motorcycle or sitting on to p of it. On level ground, we fou nd it a li ttl e eas ier to si t on the bike an d kick through wit h our left leg. The o nly time we had a hard tim e start ing th e Husaberg was wh en we forgot to turn on the petcock and let it ru n o u t of ga s while trying .to climb a steep hill. Need less to say , th e Husaberg (and the rider) ended up on th eir ba cks, slid ing down the h ill. At idle th e Husaberg is pl easantly quiet a nd it doesn' t ge t pa inf u lly loud when th e th rottle is wicked open , either. The H usaberg is nothing but a bl ast to ride. It has strong p ull in g power off the bo ttom a nd motors well throughou t the rev range. It doesn 't rea lly feel ult ra -fast, .but it d idn't have any prob lems keeping u p wit h a Yam ah a YZ2S0W R tha t joined us on our one-day ridin g sessio n. In fact, we feel it would gi ve an Open class two-stro ke a ru n for its mo ney. T he Husab erg just doesn ' t feel overwhelmingly fast because of i ts smooth and tra ctab le power o utp u t. The stoc k jetting seemed spot-on, but we sta lled a lot a t low rp m when th e th ro ttle was suddenly twis ted open. Some times it would just cough an d q ui t ru n ning. T he Husaber g MCSOI feel s extre mely light for a big-bor e fo urstroke. It 's easy to th row around on th e tra il s and la u nch over th e ju m ps. In fact, it 's ex tremely quick on tight a nd twis ty trai ls. Comb ined with a tra ctable motor, light weight and qui ck ha ndli n g , the Hu sab er g sim p ly hauls on th e switchbacks. It's tough to bea t. Wh en bumps a nd wh oops get in th e wa y, it s . sus pe ns io n d o es a respect ab le job keeping the ri de smooth. The fork is a littl e harsh and co u ld use some sorti ng out, but th e rear end holds its own just fin e. At speed ove r the nas ties the H usab erg ca n be a handful, but th e ri de would . ne ver get so scary that you'd have to ba ck 0[£ o n the throttl e. Nonetheless, for th e serious racer there is room for improvement at both ends. Bo th fro n t a nd rea r brakes are adeq ua te. The fro nt d isc is powerful and progressive, a nd the rea r binder is stro ng, too , but doesn't have grea t feel. T he Husaberg is a co mforta ble mo u nt. T he sea t is firm, the handlebar s have a neut ra l ben d, th e gr ips a re first-rat e, the levers a re easy to reach an d th e overa ll layout is slim . T he re' s pl ent y o f room to move around; Y9 U ca n shift your weight forward a nd cli m b up o n the tank When the 3.J gallon gas tank is removed, you can see that the frame's bo.-seetion &llekbone (above) also serves as the airbolq the engine's cooling system uses one radiator. A fuel pump (below) is needed on the gas tank, because the right side overhangs below the Dell'Orto carburetor. wit h little effo rt whi le corneri ng. It's an easy mot or yd e to ride. Into the setting sun If yo u're a two-s tro ke fan, you'll e n j o y r idi ng the Husab er g a n d proba bly would co nsi der racing it; if yo u alrea dy like fo ur-strokes , yo u 're going to fall head over heels in love wit h the H usaberg. . T he H usab erg MCSOI has a su per motor, the wh ole pa ckage is rela tively lig h t weight, th e su spension is acceptable, the brakes work well, it looks tr ick a nd it' s just p lai n d iffere n t. The fact tha t it 's different is p robabl y the m o st appealin g feature ab ou t the Husaberg; unfortunat ely, different is usuall y acco mpanied by a hefty price tag . At $162S-pe r-stro ke, th e Husab erg better wo rk. It does. • The Husaberg (above) has a very slim layout, malrlng it easy for the rider to move around. The Jrieksiarter lever (below) is very tall and hard to use, .b u t the entine usually fires up on the first Jriek. A smooth-working sb-speed transmission is found on the ')lX version, and a five-speed on the off-road model. Husaberg Me501 Eng ine type Uquid-cooled. SOHC four-stroke. single Bore x stroke 92.0 x 75.5mm Displacement ~ 502cc Compression ratio 10.0:1 Carburetor 40mm Dell 'Orto Valves per cy linder Fou r Starting system Kick Ig nit io n SEM electronic Lubrication Oil. wet sump Primary dr ive Straight-cut gear Final drive #520 O·ring chain Frame Single downtube. split double cradle hardened chromemoly Front suspension . . .. White Power . inverted telescopic fork Front wheel travel 11 .8 in. Rear suspension Oh lins single shock. swingarm Rear wheel travel 13.1 in. Front brake : Disc 13.2-in. Rear brakes Disc 8.8-in. Front tire 300x21-in. Metzeler Rear tire 4.50x18-in. Metzeler Claimed wet weight 240 Ibs Overall le ngt h 86.4 in. Wheelbase 59.6 in. Fue l capacity 2 .1 gal. 12.0 in. . around clearance Seat height 38.0 in. Retail price $6499