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/127363
GRIDING IMPRESSION Husaberg350 ~ Missouri , and are the U.S. importer for Husaberg mot o rcycles. Ra ther th an dealing with the icy weather condi tions in the SL Louis area. we opted for the cold and wet condi tions in Georgi a, where we rendezvoused with Surd yke and his Husabergs (Greg also brou ght along a 1991501 Husaberg for us to ride). On e of the first things Surd yke claimed was that the new 350 is easy it start. Now, we've heard this statement made before about new four-stroke models and often we were disappointed to find out tha t they reall y weren't as easy to fire up as we were led to believe. So, natu rally, we were a little skeptica l abo ut Surdyke's sta tement, When we unloaded the Husabergs the temperature was in the mid-40s and the air was dam p. Greg turned on the fuel, ope ned up the choke, kicked the motor thro ugh a cou ple of times with the compression release lever pulled in , found top dead center, gave one moderate kick on the starter lever and the H usaberg was purring like a killen. He repeated the process with the big 501 with the exact same result, Both bikes have a left-side kick starter and an automatic (and manual ) compression release and th roughout our day of riding. we never had pro blems starring the bikes, with the engine hot or cold. However, one rider who joined us o n our ride, who normall y rides a Yamaha Yl25O, had some difficulti es getting used to starring the 501 although he could easily start the 350. The key is to keep the thro ttle completely closed with every kick. Perhaps the first thing that came to mind when blasting down the trail on the 350 was how ligh t and nimble it felt, We don 't mean light for a four-stroke. we mean light - period, even when com pared to any 250 or Open two-stroke motorcycle. Surdy ke claims that the 350 weighs abo ut 235 pounds, altho ugh that figure seems very light to us, we don 't doubt that he is far off the mark. Much of the lightweight feeling is noticed up fron L The Husaberg steers like no other four- stroke we've ever ridden. It takes little effort to tum the bike, and it whips through the trees as if the wheels were attached to rails. Before we th rew a leg over the Husaberg we were very curiou s about its motor. We first saw the Husaberg 350s last September at the Swedish Six Days and there was a lot of talk about how You get what you pay for with the Husaberg 350. It might be expensive for a din bike, but it sure works good, better than an y midsize four-stroke we've ever ridden. By Kit Palmer kay, all you four-stroke die-hards out there. Here it is, the bike you've been waiting for. It's lightweigh t, powerful, well-suspended and easy to start, It's the 1991 Husaberg 350. Sure, there's been some high -tech and extremely competitive big-bore fourstrokes that have come our way, bu t this is the first trul y serious middleweight fou r-stroke off-roa-' bike ever offered in the U.S. Some of the Japan ese manu facturers have tried, tho ugh, such as Honda 's flash-in-th e-pan XR35O, Yamaha 's defun ct Tf350 and the current Suzuki DR350. Even though the DR is a full step ahead of any Ja panese-built 350cc four- stroke previously offered, it just isn' t in the same league as the Husaberg. Of course, the DR isn't nearly as expensive, either, costing approximately $2000 less than the Husaberg's current suggested retail pri ce $4900 (and that the price could go up) Swedish-built thumper. We hooked up with ISDE rider Greg Surdyke for a one-day riding impression of the first Husaberg 350 delivered to the U.S. Surdyke and his famil y own and operate Surdyke Cycle near SI. Lo uis, O