Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eRIDING IMPRESSION e Husqvama's 1994 WXE 125,250 and 360 crack of the throttle and a qu ick fan of the clutch lever will ge t that next ben d in the trail to approach at a frightening pace. Though the 360 d oesn 't have a violent hit, it does tire the rider, esp ecially in the tight stuff. Versatility is the st rong point of the 360 's power band, as evi d en ced b y Husqvarna employee and former ISDE Top American Fred Hoess, wh o was in cha rge of the press in tro. Hoess is known for his banzai, feet -off-th e-pegs style, and no do ubt for his own personal safety, is a 125 specialist. Still , H oess took a stint on the 360 during ou r ride , and was alarmingly fas t on th e bike . While he and Hines we re rarely within eyesight of ou r g ro up of lowly m otojourna lists, Hines assured us that Hoess was a veritable missile aboard the Open class bike. The nex t d ay I ro d e th e 250 , and im med ia te ly fell in lo ve wi th it. The bike' s m id ra nge pow er is its for te, tho ug h the powerband is b ro ad eno ugh that i ts bottom and top ends are also very usable. No ma tter whi ch a p p roach y o u take, the WXE250 w ill complime n t your style. Whereas th e 360 was tiring to ride, the 250 felt mu ch more man eu vera ble, and co ul d bl! rid de n harder for a longer period of time. It has the perfect motor for e nd u ro r iding, w hic h is no doubt why Hines chooses it as his per son a l weapon for th e Nation als. I ab so lu tel y loved the bike, especi ally for the tig h t terra in of the east coast. I was reluctant to relinquish the 250, but as our second and final day of rid ing wore on, I decided I was obliga ted to spe nd som e time aboa rd the WXE125. Much to my s urprise, I had eve n more of a blast on the tiddler than I did on the other two bikes. Like an y 125, th e H u s q va rn a prefers to be screamed, but it is also blessed with an unusual amount of low-end gru nt. Thi s is rare for a 125, but is invalua ble for tech nical enduro work, as it mak es it possible to back off the thro ttle and still m a in ta in fo rwa r d m otion w he n mo mentum is lost o n slimy su rfaces. However, w hile th e motor 's basem ent is nice, it sh ould only be used when necessary. The pace will be much qu icker when the WXE's throttle is put to the s tops, in the s ty le favored by bo th Hoess and Edmondson. (Above) Th e Husqvamas' swingarms undergo a ne w weld ing proc ess, and the chain tensioner is now better-aligned with the cha in. Th e frame gua rds are standard. (Right) The kickstart levers are a little awkward, bu t all three mo tors offer w ide spreads of power. (Below) Th e WXEs now come with Domino grip s, cables, th rottles and clutch levers. Th e Jessexpens ive WXC models don't includ e lighting or an odometer. 20 make up Hin es' training grounds. Hin es bolted up aluminum hand guard s on all of the bikes as soon as w e had photographed them, and I was soon than kful tha t he d id. While the new yell ow co lor of the shrouds may take a little getting used to, I soon g rew to like it , as well as the lighter blue accents . In fact, by the end of th e in tro , th e "albino" '93 Husky race bike th at w as sit ting in th e corne r of Hines' garage was beginning to look a little old-fashioned. Unfortunately, I d idn 't hav e the same ent husiasm for the cornball "Racing Qu ality Leader" scri pt on the nu mber plates. It may fly in Italy, but it won't take English-speaking Husky buyers long to peel off the stickers. For our first ride, I started things off aboard th e W XE360, a bike that I had never ridd en before. I was a little intim ida ted , as I ha d heard tha t the 360 was a b it of a hand ful in pas t years, but it really wasn't bad. I admit, ther e was never a n y doub t th a t I wa s aboard an Open class ma ch ine , bu t the power was no t ov erly violent. The 360 works best wh en rid den in a gear high, u s in g its ex tremely to rquey bo tt o m end to grunt th rou gh the tight trails. When things open up a little, however, a ~pecifications One nic e ad d itiona l feature on the WXE is the large 3.4-gallon tan k, a rari ty on a 125. Th e black fuel cell, which is co m pletely covered b y the rad ia tor shrouds, is the sa me unit that comes on the 250 and 360. Suspension on all th ree machines is perfect for eas tern enduro wo rk, as bo th ends soak up slippery roo ts and rocks wit h the grea test of ease. Once the sag was set, the only adjustment I made was to back off two clicks on the shock's compression da mping knob . The WXEs were a little wallowy in the whoops and wou ld no do ub t be too softly sprung for wes tern cond itions, but they're grea t for the tight stu ff. All th ree Hu sqvarnas feat ure good geometry for end u ro wo rk. Tight corners are best nego tiated when a ttacked aggressively w ith the rid er well forward on the sea t, and brak e-sliding the rear end also works well. Ergo no mics on the Hu skys are very good . The sea t has a comfor table shape and the correct density foam , and the plastic bodywork is smoo th, with ha nd holes inco rpora ted in the side panels. The seat is held o n by a si ng le tw ist fastener, allo wing quick access to the air filter. The bikes come stock with a trick si desta nd, which functio ns well bu t tucks way up wh ere it won 't catch on the rider' s left boot. You may not ever use the sa no litt le steering lock that comes sta nda rd on the WXEs' head stays, bu t the y could come in ha ndy. Also, H usqva rna is one of the few remaining manufactu rers to provide ze rk fittings on th e suspension lin kage, ma king it easy to give the bearings a quick sho t of lube. The kickstart levers a re on the short sid e, but the bikes start well if you find top-dead cen ter and give them a hea lthy boot. The fr ont and rear brakes on the WXEs offer good feel and decent power, th ough I'd have prefe rr ed the fr on t binder to be a little stronger. Clu tch pu ll requires tw o fingers and is on the stiff side, b ut is not ou t of line. My bigges t gripe w ith all three bikes centered on the shifting. Chan ging gears requires a delib erate prod of the pedal. especially when up s hift ing und er power. The p roblem isn't a big one, but the shi fting isn' t up to pa r w ith many of the Japa nese MXers. I had a blast on all three Hu sqvarna s, bu t if I was laying d own my own hardea rn ed coin, my choice w ou ld be the WXE250. It offered the bes t combina tion of good power an d easy maneuverab ility, and would be hard to beat in a tough end u ro. Now, if I could jus t get a ride on the '94 Husky four-strokes... a While Cycle News belieues the fo regoing test reliable, it is the opinion of the reuieuxrs only and should not be relied upon in determining the performance or safety of tirevehicleis), Th e reader should make his or her own investigation . List Price Engi ne type Di splacement. Bore x stroke Carburetion Ignition Gear Box Front Su spension Rear Sus pension Fron t Wheel Tra vel Rear Wheel Travel Fuel Capaci ty Wheelbase Sea t Heigh !... Claimed Dry Weight Husqvama WXE125 Husqvama WXE250 Husqvama WXE360 $4050 $4895 $5150 Single cylinder, two-stroke, liqu id-cooled, w / po wer-va lve J24.6cc 249.6cc 348.8cc 56 x 5O.6mrn 67 x 70.8mm 78 x 73mm Mikuni TM35 Mikuni TM38 Miku ni TM38 CD! CD! CD! 6 speed 6 speed .. . ...<;.. 6 speed Inverted Showa, adjustabl e rebo Und, compression and p reload Showa, ad justab le rebound, comwessio'} and p reload 12 inches 12 inches 12 inches 12.5 inches 12.5 inches 12.5 inches 3.4 Gallons 3.4 Gallons 3.4 Gallons 57.1 in. 57.9 in. 57.9 in. 36.2 in. 362 in. 36.2 in. 205 lbs. 222.7Ibs 227.1Ib s

• Cover