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/127964
They don 't get much bigger than this: Des pite its s ize and weight, the 610 is n't too much of a handful. (Upper left) The Husky's mill makes smooth power and lots of it. (Middle left) New 45mm Marzocchi forks provide bette r stab ility up front. (l eft) Dual tailpipes keep the noise down. a good crash - or even a small one, for that matter - could leave yo u with twisted handl ebar clamps for the rest of your ride. We know . Th e TE ca n ma ke th e rid er a little lazy . It has suc h a co mforta ble sitting position that you' ll find you rself planted in the seat a lot more tha n you shou ld . This, co mbined w ilh the Husky's relatively quic k stee ring a nd linear power deliverv, makes th is bike a n abso lute blast 0'; tig ht, bum p- free, tw ist y trails . Plus, w ith the TE's six-speed transmissio n, yo u can always find the righ t gear for the right situa tio n. _ In the rocky, tigh t, first - and secondgea r trails, the might y TE hangs in there pretty well. The clut ch maintains its feel wit liin reason , but we did get the radiator to spout in so m e extremely slowspeed situations. But the TE is most happy on more wide-open trails , where you can s it down, roll on the throttle and churn up some soil between the tu rn s. Luckily, the Brem bo brakes ha ve good feel an d are strong enoug h to h au l in the b ig Husk y. Locking up the back wheel and stalling the engi ne was never a concern . Even thou gh yo u' ll prob abl y search ou t the smoo the r trail s on the TE, the Ma rzocchi forks an d Sachs s hoc k are m o re th a n ca pa b le o f h and li ng th e bu m ps and w hoops. Still, you' ll nev er forge t th a t y ou ' re o n a bi g th ump er . Right out of th e cra te, th e TE off ers a plu sh rid e, thou gh maybe not as cush as that of an XR600. You'll come to appreciate th e T E' s co m plia n t suspensio n after a long ride. Altho ug h we never ran th e tank dry, we guess that you'll get roughly 60 miles before you're left stranded. . Other than the kickstarter lever that hangs up on the footpeg and a floppy sidestand, we experienced no major annoyances with the TE. The bike seems to be built well, and we have no reason to believe it won't be a reliable b ike . After all, the TE has proved itself at the ISD E and World Enduro Championships over and over aga in. Overall, those on our Cycle News staff who rod e th e TE610 enjoyed th e bike very mu ch, but non e more so than l. [ wa s su rp rised at how nimble the big Husk y felt and even more su rprised at how easy it was to start - a major concern of mine when it comes to mammoth thumpers. This bike has all the right ingredients to make serious trail riding a fun adventure, such as plenty of power, good suspension and predictable handling. But there's no way arou nd the TE's overall size and heavy weight. If I ow ned this bike and planned on racing it, I know I'd have to dust off my gym card and bust ou t my running shoes to get in good-enough shape to last a full three-loop enduro on the TE. It's either that or move to Sweden and change m y name to Anders . l~ 1999 Husqvarna TE610 Specifications Im p o rte r Husqvama Mot orcycles • Cagiva USA. Inc.. 1901 Davisville Rd.. W illow Grove. Pennsylvania 19090 Engine liquid-cooled . 4-valve. OHC , four-stroke . single Bore 9Bmm S t roke _ 76.5mm Displac ement _ 577cc Compression ratio 10 :1 C a r buretor . . . . . . . . D ell'O rto 40mm Ignitio n ... . _ COl electronic. digital -type. 130-watl lighting coil T ransmission S-speed Suspension Front .. .45mm Marz occhi inverted fork Rear '" .Sachs Progressive Soft-Damp shock. w/compression and rebound damping adj. Wheel t ravel Front 12 in. Rear .' 12.6 in. Tires Front ~irelli MT71A. 90/90-21 in. Rear Pirelli MTB1, 140/BO-1B in. Brakes Front Brembo 260mm disc w/fi oating caliper Rear Brembo 220mm disc w/ flooting caliper Wheelbase 58.9 in. O/A length ' 85 .B in. Seat height 37 .2 in. Ground clearance 14.5 in. Claimed dry weight 259 .7 Ibs. Fuel capacity 2.4 gal. MSRP $6290 00 0\ 0\ ~ ..q<' ,...... l-< III ..n o ..... u o 43