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/128227
TC&CR IAbove) The TC450 fourJ as well as the TC51 0 In will give Honda, Yama run for their money. IRi new Huskys are thin a their seats are hard as The thumpers' exhaust made out of tita . For 2004, Husqvarna will have a bike for just about everyone. The offroad rider will have five models to choose from: TE250, TE450 and TE510 four-strokes and the WR 125 and WR250 two-strokes. The motocrosser will have four choices: TC250, TC450 and TC510 fourstrokes and the CR125 two-stroke. Husky will produce a 250cc twostroke motocrosser, but not for the U.S. market - perhaps that will change next year. Husqvarna arranged for us to sample all of its bikes at the Malpensa GP track near Milan over a two-day period, and with 10 bikes to tryout, we needed every minute those two days had to offer. To accommodate the enduro bikes, a lengthy off-road section that branched off of the motocross track was utilized. The offroad course was made up of a Six Days-style grasstrack that was mixed with some single-track through trees - very Euro. As for the tech stuff, all of the Husky motorcycles share the same suspension components - 45mm inverted Marzocchi forks up front and an updated Soft Damp Sachs shock in the back. Both the shock and fork are fully adjustable. The bikes also share the same Brembo disc brakes 260mm up front, 220mm out back. The four-strokes' four-valve DOHC valvetrains borrow technology from the Formula One auto racing scene, resulting in high-revving engines. Husqvarna claims that the 250cc motor can rev in excess of 13,000 rpm. The valves are made out of lightweight titanium, as are the complete exhaust systems - from header pipe to silencer - on all of the thumpers. The four-strokes' dry-sump lubrication systems incorporate two oil pumps - one pump supplies oil to the head and crankshaft, while the second pump extracts oil from the crankcase and supplies it to the gearbox. Carburetion is handled by Mikuni, a first for Husky's off-road bikes. The Mikunis use flat-slide valves, accelerator pumps and Throttle Positions Sensors (TPS) that determine the throttle position and interface with the bike's digital electronic ignition. All of the four-strokes boast electric starting - even the motocrossers! This is a first for four-stroke MXers. Every crate, however, will include a kickstarter kit that can be installed as a supplement to or used instead of the standard electric starter. Magnesium is used extensively on the thumpers. The valve covers, right crankcase covers, clutch covers, igni- tion covers and oil-filter covers are all made out of magnesium, while the 250 also gets all-magnesium engine cases. All of the enduro models have sixspeed gearboxes, except for the WR250, which uses a five-speed tranny. The motocrossers, on the other hand, have five-speed transmissions with the exception of the CR 125, which has six gears. The clutches are hydraulically operated. The enduro bikes feature new digital instrumentation. The surprisingly small unit has seven functions: cue I e r ~Jap:nese 'O~ 51 ha~o (Top) some ( 1 are going to step it up for if they want to keep the Husky CR125 in their rear-view mirror. IAbove) The CR125's motor is potent. n e uv S • AUGUST 13. 2003 15