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
TE&WR (Above) If you're looking for a lightweight, quickhandling and nimble two-stroke that's enduro-ready right out of the crate, the WR125 might be right up your alley. (Right) Marzocchi forks handle suspension chores up front on all of the '04 Huskys. (Above) Rem enduro? We much, muc the four.st:rOl~(ll@1 (Right) All of rode came fitt friendly tires· no starter and battery was, in our opinion, well worth its penalties. After a flameout, we usually had the bikes running again before they stopped rolling - try that on the Yamaha or Honda. Sometimes, however, even with the electric starting, the Huskys didn't start right away nothing a hot-start control couldn't fix, though. Maybe next year. Probably our biggest gripe with the four-strokes was shifting. Though we rarely found a false neutral, it sometimes took an extra nudge or two on the shifter to catch the next gear. The enduro four-strokes (the TEs) were a joy to ride, but they would've been more of a joy had they had the same taller knobby tires as the MXers. Despite sliding around all over the place, the TE250, 450 and 510 performed quite well on the trail and on the motocross track, much of which had to do with their fairly stiff (for an off-road bike) suspensions. The 510 is a bit of a handful in the supertight stuff, but overall it's surprisingly agile when things open up a bit. Swede Anders Eriksson, who was in attendance, rode an '02 TE450 to this year's class championship in the World Enduro Series, so you know what it can do. Next year, Eriksson will return to the big-bore class aboard the 510. Some of the joumalists got the chance to ride Eriksson's championshipwinning ~ike and said they were surprised how similar his bike felt to the stock bike. (We were next in line to ride it when it broke because of an improperly mounted kickstart lever.) Hopping on the WR250 (twostroke) brought back some old memories. After riding the four-strokes, it took a little while to get used to the lack of engine-braking and the hardto-find rear-brake pedal, causing some wide eyes going into the turns. But once we got over that, we really started having a good time on the WR just like we used to. The bike actually feels a lot better than we remembered: It makes better power, feels lighter and more nimble and requires very little effort maneuvering it through the switchbacks in the trees. We wouldn't mind riding this bike at all in a tough enduro, a GNCC or on a Jimmy Lewis trail ride - even the WR125. In the old days, the WR 125 was painfully slow and hard to ride, but not anymore. The bike is quite powerful and even produces a hint of torque. And it pretty much goes without saying that the WR 125 feels extremely light and nimble, making it fun to ride in the woods. Just ask Fred Hoess, who rode a 125cc Husky to a gold medal at last year's ISDE in the Czech Republic, and Finland's Pettri Silvan, who won the 125cc World Enduro Championship in 1995, 2001 and 2002 on a Husky. The WR125 must give credit to the CR125 for its success. Husky's 125cc motocrosser, the foundation for the WR125, is just plain good. In fact, it's probably Husqvarna's most impressive motocrosser. It has a great motor, a solid chassis and, like all of the Huskys, feels, well, normal. In other words, the Huskys' ergonomics feel like any other Japanese bike. To further solidify our positive feelings about the CR 125, we watched Alessandro Puzar, a former 125cc World MX champ, take a few hot laps around the Malpensa track on the little Husky, and the bike sure didn't look like it was holding him back any. The bike really gets it on! As we said earlier, we left Italy impressed with the new Huskys. The Italians certainly have a good product on their hands, so now it's up to their marketing department to get the ball rolling again. They shouldn't have any problems selling the new bikes in Europe, but they know Americans are a little more skeptical about the Husqvarna brand, which seems to come and go here in the USA. But Husqvarna assured us that it is cue. e indeed back in full recovery mode and is firmly committed to making the Husqvarna name as big as it once was in the USA. It seemed it was on the brink of accomplishing that goal just a few years ago when the rug was pulled out from under it, so we don't have any reason not to believe in the company's claims. After all, one tough hurdle is already cleared it has the bikes (and they're good), now the company just has to get our confidence back when it comes to its business ventures - but that could take some time. Husqvarna is, however, hoping to speed things up by getting some results on the track, and it's hoping to do that next year - that is if it can pin down at least one or two worthy motocross and/or off-road riders, but with so many teams out there these days, that's easier said than done. eN