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/128348
C HA...CHA. ..C HA...CHA NGES SPECIFICATIONS The most o bvious change to t he new Huskys , of course, is the ir ap pearance. The '05s take on all-new plastic and . although t hey st ill ma intain their traditional yel low-and-blue co lor scheme . t here is now less yellow and more blue. Also , check out the new radiator shrouds: The sharp-eyed Hus ky fan will notice how they ' re part ly shaped like Husqv arna's gun site logo (and so is the ne w gas cap ). Ov erall, the bikes look qu ite striking. but we're st ill de libe rating on the rear fender and how it flips up slightly at t he bac k; it loo ks like your little brother just loo ped out on it. (Fre estylers w ill hate it .) Otherwise. the Huskys . in our opin- TE250/TC250 MSRP N/A Engine Single cylinder, four- stro ke Valves Titanium (4) Displacement 249.5cc .76 x 55mm Bore x Stroke Transmission Six-speed Starting Electric and kick starter/electric Cooling Uquid Ignition Digital Carburetor ] 7mm Keihin FCR Disc 260mm Front brake Rear Brake ..Floating (solidTE) disc 220mm/240mm SUSPENSION Front Marzocchi inverted telescopic hydraulicadjustable fork (45mm) Rear 5ACHS progressive Soft Damp w/hydraulic adjustable single shock TIRES Front 90/90-21in. Michelin Enduro Cam p III/Pirelli MT32 Rear 120 /90-18 100/90-19 in. Michelin Enduro Cam p III/ Pirelli MT32 aam-l Dry Weight 232.612 120 Ibs. Wheelbase 57.87 in. Ground Clea rance 1].1 8 in. Seat Heigh t.. 37.99 in. Fuel Tank Capacity 2.4 gal. ion, have a more "w orks" and exciting app earan ce than most of the bikes coming out of Japan . If you focus in a little closer, or be tter yet sit on t he bikes , yo u'll also notice that t he new Hus kys aren't qu ite as skinny as they used to be . (C an you hear us clapping?) The rage to make bikes su per th in has, as you may have noticed , gotten a little carried away, so Husky respo nded by giving us a bit more su bsta nce to bite with our knees again . Of the many changes that t he '05s took on , perhaps the biggest is the swap from Mikun i to Keihin carburetors, ]7mm for t he 250s , and 41 mm for the 450s and 5 lOs. As good as the '04 Huskys were, many r iders complained of a cough and/or stumble at low rpm , w hich Hus ky blamed on the carburetor. The Ke ihins, they say, cleaned th ings right up. (We'll tell you now that they were n't lying.) Plus, the Keihins now come with a hot -start button to aid starting. Like last yea r, the Huskys are equipped w ith titan ium va lve s, but they're redesigned to increase durability, Even the 1C250 (shown) and 1C450 motocrossers get electric starting. more so than to increase perfo rmance. The valve seats have also bee n mod ified to improve long-term re liability. In fact, ma ny of t he changes to all o f th e bikes were meant to impr ove longev ity: Th e 450 has a new crank, a bigger con necting ro d an d pin, and improved cra nk ba lancing, and the 510 has a beefed- up clutch . The 250 gets a newer and lighte r crank for le ss ine rt ia and quicker rewi ng, and all of th e Huskys get new ignitions that feature both thr ottle and gear position sensors , and new programmi ng to improve starting. And speaking of starting, the clutch lever must now be pulled in before the elect ric starter w ill wo rk. Now, you can't acciden ta lly start you r bike w hile you're loading it into your truck or when you bump into it in your garage . We 've heard so me good sto ries. In the suspens ion depa rtm ent, the 'OS Huskys still come w ith those "strange " Sachs shocks , str ange only in that you do n't see o r hear much abou t them in t he United States . But, fro m ou r ex per ie nce with the '04s, th e Sach s "soft damp" shoc ks work well and sho uld work even A more res po nsive and pawerful motor sho u ld make the 1C250 (MX) a r u nne r aga inst t he 2 S0cc four -strokes out of Jap an. www.cy clenews.com CYCLE NEWS • NOVEMBER 3, 2004 19