RIDING IMPRESSION
P78
2014 HUSQVARNAS
The TE 300 shown
here and all of
the new Huskys
feature WP 4SC
forks, linkage rear
suspension, KTMbuilt engines, onepiece swingarms,
and polyamide
subframes.
you tend to use the clutch significantly less. Of the Husky's I rode,
the TE 350 was the only one that
I stalled (and more than once) on
the trail. It would, however, start
right back up - even in gear.
The only U.S.-bound enduro
model I didn't get a chance to
ride was the FE 501, though I
did take a lap on the Euro-only
FE 450. It's a remarkable bike
that you can't help but go fast
on, but it's still a lot of motorcycle. It can be a bit of a handful when bopping over the rocks
and roots, especially with tired
muscles. The 501 I was told by
some of the other journalists
performs much like the 450 but
with noticeably more torque and
a bit more power overall, but is
still pretty easy to ride for such
a powerful machine. Could this
be the bike designed to take
over the California desert like
Husqvarna once did? We know
that young up-and-coming desert racer Jacob Argubright will
be on one next year.
But the bike I probably had
the most fun on was the TE 125,
which I took a spin on while waiting my turn for one of the other
America-bound Huskys to return
to the stable. The little 125 is
peppy and remarkably torquey;
it could chug up almost anything,
just like the bigger bikes. I did
miss the electric start, though,
even if it was super-easy to kick
over. Bummer we're not getting
TE 125 off-roader in the U.S.
The bikes we rode in Sweden were fitted with Pirelli tires
but US-bound Huskys will come
shod with Dunlop knobbies.
While it might seem a little
weird that KTM and Husqvarna
are now related, we're glad they
are. After all, if KTM didn't come
along, who knows what might've
happened to the Husky name. It
could've gone by the wayside,
and that would've been a lot
worse than having two similar –
and very good - brands on the
market.
Production Austrian-built Husky's are already coming off the
assembly line and should start
hitting the American shores in a
few months.
CN
