Husqvarna Te250
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Husqvarna TE250
One hundred years and still going strong
JIMMY LEWIS
LET ME USE A SPORTS ANALOCY HERE, not that I know anything about sports. Team Ilusqvarna is down by 4 in the third period, on their 5-yard line and getting ready to punt from the free-throw line for a goal with their 2004 model line. In other words, it's a make-or-break moment for the historic marque. Not importing any '03 models into the U.S. and sitting on a hot new four-stroke line has made for tough times for the Swedish-tumed-Italian brand. Which, by the way, celebrated its 100-year anniversary last year, like a certain American motorcycle manufacturer that doesn’t make anything quite so racy. But just because the cash-strapped factory wasn’t producing bikes doesn't mean the race team wasn’t busy developing them-all the world enduro championships in the last two years prove that. Eventually, Some money came in, the factory spooled back up and Huskys are rolling off the assembly line once again.
Out of the blue came an invitation to attend a centennial celebration in Italy. Forget the party duds, I’m bringing my riding gear! At the incredible Malpensa Grand Prix motocross circuit, Husqvarna assembled journalists and distributors to say, “We're baaackV’ All that stood in the way were the bikes-they had to perform.
We American journalists had our own set of reserved U.S.-spec enduro bikes. The motocross park was nice, and there was even a European-style grass-track for us to test the headlight-and-quiet-muffler-equipped offroad bikes on. Not exactly what we Yankees would call an enduro, but then the pasta, beer and wine were exceptional, so we’ll call it even.
Be that as it may, the enthusiasm of everyone at the rejuvenated Husqvarna factory was apparent. Including Giovanni Castiglioni (son of owner Claudio), who is fresh out of college and seems to have taken a huge interest in Husky’s future-he is now distribution and finance manager. I saw him sneak in a ride at the end of the day, and to say he was stoked on the bikes is an understatement. Cagiva USA’s Larry Ferracci took us to the factory and let us poke around and see the machines working, assembly lines flowing and stacks of bikes being shipped all over the world. And high sprits continued all the way to the guys from the factory who came out to help tune the testbikes during the intro. Anxious to hear what we thought, they were right there with tools in hand to make any changes we requested, which in my case were very few. This was a rare opportunity for Husky to deliver the same setup and prep that other manufacturers typically do with testbikes introduced in the States.
Because the 250cc four-stroke class is where everyone’s attention is focused for ’04, we decided to concentrate on the TE250 in Italy. And after the intro, we arranged to have a testbike shipped to California so that we could verify our findings stateside. It should be noted, however, that Husky has spent considerable time developing a new engine family that also includes 450 and 5 lOcc versions of the 250’s engine (see sidebar).
Not tiny by the latest standards, the TE250’s electricstart, dohc, four-valve Single strongly resembles the TE610E we voted Best Dual-Purpose Bike a few years ago. But the dry-sump engine is much lighter and more competition-oriented, with dual oil pumps, a six-speed gearbox and a hydraulic clutch.
Externally, it’s hard to tell the 250 apart from its larger siblings, and it doesn’t sound much different, either-the muffler is so quiet you can hardly hear the exhaust. On the inside, however, the engineers opted to scale down everything, not just the bore and stroke numbers. The clutch and primary gears were downsized (giving an overall lower transmission ratio), as was the carb.
Electric starting isn’t new, except to Husky’s off-road bikes. Nice, then, forgetting the old left-side kickstarter. The TE250 purrs to life, and needs a few revs to get moving, yet it still possesses substantial torque for a four-stroke this small and in this racy a state of tune. You’d better remember to twist the throttle like you mean business, though, or it will fall off in the midrange. But this trait isn’t so much a problem with this bike in particular as it is a characteristic of bikes in this displacement category.
Husky TE450
All hell breaks loose...with the throttle
So, just when you start thinking that a 250ec four-stroke enduro bike is absoiuteiy the funnest thing around, an endless rpm high, light and agile like there’s no tomorrow...you hop on a Husqvarna TE450.
Big brother, it seems, has about twice as much power and he means business. Our testbike showed up in cross-country trim, meaning numberplates as opposed to lights (they were in the box), but that didn’t stop the party. All the good traits of the 250 are carried to the 450, and it doesn’t gain the extra weight so typical when otherwise identical bikes go up in displacement.
But make no mistake, this thing has got a serious motor that even in super-quiet enduro trim will widen your eyes and slacken your jaw. Power is smooth, deliberate and strong, really strong-it makes the semi-wide-ratio tranny feel like a close-ratio ’box. It hits right from the bottom and keeps on pulling ’til common sense dictates an upshift.
Our only tweak was to riehen up the pilot jet and delay the carb’s pumper squirt until the slide opened a bit. This stops the lean-torich pop-stall common to the emissionsmandated stock setup.
Other than a longish break-in required for the bike to run free, slightly misaligned seams between the gas-tank shroud and sidepanel, and the lack of handguards, this Husky is knocking on doors familiar lately
only to KTMs. Enduro Bike of the Year, maybe?
-Jimmy Lewis
The Husky will out-chug a Yamaha WR250F, for sure, but still makes as much power as the blue bike, with just the right blend of power for off-road riding or racing. With power in this class at a premium, this is a strong point.
Keep her singing, let her eat, and you’ll pass into a high-rpm song that demands your left toe keep up with the shifting. Though the six-speed transmission is a wide-ratio unit, the gaps are surprisingly close, great for having a gear for all occasions. Living up to its reputation, the clutch takes a lot of abuse, but the pull is stiff and the engagement isn’t the sweetest we’ve felt-it’s a little on/off-ish, though it never slipped or squeaked.
One look at the TE250 and its width sticks out-or rather, the lack of it does. There isn’t a narrower bike anywhere, even at the MX track. But as much as fuel capacity (just under 2 gallons), is compromised, the bike completes a 60-mile loop, no problem. And being narrow, it is very easy to move around on. Not that you’ll need to: The TE has a very neutral feel to it, strong on the stability side, and isn’t hypersensitive to where the rider is sitting. As in days of old, this Husky goes straight like few others, and still possesses the ability to turn without a fight. The front end is planted and not too finicky, either. The only handling shortcoming is that the bike doesn’t really like its back end hung out in a slide, almost as if it were really long-something the 57.5-inch wheelbase says it isn’t. Remember, European enduros are all grass-track special tests, and on those, the TE works marvelously.
The suspension has a feel all its own, too. The fork is the new Marzocchi 45mm inverted unit, with all-new internals that share technology with the latest works forks. Sachs handles shock duty with both highand low-speed compression adjustments.
The TE rides high up in the stroke, yet unlike a bike that appears to be stiff, it’s actually very plush. The suspension does a really good job of absorbing everything; it just doesn’t feel like it moves very much because the bike dances a bit. It rarely jars the rider and handles a wide variety of terrain, from MX tracks to rocky trails, all with just a few clicks of compression adjustment. Adjusters were run nearly wide open, opposite to the typical setting we use on softly sprung enduro bikes. Bottoming is infrequent, and we rarely ever hit the frame rails, footpegs or sidecovers on any of our rocky enduro loops.
The brakes are strong and a bit on the touchy side, something you’ll have to get used to. The standard Michelin tires are great for grass tracks as well, but a little wobbly for us here in the States. And since they seem to last forever, you’ll get used to them, too. The sidestand tucks well out of the way and snaps into position under the left sidepanel when weight is taken off of it.
Our testbike took a good couple of hours to break-in and free up, but back in California it seems to be running better with every tank of gas. It always keeps its cool, never spitting coolant or showing signs of overheating, even on abusive trails. We haven’t seen any evidence of oil consumption, either. The oil-change routine requires three filters (two of which are reusable screen types), which should keep the engine clean. With no tools needed to get to the air filter (hidden under a flip-up battery cage), and one-bolt removal of the gas tank, it took 3 minutes to get the feeler gauge in for a reading on the valve lash. Pretty sano!
Reliability also seems to be a non-issue. With all the bikes at the press intro in Italy, only a few stopped with minor mechanical issues, this amidst three days of constant flogging. Impressive.
So, how did the Husky team fare in their make-or-break moment? Well, they scored! Too bad we didn’t get the TE250 two years ago, because it would have set the bar that much higher for its competition. And now having ridden the bigger TEs, we know the family line is strong.
HUSQVARNA TE250
$6299
What we have here is a bike capable of taking you to a world enduro championship, or just on one hell of a fun enduro or trail ride. Especially if you like light and agile bikes, because the Husky is all that. □
