Behold! I give you the 2008 Husqvarna TXC 510:
Yes, a thing of beauty, power, mystique, and chainsaw...err yeah. Anyways, this lovely beast of a bike was introduced to me while one day browsing bike reviews on the ThumperTalk website (great site by the way...any motorcycle enthusiast should bookmark it).It actually can be tied back to Paul getting his new KTM. One day while talking with him about it he went over several factors that led him to the decision of that particular bike. I agreed with the factors that he placed importance on: weight, power, and height among others.
After reading the review of the Husky on ThumperTalk I decided to dig a little deeper on it...the more research I did the more it seemed that the Husky trumped Paul's KTM in every area that played a part in his decision on the KTM, but there was one thing that put the icing on the cake: Husqvarna's Race Contingency.
Most manufacturer's offer some sort of race contingency - a program where you race their bike, and they reward you for winning on it. It's really quite a detailed arrangement, but that's the gist of it...it's sort of preliminary to sponsorship. KTM has a race contingency program, but it's pretty limited, as are most of the programs from other manufacturers. This is where Husky flat out blew me away. Their contingency was extremely comprehensive, covering all the major race circuits but nearly all the smaller more local ones too. Their rewards are "Husky bucks", which while not real cash can be used to purchase things from Husky (such as maybe a new bike???)...but Husky rewards cash as well on certain race circuits for the upper level of skill classes, and of course placing high.
So after my initial musings I had to test ride or see a Husky and learn as much as I could about them. The Husky forum on ThumperTalk has been a tremendous help in this regard, but something that's been a big damper on the idea is that there are no Husky dealerships in Utah. There's three in Idaho, one in Colorado, one in Nevada, one in Arizona...we're completely surrounded but nothing local. Bummer.
The closest one is just north of Idaho Falls, which fortunately isn't that far away, but even more fortunate is that it's owned by a friend, Chris Rogers. Chris is a friend through his brother Clint, who races in the same class as Paul and I in the USRA desert circuit. We first met Clint at the Rhino Rally race in St. George back in February. Paul met Chris in March, but I just met him for the first time, at his dealership a couple weekends ago, when I went up there with my dad to try the Husky's out. I rode three of them: the TXC 450, TC 450, and TE 250. I have some thoughts on each. (Check out Husqvarna's website in case you want to read more them.)
First the TE 2
50:Pros - lightweight, street legal, fuel injected
Cons - weak power, weird kickstand
The TE is Husky's enduro line and the 250 has a lot going for it. While I listed the weak power and the weird kickstand as cons, they're really not that big of issues. The power can be fixed with modding and tweaking, and the kickstand, while weird, wouldn't take long to get used to (it's spring loaded so its normal position is up...as a result when it's down and the bike is resting on it it pushes the back up higher making getting on or off with the kickstand down much more difficult). The pros outweigh the cons easily...the lightweight bike would be fantastic with more power, street legal would be great in getting to and from local trail rides, and the fuel injection is nice since it eliminates carburetor issues (probably #1 sore spot in maintenance on a motorcycle). This is a great bike with a little work attached to it to make it great. My dad was quite impressed with it and even talked liked he was considering getting one.
The TC 450:
Pros - very lightweight, great suspension, plenty of power
Cons - power delivery too smooth
The TC line is Husky's motorcross line, and the 450 is no slouch. It feels so easy to handle and maneuver and the suspension is fantastic for a stock bike. While there is plenty of power, the delivery of it left me wanting. It's all a matter of choice and preference - there are lots of professional riders who like this type of delivery due to it's predictability and throttle control. I grew up on this kind of power delivery, but since I started racing I have started to like the opposite of smooth delivery - that being a harder and more pronounced hit in the power. The kind where you crank the throttle and the front tire comes off the ground no matter what gear you are in. The TC didn't have it as hard as I like, but it was certainly harder than the TE. But I also don't know if I would like the hard hit if I raced motorcross...I'm not sure if it's a good thing there or not. I putt around on the track occasionally but I am not a motocrosser at all so maybe the TC has a really good delivery for that type of racing. Either way it was enjoyable to ride!
The TXC 450:
Pros - lightweight, easy to handle, great suspension, electric AND kick start, six gears, hard hit/great power delivery, and LOTS of power
Cons - no kickstand, small gas tank
The TXC line is a new line for Husky - meant for Cross Country racing and desert racing. It is also built off of the TC line initially, so it started as a motorcross bike. I wonder if KTM has it similar, in that the SX is the motorcross bike and the XC is their desert racer, and they're both extremely similar.
The TXC 450 was a pure joy to ride. Unlike its motorcross counterpart it had the hit where I wanted it. It felt plenty light and the handling was nothing short of amazing for a stock bike. It felt small underneath me compared to the WR and Paul's KTM even, making it extremely easy to handle and maneuver. The hit wasn't as hard as Paul's KTM, but I don't think that is a bad thing actually...Paul's KTM has unlimited hit and torque it seems, which could get you into trouble more easily. However if I decided I could handle that I've been told that the TXC 450 feels like a smooth delivery system when compared to its big brother the TXC 510, which is the bike I was initially interested in.
No kickstand is a bit of a bummer - even Paul's KTM has one, but I'm sure it wouldn't be a big deal to get used to or to even add one to it. Electric AND kick start is great also, and the electric start works great when in gear (a problem with Paul's bike...he has to be in neutral or it won't start up right away), so I would be sure to get great starts at the races if I used electric there. And the six gears is a huge plus as with any bike I've ridden with only five gears I've found that when I've topped it out I always want more. With six that's much less likely to happen. That's one of the areas that the Husky trumped the KTM. The others were it's dry weight (it being lighter) and stock suspension, as well as the 510 having a bigger engine as well (Paul's is a 505 - not much smaller, but still), and then have electric and kick start options (the KTM is only electric...would be a bummer if you were 100 miles out on the trail and your battery died).
The biggest con in the Husky lineup for all models though is the gas tank size. I'm not sure who's decision that was, but it was a poor one. It would be a big factor right now because I've got a race coming up with 127 mile loop in it...that means I'd need to stop for gas at least twice in that loop to make it to the pits. That would be a killer on my time, making it so I'd end up having to battle the same people for positions more than once. There is a company that is reportedly making bigger tanks (IMS) but they're not out yet and supposedly there won't be many of them due to IMS not wanting to over supply. The issue is surrounding the fact that the 2008 bikes are different frames and setups than their previous ones, so making after market tanks would mean they can only be sold to 2008 owners. I guess that's a big risk for them.
However I'm still very, very impressed, and to put it bluntly, I WANT ONE! Feel free to donate to the cause! Haha! Wouldn't that be great - I can see the headline now in the local newspaper, "Man gets new motorcycle thanks to generous donations from his blog readers"! Well I can dream right? Anyways, Husky has a new fan, and I have a new dream bike.
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