• 4 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
     TE = 4st Enduro & TC = 4st Cross

  • Hi everyone,

    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

    When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.

    Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.

    Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.

    Thanks for your patience and support!

2007 TE450 vs. KTM 525EXC...for the casual trail rider (details inside)

K

Koko

Husqvarna
AA Class
Hi everyone,

I've been trying to find the right bike for me and it's not easy. Honestly...if a DRZ400 had better suspension and was a bit lighter and it would probably suit me fine. I've been riding offroad for 20+ years. Most of those have been on 4 wheels. Back in the day I rode an RM125 on the trails. Then I switched to the street for a while. Last summer I picked up an 05 GasGas EC250 and I found out 2 strokes are not for me.

I like to lug around on the tight trails in the northeast. When I can, I'll get on it. I also want to be able to ride on the street from trail to trail. No big highway slogs or overnight trips. Just looking for a bike I can get out and do a 50-60 mile ride in the trails on a weekend morning.

I was look at Husabergs, but I can't find one in my budget. Right now I found a 2007 TE450 with 430 miles. Needs nothing. Still sitting at the dealer who serviced it. I can grab that for $3k.

I also went to see a 2004 KTM 525EXC, similar price only 688 miles and a meticulous owner. I've read good things that these bikes aren't peaky. Just big strong smooth motors.

How are the TE450's? Are the smooth or hard hitting? Do they need a ton of revving and clutch work?

Any known issues to look for?
 
I used to own a 2004 (put 8000 miles on it and sold), now 2005 KTM 525 MXC which is my race bike, basically the same as the exc without the license plate. It's a great bike for racing, very durable and reliable. Look around for a Husqvarna TE511, I'm sure they are out there for sale. I own one and prefer it to my KTM.
 
I have an 07 450, and have nothing but good things to say about it. Did the top end and valves at 250 hours/8000kms. Only let me down once at just under 300 hours due to the kill switch button. Easy bike to cruise around on and if you wanna have a bit more of a go just twist your right hand a bit further and hang on.
 
In 2007 the KTM 525 saw some "significant" improvements in the handling dept over the older models. I believe one of the improvements was a revision in the PDS rear suspension. That, and it was coming to the end of that generation of engine so they'd pretty much ironed all the kinks out. I believe the engine is so good that some people have ended up retro-fitting the 525 engine into the 530 frames. I'm not sure about the older 2004 KTM though I'm afraid.

As for the TE450, I have a 2010 model but I believe the main difference between it and the 07 TE450 is the change to KYB forks as the Marzocci forks on the 2009 and earlier models were prone to leaking seals. Experienced suspension tuners can apparently make a mod to the forks to pretty much solve this problem, and I believe then they work really well. With my KYB's, since I had them revalved they have been awesome - but that doesn't help you. Also be careful with the 2007 TE450 that there aren't electrical gremilins - I believe those older models had a high incidence of wiring harness replacements due to excessive rubbing on insufficient insulation on the wires leaving them bare and shorting out. As for power delivery of the of the TE450 engine, it is definitely a little higher strung than the 525, but not uncontrollably so. The bigger bore 525 (which is actually 510cc) means the engine has more low down power/torque than the TE450, but if you turn the throttle hard either bike will really jump. I prefer low rev power so would probably like the 525 more, but I still really like the TE450 (disclaimer, I also have a Rekluse clutch which helps smooth the power delivery a bit - but I also don't snap on the throttle either, I'm smooth on power delivery).

Personally I would go got the newer model bike ordinarily, but I have to say I'm not sure which way I'd go if I were you. Flick a coin? :-)
 
Thanks guys. I'm not brand loyal at all. I just like the non-japanese stuff. I'd be open to a TE510 if one was for sale in my area and my budget. I'm just trying to find something that fits my style and budget. Truth be told I really want a Husaberg FE390, but can't find a used one near me for the right money.

Arctra said:
Personally I would go got the newer model bike ordinarily, but I have to say I'm not sure which way I'd go if I were you. Flick a coin? :-)
Click to expand...

That's my biggest hesitation with the KTM...resale since it's already 9 years old. I just know the RFS motors are very reliable.
 
A TE310 is another great choice, IMO. With the discounts on the new ones being so great I can imagine there are many inexpensive Huskys out there. I bought a 510, but have ridden them all and if I had ridden the 310 prior to buying, I would have leaned hard that way.
 
I own a 07 TE450. It has ten thousand miles on it now, and the only thing that I have done to the engine besides having to replace one valve shim so far is....uh....nothing The bike revs fast, and doesn't have the low end torque that you might expect from an engine that size. Still, it's a nice machine that handles well in open terrain, as well as turning quickly for its size in the tight stuff.

Admittedly, the Alexon radiators that year were terrible. Both of mine cracked and were replaced with Toyos.
 
Biggziff said:
A TE310 is another great choice, IMO. With the discounts on the new ones being so great I can imagine there are many inexpensive Huskys out there. I bought a 510, but have ridden them all and if I had ridden the 310 prior to buying, I would have leaned hard that way.
Click to expand...

If you don't like 2-strokes, you are not going to like the TE310. It's a 4-stroke, yes, but it likes to be kept high in the rev range to make power. It does not have much in the way of low-end grunt. It takes a lot of clutch work to make it go slow, even with a 50-tooth rear sprocket.
 
Mike-AK said:
If you don't like 2-strokes, you are not going to like the TE310. It's a 4-stroke, yes, but it likes to be kept high in the rev range to make power. It does not have much in the way of low-end grunt. It takes a lot of clutch work to make it go slow, even with a 50-tooth rear sprocket.
Click to expand...


I agree a great bike / motor but not the nice lazy 4 stroke power the OP seems to be looking for. I too loved the motor in the FE390 Berg. Look for a used KTM400, those had great motors like you are looking for.
 
While I'm not too sure on TE450/449 - but the TE250 handlebars shake like a mofo.. and I'm sure the 310's are the same maybe even worse. Something to consider - it's hard to tell on a test ride.. as the first 10 minues is usually pure joy and not focused on your handlebars - and your hands are fresh. But after I ride about 15-25 miles on road with my TE250, my hands feel numb and about to fall off. My wrists are normally OK and I'm a rigorous 30 something year old.

Just something to be aware of - especially for dual sport rides. I never considered handlebars , but I bought a used yami that I'm pretty sure had aftermarket handlebars or dampeners, and wow.. what a difference - I could ride that bike forever and my wrists and arms would feel fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top