2010 TXC250 40 miles maiden voyage report.

So as many of you know I got a 2010 TXC250 bike for development and to ride. Sold a really nice TE/SM610 to do this and that was painful. that pain is gone now

Full disclosure: Most know me and know I am a husky head. I own other brands but just love these huskys. I also build husky parts so I just wanted to give full disclosure to those that do not know me and what i do. this test might be slanted because of the love for the brand and market I feed but these are my feelings on this bike.

The weather has been crap here, rain and snow. Not much available riding, or so we thought. Went to a local area thinking there would be some of the lower trails open for a fun break it in ride. Happily we found it was all open and freaking fun, super slick but fun.

The bike: Bought this from Taskys Wednesday and they fully de-restricted it for me before pickup. Removed throttle stop, took the goofy air filter cage out, removed the cat int he pipe, etc. As suggested by a friend who has one we richened the EFI some and I loaded it up.

The motor: Might as well jump right in here because this is what everyone wants to know about. This bike is designed for trail riding / racing and that's my mission for it as well. Early reports of this motor being weak had me a little concerned. My quick test rips around the house told me it was not weak. While i did my best to be nice to the motor it did get a workout yesterday as it was slick and steep and you had to do what you had to do to get up stuff. so... The motor is fantastic IMHO. Super responsive, quick reving, good bottom, meaty and very strong mid and seems to flatten out some on top (SA screen in). I did not rev it hard so will wait to make a full statement on top end power. The super short stroke motor feels different than any other 4 stroke I have ridden. Almost like a 2 stroke but better. Bottom end, in even as new is it is impressed me. Sounds like a 450 on the bottom and although it does not have huge bottom end it will pull amazingly low and with the light revy nature of the motor spooling up into the amazing mid hit is not laborious like the old motor. Seems to me this has as much or more low end than the 08-9 TXC250. The mid range is where this bike boogies. Nice big wave of power that squirts you forward. You can ride it in the mid all day. This motor, because it revs so high needs little shifting in the tight trails. Lugs out of a corner well and can just stay in that gear till the next corner arrives. The mid is so strong it demands some attention. And this was in slick stuff, int he dry it is going to feel that much better. I have to say I love this new motor. Chugs, rips int he mid and seems to rev endlessly although i did not explore that much. I was afraid the new short stoke motor might now make a good woods motor, i could not have been more wrong. We climbed a few pretty nasty, slick as snot and steep hills and like i have found with 250F's in the past they will really climb. I out climbed a 07 WR250 with rekluse and a KTM450 with a rekluse and studded trails tires. I was pretty mazed how will it would chug up a hill in a gear or two to tall.

so the motor is flexible, revy, racy feeling, and nice power bottom to top. A big winner IMHO it is smooth, not much vibration, make little engine noise and gets a lot out of each gear.

Oh, the engine braking is sweet on this one. It is there but with the super short stroke motor feels different. It does not do the toss you over the bars thing when you chop the throttle. Just nice smooth deceleration. makes for real smooth on / off throttle riding.

EFI: the EFI on my bike is very good. It does have a slight stumble off the very bottom. i think i richened up to much will play with ibeat and let you know what i find. This really only happened when going up a steep hill in a gear or to tall, basically asking way to much of it just to see what it would take. It's not perfect but close. From 1/8th throttle up it is pure nirvana. Quick throttle response, awesome pull, clean glitch free fuel metering. Better then a carb IMHO. Smooth and controlled. Absolutely no backfiring and starts when you touch the button. Works great.

Transmission: 6 perfectly spaced gears. Well at least 4 as that all i got up to in the tight woods. slick shifting, nice clutch, no big gaps, perfect.

Handling: This bike, because of it's super smooth and responsive motor might have just knocked my 09 WR125 off as best handling bike I have ever ridden. You think it and it happens. Seems hard wired to my brain. More forgiving than my 125 that can need attention because you weight a peg a little or whatever and your turning. This bike reacts a millisecond slower which actually makes it more forgiving and EZ. Standing up, sitting down, whatever, you want to go somewhere it goes. No over-steer, no under-steer, just perfect steer. will stay int he rut, come out of the rut, cross rut, basically go where ever you tell it to without complaint. The extension of your body thing applies big time here. Absolutely no complaint and exactly how i would have a bike built to work for me.

Suspension: near perfect for me. Right out of the box the fork work excellent. Not harsh at all, do not dive, perfect balance of compliant and control. Love them. Shock and new shorter swingarm work perfect. Rode all day and never touched a clicker which if you know me is weird. For me at 210 and the type of riding i do it seems pretty much perfect. Jakes 08 TXC250 has incredible stock suspesnion, the best i have tried, until this bike. It is lighter and has less to deal with and as such simply works better IMHO. Could not ask for more.

Ergonomics: For me, perfect. but then again i ride these bikes all the time. Feels almost exactly like my 125. It does come with Magura SX bars which i find i prefer over the tommisellis on my 125.

Summery: As John1 posted he son saying "this bike seems as if the factory special built this bike for me and nailed it" Yeah, it is the honeymoon, yeah, i write rave reviews all the time about huskys (heck, they get better and better) Time will tell but this bike just knocked the FE390 off the top spot in my mind. Compared to the 390 it is much lighter feeling, handles better, suspesnion is better and the motor, although it has less power, is more fun, revy, and on the trail just as fast. Other than a few items I'll address below this bike is nearly perfect for me.

All that said it is on the racier end of the scale. My buddy with the KTM450 with a rekluse and studded trials tires who rides around a gear high and under 3000 RPM all day had troubles with it. Was not used to reving a bike and was confused. This bike is VERY eager to leap forward and turn quick. If you come of a slow reving BB with an autoclutch this is going to be the other end of the spectrum. It like aggressive 125 style riding. Toss it around, hammer the throttle, jump off stuff type thing. Can you ride it around like a XR200, sure but really it wants to be ridden like a 125. The motor and super light weight feel always encouraging you to twist it and go. It is like a gazelle, light, quick, responsive, eager to go through the woods fast and effortlessly. My 07 WR250 riding buddy loved it. BTW the WR has more bottom but the mid on the TXC is super strong and i did not feel like the WR was faster if you kept the TXC int he wide and useful mid. It freaking rips there. Much like a faster reving version of me 06 TC250 with the 300 kit and ported head. it is that good IMHO.

BTW the motor and EFI were both working noticeably better at the end of the day. I expect it to get much better as i get time on it.

Summery: It's not going to be a shock after reading the above I am in love, again. This bike, for me, is near perfect right out of the box. Excellent flexible motor, awesome suspesnion, perfect handling, super confidence inspiring in every way. this is a lighter, racier version of the already fantastic 08-09 TXC250. This summer i spent 200 miles on the fantastic 2010 FE390 Berg, that bike was one of if not the best off road bikes I have sampled. I hated admitting that as i am a certified husky head. This bike i think surpasses it. Lighter and more nimble, better suspesnion, better handling, better ergonomics. Motor on the TXC is obviously not 390cc strong but that said i don't feel the motor will limit me in any way. We rode in slick conditions in tight stuff so it is hard to say but it sure feels like it has more than enough power to do what i need.

Husky, thank you

So after all the raving here is what i don't like...

- mid pipe burns everything within a ten foot radius. EZ fix
- Battery still not bolted down like it should be, product coming soon :>)
- EFI glitch off the bottom causing slightly ragged running. Got better with time on the bike (just like the carbed bikes) and will be a EZ fit I believe.
- Tiny tank. Good for about 35 miles in super slick crap. Light started to blink some at about 27 miles, at 30 it was steady and at 35 the bike was almost dry.
- like all modern huskys it is a tall bike
- i can't ride it all day every day.

OK, its a honeymoon, I am a self confessed husky lover and this is a new bike. Regardless, if you were waiting to see if the motor was good check that off your list. Basically it is a fantastic motor with an all new revy 2 stroke feel to it stuffed in what might possibly be the perfect chassis.

To echo what John1's son said "it's like husky purpose built a bike for me and nailed it" the funny thing is i was thinking the exact same thing while riding it yesterday before reading that.

This is the next generation of husky and it is all good in my book.







Buddy Adam on it (who rides a 07 WR250)









Partners in crime

Running a 50 rear it is pretty much perfect. Takes some throttle and clutch to get t rolling but that's a 250F thing. We did one nasty hill, very steep, roots, slick. No issues, geared low enough.

The 125 is a great bike, crazy fun. the 2010 TXC is like that but with a smoother faster more forgiving motor. Stock suspension is almost perfect on the 250 and the handling, because of the motor and forks might just be better than the 125 . Overall a better bike with similar feel. The 250 is a lot more complicated and maintenance intensive, the 125 is EZ to maintain and has 4 moving parts.

WR's are great bikes, had several, but getting a little long in the tooth. Hope for a modern replacement soon. Yes, low fuel light. came on intermittent at 27 miles, burned steady at 30 was almost out of gas at 35.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I am way to rich (my fault) and we did spend some time spinning tires on slick hills. Regardless I can't imagine getting much over 40 miles on the stock tank. We will see. A wart on an otherwise ridiculously amazing bike.

IMHO it is about the same. The stock fork is VERY good to me. This is a much different bike than my TXC450, feels like it weighs half as much so it is hard to compare. Bottom line is I ran them almost full soft and it was near perfect for me front and rear. glides over trail trash, stays controlled. never felt the need to grad the screwdriver and mess with it.

I can't stop thinking about getting to ride this machine again, it is so good.

Thought I should mention something about the starter. this bike has a totally different starting setup than previous. The starter itself is the size of a D sized battery, it's freaking tiny. It drives a bevel gear and then drives the motor via a worm drive behind the flywheel driving the crank directly. (picks coming) This eliminates a bunch of sprag gear crap and is super simple. It also gives the tiny starter huge gearing over the motor. Meaning the starter motor turns at real high RPM and is geared WAY down. When you hit the starter is sounds very funny with a high pitched whine as the starter motor turn some ridiculous RPM. Thinking about the system makes sense and would require a lot less torque and draw from the bat. It starts the motor EZ and never struggles to spin right up. On my bike if you don't touch the throttle it fires near instantly. It is quit different than any other bike i have tried but seems to be a very good light weight design.

We encountered one big slick climb. it required a few get off and move the rear end over adjustments. I also stopped and helped my buddies a few times etc. Started the bike probably 10 times in 5 minutes and every time it spun hard. Seems like a real good design. Time will tell.