250-500cc Bought a 2011 WR300

My New Bike & Ride Report
For months now I have been trying to con the Mrs into letting me buy a new motorcycle and finally she said I could have whatever I wanted!!!

I could have gone out and bought a Pussaberg, a pumpkin, a Sherco, a Gasser, but obviously none of the above were ever on the cards. There were also Japanese bikes I could have purchased but they didnt even enter my mind.....There was only 1.......My Dream Bike......

HUSQVARNA

2011

WR 300






As most of you know I have been riding a TE610e for the last 3+ years as my only bike. This is 139kg dry and I have loved every minute of it.

Today we had the chance to ride 80 odd acres of pristine Hills 40k from the heart of Adelaide.

It was a Balmy 31 degree day with High Humidity but Myself, Hards, Con and Jamie rocked up ready to roll. (All Ariel MCC boys)
The place had been soaked by rain a couple of days prior and it was in 10/10 condition with plenty of grip and a few bog holes to boot.

We got kitted up and I jumped on my bike thinking...."fk here we go, I havent had a kick starter for 3 years now I have to act like a pro with all the eyes watching me"

Turned the fuel & Choke on, cranked it slowly a couple of times then with one nice kick, GLORY!!!

I was shit scared of it to say the least. The 610 has more power and torque than just about anything under 700cc but I was still scared of the little 2 banga.

We have ridden this property before so I was used to the tracks and away we went.

Faaaaaarrrrrrrrrkkkkkkk.......this thing goes hard!!
Power is so smooth and pulls from so low. I rode a TM300 a while ago and it almost put me off buying a 2T but I bit the bullet and trusted my beautiful Husqvarna brand and today I am one of the happiest people standing on this fantastic earth!!! On the pipe its just so controllable. I was thinking I would flip it before I rode it but it really is easy to ride. I grew up on a YZ 80 F that went hard and it brings back so many memories. You just dont forget how to ride these things.

The main thing that worried me was no engine braking but I can not believe how quickly the thing pulls up. Its obviously because it is so light. (102 Dry it says on the manual.) I was thinking I would be over shooting corners all the time but it was the opposite, braking too early thinking my bike still weighs 150kg.

A couple of the other crew turned up Reester and his Mrs...and we all teamed up and rode some fantastic single trail all day. At one stage a couple of the girls got lost and were calling out from afar so we all rushed off to help them with our first aid kits like knights rescuing fair maidens but they were just lost and were back at base by the time we realized.

I have not touched the suspension, set the sag or even fiddled with clickers and found it to be really good straight off the floor.

Bought through Fethers @ Bills Motorcycles Blair Athol (also on DBW)
Just $10,850 for:

Husqvarna WR300
FMF Platinum Expansion Chamber
FMF Muffler
B&B bash Plate
Bark Busters
Force Guards
Pit Tent

Stu

Heres a quick vid from the first ride!



Stu

Cool video and congrats on your new bike.

Alright! Another happy Husky300 owner in Radelaide!
You got a great deal, makes me wish I didn't trade my TE for my '10 300...oh well, it's only money.
Awesome vid, looks like Mr39 has been holding out on me, not telling me about the awesomeness of Arial's riding areas! Are Atujarians allowed on your rides?
Now you've gotta bring it out to TBMP for some Supermoto action!

Cheers, gotta love ya Husky 2T

That is a good looking bike. Do the 2011 shrouds have the embedded graphics too?

The graphics are definitely infused or whatever they call it so no sticker peeling. KYB forks feel great. And its firkin light and powerful. Realy getting used to starting it now. Piece of cake.

I got no plans to mortard it though...riding a 2t on the road is bad enough as it is with all the continuous hunting.

All pollution and ADR compliance stuff is stripped. Just kept the head and tail light. No signals to break off or pathetic number plate extender. The way the wiring and plugs are done it makes it really easy to disconnect and pack.

Next is a larger tank but acerbis isn't starting a production run until January so it will be feb before I get that.

This weekend i have to get the 610 up to scratch. May use my indicators etc from the 300 to put on the 610. Will put the big tank on, change the gearing back to 14/45 and use it for the ADV rides.

Stu

The 6 speed, PWK38AS and taller gearing have banished the hunting. Mine gets used for commuting, hills rides, track days and dirt riding. I really liked my old 610 too, but the 300 is a lot more versatile.
I didn't know Acerbis were doing a tank for the 2T's, I've been thinking about getting a bigger tank so I'll have to check them out when they get released.

Yeah my bike shop asked them when I made enquiries & they start a run in 2012.

We also tried safari and IMF but no luck there.

I have a WR360 too and I would never part with my 6 speed to transplant into my 300. The 360 has an airstriker but the mikuni seems to be doing its job so far. Just bought a second head I plan to run it, measure it and send it to the US to have the squish done. Still looking for a S&G decomp head....

I will probably change to a 48 rear on the 300 as the gearing is too short for general single trail. Always find myself short shifting but that may be because Im so used to the 610.

Stu

Cool, will be interesting to see what they come up with in terms of size/style/price, otherwise it'll have to be IMS I suppose.
Why did you have no luck with IMS? Have they stopped making them?
I found the Mikuni very inconsistent in it's fuelling, though it was a lot more noticable with supermoto use than on the dirt.
I'm also really happy with my race head from the factory, it has a very different squish than the stock head and works well with the other mods which have all been aimed at bottom end to midrange gains. My bike just grunts up anything now and is still only 3 HP down on a SM450R with race pipes (race bike services dyno, same day), so it's well in the hunt flat out at the SM track.
I rode an Ariel members 505 today, but I still like my 300 better!

What gearing does the '11 come with? my '10 has 13/48 which is too short with the 6 speed (which is definatly worth doing if you can find one) I've got a 45t in the garage, so I'll trial that next time I go dirt, I've tried 15/48 previously, but that was way to tall even in more open sand.

This is what your mate reckons of your bike after riding it on the weekend:

"- The suspension was so bloody soft, it felt like a pogo stick. I reckon a stock DRZ400 has stiffer fork springs than this thing. The front end was especially terrible. Lindsay weighs about 100kg and not surprisingly is bottoming it out a lot. It was diving under brakes and bottoming on anyting but the softest landings. I weigh 62kg, so who did they set the forks for? Some Italian/German annorexic midget??? Considering that the bike is exceptionally tall and more suited to bigger riders, they really stuffed up with the standard suspension settings. Oh, and there's no preload adjustment on the forks!?!?! What is this - 1992???
- the kickstarter. I don't like electric start 2 strokes, so I was hoping I'd like the Husky, but they've managed to bolt on this weird, twisted, contorted bloody kickstarter that makes starting the bike twice as difficult as it needs to be. Big thumbs down on that stupid decision Husky. A tall bike with a twisted, high and forward mounted kick starter was not much fun for a short arse like me.
- the clutch. I'm now critical of anything but a nice smooth hydraulic clutch. Lindsay reckons the cable did need oiling, but the bike is still very new and the clutch felt awful. Grabby, difficult to pull, - crap. I always found that oiling cables makes them worse in the long run as the oil atracts dust and makes it worse than before. They should fit a hydraulic clutch - every bike should have one."

That's what happens when you let a pumpkin rider loose on a Husky!

Stu

Ha Ha! The kindest thing he said was that I'm only 100kg! I'm well over that...
I totally agree about the forks and have a potential fix in the garage waiting to be fitted. Having said that they are absolutely beautifull in the bush and away from the mx track (ie; what they are designed for). I hated the harshness of the 505 front end, the 2012 SX-F front ends are a lot more compliant in the initial part of the stroke.
We all know about the kickstart on these things, once you've got the knack it's a one kick operation, but when you're his height, well, you're gonna struggle! The button on the 505 was nice...
Nothings as light as a kato clutch, personally I reckon mines got more feel, but I had a look at the cable when I got home last night and I think I may have routed it wrong when I put the engine back in after fitting the 6 speed, so I'll have a play with that this week. The bikes not as new as he thinks it is, due to road riding.

I still like mine better

I have never had a problem with the kickstarter ever. AND, here is a quote from a buddy of mine on his Orange 300 when we rode the 5 Miles of Hell last week. (my bike is an 09 300) "Hey is your bike boiling over? Mine is..its hot"
FYI-Mine didn't drip a drop the whole day.