Come on,this bike is so german.It has ZERO soul.I feel for the Itialian designers. I don't know where this union is going.I know you hate KTM,but don't make a german KTM.
whats wrong with a German/Italian KTM wannabe? KTM really knows how to build a bike, and IMO Husky has a lot to learn if it wants to be a serious player in the MX market. they make awesome bikes, but they arent building a bike that could win a championship in the 450 class yet (in MX).\ this could be the ticket.
The linkage on top of the swingarm looks good if it works correctly ... And why did it take decades to come up with an inverted, sharp angled, shaped front fender? Did bmw set another landmark advancement here? If I owned one, I might have to drill a hole in mind as I like riding in the rain ... That is, if I'm riding, and it starts raining on me ... I like it ... The rain also keeps the wanna bees off the trail also U ain't seen nuthun' till you see it with red plastics ... and if this is the end of the line of previous Huskies, I just hope that bmw does not screw all of us on in the parts department of previous models ... PS -- The day bmw hires a rider capable of winning a MX race is the day they have a bike that will win an MX race. ...lol...
I thought they were going to move the clutch away from the end of the crank. Does the crank shaft still go the wrong way round? Nobody is going to buy it with this configuration. IMOA the project has not moved forward from the problematic old BMW days... G450X engines looks unchanged!!!
I disagree, I think if they can get the clutch working well off the crank then it can only be a good thing, with less rotating mass and possibly be able to do away with balancer shaft
Front fender looks jet fighterish....true......but it is a dirt bike......not an ME 262! Try affixing an enduro score card to that! There are some of us that still race ya know
I don't know of anyone who has had to replace a clutch yet, at 100 hours my clutch is only 20% worn according to stack heigth spec. 99% of the "clutch failures" were the torque limiter assembly/idle gear that transfers the power from the clutch to the transmission and is essentially a damper to prevent stress loading the crank when jumping or in choppy traction. The first generation of this torque limiter had some sort of flaw and they've since re-engineered it and it's working great so far. I'm better on the clutch then I've ever been after riding the G450X for the past year and a half and it took 90 hours for the first gen torque limiter to fail. If they have re-engineered the cases to accept a 6 speed, then a 2011 TE510(480cc) is in my near future! If not then I make my G450X a rally/DS bike only with a big bore kit and get myself a new TXC450 for the dirt dirt biking. I'm pretty sure they wont be a 6 speed unfortunately, so I've already started puting rally tanks on the G450X in preparation for my new Husky taking over my trail mule's job (525 SX)
I agree with Joe on that one. While I love the look of it a few problems: I am going to stab someone with that thing, the sides do not keep enough mud off your goggles in a muddy race, the top of it looks like it could hold enough dirt add 2 pounds. I kind of think the design department is just doing there job and making the bike look like a weapon. The main thing is if the bike runs and handles as mean as the fender. I can't wait to read a few reviews and see what BMW says they have done with the bike.
After studying the detailed photos a little more, I don't see how this bike can be lighter then the BMW G450X. Between the linkage and all that extra frame work I just don't see where they could be any lighter then the G450X. If it is heavier, then their splitting the difference between the G450X and the TE/TXC450 and that's not good enough IMHO. Guess we'll see.
Closer look shows rebound is the slot screwdriver adjustment and not the Ohlns type turn it kurled/adjuster. But it is easy to get and above swingarm
Kinda like it but get rid of the mud catchin front fender. Looks like they have gone to extreme ends to redesign a bike. That might be good thing. Obviously, they are evaluating/testing alot of things that can improve a bike. It is good that someone shakes it up out there, like a Husaberg. The Jap brands are all similar.
I'm not 100% sure but there were some other EU bikes back in the 70s that used a clutch design that was different than what we use today ... Maybe a CZ or something but the design was superior but did not get picked up by the newer generation bikes ... if this design is what I was reading about, it has promise but has not been used much if any and has not been proven yet either ...
Not sure if this has been posted: http://www.dirtrider.com/features/web_exclusive/141_1004_2011_husqvarna_450_spy_photos/index.html
Funny thing, being an engineer and having German heritage, I see this bike as a winner. It looks to me like they are finishing off what they started a couple of years ago. The new frame should be lighter since it can be a thinner Chromo rather than the SS from the past. I noted that Juha had a painted frame this spring on his BMW, indicating that they had gone to Chromo on the race bikes. Interesting linkage, haven't seen anything like that since the early '80s Yamahas. BMW seems quite committed to the engine design and the shared CS / SA pivot location. I will be curious to see how this works out a couple of years down the road. There are obvious benefits to both, but also repercussions. Note that the factory Husaberg riders are not going as fast since they went to the 70 degree motor, but the general public loves the new bikes. It's anybodies guess what emblem / name will be on the bike when it it released to the public. Recall that much of the Husaberg test bikes had scabbed on orange KTM plastic for R&D beating tests, and the KTM 250f was originally yellow and blue for R&D. I hope the KYB suspension is standard issue, and not just the rental units for race bikes.
Il 22 maggio, se i collaudi proseguiranno come previsto, vedremo la nuova moto italo-tedesca impegnata nel Campionato del Mondo della MX3 in Bulgaria e nel Mondiale di Enduro in Italia, a Lovere. watch for the debuts,,,,,MX3 Bulgaria and WEC Italia at Lovere http://www.moto.it/news/e-pronta-nuova-husqvarna-450.html PS Salvini is a super scrubber (see foto), read a recent article with full telemetry on the machines, he was saving 1-2 seconds per lap by cutting low on the table tops.
