1. Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Sweden - About 1988 and older

Riding a 510 on the road?

Discussion in 'Vintage/Left Kickers' started by Cameron, Jul 12, 2011.

  1. Cameron Husqvarna

    Just wondering if anyone has any experience of riding an older husky on the road. Mine's a '90 tc510, gonna be getting it on the road soon but what are they like for general riding around, riding to work etc? Also how often do they need rebuilding, just replaced the conrod, mains, rings etc, how many miles are they likely to last before needing to be changed again?

    Thanks
    Cameron, Jul 12, 2011
    #1

  2. fran...k. Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    eastern ct
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    420ae 98wr125 2004wr250 others
    Other Motorcycles:
    electric freeride 1993 yam gts
    It really depends on how you ride it. Tc is moto x basically isn't it. I guess they get hammered pretty well. I remember the local one man shop dealer there was back then muttering something about the guys were riding them like two strokes while he was working on someone's top end. My 1988 te 510 was pretty much hammered to the point it needed a lot of attention, the way the brake plate and singarm key together was toast and he had bolts in there, I have put two cagiva come on a card shrink wrapped cam chains in it and am now on a genuine tsubaki one I got a length of from a bearing distributor. The origional owner raced it in enduros and hare scrambles and told me tales of going to the blackwater. The head and cylinder have never been off. It is a big single with no counter ballancer, as light as it could be, no cushioning in the drive line. I go real slow on the road and not real far. I really can't say what changed when going from this section up to 1988 to the older single cam section where yours really belongs.

    Fran
    fran...k., Jul 12, 2011
    #2

  3. ruwfo Administrator

    Location:
    NJ
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    1980 390CR, 1982 430CR, 1984 400WR
    Other Motorcycles:
    1985 250XC, 2016 FJ-09
    The Biggest thing with riding a big single on the road is vibration, mostly because there geared for riding off road or a little of both. Drop the rear sprocket
    to something quite a bit smaller & it should be fine. Just look at the different between most street bike rear sprockets, there usually tiny compares to
    a enduro or dirt bike one.

    Husky John
    ruwfo, Jul 16, 2011
    #3

  4. Cameron Husqvarna

    Thanks for the replies, yeah can imagine it being quite vibey on the road, not really too bothered though. Wouldn't really use it for work, just for going for rides and a bit of off roading so won't be getting any serious mileage. So they should be fairly reliable then, just not sure how high maintenance these things are, I'm only really used to little 125 2t aprilias etc. Just don't want to be doing engine rebuilds very couple of thousand miles lol.
    Cameron, Jul 16, 2011
    #4

  5. Tomtedrift Husqvarna
    B Class

    Location:
    Sweden
    Make sure vary the revs ,
    Tomtedrift, Jul 16, 2011
    #5

  6. ruwfo Administrator

    Location:
    NJ
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    1980 390CR, 1982 430CR, 1984 400WR
    Other Motorcycles:
    1985 250XC, 2016 FJ-09
    Just change the oil a lot & it will be fine.
    ruwfo, Jul 17, 2011
    #6

  7. Ruffus Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Fort Erie, Ont. Canada
    Taller gearing and balanced wheels make a big difference. For balancing my choice was dual rim locks. There's also wheel weights to accomplish the same.
    Ruffus, Jul 17, 2011
    #7
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