• Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Sweden - About 1988 and older

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1989 510 I MIGHT BUY/ Does My 430 Need A Sister

juiceball

juiceball

Husqvarna
A Class
Hello all, I want to ask a few questions about this bike.
There is a 510 for sale locally and I want it. It is listed as a 1990 but the engine is stamped as 2223 1199, it has the waterpump on the bottem end not the cam. Is this a 1990? I don't belive it is as the plastics look identical to my 1987 430.

I have a few concerns about purchasing, first how often shall the valves be adjusted? Is there bearings for the cam or does it just ride on the aluminum head?
Second is starting the damn thing. My 430 is a pain in the ass to start, I can't imagine this one will be any better. Do they come stock with a decompression valve? I really like riding my 430 but it's a chore to get the damn thing started so much so that it's making me think twice about riding for the day, and even think twice about buying this machine.
Third is corrosion... I got lucky with my 430, so what is the deal with a 510. Any magnesium parts? I belive the cases would still be magnesium with the clutch side cover being aluminum along with the head. I probably won't buy the bike if I can't see behind the waterpump.

Lastly is the price, $3000. Steep? It comes with lots of extra parts, that I belive would be valuable to me with my 430. Spare powder coated 610 frame. The whole package was originally put together for vintage racing, only raced once. I'm not sure if it's a good deal or not. I would assume the seller could start it. It's been posted for 3/4 of a year.
 
The valves are easy to adjust and when I raced one back in the day I only checked 2 times a year and they required very little adjustment. If it’s a 1990 the clutch cover should be aluminum. The cam has bearings. They do come with a automatic decomp and a manual decomp.
 
rancher1 said:
The valves are easy to adjust and when I raced one back in the day I only checked 2 times a year and they required very little adjustment. If it’s a 1990 the clutch cover should be aluminum. The cam has bearings. They do come with a automatic decomp and a manual decomp.
Click to expand...
Have you started a 400+ 2t without a decompression? If so how does this beast compare.

Also what where some of the biggest downsides for this motor? I feel confident about the frame but I don't know really anything about 4t husqvarnas.
 
I know next to nothing about this year but if the difficulty of starting your 430 makes you reconsider riding for the day then a kick-start 510 is probably not a good purchase for you. Also consider that it weighs 50lbs more than your 430 and much of that additional weigh is centered making the bike top heavy. Research shows its close to 290lbs. I once considered buying a late 80's 510 but passed on it due to the starting issue, I ended up buying a used 97 FC600 Husaberg and never regretted it. Its hard to know if its worth 3k without seeing exactly whats included.
 
I raced both the air cooled 86 and water cooled 87 as well as several 90-2000 350,410,&610 models. I thought they started pretty easy the auto decompression makes them easier to kick than a big bore 2 stroke. For long life regular oil changes will make it last. I also had a Honda XR 250 that was harder to start. The motors are pretty reliable with regular maintenance nothing crazy. Clean the air filter, change the oil, check the valves once in a while.
 
I had a 86 510, and put the motor in a 83 dual shock frame, and yes they can be a bear to start, it's all about technic, even for your 430.

But as i've had 2 430WR's , I'd say hands down the 430 is a better woods bike, as i'm assuming that is where you'll ride it.

Also yes a 510 is a fairly rare bike, but $3K is alot, probably why it's unsold. They have a complicated motor, compared to a 2 stroke.
The 510 started out with modified style 2 stroke lower end, added a timing chain & 4 stroke top end, & a weird oiling system. Late
80's models have been harder to get parts, as the company went thru rough times, being made in Italy. NOT a good time for Husky
lovers.

Lastly i've got a ton of spare Husky parts in my garage too, & probably they never get any use, HUSKY WERE BUILT TO LAST, that's why they were so much money, new.

Keep this in mind, when looking for any 1985 -90's Huskys "case rot" is very common, Clutch case is magnesium, water pump shaft/bearings are steel, water pump impeller is aluminum, i think. This causes Dissimilar metal corrosion, which is NOT good & very Common. Rider's would
cheap out on antifreeze & dilute it so much it's useless, or put in tap water, which only helps the corrosion start.

Husky John

This is a 1990 510 per google
 

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This may help you start your 430; It's worked for me for 20+ years
Starting big bore 2 strokes is all about, using the right procedure.
Here's mine
1) choke on, gas on, put it in 3rd gear & rock it back n forth in gear , count to 30. Take it out of gear, and move kicker, til u go past TDC, (this gets u past the compression stroke), move kicker a bit farther (less then a 1/2 kick) , I turn gas & choke off too, now.
Return kicker to top of stroke, & then give it really good kick. Wimpy kick, & forget it

Didn't start, repeat, go past TDC, only, There's usually no need to rock it in gear, as that only done to get fuel into cylinder to start.

Takes a little practice to get the drill down right, but it worked on my many 390,430 & 500's.

Husky John
 
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ruwfo said:
I had a 86 510, and put the motor in a 83 dual shock frame, and yes they can be a bear to start, it's all about technic, even for your 430.

But as i've had 2 430WR's , I'd say hands down the 430 is a better woods bike, as i'm assuming that is where you'll ride it.

Also yes a 510 is a fairly rare bike, but $3K is alot, probably why it's unsold. They have a complicated motor, compared to a 2 stroke.
The 510 started out with modified style 2 stroke lower end, added a timing chain & 4 stroke top end, & a weird oiling system. Late
80's models have been harder to get parts, as the company went thru rough times, being made in Italy. NOT a good time for Husky
lovers.

Lastly i've got a ton of spare Husky parts in my garage too, & probably they never get any use, HUSKY WE BUILT TO LAST, that's why they were so much money.

Keep this in mind, when looking for any 1985 -90's Huskys "case rot" is very common, Clutch case is magnesium, water pump shaft/bearings are steel, water pump impeller is aluminum, i think. This causes Dissimilar metal corrosion, which is NOT good & very Common. Rider's would
cheap out on antifreeze & dilute it so much it's useless, or put in tap water, which only helps the corrosion start.

Husky John

This is a 1990 510 per google
Click to expand...
The picture resembles the bike in question, however when I Google 1990 husqvarna 510 I get a bunch of bikes that have different style plastics on them. Here is the link to the post. Tell me what yall think.

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Feel free to lowball him. I'm joking.

Seriously tho, if anyone needs anything from him I can middle man the parts to you. Not a big deal or far from me at all.
 
The auto and 4 strokes have aluminum cases. I never had corroded water pumps in my parts pile. I do not recall it the clutch cover is al or not, the comparable part on the wc autos is al. The mag cases have a steel insert for the crank bearings the transmission bearing pockets get loose on those.

The Italians made improvements to the frame where the swing arm goes throug.

The 510 starts good when cold, has a compression release lever and a cable going to the kick starter with a ramp thing. 1988 when as new.
 
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fran...k. said:
The auto and 4 strokes have aluminum cases. I never had corroded water pumps in my parts pile. I do not recall it the clutch cover is al or not, the comparable part on the wc autos is al. The mag cases have a steel insert for the crank bearings the transmission bearing pockets get loose on those.

The Italians made improvements to the frame where the swing arm goes throug.

The 510 starts good when cold, has a compression release lever and a cable going to the kick starter with a ramp thing. 1988 when as new.
Click to expand...
Both my 86 & 87 also had kick start decompression along with lever operation as well.
 
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