• 4 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
     TE = 4st Enduro & TC = 4st Cross

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449/511 SMR reliability as an everyday ride?

E

Eltardo_75

Husqvarna
Hi guys, i'm trying to make an educated decision on which new Motard to buy and was wanting to know how the 449/511 SMR rates as an everyday ride? i am looking for reliability and longevity out of the motor and not a super high maintenance engine like most purpose built race tards are.

Can this bike be a reliable everyday commuter? or should i look elsewhere? i am also considering building a 2012 WR450F motard but the husky tards are very good value dollar wise at the moment so i am considering it..mainly the 511 over the 449 though.

Cheers.
 
If your comparing it to a WR450 then I'd say yes. It's certainly not as good as a DRZ400sm or WR250x. But worth it. I would say if you live relatively close to work, get it. At the mark downs they have the 511's for they cost much less then doing a supermoto conversion and buying another bike.
 
Bought my SMR in Aug 11 and it's having 3000 mile service next week. (I do a small commute of 12 miles nearly everyday)
Nothing at all major to report but they do need a bit of TLC (oil level/chain/tickover level etc).
Only real issue at present is a sticky throttle with wont return to the stop on its own.

If you are going to ride through winter you will need to really look after it and clean/keep salt off.
I thought I had, but the rear spokes corroded really badly as well as numerous bolts, nuts and screws.

I like my bike but would suggest you have a good think about your commute journey before purchasing.
You get used to the hard seat but would recommend you avoid dual carriageway and motorway riding as it is geared quite low.
The engine is quite highly tuned/revvy and it's not that keen on riding/bimbling along in slow traffic. Believe me it's quite frustrating and not what the bike is designed for :( . My bike has standard exhaust and racemap 2 for present until warranty runs out next year, I presume if you add a EFI tuner slow riding characteristics may improve.

To summarize, reliability is good, no posts of exploding 511' s (yet).
If your commute is relatively quiet and twisty go for it, otherwise you might want to try a Strada or Nuda
 
To me, any bike being sold as 'street legal' should be able to at least achieve 10,000 miles if maintained well. Or else it'd be a complete ripoff :o
 
I have the SM610 version , its a much better commuter bike , less of a race motor like the 449/511.
I also have a plated TXC 449 that i do some like adv riding and dual sporting. Two completely different motors\bikes.

Dont get me wrong , the SM610 will tear it up on the twisties and run circles around my Sport Bike buddies.
 
I agree, for an every day commuter I would recommend a 610/630 or if you're going brand new check out the Strada/Terra line. Talk
about a good value $$ wise, those new 650's are cheaper than the 511's. I love my 511 but would never consider it for everyday commuting.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys, I was considering the bigger 610/30 but haven't seen that many of them available in Australia, and the ones that i have seen for sale are asking for around the same price as i can pick up a new 511 SMR for. When i say i want to use it for commuting my commute isn't a big one, only about 40kms each way and no highway riding involved.

It is true that the engine in the 449/511 needs rebuilding at around 25,000km's? or is this just a rumor i've read? if it is true how extensive is the rebuild involved? just top end? piston/rings (check/replace valves?)
 
Ive had my 511 for 3 weeks and commute every day rain or shine, also on the freeway I love this bike!Just orded a 40 tooth sproket for it should have it thursday.Wanted to get the rpm down a little on the freeway. My last one was a drz rode that 2 years straight commuting was a good bike but no alot of power(even after did all the mods) I took the 511 up in the hills for the first time sunday and holy crap!!what a rush came back home with a big smile.
 
Eltardo_75 said:
Thanks for the feedback guys, I was considering the bigger 610/30 but haven't seen that many of them available in Australia, and the ones that i have seen for sale are asking for around the same price as i can pick up a new 511 SMR for. When i say i want to use it for commuting my commute isn't a big one, only about 40kms each way and no highway riding involved.

It is true that the engine in the 449/511 needs rebuilding at around 25,000km's? or is this just a rumor i've read? if it is true how extensive is the rebuild involved? just top end? piston/rings (check/replace valves?)
Click to expand...
If you go by the book, every 10,000km a full rebuild. The target audience doesn't buy these to commute on.

If you're racking up big km's get an SMS 630.
 
if you are looking for a everyday commuter the husky SMR bikes seem more racey than what you are looking for, as mentioned earlier the strada 650, sms6 10, or sms 630 may be more up your alley as far as a high mileage transportation bike. if not you you are looking for a bike to really put lots of miles on you may want to look into a Dr650 that has SM set up, there is quite a few of those around where I live with 60,000+ miles with out a rebuild. The SMR's are great bikes, but they are bread to be race bikes.
 
Eltardo_75 said:
10,000 km's for a full rebuild!!? wtf..surely not. :eek: i don't even rebuild my 250SX motor that often..
Click to expand...

Your SX probably specs it it sooner than that since it is a race bike, remember all factory manuals spec frequent rebuilds on race bikes that nobody actually follows.
 
I don't really understand the whole 'well it's a race bike so it won't last long' argument.

What if you don't ride it like a racer? Wouldn't the motor last long? For a 449 / 511 - that doesn't go on highway, and you are keeping revs in the low to mid range except for the occasional throttle twists... And you maintain it well - I don't see how you would have to rebuild engine at 10,000 miles. That seems way too soon for a 450+ motor that isn't raced even if it's considered a 'race engine'.
 
not saying it definatly wont last more than 10k, it just wasnt designed for a ton of miles with no overhaul.

out of curiosity has anyone on the forum read of any high mielage smr's or Te's, like over the 10 or 20,000 mile mark with no rebuilds?
 
A friend's SMR is just about to hit 10,000km, no issues so far. It's a warranty thing, to keep the 2 years warranty you need to follow the manual, unless you have a good dealer to back you up.
 
The new 650 seems like a good commute bike. Real world ~70MPG and 100K mile motor. It's not going to perform like one of the high-strung race derived bikes, but for $6,500 new, it's hard to argue with for a penny pincher commute bike. Besides, with the way the cops are writing tickets these days maybe it's good to have something less tempting to commute on. Something that won't say, "Let's do another wheelie!", might be the way to go.
 
After a cam chain replacement at just under 12,000 miles on my 630 (and it was needed), I made the decision to stop commuting on it.

Seems like the new 650s are a different breed. But, anything smaller is not a daily rider, IMO, unless you have lots free time for maintenance. To me, that includes the 630s.

That holds especially true now that I've taken a job that's quite a bit further from home. If I ride every day, I can rack up 700-800 miles a week pretty quickly. Valve clearance checks every month and a new cam chain every year? No thanks. I need a street bike.
 
Was over on SmJ seen a post member tore down a 510 to put a 530 kit and refresh the motor, on tear down really found nothing wrong.Also I have a friend with a drz just turned 32,000 miles on it and it now just staring to smoke. I on the fence but I bought my 511 to ride not to sit in my garage, i love this bike and im going ride the crap out of it.:cheers:
 
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