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

  • Hi everyone,

    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

    When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.

    Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.

    Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.

    Thanks for your patience and support!

510 owners.... tight going

brock

Husqvarna
AA Class
Hi,
my first thread in the CH forums.
I am thinking of getting a 510 either TXC or TE and I want to know your experience riding one through the tight gnarley stuff. Trees, rocks and roots mainly.
Can you live with it or is it a handfull unless you have plenty of wide-open space.
Also, if you do, what mods (if necessary)have you done to make it more manageable in the tight stuff.
Does that make sense??
Answers on a postcard please....
or just reply :thumbsup:
 
I have no problems with the 08 TE510 (which has slightly different geometry and suspension than early vintages) in tight gnarly singletrack.

Mods (if you want to call them that):
Proper gearing (13/47 stock or lower if warranted)
Proper tire selection and size for your environment
Suspension set to your weight
Raise fork tubes up to 2nd or 3rd line
IMS fuel tank for rides extending beyond 55 miles
Rotate brake and clutch levers down on the bars from stock position for standing


Try not to grin too much!


edit I'm 5'10" 180 lbs without gear.

also as mentioned below which I have on mine:
Bark busters
skid plate


IMG_1381.jpg


IMG_1388.jpg


IMG_1409E.jpg


IMG_1412.jpg
 
I have an 07 TE and my favorite areas tend to be tight single track in the Sierras. Yes the bike is a handful at times but I came from an XR400 so I was used to a heavy bike..Put a trials tire on the rear and a 610 fan kit on it and it's been great. Sure a lighter bike would be nice but I am not a little guy. I would like to try a 310 someday just to see but until I have extra cash to throw around that is just a dream. :)
 
I had an 06 TE 510 and ride an 08 TXC450 now. I only ride tight wooded single track and some Canadian shield rock and the TXC450 is waaaay better is in this stuff.
 
Run out and put your money down on a 2009 TE 310! I have a 2005 TE 510 and in the tight woods it can be a hand full. I not the litest guy in the world so the 510 is great for 75-80% of the riding I do which is mostly jeep and ATV trails.

If I was doing 75% or greater single track/nasty stuff the 310 would be in my garage. Just my 2 cents...
 
I love my 08 TE 510, I run a trials tire rear, power up kit, and a bunch of armor on it and it is the best bike I have ever ridden. Get your throttle control in check and it will never be too much for you, I can wheelie over tight stuff without having to prepare for it and if you ride different enviroments like sand, desert,street (biggest reason to own a TE besides FI) then the 510 is the way to go. I should probable mention that I weight 240 with all of my gear on so that gives me a little more body english to control the Itallian beauty.
 
I ride & race my TXC 510 in all sorts of nast single track/goat path type places. I feel like its an advantage over the smaller bore bikes because you can use the torq to your advantage.

Here is my race report from a few weeks ago from the Ozark 100 Miler extreme event.

http://www.cafehusky.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1062

Here is a video clip from my ride yesterday, this section is way harder than it looks. There are very few people that I've seen clear this ledge...

http://kywoodsriders.com/files/Dec_14_2008_-_VID00005_2.wmv

And a failed orange attempt... :doh:

http://kywoodsriders.com/files/Dec_14_2008_-_VID00005_3.wmv
 
Jeff@TireBalls

I felt bad for the guy on the KTM for about 1 or 2 seconds. He was probably thinking, "I should have bought the Husky 510 ." I like the one guy who said, "Dang four strokes!" That made me laugh. I think you just made it look to easy. :thumbsup:

Mike
 
Only one poster mentioned their weight, and no one mentioned their height or general build and condition... you included "brock".
It would be far more practical and logical to determine what you can (or can't) handle if we knew your build and your experience.

C
 
I agree with Fast1.
Maybe add to the list "Bark Busters (Saves the finger crushing in the woods) and a good skid plate.
I'm 6ft. 195 lbs. without gear. I have a 08 TE510. Lisenced, which is very handy skipping from trail to trail on fire roads etc.
I have 13-49 gearing. This allows a little more bottom end for the really tight stuff.
If you're not going to put a license on it then get a TXC. Hands down.:thumbsup:

If you're just starting out and haven't been riding big bore machines for years. Maybe a 250 or 300 would be a better choice. The 510 can be a handful at the best of times.:D

Don't be fooled. These are not just any ordinary bikes.
They are "Race Ready Rockets"
all of them.:cheers:
 
Jeff@TireBalls;12706 said:
...My bike is bone stock.

Your skill set appears to be better than many peoples. Believe you recently did quite well in a race recently against the 'A' riders.

The bike may be stock but your skill set is 'modified'. Figure out how to put talent in a bottle and send it my way :thumbsup:
 
WOW, where to start... Im 6' 190lbs. I think of myself as very athletic. Been riding bikes most of my life. All single track Hare scramble type riding. I Like chocolate and enjoy long walks on the beach. :D

Do you want to know what my perfect date would be? :lol:

Oh yah, I have an 07 TE510.

Mike
 
6'01, 220 without gear. I do find myself wrestling with it sometimes but more often then not I find I can power over or thru just about anything..I am not a great rider by any stretch but I do love the bike!!
 
I vote for a smaller bike-the 310. I ride in very tight eastern hills and woods-handlebar tight. On my last ride Sunday the bike has more than enough power to conquer any hill. these are the Catskill Mtns in NY at the south border of the state-loose shale, roots, water running down them and did I mention the ice?
I'm 230 w/0 gear and a B rider in enduros. Less weight to pick up as well:thumbsup:
 
The 510 can do it but is the wrong choice for tight woods. My buddies TXC510 was an animal before the G2 throttle cam and Rekluse. It's still an animal and harder to ride in the tight stuff than my TXC450. If you do primarily tight stuff get the 450 or 250/310. I have ridden them all.
 
Eurofreak;12779 said:
I vote for a smaller bike-the 310. I ride in very tight eastern hills and woods-handlebar tight. On my last ride Sunday the bike has more than enough power to conquer any hill. these are the Catskill Mtns in NY at the south border of the state-loose shale, roots, water running down them and did I mention the ice?
I'm 230 w/0 gear and a B rider in enduros. Less weight to pick up as well:thumbsup:

Other than the cylinder and the crank & piston everything is the same between all the TE models. Picking up a 510 isn't much different than a 250. Even the height doesn't change much between the different displacements. I could understand if the 250 -310 was a few grand less than the 510 to consider the smaller displacement.

510= More bang for your buck!
 
Swampds;12783 said:
Other than the cylinder and the crank & piston everything is the same between all the TE models. Picking up a 510 isn't much different than a 250. Even the height doesn't change much between the different displacements. I could understand if the 250 -310 was a few grand less than the 510 to consider the smaller displacement.

510= More bang for your buck!

True but the reciprocating mass makes all the difference in the world. The taller cylinder raises the heavy head parts as well. The 250/310 feels 40 pounds lighter than the 510 and 30 pounds lighter than the 450.

I have an 08 TXC450 and my buddy Jake has a TXC250, the 250 feels like a 125 in comparison to my bike. Love my 450 but there is no doubt the 250 feels lighter and is way more flickable.

Additionally the much higher spring rates conspire to make it even more top heavy in comparison.
 
I use to race a 2006 TE 510 in Dist 37 Desert and National Hare and Hounds .
Then i rode a Husky CR 125 it just worked so much better for me in the tight nasty
single track and it was about 40 plus pounds lighter.Also in the fast open stuff it would
hold its own with about a 70 mile per hour top end with its 6 speed.My TE 510 with 15/50 would go 101 but that is to fast for me .My weight is 200 with all my gear on and i am 6 foot tall.I race expert mag class where the 125 will have the # 1 plate for next year at the Nationals .
The 510 is a super bike and does work well but if you want a lighter bike to attack
the trails and to throw around that likes to be ridden hard all day long try a test ride on a 125 Husky before you get the 510
 
I like the smaller bike for tight woods myself and I am 6' 2" 200lbs. If you do go with the bigger bike my suggestion is using a G2 throttle tube in the slowest cam, makes the throttle easier to handle when things get tight. I think with any bike once you get used to it you will be fine.
 
Back
Top