• Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Sweden - About 1988 and older

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    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.

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any late 70's "OR" tranny bike guys here?

Bigbill

Bigbill

Husqvarna
Pro Class
Any late 70's husqvarna "OR" tranny bike riders here? There transmissions had the first three gears 1 thru 3 were wide ratio (WR) the next three gears 4 thru 6 were close ratio (cr). What this change in ratios did was to keep the rpms up in the power band after third she would sling shot and pull harder through 6th gear. If we didn't have the speed up with the wr tranny in the higher gears she would not be up in the meat of the power band. I really enjoyed this husqvarna 250 "OR" tranny.

I do regret not riding my different husky bikes more. I rode my '79 cr390 most of the time. I just liked the ballistic hit from the 390 engine. I never had a 390 "OR" tranny.
I believe the OR stands for OFF-ROAD?

So do we have any "OR" riders here? Like it?
 
Hey Bigbill. Yes, I have a 78 OR 390 and really enjoy it. I also have a 80 CR 390 too. The OR does better with the higher speed riding. Arizona has plenty of it. But I still enjoy (when I get the chance) riding Gorman Calif. Rode there many a time as a teen growing up. Other than using an NOS K&N filter on it, smoothed out ports and a little racing fuel in it, the bike runs really nice. You should enjoy it. Check bolts often (blue thread lock) as some will loosen with time. Especially the exhaust bolts. Enjoy!
 
That's a good quality looking pipe. I made one once. Sheet metal work isn't easy. It's a art.

I wonder why they discontinued this tranny for the newer cases?
 
What's the difference between the XC (cross country) over the CR and WR bikes besides the wr having the sem ignition, cr small flywheel motoplat ignition and the xc having the larger flywheel motoplat ignition?
The xc and wr have the same tranny.

I think the husqvarnas were more known for top end speed which means open races like desert racing. The motocross and super cross here is different than other motocross countries. I don't think we have that much in the European style of motocross here. I wish we had more than vintage moto cross.
 
Bigbill said:
What's the difference between the XC (cross country) over the CR and WR bikes besides the wr having the sem ignition, cr small flywheel motoplat ignition and the xc having the larger flywheel motoplat ignition?
The xc and wr have the same tranny.
Click to expand...

The XC model fills the same role as the OR, Husky just didnt bother putting a hybrid semi-close ratio transmission in it and the 430 doesnt need it. Some say the WR transmission in the 250 has gaps but its never been an issue for me. You can do your own "OR" transmission easily, the '82 125XC didnt have the WR transmission, its the same transmission as the 125CR. With it geared so 1st is usable in the woods, it tops out at about 52mph in 6th, so I put the 5th and 6th out of the WR in it. Now its got a tight 1-4th gears for trails and will do nearly 65mph in 6th.
 
I can understand the gap in the 250wr if you don't have it wound up tight the up shift to the next gear kind of lags. But the cr cylinder on the wr tranny seems to improve the 250wr. It's no big bore torque but she seems snotty for a 250. She has the front wheel up at anytime. It almost reminds me of the hit on my husky 98 250wr it just rips the rear tire.

Now I had three 85 125cr husqvarnas non runners. I made one running bike from the used parts. Your right about the top end. But it ran good, nice bike.
 
The first year OR: My 1978 390 OR. I bought it brand new from Gene Ritchie at Red Bud In Buchanon, Michigan. Back then I was running enduros with full lights, speedo, route sheets. Sometime around 79 or 80 I wanted to know how fast it would go, so my buddy on his KZ 1000 ran side-by-side with me and clocked it. 14/52 sprockets and it topped out at 95 MPH. I have to say the engine was wound pretty tight, but no lie about the speed.


2008-01-12 01.47.32.jpg
 
Now the wr tranny is even quicker too. My son raced a kx250 with my 86 400 WXE the husky walked all over the kx on the top end. They clocked the kx at 75mph. The 400 had to be over 100mph.

I still can't believe the desert racers going flat out on sand between the pucker bushes.

I had my '79 390cr just about flat out down the gravel/dirt road were we rode years ago. I wicked it in 6th gear while screaming and the front wheel came right up. I put away a Honda 500cr with this 390. I had another who raced netra try to give me a shot down these straights and the dirt straights with a 80's Suzuki 250. The 390 just ate the 250. The very next time we met he had a new Yamaha 400 4t. I was hoping he would test the old 390 again but he didn't. No one knows how quick these old husqvarnas are. Most riders don't know these bikes. The older riders who do respect them. They give us a thumbs up when they see us go by them slow.
I go out there to ride and have fun and if they want to test the old man with the old bike I'll turn the old husky loose game on. There's nothing like the Swedish iron. They can still hold there own.

I'm not sure if anyone notices the difference when we're hanging off the centerline of the older 390/250 bike off the centerline of the bike she still tracks straight. I swear I could hang my body off to one side even more and it would still track straight. My point is with the newer bikes we need to keep our body on the centerline of the bike. If we try to use body English the bike loses its stability. The older bike feels like it has a gyro.
That little 390cr is packing 43hp @ the rear wheel it's in the cycle world review. It's a sleeper.
 
Bigbill said:
That little 390cr is packing 43hp @ the rear wheel it's in the cycle world review. It's a sleeper.
Click to expand...

Please provide a copy of that Cycle World review.
No stock 390 made 43 HP and I've never seen a Cycle World test on any Husky that included dyno results.
Other 390 dyno tests:
-Cycle, 1977, 34.5 HP
-Dirt Bike, 1978, 36.7 HP
 
I'm skeptical of that number too, the HP king of that class in '78-'79 was the 440 Maico that made 42hp, then the next year the YZ465 took the top spot.
 
weird that cycle worlds test of the 500 said it put out 42hp. i know peak power only means so much but a 500 puts out way more grunt than a 390. a good 390 does run well, but not like a 500. cycle world said an 80 250cr put out 30hp.
 
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