jsleeper
Husqvarna
AA Class
I took the TC out this weekend for about a 1/2 day of riding Saturday and today with my father-in-law, at Hollister Hills.
What I have done to the bike: I put on Cyra handguards, JD Jet kit, uptite skidplate, and checked almost all of the bike over.
The Good: The bike handles unbelievably. On the first trail it was immediately apparent the bike handles just as good as the WR125. However, the KYB forks, in my opinion, are much better than the Marz on the WR. They do not deflect and rebound as much. The KYBs have a really soft initial stroke. I was accustomed to the deflection on the WR and at times felt the bike was wallowing. I could not feel every rock and bump in the road like on the WR. This is good for faster riding, for me. I think the feeling of the WR is better for tighter riding, single-track and other slow stuff where it helps to feel the changes in the trail.
The motor the TC felt really soft on the bottom when I first got on it. It also felt like the motor was really tight. I jumped on my father-in-law's bike, CRF250x, right before taking off on the TC. The CRF feels like it has way more toque...jumpy/twitchy type of torque compared to the TC. But this is expected because the CRFx is designed that way. Once I was able to rev and push the TC hard, it felt very good. The power comes on strong and smooth. It just builds and builds never doing anything exciting. It seems to me the stock exhuast with the spark arrestor installed is somewhat restrictive, but not enough to worry about changing it, yet.
The TC is geared a bit high for really slow going. I stalled it several times starting from a stop, and had to clutch it when following my father-in-law. I think 1 tooth bigger on the sprocket would be good for most trail riders.
I took the TC on the track. This is where it really shines. The handling is even better on ruts and burms. When traction is good the bike is great. When traction is limited (dry, loose dirt) the bike is predictable and the power helps to keep the bike moving forward and not spinning out. It was really easy to turn on burmed and flat corners, dry pack or soft sand. The bike just does not seem to be bother by anything in a corner. A few times I pushed too hard into a corner and the front end pushed a bit. Where I probably would have fallen on other bikes the TC just needed a little more turn in on the bars and it would start to bite. Conversely, I played around and tried getting the back end to swing out on flat sweeping corners. It would swing out, but not wildly.
In my opinion, the handling of the bike is so good it makes the motor and suspension seem weak in comparison, even though both are good if not better than other bikes.
The bike started 1-2 kicks everytime. I had to use the hotstart twice after laying the bike down on it's side (no kickstand
) to help my father-in-law clear some obstacles. 
I do not have the carb upgrade yet and do not plan on installing it, unless someone tells me there is a reliability reason to do so. Not sure why people are having problems starting?
The bad: Both front motor mounts came loose on the first trail loop. One bolt I could turn with my hand, the other had about 8 or so pounds of torque. The bike vibrated so bad...I thought it was going to explode. The shock seal is leaking. I probably need to replace it, never have done this...hopefully not too hard. The kickstarter seal is weeping oil. I will probably have to replace it, again...hopefully not too hard. These two things are annoying, but not the end of the world. I think someone else on here had their shock leak on the first outing, WR300? That is it for the bad!
The verdict: Best bike I have ever ridden..stock out of the box. Probably one of the best aggressive/cross country/harescrambles bike somebody could buy. Probably a very competitive MX bike stock out of the box. Great with: suspension tuned and motor tweaked.
Compared to the WR: I am much faster on the TC in open or track riding...not even close. I am much faster on the WR in single track, and would ride the WR in tight technical riding. I may be able to ride the TC just as fast in flowing single track, but am not used to the engine braking. The TC turns a bit slower than the WR in the tight technical stuff, which makes quick changes of direction harder.
I would want for power in more open riding...just like on any 250 4 stroke.
JS
What I have done to the bike: I put on Cyra handguards, JD Jet kit, uptite skidplate, and checked almost all of the bike over.
The Good: The bike handles unbelievably. On the first trail it was immediately apparent the bike handles just as good as the WR125. However, the KYB forks, in my opinion, are much better than the Marz on the WR. They do not deflect and rebound as much. The KYBs have a really soft initial stroke. I was accustomed to the deflection on the WR and at times felt the bike was wallowing. I could not feel every rock and bump in the road like on the WR. This is good for faster riding, for me. I think the feeling of the WR is better for tighter riding, single-track and other slow stuff where it helps to feel the changes in the trail.
The motor the TC felt really soft on the bottom when I first got on it. It also felt like the motor was really tight. I jumped on my father-in-law's bike, CRF250x, right before taking off on the TC. The CRF feels like it has way more toque...jumpy/twitchy type of torque compared to the TC. But this is expected because the CRFx is designed that way. Once I was able to rev and push the TC hard, it felt very good. The power comes on strong and smooth. It just builds and builds never doing anything exciting. It seems to me the stock exhuast with the spark arrestor installed is somewhat restrictive, but not enough to worry about changing it, yet.
The TC is geared a bit high for really slow going. I stalled it several times starting from a stop, and had to clutch it when following my father-in-law. I think 1 tooth bigger on the sprocket would be good for most trail riders.
I took the TC on the track. This is where it really shines. The handling is even better on ruts and burms. When traction is good the bike is great. When traction is limited (dry, loose dirt) the bike is predictable and the power helps to keep the bike moving forward and not spinning out. It was really easy to turn on burmed and flat corners, dry pack or soft sand. The bike just does not seem to be bother by anything in a corner. A few times I pushed too hard into a corner and the front end pushed a bit. Where I probably would have fallen on other bikes the TC just needed a little more turn in on the bars and it would start to bite. Conversely, I played around and tried getting the back end to swing out on flat sweeping corners. It would swing out, but not wildly.
In my opinion, the handling of the bike is so good it makes the motor and suspension seem weak in comparison, even though both are good if not better than other bikes.
The bike started 1-2 kicks everytime. I had to use the hotstart twice after laying the bike down on it's side (no kickstand
) to help my father-in-law clear some obstacles. I do not have the carb upgrade yet and do not plan on installing it, unless someone tells me there is a reliability reason to do so. Not sure why people are having problems starting?The bad: Both front motor mounts came loose on the first trail loop. One bolt I could turn with my hand, the other had about 8 or so pounds of torque. The bike vibrated so bad...I thought it was going to explode. The shock seal is leaking. I probably need to replace it, never have done this...hopefully not too hard. The kickstarter seal is weeping oil. I will probably have to replace it, again...hopefully not too hard. These two things are annoying, but not the end of the world. I think someone else on here had their shock leak on the first outing, WR300? That is it for the bad!
The verdict: Best bike I have ever ridden..stock out of the box. Probably one of the best aggressive/cross country/harescrambles bike somebody could buy. Probably a very competitive MX bike stock out of the box. Great with: suspension tuned and motor tweaked.
Compared to the WR: I am much faster on the TC in open or track riding...not even close. I am much faster on the WR in single track, and would ride the WR in tight technical riding. I may be able to ride the TC just as fast in flowing single track, but am not used to the engine braking. The TC turns a bit slower than the WR in the tight technical stuff, which makes quick changes of direction harder.
I would want for power in more open riding...just like on any 250 4 stroke.
JS
