RUMOR CONTROL CLOWN BIKE OPTION?? 300 extra????

[ray_ray]

I'm an idiot. Look at the crap I own. I 10 year old Cagiva with a husky logo on it, a German Taiwanese bastard stepchild with a husky name on it, and a 2 year offering of orphan unknown origin with some crate motor engine designed by rotax and built god knows where. .

And as if that was not enough, I drive a Saab V6 turbo. Whats wrong with me?

Not sure whats wrong but how you keep your bikes so shiny riding in the PNW?

I know I'm slacking here with my bikes but, I'm not sure I can ever ever achieve that level of mirror finishes on my bikes again.

 

[Colo moto]

Very little development as a race bike compared to the likes of a KTM of other bikes IMHO. Your talking one racer and a few bikes not a team effort. Stock bike never changed from the original 2011. Lowered the shock, slapped on new graphics.

Why do you think that is? BMW designed the original 450x as a light dual sport/weekend warrior dirt bike. Not as a hard race bike. When the 450x died the 449/511 was born. BMW, for all their short comings weren't complete idiots. The engineers knew the 449/511 wasn't designed as a top level competition bike and the marketing dept knew they had to get some sort of publicity with their flagship platform. Like norm said, husky let their top guns at the time give it a shot and neither one set the world on fire on a 449. Sure there are plenty of regular joes who have had success racing the 449/511. But if it was a superior platform every privateer in the world would be on one. It never got developed as a race bike because it was not originally designed to be a race bike.

 

[Norman Foley]

High School friend's older brother ran rallies in the late 60's-early 70's with a 96 2T built to full Erik Carlsson specs. I got to ride in it often and drove it once. It was a hoot! Compared to a modern Subaru WRX... slow. Kind of like a well tuned Yamaha RD350 compared to a Yamaha R6. I'd still take the Saab 96 or the RD350! My sincerest apologies for this hijack, but you brought up Saabs!

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NHOD4Kd9jI

 

[Motosportz]

Why do you think that is? BMW designed the original 450x as a light dual sport/weekend warrior dirt bike. Not as a hard race bike. When the 450x died the 449/511 was born. BMW, for all their short comings weren't complete idiots. The engineers knew the 449/511 wasn't designed as a top level competition bike and the marketing dept knew they had to get some sort of publicity with their flagship platform. Like norm said, husky let their top guns at the time give it a shot and neither one set the world on fire on a 449. Sure there are plenty of regular joes who have had success racing the 449/511. But if it was a superior platform every privateer in the world would be on one. It never got developed as a race bike because it was not originally designed to be a race bike.

I never said anything about a race bike, Norm brought that up. I simply think it is a great platform and should have been developed. I referred to a DRZ as the same thing, a great bike that sells huge but is not a race bike. Development is still important.

But if it was a superior platform every privateer in the world would be on one.

Not true. Nor did I say they were a superior platform. Fact is most bikes built these days are all flavors of the same thing. You dont see everyone on one bike because they all have something to offer. I mean one has to be the best right? I've owned probably north of a 150 bikes and ride a ton of bikes, I'm not nieve as to what a motorcycle can do and what different platforms offer. Even in shootouts there is no clear cut winners and thats before people modify them. The TE511 ranked a tie with the Beta 525 in a Australian shootout. The 449 were best in its Class in 2011 and 2012 at the Erzberg, no autoclutch or special suspension. Local racer in a top A class won two years on a row on a Bills TXC511 here going away. And.. ""511" to win the 6 Hour, 12 Hour and the "Bad Boy" 24 Hour events with the Husky leading most of the races from start to finish. The bike was 100% Stock except for the FMF pipe, GPR Stabilizer, Maxxis Tires, Trail Tech lighting system, Super Sprox, PG Graphics, Goolsby Motorsports and Alliance Live Life Off Road." and... "Husqvarna’s Cory Graffunder rode his 2012 TC449 to a 1-1-1 victory at the Prairie Dogs Grand Prix Endurocross event Saturday night at Glen Helen Raceway." And... "After taking a summer hiatus, District 37 racing is back in action, and so is Zip-Ty Racing’s Nick Burson. At the Invaders MC Desert Scramble in Johnson Valley, California, Burson battled the heat and dust to pilot his Husqvarna TXC511 to the overall win!" I'm not saying any of these are a huge deal but I would think if the bike was such a crappy platform it would be hard for these things to happen. Suzuki used to have $40,000 DRZ race bikes and 4 top guys riding them. Bikes all start within about 5% of each other and you can modify them to be about whatever you like. I know I would not trade my 511 for any CRFx and those are top racers. They are bikes, nothing more. I just happened to like the 511 and hated to see it go. I'll just keep riding mine and be happy as a clam.

 

[rancher1]

High School friend's older brother ran rallies in the late 60's-early 70's with a 96 2T built to full Erik Carlsson specs. I got to ride in it often and drove it once. It was a hoot! Compared to a modern Subaru WRX... slow. Kind of like a well tuned Yamaha RD350 compared to a Yamaha R6. I'd still take the Saab 96 or the RD350! My sincerest apologies for this hijack, but you brought up Saabs!

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NHOD4Kd9jI

Norm, you can not hijack a thread with the words rumor and clown in the title.

 

[Huskynoobee]

Da da dadda dadda du da da da...The real clown is the guy who buys a whole company and just keeps the stickers!

 

[oregonsage]

And as if that was not enough, I drive a Saab V6 turbo. Whats wrong with me?

Real SAABs have no more than 4 cylinders.
The V-6 is a GM Marketing gimmick !!

Says the former 9000 Turbo owner :-)

But you are right about the 511!!

 

[Colo moto]

I never said anything about a race bike, Norm brought that up. I simply think it is a great platform and should have been developed. I referred to a DRZ as the same thing, a great bike that sells huge but is not a race bike. Development is still important.

Ok, I misunderstood. I thought you were bummed that the 449/511 didn't get really developed as a race bike. There's probably several reasons why it didn't get much further development after its introduction. One reason probably is that it is a pretty damn good bike from the get go for what it was designed to do.

 

[Motosportz]

Real SAABs have no more than 4 cylinders.
The V-6 is a GM Marketing gimmick !!

Says the former 9000 Turbo owner :-)

But you are right about the 511!!

I'm ashamed to admit I have had more than one Saab. :>) I had a 900 Turbo back in the day. Was a great car.

 

[Huskynoobee]

I'm ashamed to admit I have had more than one Saab. :>) I had a 900 Turbo back in the day. Was a great car.

Do they still put the ignition in the center console? Must be robust to be coffee and beer proof.

 

[oregonsage]

I'm ashamed to admit I have had more than one Saab. :>) I had a 900 Turbo back in the day. Was a great car.

Me,too

First a late 1970s 99 in a creamy almost orange color, then a dark gray 1999 9000 turbo a few years later...both manual trans.

Sad to see them bite the dust.

 

[Motosportz]

Sad to see them bite the dust.

Huh?

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/05/2014-saab-9-3-officially-relaunched/

WOW how far off topic are we****************************************!

 

[oregonsage]

I hear that Husqvarna now has blue/yellow/white bikes, too....but I cant find one of those at my local dealer either.
That SAAB is vaporware until I see them on sale somewhere near here :-)
Same goes for the shiny new TEs and FEs

 

[troy deck]

Huh?

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/05/2014-saab-9-3-officially-relaunched/

WOW how far off topic are we !

well at least there Swedish lol and two stroke hell were on topic weight what was the topic oh and vintage

 

[ray_ray]

A DRZ is not a MX bike ether and sells in huge volumes. I dont think BWM intended it to be a race machine as it came street legal.Its only been the last few years they spent piles to make a competitive MX bike and got them on the podium so it seem "no MX bike is a showstopper" is not completely true. Husky has never really had one or even bothered to homologate what one they did have. Where is TM, Beta, GG, Sherco, etc MX bikes?

I was referring to the 450 MX model bike only that should be the marque machine of any dirt bike making company ...What bmw designed MX model bike got on what podium and ridden by whom? I missed that part of the bmw saga with Husky.

Nice list of other companies that are not top sellers around the world and maybe only a coincidence, but I never seen them raced on the top MX racing level either. Sorry Charlie, but without live performances... you might be just another colorful AD in the MAGS or

 

[K5PL5]

I'm ashamed to admit I have had more than one Saab. :>) I had a 900 Turbo back in the day. Was a great car.

Nothing like an engine mounted backwards! So fun..

 

[K5PL5]

Speaking of off topic, Saab makes a nice jet and some great target lifters.

 

[Huskynoobee]

I was referring to the 450 MX model bike only that should be the marque machine of any dirt bike making company ...What bmw designed MX model bike got on what podium and ridden by whom? I missed that part of the bmw saga with Husky.

Nice list of other companies that are not top sellers around the world and maybe only a coincidence, but I never seen them raced on the top MX racing level either. Sorry Charlie, but without live performances... you might be just another colorful AD in the MAGS or
View attachment 35838

Just look at all the activity in the new "Austrian" section of CH, oops, nothing there...oh I got a shiny Husky booklet with the guy who bought the stickers showing the entire production run of the "New Huskies". Guess it's hard to say when it seems there are hardly any actual bikes other than the photo/show bikes and a handful of "race bikes" What was the earlier comment on Vaporware????

 

[Motosportz]

I was referring to the 450 MX model bike only that should be the marque machine of any dirt bike making company ...What bmw designed MX model bike got on what podium and ridden by whom? I missed that part of the bmw saga with Husky.

Nice list of other companies that are not top sellers around the world and maybe only a coincidence, but I never seen them raced on the top MX racing level either. Sorry Charlie, but without live performances... you might be just another colorful AD in the MAGS or
View attachment 35838

Husky has been around for 114 years and never built a real USA MX bike. Have mountains of off road championships though. Also sold GOBS of bikes through the 60's and 70's and into the 80's. Travis Person did accidentally end up on a MX podium once. KTM was HUGE before they moved into USA MX. You did not even see KTM MX bikes in shootout til a few years ago, long after they were already crazy successful. Sorry Charlie

 

[ray_ray]

I never said anything about a race bike, Norm brought that up.

Norm was talking about when bmw allowed a world class rider to give the live performance of the off-road model of the 449(?) bike. What he did not mention was that after Juha got hurt, the replacement rider rode the bike to its only victory that yr and it was in a mud race. (Please correct me if I wrong but that's what I remember for that bike).

That top podium finish in that mud race cemented to me at least, that the CTS must provide better traction. Even though the same CTS was not gonna be accepted as the next coming for dirtbikes around the world to date and I'm guessing was the reason no top level PRO raced the MX version of the bike in the AMA or FIM MX races.
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