Speaking of "real man's" bikes and all that - yesterday finally got to my local husky dealer to check these bikes out in person. They didn't have any TE's set up, but they did have two SMRs - 510 and a 450. After explaining to the sales guy that I've been trying to decide between TE 250/310/450, he suggested taking out the SMR510 for a demo. The 450 wasn't set up for it - he said it was same frame set up, and a bit more power.
Man am I glad I did that. Having never ridden a husky of any type before, nor anything as brutal as a race tuned 510 single, this was eye opening. My overall impression of these bikes now is: High Strung.
My last "dirt" bike was an 07 KLR650 - bought and used primarily for commuting, with the odd DS ride (Sheetiron 300, Death Valley 350 - good, solid rides, those). The KLR does it, but it ain't pretty sometimes. With the end of the job in the city came end of commuting, got rid of KLR, had a taste for the dirt, and figured - let's get dirtier - less weight, easier handling, who cares about power, as long as it'll do 50 on a fireroad I'm happy.
Enter Husky. What I didn't realize was just how high strung these beasts are. And the seat. That was a seat? I have literally eaten lunch on a hike sitting on a rock for an hour and been more comfortable than I was sitting on this seat for more than two minutes. Hanging off well before the corners was the only cheek relief to be had. Yikes.
Certainly no shortage of power here - the dealer asked what kind of riding I'm used to, after he mentioned he was into doing track days, so I told him I'm a roadracer (AFM). So he leads another guy and me up Valenica toward Twin Peaks, blasting his Duc Monster off from each stop light. And I'm spending a good deal of time trying to see straight ahead because the lofted front wheel is blocking my view. Certainly will save money on the tire bill - front tire will end up with only about half the miles of the back at that rate, I reckon. Unreal - and I don't even really like wheelies...
Then there is the fuel injection - 2008. Standing on the pegs in a parking lot at the Twin Peaks overlook I was playing around like I might be doing some slow stuff in the dirt. And there it was - that twitchy, gotta slip the clutch cuz it won't go slow, EFI, high strung Pekingnese motor yapping away. And I'm thinking to myself, "are we having fun yet??" And we're not even on dirt.
Hats off to anyone who can ride one of these beasts quickly and competently through the gnarly stuff, or wfo through the open stuff. Waaaay over my head.
And I'm thinking that smaller isn't really going to make that much difference - these are thoroughbreds, and I'm looking for saddle pony.
KLX250, WR250X, DRZ400 - maybe that's going to be the ride. I don't know....
Talk about throttle control. That bike rocks in the bush a whole new ball game. But talk about getting beat up in the tight S/T stuff. That's a lot of bike to throw around in the bush...still doable...:ride:
I ended up going with a Keihin PWK28 and have had no problems since. It runs great at sea level and with a few jet changes runs great at over 10k. It's much easier to jet than a 250 4t, that's for sure. The Pamp (EP280) is a parts bin bike for sure, and I've modified, upgraded, beefed-up, broken and replaced damn near everything (except the motor and tranny...bulletproof!) on it since I've had it, but it sure is tons o' fun in the nasty stuff like 5 Miles of Hell 
I'd put my son (on a CR 125) up against any old man (or woman) on a 610... on any "tight trail". In fact, I think ajaxauto (an old man himself) could probably slice and dice most, if not all, 610 riders in the woods. I've ridden a 610. It's a great "chest thumper" machine. Great for boosting the egos of old farts (myself included) who can't hang with the young crowd any more.