SideTrack 2002 TE250 Test

Pre-Proddy Perfection: Husqvarna TE 250
	While the TE is likely to crush all-comers, it still makes an excellent adventure bike. Is this the bike that'll slay the all-conquering Big Bore? There's plenty of suspension to play with: Christian Horwood demonstrates
When the dirt bike scene really kicked off at the end of the 60's most of the models on offer had small capacity engines. The bike widely accepted to have started it all was the DT1, a 250. Bikes like the IT175 went on to become the enduro weapon of choice in the '70s, and talented riders like Steve Chapman were winning enduros outright on, XR200s in the early '80s. Big bore two-strokes were fearsome things that attracted only the bravest of the riding pack, and the bigger thumpers were for iron-men intent on wrestling their mounts to the finish. The late '80s brought a significant change. One by one the the manufacturers began producing big-bores with good suspension, wet weights under 150kg, and gobs of smooth, usable power. Naturally enough riders went for them. XR600s sold in their thousands and competed in every conceivable branch of motorcycle sport bar trials. The LC4 600 KTM may have been a mongrel to jet and start, but along with the Husky TEs of the early '90s it proved that four-stroke big-bores could be built light to go fast. Big gobs of tractable power meant they were great machines for exploring the bush too, and by the mid-'90s the majority of dirt bikes sold in Australia were big-bore four-strokes. Enter the 400s. The XR came first in '96 and immediately became the top seller. Why? It was Red, mechanically simple, 5kgs lighter than its bigger brother and put out nearly the same peak power. Yamaha took one look, produced the WR400 and stole the crown from Honda. Colour was not a priority when you could get a bike that was 13kgs lighter than an XR6 and which actually produced more power everywhere, and had significantly better suspension. The trend in down-sizing capacities had begun in earnest, to the point where Husqvarna stopped calling its flagship four-stroke a 610 and began advertising the fact that it had actually been a 570 all along. The turn of the century bought the WR250F, weighing in at just 110kgs and pumping out just under 35hp once the restrictive stock muffler was replaced. That's about the same output as the venerable XR6, with 32kgs less to toss around. There were predictions that it would crush all-comers, but although it sold strongly all of last year, it didn't reach the top because of two factors. The first was that the Australian obsession with cubes still stands, and the second was that the WRF didn't have a button. Looked at in the harsh light of day the sales of the WRF had only matched what the XR250 had done previously, and therefore the earth had failed to move when it was released. The big question then is whether the downward trend in capacities will continue, or will it plateau around the 400/450 mark? One of the major indicators of this will be in the market's take-up of the new electric start Husqvarna TE250.
Plenty of Noise, Little Action Every manufacturer and his press secretary has been making plenty of noise about this class. Everyone has one on the way but, putting it politely, some are closer to completion than others. The fact remains that of New Year's Day 2002, only Yamaha had a high-performance 250cc four-stroke on the dealers' floors. Husqvarna came a close second though, with a unit in a crate at Husky Imports in Emu Plains. It came out of the crate and was assembled on the 4th, and we rode it on the 5th. That the bike was a pre-production unit was obvious from the start. The tank was fabricated from alloy, and in the first 500 metres of the test we discovered that it was one cog short of an enduro gearbox, with the five-speed MX box lurking between the cases instead of the six-speeder that the TE will carry when the production bikes arrive. Neither of these points worked for the bike during the test. Slamming into a metal tank brings little joy to healthy males, as both rider Christian Horwood and editor Tony Kirby discovered, and the high first gear and lack of overdrive sixth were definite liabilities during the mixed riding. Despite this, we were in for an interesting first look.
Get the Tech The smallest of the three TEs - 570, 450 and 250 is quite a stunning bit of gear technologically. Yes, it has electric start, with the starter motor tucked neatly behind the barrel and the tiny battery sitting under the seat. A kickstart kit will come with the bike, but having it fitted is optional and frankly, we can't see the point. For the diehards though, the kit will enable the electric leg to be removed completely, enabling the owner to choose one or the other or both. The valve set-up is even more radical than the SOHC/split rocker system used on the new CRF450. The trouble with the new breed of high-revving fourstrokes is taming valve-float when things really start to spin. One way is to use DOHCs but the higher the revs, the heavier the valve spring needed to stop float, which in turn introduces valve lag. Husky has lifted its new design from F1 racing. It uses DOHCs which drive the valves through a short rocker arm, giving the lift a mechanical advantage. Husqvarna claims the system reduces the force needed to drive the valves by 30%, and results in lighter valve springs giving better control. The valves themselves are titanium and the piston has the potential to rocket through its cycle 13,000 times per minute. A balance shaft keeps vibration to a minimum, and the cylinder is Nikasil plated for extended piston, ring and bore life. Mixing the petrol and air is a 36mm TMR Mikuni carb - ex superbikes - with a throttle position sensor feeding information to the 3D ignition. There is also a gear position sensor, and the ignition has 12 different setting to call on dependant on the throttle opening and selected gear. This is a slightly smaller carb - by 1 mm - than that used on the WR250F. There is a Magura hydraulic clutch, a six speed gearbox production versions - and not one but two oil pumps which rotate the oil betvyeen the top end, the gearbox and the big end. The engine runs a dry sump. The forks are fully adjustable 45mm USD Marzocchis with 305mm of travel and the shock is a Sachs with high and low speed compression damping adjusters, plus the usual rebound adjuster. The rear wheel has 320mm of travel. The frame is completely new, as are the linkage ratios for the rear.
	The claimed dry weight of 108kgs might be a bit optimistic. But not by much. Slim and smooth all the way through with ergos that will fit most riders.	This is the slickest dirt bike motor to come out of Europe. Ever.
		Black to go. Red to stop. Too easy.

Plenty of power is easily controlled by the
right hand. The TE puts out the sort of grunt
we used to expect from 400s.

    But let's cut straight to the chase. Does the TE250 go like a cut snake, yes or no? Yes. Big time. The obvious benchmark here is the WR250F and although we haven't run the bikes side by side we can confidently say that the TE has a stronger bottom end and mid-range, and may roost it for top end as well. And we're taking WR with a Staintune here, not the stocker.
    Power off the bottom is strong. 400 strong. The big carb, the valve set-up, the free-breathing yet quiet muffler ... they all run together to produce big torque from low revs and the bike can be trickled up anything the rear tyre can grab a hold of, without resorting to revs.
    The plot only gets better as the revs rise. There is no hit at all, not even a hint of hesitation, just one long smooth stream of glorious power leading into a mid-range fat enough to leave a 600 proud.
   Hold the throttle wide though and you start glancing down to make sure you're still on a Husky. The engine is incredibly smooth, with the only vibration sneaking in as the

   Top-of-the-line Excel rims are standard and the weight of the wheels is kept down by new hubs and spokes. You have to feel one of these wheels to appreciate it, which we did when the bike was discovered to have a flat when we arrived to ride it. There is no such thing as a free ride in the Australian motorcycle industry....
    The rear disc is a floating one, the brake and clutch levers are stubby, two-finger-only units, and the bar clamps allow for 10mm of adjustment front to back. The bars themselves are alloy from the factory. A compact seven-function digital speedo sits behind the headlight, weighs nothing, and has a well-protected pick-up buried in the front caliper. If you can break one of these in a crash chances are you'll be just a touch past caring.
    Normal Husky features continue with the likes of the quickrelease seat giving instant access to the new airbox. A change for the better though is the use of straps to retain the headlight instead of the bolt and catch system on previous models, which sometimes resulted in the unit flapping in the breeze after a heavy hit.
    The muffler is compact and light, the header tucked away, and from a tyre-kicking once-around-the-bike point of view all it needs is handguards and a full bashplate. So far so good, but the riding was yet to come.

Button Down

The kickstart is dead. You hit the black button on the right hand switchblock and the Husky purrs to life in a flash. It's so good you hit the red button to stop it, then hit the black one just to hear it fire again. There's no key or ignition switch, just the start and stop buttons. This is good on the trail, but would be risky if the bike was left around town - a keyed aftermarket ignition switch would be the go here.

10:1 says the rider will turn
chicken before the Husky does

rev-limiter hits at just over 13,000rpm. It's probably the smoothest 250 four-stoke engine we've ever tested, a fact that prompted one rider to claim that it felt Japanese. Engines like this prove that the Europeans are very much on the pace at the moment.
    The same holds true for the gearbox. Shifts are tefloncoated-slick and we sometimes wondered if the box had actually moved. It always did, with no false neutrals, a short throw and best of all, the cleanest shift to neutral when stopped that we've felt. Period. Far, far better than previous Huskys, better the Japanese bikes, better than anything. With a lower first and overdrive sixth the gearbox would be a wonderful thing, and we can't wait to get a re-run on a full production version, preferably in the nastiest, snottiest conditions we can find. Coopernook springs to mind.
    The clutch is heavier than the DRZ250's, but then most are and the TE must be putting out close to twice the peak power of the genial Suzuki. It's more of a 400-weight pull, but it engages strongly, will take a flogging - MX box, high first gear, remember! - and the stubby lever is a delight to use.
    Husqvarna claims the 250 runs a light flywheel but there is little sign of this on the trail. Okay, the revs come quickly but there is more torque than you could reasonably expect from a 250 four-stroke and the only time we stalled the bike was under brakes at extreme low speed. For a brand new model that was pulled from the box only eighteen hours earlier, and which was running completely stock jetting, the new 250 has a mightily impressive engine.

Dropping into broken or rutted ground holds
no fear thanks to the excellent fork and shock
action, and some clever geometry.
It's even better in sand

Over the Rough

Equally impressive but less surprising - we've already ridden a similarly equipped 2002 WR360 -was the suspension. It's the typical Husky set-up, slightly stiffer than most but with amazing suppleness in the intial travel and rapid stiffening of the damping just before bottoming.
We punted the bike over rock, exposed roots, and logs, and neither end tried to bolt sideways, regardless of speed. Big erosion bank jumps produced a strong resistance to harsh bottoming and a flat landing completely free of rapid rebound. If you like your suspension firm and your riding fast, this is an ideal combination of fork and shock.

Through the Tight

    The TE250 is a slim bike that looks and feels small. Reach to the ground is easy with both boots making solid contact at once, and if you're even a little tall they can hit . the deck flat. So there's a low seat height. Thanks to the compact engine design ground clearance is also excellent so the TE offers the best of both worlds. The bars are set reasonably high and the legs are not cramped up as they are on say an XR250. In fact the whole package fits like a glove and feels completely comfortable.
    In the tight the TE is a joy to ride. We noted that the forks were set well up through the triple clamps, which may say something, but the bike's ability to turn with this set-up was brilliant. The flat seat allows the rider to slide right over the tank, the low seat height gives plenty of scope for instant recovery action, but the truth is your boots need never leave the pegs. This thing would rail a slippery log on a wet morning. It can be flicked effortlessly through a tight single-track, but the rider does need to get forward on the bike because it will loft the front if care isn't taken with the short-throw throttle.
    It is also a joy on flowing firetrails, where the rider can stand on the pegs and step the back out in any gear with utter confidence. The last bike that felt this solid and safe at speed was the '01 TE400, but the 250 beats even it. Another stand-out performance comes when trickling through rocks, where the TE shows incredible balance and poise. Again, the boots need never leave the pegs and it is possible to stop, balance and look, then ride off again almost with the ease of a trials bike.
    Tackling sand is the most rewarding though. The TE feels completely neutral and will track through loose and rutted sand with hardly a quiver through the bars. This is one easy bike to ride.

Christian takes a
          look before
     heading down

Easy first drop

Great Brakes

Both brakes are right on the pace. At first the back felt a little weak but it just needed a little bedding in and by the end of the test it was working very well indeed. The front is stronger than those on previous Huskys, with more than ample feedback through the lever giving the rider precise control. The fully-floating rear is a beauty with an extremely progressive take up for the delicate work, and big mobs of power when you need to lock the back in a hurry.

Sweet Sound

The TE runs a muffler that will not be music to the ears of the aftermarket manufacturers. It is quiet, with a street-legal dB reading on the stationary noise test, and a highly impressive 83dB reading on Sidetrack's ride-by-on-grass test. That is a seriously quiet result.
This is no mumbling fool though. There is plenty of throaty growl giving information to the rider and the engine feels in no way restricted. This is how they should be.

Odds & Sods

Needs handguards.
   Stalled? Just pull the clutch in and hit the button. No idiot cut-outs clutter up
         the TE's electrics.
It will come with yet another of those black tanks that are sooo easy to see into ...
   The speedo may be small, but it is clear to read and records things like
         maximum and average speeds, time, trip distance, odo, and of course current
         speed. It even works in reverse, which may be handy if you slip backwards
         down hills a lot.

In the End

   This bike is so nice to ride that it hurt to leave it. It is fast, nimble, stops, turns and does everything else in a completely civilised manner. No matter how fast or slow you are at the moment, this bike would make you quicker. Cast in stone. Plus you'd be safer as well because it grips the track like a leech on a horse's penis.
    On top of this, the engine feels rock solid. It feels like it will run for ever without missing a beat. The electric start engages cleanly, the gearbox is amazing and the lack of mechanical noise and vibration from the unit as a whole is nothing short of extraordinary.
   If you're a half-by keen rider looking for a new bike for the bush, you need to ride the TE250. Will it knock off the big-bores? Maybe not in sales, but out on the trail may be another thing entirely.

On the rear
brake to slot
the TE
between
two rocks

Christian stalls the TE, rolls his thumb to the button and rides on without taking his feet from the pegs

And attempts to run over the photographer as revenge

While no killer hill, it
was steeper than it
looks here and
show-cased how
well the 250
handled at low
speed