Husqvarna TE450

The last time DBT was supposed to bring you a feature on the Husky TE450 I crashed in my driveway and broke my wrist. Well, not quite. Not quite in the driveway I mean. I was a bit further down the street than that, but I never got to ride the thing so I didn't write anything about it and, well, blah, blah blah on all that.

Since then I've had another crack at the TE450 - poor choice of words I know - when Dr Dan, Jacko and me loaded up the trailer and headed out for a ride with Bruce Hancock from Watagan Trail Bike Tours and fine bunch of paying customers. We rode for two days in the forests around Buladelah NSW, (see Dan's story in this issue) and along for the ride was a Husky TE450 very similar to the one on which I cracked my snappoid.

The 06 TE450 is a solid performer and along with other models in the TE range is building a reputation for reliability.

There were several Huskies on the Buladelah ride, in fact Bruce Hancock owns a TE510 for which he has nothing but praise so it was a good beginning Husky-wise.

Fix these willya: Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. It would be a Christmas present to every future Husky owner if the engineers fixed two things: the TE's stupid sidestand and the jammy fuel cap. The sidestand is spring loaded and a weird shape and length. Unless your left leg is 50cm longer than your right it's almost impossible to extend the stand while seated on the bike: 2 out of 10 for that one.

 The fuel cap has an inner seal that sticks to the plastic thread of the filler neck and consequently requires the strength and determination of Amelie Mauresmo to unscrew it. We've never seen this happen on any other bike so there's no excuse for it happening on this one. We don't like the Michelin Enduro Competition (FIM) front tyre either, by the way. With small knobs set wide apart it has a tendency to let go half way through a turn. Those poofy little Euro knobs are nowhere near aggressive enough for the kind of slippery hardpack most of us ride on.

The engine: The Husky engine produces plenty of power through the midrange and top end but not as much off the bottom as the 05 engine, even with 13-50 gearing. Throttle response is okay at low rpm but the engine needs help from the clutch when you're exiting turns or climbing snotty stuff rendered unattractive by rocks the size of a bar fridge. Trail riders need bottom to midrange power, not midrange to top-end power. The best fix is an aftermarket pipe, from which there are several to choose (see sidebar).

Whatever Husky did to the 06 donk it lost bottom-end and we'd like it back. Even so, this is a very good trail engine.

The power delivery is strong and totally predictable and the torque never ending. It's a lovely engine to have under you when you're trying to barge your way up a hill your tour guide deems a reasonable test of your competence and/or manhood. If you're continually facing tests of manhood, this is the donk for you. But get an aftermarket muffler to boost the bottom-end.

Suspension: The suspension comprises a new, 50mm Marzocchi fork and a Sachs shock with revised settings but it's not what we'd call perfect. The rear end has a spike that occasionally bangs you in the arse. The best fix for that is careful adjustment of the shock's high speed compression damping and rebound speed. We rode this bike for more than 500 kilometres during our evaluation and at the end of all that the rear end was still doing things that surprised us. Maybe we wouldn't have noticed it as much if the Husky hadn't been joined on the last day of our evaluation by the incomparable TM250 EN two-stroke, a bike with suspension that makes the TE450 feel even bigger and more cumbersome.

 To be honest, we can't say we liked this suspension all that much. It felt okay on fast swoopy trails clear of ruts, rocks, and all the other stuff you find in the jungle, but when it got nasty the TE's suspension felt less and less confident. The Marzocchi fork is quite plush and handles bumps of all sizes without too much drama, but as a package the TE450's suspension could be more compliant and predictable.

Size and other considerations: The TE is a big bike. We noticed just how big when we hoofed it onto a trailer. It's taller and longer than Dr Dan's Gas Gas 450, by a long shot, and you certainly feel that when you're sliding along narrow-gutted trails like the slippery jungle track near my joint we all call Jurassic Park.

The Husky isn't difficult to turn when you have your weight in the right place but compared with the latest opposition it's not what you'd call agile. It takes more of a deliberate effort to tip it into turns, and because it's bigger and taller it needs more space to manoeuvre when obstacles are close together. In tight stuff the Gas Gas 450 eats it alive. The TE feels happiest when it has room to move, when you can rail the arc of a wide turn and tap into the powerful midrange to keep it driving. It's nicer on fast, open terrain than it is in tight stuff like J-Park. It also steers very accurately in these conditions, and the brakes are progressive if not especially powerful.

Should you buy one?: As we said at the beginning, Huskies sell in comparatively small numbers but their 06 four-strokes are gaining a reputation for reliability and pretty good performance. We thought the 450 was a snap to ride in conditions that suited it. The thing started easily, it had nice power, although not sufficient bottom-end, it cornered well and it stopped okay. It was also comfortable during long hours in the saddle and as far as we're concerned that's a big plus. RRP: $12,300 plus ORC and dealer charges.

WHAT WE LIKED

WHAT'S THIS THEN?

DOES THE BARRETT MUFFLER WORK?
Exhaust equipment specialist Jason Barrett makes a popular muffler for the 06 Husky 450. Within 30 seconds of talking to him about this bike, he'd packed one of his mufflers and had it trucking to us at Mad Monkey HQ. Now that's a man who knows how to promote his product.

Looks: The Barret muffler looks sensational, that's almost the only word for it. The body is made from anodised aluminium, the blue end cap is anodised billet and the brackets are stainless steel, with rubber protector rings to prevent chafing. It's a gorgeous bit of gear that any meticulous bike owner would be proud to have it on board. One more thing though. The unit has a perforated metal disc at the end of the muffler and behind the end cap. Removing this disc will give you a minute power gain but make the bike louder. Our advice: leave the disc in there.

Repacking: Jason says the muffler should go at least two years before it needs repacking. When the time comes, all you do is remove the end cap Allen bolts, then drill out the rivets that hold the body of the unit together.

Weight: We expected the Barrett to be lighter than the stocker but guess, what, it wasn't. The Barret came in at 2.55kg and the stocker at 2.25kg.

Fitting: Fitting is easy, although first time out, dumb bastard Bazz had the spacers in the wrong position. For those who have never fitted an aftermarket muffler, a fitting diagram would be handy.

Does it work?: We evaluated the Barrett muffler with standard jetting and it definitely ran rich. We didn't have time to change the jetting, because two of us were evaluating two bikes that day, and we had to deal with photography as well, but if we'd had more time we would have leaned off the carb a tad until we got an exhaust colour and a throttle response that suggested correct jetting had been achieved.

The Barrett works though, no doubt about it. Where the stock TE needed plenty of finger work on the clutch to keep things boiling, with the Barrett it had more snap off the bottom, more drive out of turns, and certainly made the Husky a nicer bike to ride. If you own a TE450 and feel the thing needs more urgency off the bottom, we'd recommend the Barrett muffler, along with correct jetting to make the most if its potential.

By Barry Ashenhurst