Bikesales Staff•27 Feb 2013

REVIEW

Launch: 2013 Husqvarna TR650

Name: Launch: 2013 Husqvarna TR650
Brand: Husqvarna

Husqvarna's first dual-sport bike arrives just in time for Australia's adventure bike boom -- but with the gravitas to pique the interest of many other riders

Husqvarna has burst onto Australia’s burgeoning dual-sport scene at just the right time and rightly expects to sell truckloads of its all-new TR650 singles to adventure bikers, returning motorcyclists, commuters and entry-level riders.

True to form, both TR650 variants mix German engine technology from former owner BMW with the European design flair of a company based in Italy and Scandinavian heritage from the company’s Swedish roots.

Chief among the TR’s strong selling points are keen entry prices that undercut their most direct European rivals’ and all but match those of the most popular big-bore dual-sports from Japan, and a foolproof user-friendliness that gives them broad appeal.

To demonstrate the latter, Husqvarna arranged a two-day launch odyssey covering 450km of sealed and unsealed back roads in the mountain ranges of south-east Queensland and northern NSW in the middle of a tropical downpour, rising floodwaters and cyclonic winds.

As a former motorcycle journo on his first bike launch in 15 years, I approached all this with some trepidation, even if I’d been riding both on-road and off for more than 30 years.

But early fears were allayed by an 860mm seat that looks much higher than it actually is (but is as hard as it looks), a well presented digital dash that displays everything you need except a fuel gauge, and tactile controls including a light cable-operated clutch lever.

Combine this with push-button starting, a surprisingly low centre of gravity, an agile chassis, plenty of grip from tarmac-biased Pirelli Scorpion rubber and the easy-going nature of a big single from BMW’s G 650 GS, and my first taste of the road-oriented TR650 Strada was a huge relief – even in the torrential conditions.

The TR’s 652cc single is a gem, revving cleanly from idle and offering useable torque anywhere between 2500 and 7000rpm, before tapering off – but never feeling stressed – in the last 1000rpm of its broad 8000rpm operating range.

There’s none of the coughing and chugging of big singles of old – even with a sudden crack of the throttle from idle – and noise and vibration levels are completely acceptable, with only minimal resonance evident through the wide bars at most speeds.

Modulating the throttle is easier than with many other big fuel-injected singles too, even if the transition from open to closed throttle was never as smooth as I’d have liked, and there’s enough torque on tap to make the five gearbox ratios sufficient, with 100km/h coming up at 4000rpm – right in the middle of the TR’s meaty torque curve – making punchy overtaking moves a breeze.

Lighter riders complained of instability in strong crosswinds at that speed and the 19/17-inch wheeled Strada certainly felt better planted under my hefty 178cm frame, although both variants proved stable enough to come within a few kays of their claimed top speeds in complete confidence.

The standard windshield provided just enough airflow deflection at highway speeds too, but for longer open-road rides the higher optional windshield would be the go, and the long, wide seat with pillion handles integrated into the luggage rack should provide enough space for two adults.

Indeed, for my pampered backside, the only doubts I’d have about hitting the road on a TR650 for days on end are the firm seat and the fuel range from the standard 14-litre tank, which Husky says is good for 400km at 90km/h or 300km at 120km/h.

We managed somewhere in between those numbers on the enthusiastic launch ride, and a thick seat cover and long-range Safari tank would solve both issues. Indeed, there’s so little to dislike with the TR it’s no wonder Husqvarna has taken an unprecedented number of pre-orders.

Leaving the blacktop, the Strada’s narrow-grooved Pirellis continued to deliver a surprising level of grip, but the Terra’s Metzeler Enduro rubber and softer suspension clicker settings made it feel more at home, offering a level of compliance over mid-corner bumps and corrugations that would make most similarly priced Japanese dual-sports tie themselves in knots.

The Strada’s front-end felt more brittle and deflected slightly more over bigger surface lumps, but despite its 186kg mass still instilled enough confidence to hit cattle grids, washouts and rutted off-cambers with as much speed as any big-bore dirt bike.

In fact, I couldn’t think of a bike I’d rather have been on for my three-hour ride home in pouring rain – mostly after dark - over broken bitumen littered with pot-holes, rocks, tree debris and swollen causeways.

Whether it’s heading to the Simpson or commuting seedy city streets – or anything in between - both the TR650 Strada and Terra inspire a level of confidence that’s truly outstanding and are better suited to the majority of secondary Aussie roads than almost any other bike.

Husky’s new TR650 might not transform you into an adventure biker (although we dare you to ride one and resist it), but it’s most certainly the right bike at the right time for the right price.

Visit the TR650 Strada and Terra in Bike Showroom

SPECS: 2013 HUSQVARNA TR650 STRADA/TERRA

ENGINE

Type: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve single

Capacity: 652cc

Bore x stroke: 100mm x 83mm

Compression ratio: 12.3:1

Fuel system: Marelli electronic fuel-injection

PERFORMANCE

Claimed maximum power: 43kW (35kW restricted) at 7250rpm

Claimed maximum torque: 60Nm (54Nm restricted) at 5750rpm

TRANSMISSION

Type: Five-speed, close ratio

Final drive: 'O' ring chain

Clutch: Wet multiplate

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR

Frame type: Steel bridge type with bolt-on steel rear subframe

Front suspension: Sachs 46mm USD forks with 190mm travel

Rear suspension: Sachs monoshock with adjustable preload and rebound damping, 190mm travel

Front brakes: Single 300mm disc with floating twin-piston Brembo caliper (switchable ABS on Terra only)

Rear brakes: Single 240mm disc with floating Brembo single-piston caliper (switchable ABS on Terra only)

Wheel construction: Cast aluminium, 2.5 x 19 front, 3.5 x 17 rear (Strada); Spoked 1.85 x 21 front, 3.0 x 18 (Terra)

Tyres: Pirelli Scorpion - 110/80-19 front, 140/80-17 rear (Strada); Metzeler Enduro II – 90/90-21 front, 140/80-18 rear (Terra)

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES

Rake: 26 degrees (Strada); 26.5 degrees (Terra)

Trail: 101mm (Strada); 115mm (Terra)

Claimed wet weight: 186kg (Strada); 184mm (Terra)

Seat height: 860mm (Strada); 865mm (Terra)

Wheelbase: 1501mm

Fuel capacity: 14 litres

OTHER STUFF

Price: $9695 (Strada); $8995 (Terra)

Colour: Black/White (Strada); Red/White (Terra)

Bike supplied by: Paul Feeney Group, www.husqvarnamotorcycles.com.au

Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres

Launch: 2013 Husqvarna TR650

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