Norman Foley
Husqvarna
Pro Class
4 months have passed since picking up the 125 and I only have 250 miles on it. I was hoping for a mild Winter and lots of riding, but we ended up with the coldest, snowiest one in 35 years. Even 300 miles south, was too cold and snowy to consistently ride. Weather is starting to break, but our main riding areas are still under 2+ feet of snow. I just did a quick trip to Rich Lafferty's school and have a small schooling area set up, until we can get to the trails. On to my impressions so far...
As has been posted before, its light, slim and tall. I did add two teeth to the rear, for a little more bottom end. Power wise.... I'd say it's between a CR and WR125 Husky. I doesn't have quite the bottom end of the WR, but more than the CR and has amazing mid to top. I have a HGS pipe, that I need to swap on and see what it does. I love riding a small bore again, as I can twist it with abandon and not go straight to the stratosphere. You are shifting it though... I remember when I went from WR125 to 144... you went from downshifting twice, to once for corners. You're downshifting twice with the TE. It is almost impossible to stall, but not a lot of torque down low. Clutch is super light and easy to modulate power and traction with it. Jetting is perfect and I just went up one size main and pilot for the colder temps. If it got really cold, an air screw adjustment too. Trail Rider Magazine spent a lot of time fiddling with it, but ended up going to standard settings for temp and alt. This is where it runs best for me.
Handling is awesome! I think it is every bit as good as my beloved '09 WR125/144/165. I think it feels lighter and slimmer too. I have ridden it at 60 mph across corn stubble fields diagonally across the ruts and it's super stable without a steering damper. It turns in the tight and twisty too. Stock OEM Dunlop AT-81 tires are okay, but front doesn't like sand too well. First time I rode it in the sand it was snowy and icy, so I had my Michelin AC10's with 4mm carbide studs on the bike. With these tires, it handled fine and hooked up well. This past week in the sand I had the stock Dunlops and front end was sketchy. Rich Lafferty put my fork tubes flush, from 2 rings showing and it was better. I need to get my "go to tire"... Kenda Washougal Sticky mounted up soon.
Suspension has worked pretty well so far. As I posted before, my first ride in December was pretty nasty... Mud, rocks, roots, logs and ledges. I was fully expecting to get thrown on the ground a few times by the 4CS forks, but I was pleasantly surprised. I've since rode a bunch of sand whoops and chop with no problems. I've hit some stuff all wrong and the bike works well. I bought the correct rate springs for my weight, but my sag numbers are running okay with the stock springs. This is fully geared up on the bike. Rich Lafferty has a good bit of experience with the 4CS and has said they will get worse, as I get more time on them. He and his son Ryder (Airgroup Husqvarna Team), run WP CC forks on their bikes, so he doesn't have a 4CS solution right now. I follow all the 4CS threads closely.
It's been a bit of a transition back to the essentials, as the TE isn't lowered 1" (it will be), doesn't have an auto clutch or E start. The Husaberg TE250 has spoiled me a good bit, but the TE125 is better for me as a rider. I think a TE200 would be the best of both worlds and be a good stablemate to the TE125, as they would have a similar feel swapping back and forth. The Husaberg TE250, feels big and heavy now in comparison.
I'm glad I bought this bike, as it is way fun to ride! I'll post more, as I get more time on it.
As has been posted before, its light, slim and tall. I did add two teeth to the rear, for a little more bottom end. Power wise.... I'd say it's between a CR and WR125 Husky. I doesn't have quite the bottom end of the WR, but more than the CR and has amazing mid to top. I have a HGS pipe, that I need to swap on and see what it does. I love riding a small bore again, as I can twist it with abandon and not go straight to the stratosphere. You are shifting it though... I remember when I went from WR125 to 144... you went from downshifting twice, to once for corners. You're downshifting twice with the TE. It is almost impossible to stall, but not a lot of torque down low. Clutch is super light and easy to modulate power and traction with it. Jetting is perfect and I just went up one size main and pilot for the colder temps. If it got really cold, an air screw adjustment too. Trail Rider Magazine spent a lot of time fiddling with it, but ended up going to standard settings for temp and alt. This is where it runs best for me.
Handling is awesome! I think it is every bit as good as my beloved '09 WR125/144/165. I think it feels lighter and slimmer too. I have ridden it at 60 mph across corn stubble fields diagonally across the ruts and it's super stable without a steering damper. It turns in the tight and twisty too. Stock OEM Dunlop AT-81 tires are okay, but front doesn't like sand too well. First time I rode it in the sand it was snowy and icy, so I had my Michelin AC10's with 4mm carbide studs on the bike. With these tires, it handled fine and hooked up well. This past week in the sand I had the stock Dunlops and front end was sketchy. Rich Lafferty put my fork tubes flush, from 2 rings showing and it was better. I need to get my "go to tire"... Kenda Washougal Sticky mounted up soon.
Suspension has worked pretty well so far. As I posted before, my first ride in December was pretty nasty... Mud, rocks, roots, logs and ledges. I was fully expecting to get thrown on the ground a few times by the 4CS forks, but I was pleasantly surprised. I've since rode a bunch of sand whoops and chop with no problems. I've hit some stuff all wrong and the bike works well. I bought the correct rate springs for my weight, but my sag numbers are running okay with the stock springs. This is fully geared up on the bike. Rich Lafferty has a good bit of experience with the 4CS and has said they will get worse, as I get more time on them. He and his son Ryder (Airgroup Husqvarna Team), run WP CC forks on their bikes, so he doesn't have a 4CS solution right now. I follow all the 4CS threads closely.
It's been a bit of a transition back to the essentials, as the TE isn't lowered 1" (it will be), doesn't have an auto clutch or E start. The Husaberg TE250 has spoiled me a good bit, but the TE125 is better for me as a rider. I think a TE200 would be the best of both worlds and be a good stablemate to the TE125, as they would have a similar feel swapping back and forth. The Husaberg TE250, feels big and heavy now in comparison.
I'm glad I bought this bike, as it is way fun to ride! I'll post more, as I get more time on it.
