Any news about 2013 ?

[spud1968]

,,,,,and don't forget the 449 captnemo - nice photos. To say how good the 449 is racing all i can say is i'm winning races that ive not been able to win whilst riding my 2009 KTM300.

 

[Captnemo]

,,,,,and don't forget the 449 captnemo - nice photos. To say how good the 449 is racing all i can say is i'm winning races that ive not been able to win whilst riding my 2009 KTM300.

Absolutely, I agree. Both the 449 & 511 are underrated. There are guys winning everywhere on those bikes. Just because the pros aren't riding them - that's a small group (And a factory decision, most likely) .
But, Didn't Nick Burson win on a 511 & 449 in a desert series for Zip-ty racing. Funny how people say things......
- everybody has an opinion.

 

[henson802]

The way I see it, BMW are turning Husky in to an old man brand. This new badge-engineered 650 is an embarrassment. The 449 and 511 are giant, weird, complex and heavy and are un-raceable against other brands. They have more weight, less power, and weird handling compared to the models they replaced. That is why Husky has to race the 310.

Any good motorcycle engineer knows that putting the countershaft sprocket on the swing arm pivot is stupid. It makes for a huge amount of anti-squat from the chain tension. So much anti-squat that it is hard to get the front end of the bike to stay up without making the fork so stiff that it doesn't move on bumps. There is a reason every other bike has the countershaft sprocket above the swing-arm pivot, it reduces the anti-squat effect. In fact, the amount of anti-squat can be tuned with different height chain buffers. So not only does it make for bad handling to have the countershaft sprocket on the swing-arm pivot, but it makes the bike wide and complex. Some of you might say "The linkage on the Husky makes up for this!" Do you want a linkage designed to fight anti-squat or to make the suspension work on bumps?

KTM does not make a single old man bike. Everything they make is cutting edge and either "Ready to Race" or at the very least a hooligan machine. There is a reason young guys don't ride BMWs. They are not cool (S1000rr excepted). Even if people suck at riding, a big part of riding a bike is because it is cool. KTM's are cool. Huskies were cool until BMW. The X-Lite bikes are cool but they are a product of the pre-BMW days.

I am a Husky rider. I have a 2008 TC 510 and it is a fire breather! It is a lot of bike to handle but its cool. This new Husky 650? Old man bike! It has nothing on a KTM 690 or a Husky 610 (except maybe a wicked stamped steel swing-arm that looks like it came from the 1970's and about 50lbs).

Is this true with the smaller bore engines that are x-lite (mainly 2010+ 250s and 310s) - the countershaft sprocket position?

 

[Phoenix]

No, just X-lites have standard sprocket positioning.

 

[raisrx251]

Alright, now who is spreading the bull? You say your KTM friends replace there linkage bearings all the time? KTM's don't have linkage bearings!! (besides the 2012 SX/XC's)

Just kidding.

 

[Captnemo]

Alright, now who is spreading the bull? You say your KTM friends replace there linkage bearings all the time? KTM's don't have linkage bearings!! (besides the 2012 SX/XC's)

Just kidding.

Your absolutely right - and that's the bike my friend has (XC 300, my12). He has replace them once and needs to again (all this in one racing season). It's the combination of mud, sand and rock. The SX (and XC models) are not holding up so well here. He told me at the last race that one of his other KTM riding buddies was having the same loose problem in his linkage. This is the extent of the info I have about the KTM linkage. I owned a 2001 KTM MXC520 and 2002 EXC 250 so I know that they didn't have linkages until recently (on certain models). I used to race ATKs - I like the fact that they had a similar simple (link-less) rear suspension system. Sorry I wasn't so specific - just making a general point.

 

[Tinken]

I have two KTM's that are linkless or PDS, they are pretty trouble free, except I lost a lower shock bolt in one this year during a race and the shock just slipped down a little but stayed in and allowed us to finish. Our 300 XC has linkage, but never had a linkage failure (knock on wood). I prefer linkage on the big bikes, my 511 is much more forgiving off the big jumps than my KTMs, front end is a little spooky in the sand. Haha

Did they change the '13 suspension on the light bikes at all?

 

[Captnemo]

I have two KTM's that are linkless or PDS, they are pretty trouble free, except I lost a lower shock bolt in one this year during a race and the shock just slipped down a little but stayed in and allowed us to finish. Our 300 XC has linkage, but never had a linkage failure (knock on wood). I prefer linkage on the big bikes, my 511 is much more forgiving off the big jumps than my KTMs, front end is a little spooky in the sand. Haha

Check out my message response, to you. (449/511)
Basically - Balance the front with the back in respect to compression and rebound. Also rake-out the front end a little for the loose stuff (like sand and loam) This worked for me on the 511. They come too "tucked-in" from the factory. Drop the forks in the triples or loosen out on the pre-load in the back. May have to reverse this for hard-pack or nimbleness in the woods.

 

[Captnemo]

Not sure about the '13 husky specs as far as suspension. But my WR300 (My11) is awesome - best thing about the bike.
I got the power delivery right (finally!) - had to add a flywheel weight.
But, Huskys generally have great suspension right from the factory. you don't have to do much to dial them in (like a Japanese unit).

 

[Frankie]

This is so much bull! I don't even know where to start. First let me say, that we (Me and my Son) have txc510 and txc511s. And despite the "strangeness" of the 511, it's faster in the woods and better suspended. We have a real comparison here. Not just some "projected" speculation. The fact is, the issue that you say about the swing arm geometry and characteristics are flat wrong. The 511 floats so much better over roots and rock (We have a lot of them here) I experience a whole lot less rear wheel kick than from a conventional set up. Also, the linkage is way better, being on top of the swing arm (we run a lot of mud races) How many time have you replaced linkage bearings in your bike? My KTM friends do all the time. I will agree about the power of a 510, though. But, it better be a more open course, it can't handle in the woods like a 511. We have two years of proof on that. Just my 2 cents worth.

P.s. The new 650 is not to be an off-road race bike - It's great for its designed for - Dual Sport.

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Aren't almost all KTM's PDS? They only have one bearing and its on top of the swingarm.

There is a reason Husky has to race the 310. There is also a reason David Night and Juha Salminen couldn't win on the G450. I am not making this stuff up. It is fact that the position of the countershaft sprocket in relation to the swing-arm pivot affects squat characteristics.

One of my friends almost bought a SM511 a year ago. We went to go look at it and when I pulled the seat off, I couldn't believe the complexity of the thing! The shape of the main gas tank is incredibly complex. No wonder aftermarket tanks don't exist. The tooling cost would be enormous! Why would anyone build a bike with two gas tanks? I would fire any engineer who suggested two gas tanks on a dirt bike. There was no space to work on anything. I was a European car mechanic before I became an engineer and the 511 just wreaked of German car engineering (ie. complex for no reason). When a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes would drive in to the shop needing major work I got a feeling like I was about to go to war against the car. Umpteen special tools (like scanners costing $25,000) and crazy amounts of labour were needed to complete even simple jobs. When I popped the seat off the 511 and had a look at it, it gave me the same feeling I get from crazy German cars. My friend passed over the 511 for a Yamaha WR.

I will admit that German cars drive pretty damn good and the price of ownership can be worth the experience. The 449 and 511 however offer no advantages over any other dirt bike for all their complexity. I think the G450, 449, and 511 can be summed up by a famous quote from Albert Einstein; "Any fool can make something bigger and more complex."

 

[HuskyTaylor]

Aren't almost all KTM's PDS? They only have one bearing and its on top of the swingarm.

There is a reason Husky has to race the 310. There is also a reason David Night and Juha Salminen couldn't win on the G450. I am not making this stuff up. It is fact that the position of the countershaft sprocket in relation to the swing-arm pivot affects squat characteristics.

One of my friends almost bought a SM511 a year ago. We went to go look at it and when I pulled the seat off, I couldn't believe the complexity of the thing! The shape of the main gas tank is incredibly complex. No wonder aftermarket tanks don't exist. The tooling cost would be enormous! Why would anyone build a bike with two gas tanks? I would fire any engineer who suggested two gas tanks on a dirt bike. There was no space to work on anything. I was a European car mechanic before I became an engineer and the 511 just wreaked of German car engineering (ie. complex for no reason). When a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes would drive in to the shop needing major work I got a feeling like I was about to go to war against the car. Umpteen special tools (like scanners costing $25,000) and crazy amounts of labour were needed to complete even simple jobs. When I popped the seat off the 511 and had a look at it, it gave me the same feeling I get from crazy German cars. My friend passed over the 511 for a Yamaha WR.

I will admit that German cars drive pretty damn good and the price of ownership can be worth the experience. The 449 and 511 however offer no advantages over any other dirt bike for all their complexity. I think the G450, 449, and 511 can be summed up by a famous quote from Albert Einstein; "Any fool can make something bigger and more complex."

Dirt Bikes need the K.I.S.S. Thereory, Keep It Simple Stupid. Just my .02

 

[ray_ray]

There is a reason Husky has to race the 310.

Why do you keep saying Husky has to race a 310?

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/meos-2010-te250-e1-world-championship-celebration.26830/

Why you keep bringing up a bmw bike from the past ... ? If I'm not mistaken and please correct me if I am wrong here, but the bmw bike you keep referring to was made before bmw even owned Husqvarna ...

 

[Coffee]

Wow. This thread is all over the place. And hopefully uncharacteristic of CafeHusky.com

Regardless, the 2013s have been announced, many are for sale at your local dealers, so I will close this thread.