Damn close ratio box!

[7point62]

Ok I am pretty lost onnthis subject. The reason why I love wide ratio tannies is because where I ride it tight, wet rocks roots and single track. The TE makes it so your always searching for a new gear. It's slow (down 2) then fast (up 2) then slow (down 2) in 100ft which means your shifting 6 times in 100ft if your up two and down two. That's a dam pain in the ass! I agree the TE310 isn't a dual sport but it's no MX bike either.

So why does everyone else want a wide ratio tranny?

This. Close ratio = unnecessary gear changes and every time you change gear you lose drive. so it's doesn't even necessarily make for a quicker bike (unless you're an FIM WEC standard racer, which most owners aren't). Maybe the Cagiva twincams sharied the same transmission for cost reasons, but I can't help feeling that the 450 + 510 would have benefitted from wider gears. An aftermarket / factory option would have been good, but it's academic now.

 

[cbreakin]

I actually like the close ratio 6 six speed (not that an overdrive wouldn't be nice), but the argument is made that one has to shift more with the cr box however I feel having the right gear for the situation is worth the extra shifts. We've all ridden wr bikes where the huge gaps between some gears would cause a condition were it would be "revved out" in the lower gear and "lugging" in the next consecutive higher gear (ie the xr650l's ridiculous 1st to 2nd spread). The 450-510 huskies just don't suffer from that. Maybe the solution is a 7 gear trans lol.

 

[Xcuvator]

Kris Odwarka (sp?) is the pres of Husqvarna North America and was at the NW fall gathering in Oct. for a couple of days. Around the camp fire there was a long Q&A session where this topic came up. Kris said more than once that he is working on it. Kris is a really good guy and listens to what riders/customers say and maybe we will see something in the near future.

When I ride my 450 sometimes I wish it had a 610 transmission and when I ride my 610 sometimes I wish it had the 450 trans. There's a WR 6speed in my WR250 and love it all the time, but it's no dualsport.

 

[Rearwheelin]

Wider 4th , 5th & 6th ...thanks

 

[javadog]

7th gear would be perfect

 

[jerbear610]

Just spread out 5th and 6th and I'd be a happy camper. The tranny on my 610 is spread almost perfectly with a 14 c/s . Even for tight woods s/t.
I rarely ride my 511 on the pavement, I got it for what I like to ride which is mainly woods trails so it's not that huge of a deal for me but having said
that I think these close ratio tranny's are kind of rediculous. I'm not sure what type of terrain would benefit from it. Do the SM's in Europe also have the
close ratio's ? That would really suck cruising the autobon winding out at 70 mph.

 

[HuskyBrutha]

Anyone know if it is possible to change out gears from say a 510 for others from say a 610 ?

 

[huskyfrk]

they should have designed the bike w a cassette gearbox, that way you cold have another set of ratio for whatever event you would ride, simple , quick, effective. VOR and vermeti did it. especially when the new lite motor was a new from scratch design. no excuse, just dumb in this day and age......

 

[Runner]

In this issue of Cycle World they test a TE310 against a 350 EXC and a Beta 350 RS. The gripe about the TE310 was that they wanted a 7th and 8th gear. The other two bikes were fine.

Perhaps years ago when the first TEs were derived from race bikes they used the same transmissions and they could get away with it. Now the TEs are Husky's best selling bikes and deserve to be optimized for wider uses.

huskyfrk, your idea about a cassette gearbox is interesting, and would of solved this problem. I don't know if it would of made the engines bigger or heavier.

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

Its possible to do a swap- but you have to have enough interest to make the shop work costs within an affordable price range- the topic has been out for awhile- now the problem would be for what bike would you build them for pre 2010 or post 2010... Previously not enough people were interested in spliting cases to make the change. I realize this may remain and most of you want husky to simply change the gearing at the factory... but if you really really want you could pursue getting the custom gear produced, put in counter ballencer, and refresh your motors at the same time... the pre 2010s might see this as a good chance to split cases at this point.
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/overdrive-6th-gear.14882/#post-133939

 

[HuskyBrutha]

....would be for what bike would you build them for pre 2010 or post 2010....
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/overdrive-6th-gear.14882/#post-133939

I see you differentiating between pre 2010 and 2010 onwards ?

Why is that ?

I have a 2010 TE510 and it definitely feels Close Ratio.

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

Maybe I didn't articulate that clearly. I guess I should have said Pre-2011 to mean the 450/510 versus 449/511 change- because the inernals will not interchange and half of the owners in this thread own one or the other and the solution will not be the same actual gear. Thinking of the part maker and what would be worth their while or not.

 

[Benriding]

Sucks! What we are riding seems so close to perfection yet so far away. Like that cheer leader in high school....

 

[huskyfrk]

the prototype 250 lite had a cassette gearbox, so they could adapat the ratios as they saw fit in testing. the cost would be no more then a regular gearbox, w the added advantage that you could change ratios if you were going to ride desert or singletrack. suprised so few bikes have the feature, just old school thinking IMHO.

 

[ray_ray]

I dearly love my TE510, but the close ratio transmission is really unsuited for the wide range of riding I do. I find it is necessary to frequently swap the counter shaft sprocket to move the engine speed to match the ground speed where I expect to ride. Either it is buzzing crazily on the freeway or not able to plonk properly on single track. A real PITA. The KTMs, Betas, and other dual sports come with nice wide ratio gear boxes. Certainly the 510 has enough torque to handle wider gearing spreads. As a DS it is not designed to be a racer, so why is Husky staying with these annoying CR gears?

I'd say you live in the wrong area (freeways? A real, concrete, multi-lane road, controlled-access highway, designed for high-speed vehicular traffic? ) or purchased the wrong bike ...

Also, not sure what a plonker is, but I'm not sure any Husky is a plonker ... unless the rider insists on being a plonker ... Huskies are Thoroughbreds .... Again. you might have purchased the wrong breed of bike ....

 

[Xcuvator]

I'd say you live in the wrong area (freeways? A real, concrete, multi-lane road, controlled-access highway, designed for high-speed vehicular traffic? ) or purchased the wrong bike ...

Also, not sure what a plonker is, but I'm not sure any Husky is a plonker ... unless the rider insists on being a plonker ... Huskies are Thoroughbreds .... Again. you might have purchased the wrong breed of bike ....

When I think of a "plonker", Honda step through trail 90 comes right to mind.

 

[Runner]

I'd say you live in the wrong area (freeways? A real, concrete, multi-lane road, controlled-access highway, designed for high-speed vehicular traffic? ) or purchased the wrong bike ...

Here is Cali, versatility is very important. Another solution is owning more bikes!

 

[firebolter]

This has nothing to do with purchasing the wrong bike, this is a simple argument. Even the Husky 2T guys have a similar complaint only their's is "give us a 6th gear"

As stated, the 610 (I have a SM610 as well) tranny is what the TE's should be ratio wise. You guys can say what ever you want, TE's close ratio tranny's are limiting and if you ride anywhere that has open areas, or you are forced to ride on connectors to get between section, the tranny's in the TE needs to be widened. I own 2 Husky's and a KTM 525. I am not a koolaide drinker. I like quality bikes and in the area of transmission and flexibility, the EXC or XC-W are light years ahead of the TE boxes as it pertains to the ratio. If KTM can get it right, why can't Husky can open up the 6th gear ratio and make folks happy? WHo uses 6th gear in the trail? I never do. Rarely ever get out of 4th in trails. In the woods = good, in the open = sucks

I like the motor in my 310, I like everything about the bike in the woods i.e. tight single track, but once I get out in the open, the wider ratio bikes walk away without having to scream the damn motor to the redline for extended periods of time.

Owning more bikes is what I do, not everybody can afford that. From nothing more than a marketing perspective, Husky could gain some customers if they would just get off their lazy design arses and open up 6ht gear on the 4T and add a 6th gear on the 2T. I would buy a 300WR in a heartbeat if it had a 6th gear.

 

[Norcalslowpoke]

I'll be looking for another brand when my 07 is worn out if they don't offer a wider ratio box. Even just a taller 6th would fix the problem. Some of these bikes are getting up in hours so a case split is on the horizon. Maybe someone will make a taller 6th for that time (reference the linked other thread). I'll bite if they do. Cheers.

 

[columbia510]

I'll be looking for another brand when my 07 is worn out if they don't offer a wider ratio box. Even just a taller 6th would fix the problem. Some of these bikes are getting up in hours so a case split is on the horizon. Maybe someone will make a taller 6th for that time (reference the linked other thread). I'll bite if they do. Cheers.

Yup me too. My 09 is getting up there in hrs. The less shifts the better. The fire roads that lead to the fun sh*t are 4th,5th and 6th gear. It would be nice to not tap dance on my shifter, its too hard to fit a wrench up there to tighten down.