I have a 2008 TC 510. What's so great about Husky's? Ride some KTM's and any Husky will feel magically good. Better yet, ride one of those Husabergs with the slanty engine. Those things suck! My buddy has an FX450 and it feels like its trying to tank slap me in to oblivion all the time. I have never ridden anything with such a divey and twitchy front end. The weight is way too high. The suspension is awful; actually awful on all KTM's I have ridden. The magazines raved about those slanty engined 'Bergs when they came out. The moral? Don't trust magazines! I really don't understand the KTM thing. Good marketing I suppose. Where I live in Vancouver Canada, KTM's are about the only thing people ride. The Japanese dealers are suffering while the KTM dealers are expanding.
With all that being said about KTM's, I do think the Japanese bikes ride better than Husky's and are definitely a more finished product. My Husky is getting closer to the mark but its taken a lot of tuning and fiddling. It really is like all Italian things; designed wonderfully but only 95% finished when it goes out the door of the factory. My bike looks cool and I finally have it working well but I'll go back to riding the Japanese stuff for my next bike. I don't like wrenching on random problems like my water pump impeller falling off, my rear brake line lined up so its rubbing a hole in my engine case, an air filter cage that is too short so that the air filter doesn't seal to the bike well, a clutch slave cylinder that fails within 20 hours of riding, carb floats so high that gasoline pours out of the bike, front forks that haven't been bled properly from the factory so they feel like crap among other things. All these things were easy fixes but I haven't enjoyed dealing with stuff like this. I am fortunate I figured out the air filter didn't fit right before I sucked anything in, especially since I ride in sand all the time.
But, I have my bike sorted now and it rips. The major bits are built super well. My engine only shows 3% leakdown and and the valves haven't moved and it has 50 hours on it with the last 15 hours being in deep sand motocross. The engine is so tough it sustained no damage when the water pump failed. I have my forks sorted, stock valving, 6 clicks stiffer on compression, and 305cc of oil and they are great despite what the magazine reviews said about them. The Sachs shock on my bike is every bit as good as that on my last bike, a YZ250. The bike is stable yet corners extremely well. It has more power than any other bike I have ridden but is also pretty docile for putting through tight woods.
Parts are easy to get in the States. I just got a high flow water pump which included a new impeller and housing from Motosportz for only $44. It seems like the Husky dealers in the States try extra hard. Everything is cheaper in America it seems, even things made in Canada cost less to buy in America than they do in Canada.