little_twin
Husqvarna
A Class
I have just over 400 miles on my TE449 as of the end of riding today. Over all I really like the bike. It however has not proven itself to be the reliable, trustworthy companion that my 06 YZ250 has proven to be, but Im not writing this to talk about the YZ.
I have a love hate relationship with my TE. I absolutely LOVE the handling of the bike. I am a smaller rider (5'9" and 155# seems a bit small for this bike) and DO NOT lower my bikes as I ride at a moderate A pace most of the time and use all of the available suspension travel. At a standstill and VERY slow technical sections the TE has a tendency to slap me down at the worst times, usually resulting in me being pinned under it with the way over exposed mid pipe burning holes in my pants. Needless to say the weight along with the handling characteristics make this bike a bit of a chore for me to ride slowly. I know I said I love the handling, heres the part I love. Once moving faster than a walking pace the bike just settles in underneath me. I merely think about the direction I want it to go and it does. Last minute line changes come naturally and with out any extra effort. It glides over the ugliest most whooped out descents with ease, allowing me to focus on my line further down the trail, while knowing the bike is going to remain predictable in its manners beneath me. The TE climbs over slick roots, rocks and through ruts with ease and elegance as well, again allowing me to focus on the trail ahead, and all subsequent obstacles, while knowing the bike is going to do as I expect. The only flaw in the handling of the TE has been rare cases of severe instability and head shake over uneven surfaces during heavy acceleration. I have only experienced this a handful of times and each time it is cured by slowly rolling off the throttle and at times very lightly dragging the rear brake in order to bias more weight onto the front wheel. I think this could easily be cured by a steering damper, but I think I will play with different spring rates and possibly front ride heights before going that route, as it is my feeling that steering dampers are a solution to a problem that should not exist, and only hide flaws in the chassis set up for the most part.
Now for the part I hate........that damn BMW/Kymco engine and for the most part the electronics associated with it. The power of the engine is decent and very usable. It pulls hard down low, but not so hard as to be unrideable in low traction conditions. It builds power very consistently, and over all the power curve is spot on for the gear ratios for tighter single track. I find myself using 2nd and 3rd gear most of the time. I've also noticed that the engine likes to be revved more than other 450's and reacts positively to a bit more clutch than the other big bore bikes. I tend to ride the bike a lot like a 2 stroke when it comes to clutch use, and always have 2 fingers on the clutch lever. Unfortunately the clutch itself is not a big fan of the added abuse. It tends to fade a bit as it heats up, which it does rather quickly (to be expected from such a small clutch pack, wheres the heat supposed to go?). It does however come back after a short rest, and while the fade is a bit of nuisance, it does not affect the overall reliability of the bike (yet). I also REALLY hate how the clutch and cover stick out the side. I know it is only a matter of time before the cover gets a fancy modification in the form of hole. I have come close many times charging into rocky sections, to destroying that clutch cover. The biggest issue is coming into a rocky rut at speed and the suspension compresses, it puts that cover in just the right spot to get punched. My plastic skid plate has taken all of the abuse so far, but a man can only get so lucky. Ive got my eyes open for an aluminum version with a little more clutch cover protection.
The electronics.......Blahhhhhh. The TE's electronics are so finicky to moisture its ridiculous. A little water and the dash starts flashing fail. Stop, pull apart the connectors behind the headlight, and the temp switch to blow them out, and problem solved, only to reappear the next time a drop of water lands on the plastics. The dash will also display fail at various times in a ride when 0 water is present. Temperature, altitude, tides, etc have no affect. The damn thing just has a mind of its own. Fail comes and goes as it pleases, and no changes in performance are felt when it happens. The dash also has a tendency to reset itself. It will stop logging mileage, and clear the trip odo, and set the clock back to 1200 while running! No electrical power loss of any kind. It has done this twice, and seems to work fine after about 5 miles. It also has not happened twice in one day. Weird, thats all I can say about it.
I am hoping that a phone call this week to my local dealer may shed some light on the gremlins living in my electrical system, as I am hopeful a company will produce a tank with 1-2 gallons more capacity.
Over all I am happy with the TE449. It runs well, has not left me stranded, and while odd to work on its not terrible, though at times I lay in bed at night wondering what it'd be like with a 300 2 stroke lump in place of that odd glorified scooter motor that currently calls my TE449 home.
I have a love hate relationship with my TE. I absolutely LOVE the handling of the bike. I am a smaller rider (5'9" and 155# seems a bit small for this bike) and DO NOT lower my bikes as I ride at a moderate A pace most of the time and use all of the available suspension travel. At a standstill and VERY slow technical sections the TE has a tendency to slap me down at the worst times, usually resulting in me being pinned under it with the way over exposed mid pipe burning holes in my pants. Needless to say the weight along with the handling characteristics make this bike a bit of a chore for me to ride slowly. I know I said I love the handling, heres the part I love. Once moving faster than a walking pace the bike just settles in underneath me. I merely think about the direction I want it to go and it does. Last minute line changes come naturally and with out any extra effort. It glides over the ugliest most whooped out descents with ease, allowing me to focus on my line further down the trail, while knowing the bike is going to remain predictable in its manners beneath me. The TE climbs over slick roots, rocks and through ruts with ease and elegance as well, again allowing me to focus on the trail ahead, and all subsequent obstacles, while knowing the bike is going to do as I expect. The only flaw in the handling of the TE has been rare cases of severe instability and head shake over uneven surfaces during heavy acceleration. I have only experienced this a handful of times and each time it is cured by slowly rolling off the throttle and at times very lightly dragging the rear brake in order to bias more weight onto the front wheel. I think this could easily be cured by a steering damper, but I think I will play with different spring rates and possibly front ride heights before going that route, as it is my feeling that steering dampers are a solution to a problem that should not exist, and only hide flaws in the chassis set up for the most part.
Now for the part I hate........that damn BMW/Kymco engine and for the most part the electronics associated with it. The power of the engine is decent and very usable. It pulls hard down low, but not so hard as to be unrideable in low traction conditions. It builds power very consistently, and over all the power curve is spot on for the gear ratios for tighter single track. I find myself using 2nd and 3rd gear most of the time. I've also noticed that the engine likes to be revved more than other 450's and reacts positively to a bit more clutch than the other big bore bikes. I tend to ride the bike a lot like a 2 stroke when it comes to clutch use, and always have 2 fingers on the clutch lever. Unfortunately the clutch itself is not a big fan of the added abuse. It tends to fade a bit as it heats up, which it does rather quickly (to be expected from such a small clutch pack, wheres the heat supposed to go?). It does however come back after a short rest, and while the fade is a bit of nuisance, it does not affect the overall reliability of the bike (yet). I also REALLY hate how the clutch and cover stick out the side. I know it is only a matter of time before the cover gets a fancy modification in the form of hole. I have come close many times charging into rocky sections, to destroying that clutch cover. The biggest issue is coming into a rocky rut at speed and the suspension compresses, it puts that cover in just the right spot to get punched. My plastic skid plate has taken all of the abuse so far, but a man can only get so lucky. Ive got my eyes open for an aluminum version with a little more clutch cover protection.
The electronics.......Blahhhhhh. The TE's electronics are so finicky to moisture its ridiculous. A little water and the dash starts flashing fail. Stop, pull apart the connectors behind the headlight, and the temp switch to blow them out, and problem solved, only to reappear the next time a drop of water lands on the plastics. The dash will also display fail at various times in a ride when 0 water is present. Temperature, altitude, tides, etc have no affect. The damn thing just has a mind of its own. Fail comes and goes as it pleases, and no changes in performance are felt when it happens. The dash also has a tendency to reset itself. It will stop logging mileage, and clear the trip odo, and set the clock back to 1200 while running! No electrical power loss of any kind. It has done this twice, and seems to work fine after about 5 miles. It also has not happened twice in one day. Weird, thats all I can say about it.
I am hoping that a phone call this week to my local dealer may shed some light on the gremlins living in my electrical system, as I am hopeful a company will produce a tank with 1-2 gallons more capacity.
Over all I am happy with the TE449. It runs well, has not left me stranded, and while odd to work on its not terrible, though at times I lay in bed at night wondering what it'd be like with a 300 2 stroke lump in place of that odd glorified scooter motor that currently calls my TE449 home.
