Got to ride a bunch of new 13 huskys this weekend thanks to the great people at Bills at the 2013 NW Gathering this weekend. I thought I would write up some quick thoughts on these bikes.
First up 2013 TC250
This bike was brand new. Overall it feels very light, like 125 light. The red head and new EFI and piston changes changed the character of the motor some. the old X-light motor actually seemed to have slightly more bark off the bottom but signed of earlier. The TC liked to be reved to go fast. The motor felt semi soft to me but ran fantastic, started EZ (kick only) and had nice smooth pull but most the power was up high. It seemed to like to be reved and thats a good thing. Bike handled amazing, ran great, suspension was very good and the motor was good but semi soft. I'm guessing some time on the motor and maybe a more uncorked exhaust would yield big gains. The handling, suspension and overall feel of the bike made me fell like I could jump on and Johnny racer it right away. Liked it.
2013 TXC250
Nice bike but even less power than the TC250. Almost to little power for me. Had a hard time keeping the front end up over multiple fast whoop sections. Very nice turning, suspension seemed right on for me, bike feels great. After riding Russ' new TXC310 I think these motors need some time on them before they make power and I think thats a lot of what I am feeling. (see review of Russ' TXC 310 below for power info)
2013 TE310
Now were talking. Great motor, very well balanced suspension, fast and handles fantastic like all the X-lights. Really great bike.
Russ' 2013 TXC310
This one is interesting. I rode it first on Friday. Bike had like 5 miles on it, brand new. Seemed weak and lifeless but good. I rode the TE310 of bills before this and thought it made more power than the TXC. Weird. I rode Russ' TXC3120 again on Sunday after it had more like 50 plus miles on it and for some reason it was night and day different. I experienced this with a KTM 350 also that seemed very weak brand new and by the end of the first day felt like it gained 10hp. Russ' TXC310 felt the same way. On Sunday it felt very fast and responsive. The best running X-light I have sampled. Super smooth and strong power everywhere. I love this bike. I was riding Russ' very strong running TXC449 when we traded off and the 310 felt almost as strong and lighter too. After riding Russ TXC310 again in full power mode it is near the top of my short list of bikes I lust after. Fantastic performing bike. If the new FE250 is as good I will be impressed.
Russ' TXC449
I had ridden this bike before but it had a weird clutch and left hand rear brake. Could not wait to get off it. He thought he was going to sell it so he put it back to stock. I have a soft spot for this platform and loved his TXC449. Feels good bit lighter then my TE511 due to less power and less weight as mine has 20 pounds worth of crap on it for DS. I've always said a TC449 left light and agile would be a great mount for me and after putting over 50 miles on Russ' TXC449 I would have to say a resounding, yes please. As much as I love the TXC310 I would have a real hard time picking a TC449 or TXC310. Both feel light and both have great motors.
- Thanks Russ.
2013 CR144
Nice bike, feels good, needs a 165 kit
I liked it but missed the 165 bottom end. It did rip hard on top and ran very good. Fun bike.
Xcivator (Steve) WR165 with Lectron
Rode this bike a little and after we fixed it really liked it. He had a new Lectron carb he got from me and spend most of Sat chasing a bog. I had not seen this with the Lectron before and we both decided the PV must not be right. He pulled the pipe and PV cover to discover the PV had zero preload and was flopping around with the adjustment bolt at the bottom of the slot. He moved it to about the middle of the slot and BAM, bike runs fantastic. Nice strong pull from bottom to top and the bog then hit was completely gone. Nice bike.
Motosportz 165
I love my bike. Suspension rules, motor is smooth but powerful (but needs rebuilt as it is finally getting tired). It did prove to me that you can take a $900 10 year old bike and massage it into something competitive with the newest hardware. As a comparison I feel even my semi tired WB165 is faster than the TC250 and TXC250 but not quite as fast as the TXC310. I love how my bike tracks (Damper plug), the suspension works everywhere and the bike just allows me to smile and ride. Its what i would build for myself
Huge thanks to Bill and crew, Russ and Steve for letting me try the bikes. All of them are great bikes and I;m really going to miss these Italian based machines.
First up 2013 TC250
This bike was brand new. Overall it feels very light, like 125 light. The red head and new EFI and piston changes changed the character of the motor some. the old X-light motor actually seemed to have slightly more bark off the bottom but signed of earlier. The TC liked to be reved to go fast. The motor felt semi soft to me but ran fantastic, started EZ (kick only) and had nice smooth pull but most the power was up high. It seemed to like to be reved and thats a good thing. Bike handled amazing, ran great, suspension was very good and the motor was good but semi soft. I'm guessing some time on the motor and maybe a more uncorked exhaust would yield big gains. The handling, suspension and overall feel of the bike made me fell like I could jump on and Johnny racer it right away. Liked it.
2013 TXC250
Nice bike but even less power than the TC250. Almost to little power for me. Had a hard time keeping the front end up over multiple fast whoop sections. Very nice turning, suspension seemed right on for me, bike feels great. After riding Russ' new TXC310 I think these motors need some time on them before they make power and I think thats a lot of what I am feeling. (see review of Russ' TXC 310 below for power info)
2013 TE310
Now were talking. Great motor, very well balanced suspension, fast and handles fantastic like all the X-lights. Really great bike.
Russ' 2013 TXC310
This one is interesting. I rode it first on Friday. Bike had like 5 miles on it, brand new. Seemed weak and lifeless but good. I rode the TE310 of bills before this and thought it made more power than the TXC. Weird. I rode Russ' TXC3120 again on Sunday after it had more like 50 plus miles on it and for some reason it was night and day different. I experienced this with a KTM 350 also that seemed very weak brand new and by the end of the first day felt like it gained 10hp. Russ' TXC310 felt the same way. On Sunday it felt very fast and responsive. The best running X-light I have sampled. Super smooth and strong power everywhere. I love this bike. I was riding Russ' very strong running TXC449 when we traded off and the 310 felt almost as strong and lighter too. After riding Russ TXC310 again in full power mode it is near the top of my short list of bikes I lust after. Fantastic performing bike. If the new FE250 is as good I will be impressed.
Russ' TXC449
I had ridden this bike before but it had a weird clutch and left hand rear brake. Could not wait to get off it. He thought he was going to sell it so he put it back to stock. I have a soft spot for this platform and loved his TXC449. Feels good bit lighter then my TE511 due to less power and less weight as mine has 20 pounds worth of crap on it for DS. I've always said a TC449 left light and agile would be a great mount for me and after putting over 50 miles on Russ' TXC449 I would have to say a resounding, yes please. As much as I love the TXC310 I would have a real hard time picking a TC449 or TXC310. Both feel light and both have great motors.
- Thanks Russ.
2013 CR144
Nice bike, feels good, needs a 165 kit
I liked it but missed the 165 bottom end. It did rip hard on top and ran very good. Fun bike.Xcivator (Steve) WR165 with Lectron
Rode this bike a little and after we fixed it really liked it. He had a new Lectron carb he got from me and spend most of Sat chasing a bog. I had not seen this with the Lectron before and we both decided the PV must not be right. He pulled the pipe and PV cover to discover the PV had zero preload and was flopping around with the adjustment bolt at the bottom of the slot. He moved it to about the middle of the slot and BAM, bike runs fantastic. Nice strong pull from bottom to top and the bog then hit was completely gone. Nice bike.
Motosportz 165
I love my bike. Suspension rules, motor is smooth but powerful (but needs rebuilt as it is finally getting tired). It did prove to me that you can take a $900 10 year old bike and massage it into something competitive with the newest hardware. As a comparison I feel even my semi tired WB165 is faster than the TC250 and TXC250 but not quite as fast as the TXC310. I love how my bike tracks (Damper plug), the suspension works everywhere and the bike just allows me to smile and ride. Its what i would build for myself
Huge thanks to Bill and crew, Russ and Steve for letting me try the bikes. All of them are great bikes and I;m really going to miss these Italian based machines.
.
I keep telling all my friends how remarkable those new TE and TXC 310's are. I keep dreaming about one and I thought I was over 4 strokes for the most part. Its the 2 stroke of 4 strokes.