• 4 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
     TE = 4st Enduro & TC = 4st Cross

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TE310 or 449?

m1kebeck

m1kebeck

Husqvarna
AA Class
Planning on buying one of these bikes just not sure which one will suit me better. By me theres a lot of tight pretty dense trails which open up to huge fields and sand pits with a few miles of street in between. Im no pro rider but have owned quads and dirt bikes for years. Just wondering is the 310 enough power? and/or is the 449 maybe too much power? any and all reviews on the bikes will help. Thanks.
 
If your are a playbike guy like me. The TE 511 was the right choice for me. I have not ridden the 310, but by all accounts
It is powerful. The 511 is light enough for for me. I ride a lot of woods, tight stuff, also it's great on the TT track, and
A blast on the 12 miles of backroad to my favorite riding spot. The low end and midrange power,make it tons of fun
Plus you don't have to rev it much to get to some real zip, which hopefully will translate to a longer life.
 
I have both bikes. I use the 310 for tight singletrack and the 449 for more open riding.The 310 does not tire you out as quick and super easy to throw around. Both have enough power for what I use them for. I weigh 230.
 
The MY13's are exactly the same size now, height, length and the TE449/511 weights only 7lbs more. But they are definitely two different bikes. The 310R makes good power and would probably suit you just fine. The stock 511 is also a pleasure to ride, opened up with aftermarket pipes and tuners, the 511 is a monster. The 310 feels easier to negotiate in the tight stuff for most people. Experienced riders can run their 449/511s in the tight woods just as easily. Either one you choose, they are both fantastic machines.
 
Well do you want to keep it revved up in the higher range or lug down low in the lower range?

Kind of how you want to ride, race pace get the 310. Or having fun riding trails and opening it up on open fields / sand / etc. I would go for a 449. I rode a 250 and wasn't sure about 310 or a 450 - glad I got a 450. Has a lot of usable power... But I didn't get a chance to ride 310 , heard they are great. If you're anything like me, I grew out of the 250 power quick - and I'm pretty light guy...

Would ride both to see which you want. I know from riding a TE250 I went to 450 and happy happy happy (tho not a husky). I ride lots of roads to trails, and when I'm on most of the trails - I'm leisurely lugging around with the ability to really open er up on wider stuff.

Weights really no big difference unless you going real quick through tight stuff. I know my TE250 is listed at 235 dry but the thing is pretty high and suspension is stiff - I'm 5'11" and tippytoe so kinda a pain in trails when I stop. 310 is probably similar. I thought the 450 was lower but not sure. To me - since I'm not a racer or going off table tops - I like the lower rides , once you get em going weight is easy to adapt.
 
Here's a way to look at it. Just do a search for 310 problems that were not addressed by the '13 red head makeover.

Then do a search for 449/511 problems. I was seriously going to get a 310 for my lady, but the real value is in the 449/511 bike for me/us. There are just too many little problems and mods needed to be attended to on the 310.

Luckily she's tall...hehe.
 
thanks a lot guys. Im not that big, about 5'8" 170.. I guess Ill go sit on both of them, I wont be able to test ride them but both seem to fit what Im looking for. The 449 seems a good choice for the value, theres a rebate on them I can get the 311 for 6200 or the 449 for 6300.
 
I would go 310 if you want to Race / Ride tight stuff , I spent a while trying both and the 449 is a "Tank" compared to an X-Lite.

But if you have road miles / trail riding then a 449 might suit you better. IMHO they are very different Bikes !

Possibly the last year / years of the 449 ? Who knows ? Be suprised if KTM continue with the "BMW" Bikes ? May influence your decision ?
 
I agree with DG, the 449 is better suited to experienced riders in order to handle it in the tight stuff. They are going into 2014 with the 449s, apparently they haven't sold out their warehouse of Kymco engines yet.
 
I lowered the suspension 1.5, dropped the forks another .5. I am 5'9" 155#. Put a FMF(5# less) a lithium batterie (3# less)
And feel like I have the light weight, shorter height (do not notice the missing suspension) and got MOJO power.
Worked for me.
 
Greetings,
I went through the same debate last month and ended up with the 2012 310. It is quick and has plenty of mid and high end snap for me, a former mx-racer from way back in the 80s. However, it is not going to be a lot of fun for longer stretches of road. From the description of your riding situation, it sounds like you might appreciate the extra low end of the 449/511 for the more open areas. Make no mistake, however, the 310 uncorked is plenty fast!
 
I'm only 145 lbs and I'm fine with a 450. I'm not racing it in tight stuff, it's all about throttle control and balance. I ride trails for fun - and 449 gets me to and thru.

Can't really go wrong with either bike, both are great in their own rights. I think the 310 is more oriented towards really fast riders - keeping revs high and going at a race pace.

If you can find a deal on a leftover or clean used one, you can usually find really great deals. Picked up a used 450 with less then 50 hours on it and around 1,200 miles for $3k. It's a 2004 but it's a dirt bike - you don't need the latest and greatest in my opinion unless you are a really fast racer!
 
Tinken said:
I agree with DG, the 449 is better suited to experienced riders in order to handle it in the tight stuff.
Click to expand...

That really is not what I said, lol !

The 310 is a great "race bike" the 449 IMHO is not (just look at what Husky race in the EWC ). Its nothing to do with experience, its the design of the bike !
Nobody has more experience than Juha S. or Alex Salvini, and there results were poor at best on a 449 !

But I can see a 449 making a good trail bike, with some road use etc...

As I said before two very different bikes, the choice depends on how / where you want to ride them !
 
DG Harv Serv said:
The 310 is a great "race bike" the 449 IMHO is not and there results were poor at best on a 449 !

But I can see a 449 making a good trail bike, with some road use etc...
Click to expand...
Sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying. Well in that case, maybe you should look into getting the 449/511, it makes one hell of a trail bike!
Check out Nick Burson on his 511 trail bike. He enjoys picnics and soft music as well. :)

Burson.jpg
 
I really dont want to get into another argument with you ! (you are clearly never wrong anyway ;) ).

I think if you asked most neutrals which would make a better race bike, an x-lite would come out on top.
Husky have admitted this themselves by giving up on a 449/511 race program. Most Magazine reports confirm this too.
Of course there are some exceptions at local / national level, but on a world stage (Enduro or MX) there are zero 449s.
Of course on a Husky Forum you will find owners who love there bikes and will advise others to buy the same.
Thats normal, but to try and help the original poster, who is asking advice, I will stick by what I said, if you want to race I would recomend an x-lite, if you want to trail ride / some road work, I would look at a 449 / 511.

Not sure if you actually read my first post on this, but I tried a TE449 (2011) after racing a TE450 in 2010, and found it too big and "clumsy" .
There were other things I liked / disliked, but mainly it felt like a Tank !
So I won't need to "look into getting one", but if you want any, they are available here secondhand for next to nothing (449s & 511s) so that tells me something too ?

So I will leave you to Nick, your soft music, and hope you enjoy your picnic !
 
Picnics are fun btw. Floating down the Colorado river on a float tube with ice cold beer/ten thousand other people, half naked women included and rocking out to some good tunes makes for a fantastic picnic day!
 
I was put off a little by the 450s cause I kept hearing people referring them to 'tanks'. I don't know - comparatively speaking to racers like 2 strokers or lighter 250s/310s.. and ifyou are trying to race, then yah I guess it's true.

But for the average Joe trail rider - the 450s are great machines. You don't need to keep them rev'd up and will probably last a little longer before any major rebuild.

As others have stated- if you plan to go really fast down tight trails - get the 310. If you the weekend hero type that likes to have fun on trails and roads - the 449/450 would be my choice. Guess that's why I currently own both a 250 and a 450 , doh!

Plus - it's always nice to have power to grow into :rolleyes: Try before you buy tho!
 
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