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

  • Hi everyone,

    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

    When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.

    Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.

    Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.

    Thanks for your patience and support!

TE449 for tight technical single track?

W

worstell

Husqvarna
Hey- I see some new TE449s going for really good prices and I am thinking about pulling the trigger. My question is: will the TE449 be a good trail bike for me? I currently ride a XR250R and I don't have too much experience, but my skill level is going up fast. I'm in Colorado and ride really tight, technical single track (e.g, skeleton trail at rampart, Snyder/ Willow creek, and Bocco). I'm willing to live with the slightly heavier weight of the TE449, given its dualsport capabilities. I'm just wondering if this bike is too much for my application.

From what I have been able to gather on the interweb thus far, it seems like the TE449 will handle tight, technical single track just fine. I'd just like to hear some more opinions.
 
The TE449 is longer than the XR250R (55.1" vs 58.7") and has a higher seat (36" vs 37.5"). And obviously it has way more power.
 
For really tight technical single track, you will have to be willing to do a few mods or the bike will be prone to stalling
at low RPM. A pipe, remap of ECU, or power commander. They are great bikes, but to chug around slowly at next to
Idle is not it's forte. It will require more frequent maintenance than your XR250. Oil changes especially. I ride mine
A lot on very tight stuff and It have it working bery well, though my WR125 husky is better at that task than my TE511.
Read some threads on here and then decide. I am happy with mine, but the XR250 is very different, though I bet
The TE is probably not as heavy, not sure. Suspension can be lowered, I had mine done, great improvement for me.
 
I've been riding enduros and hare scrambles since the early 70's (2 stroke Huskys). Now I ride my TE449 on everything from fast fire roads to tight technical in Ga and Ala. I've done minimal mods to it (less than $500.00) and it works fine for what I do with it. Plenty of power and not too heavy. Constant oil changes are a bit of a PIA but necessary. They are definitely fun bikes!
 
I ride an XR250 and Husky WR167. I tested a TE449 at the Husky gathering with the thought that it could be a replacement for my XR, unfortunately I was disappointed with it. It was not as good as the XR in very tight trails, it felt very cumbersome in comparison and the rear suspension felt odd. The XR is a very capable bike and for me it is a lot more fun to ride than the TE, almost as fun to ride as the WR167 but better in certain situations. You could also do some nice mods to the XR to make it even better, like XR400 forks, bore to 277 and an easy pull clutch lever, all relatively inexpensive.
 
I've had pretty good luck in tight stuff with my te449. I just put a 14 tooth front sprocket and it lugs around a lot better at low speed with that.
Also added a second fan which keeps it cool at low speeds, but that is probably not necessary.
 
Since your in Colorado and ride rampart you can test a tc449. Big D Motorsports in Woodland Park rents it for 130 per day. They are also a great dealer if you want to buy. They also rent out a 250 and 310. Good luck, I'd trade the XR in a second :)
 
Loved my TE449 and it was very capable. However, I would never choose that over my WR300 for a hare scramble.
For fast enduro and dual sport rides I think the TE is in its element.
 
You should be able to test any bike for free - that's your best bet.. Test to see. It's going to be a little taller and heavier - nothing you can't adjust to through repitition. I was a bit weary going from a 250 to a 450 and now every chance I get I ride the 450.. They have a bit more power but nothing you can't ease into with clutch and throttle control.

You will be sweating more on the 450 but it's just another form of exercise is how I see it. And that extra power is great fun.
 
It is a great bike but is a big bore E-start bike no matter how you slice it. The tighter it gets the more wrong the tool for the job is. It will do it, and anything over real slow it will be great. For super tight walking speed stuff it just is not the right bike. Thats what the 165 is for. If you only ride tight technical get a 125/144/165 and smile your ass off. If you want a real versatile do it all bike the 449 is very good.
 
LandofMotards said:
Since your in Colorado and ride rampart you can test a tc449. Big D Motorsports in Woodland Park rents it for 130 per day. They are also a great dealer if you want to buy. They also rent out a 250 and 310. Good luck, I'd trade the XR in a second :)
Click to expand...

So I made it down to Bid D on Friday and rented a 2012 TE310. It was the owner's bike and he was good enough to let me take it out. However, it was set up for his weight (maybe 60 lbs plus over my weight). It also had a rekluse clutch, street gearing, wide bars, and pivot pegz, none of which I am accustom to. So I don't think I really got a good feel for the bike. Yet I think most of that could be sorted out. The thing that might be a show stopper for me though is the on/off throttle response, which I assume is inherent in the fuel injection system. The throttle would abruptly send me back on the bike, and then when I let off, my weight would come forward just as abruptly. Between the super stiff (for my weight) suspension, and the herky-jerky throttle, I was exhausted after a few hours of riding. This was on the skeleton trail in Rampart, Colorado, which is tight twisty single track, so you are constantly on and off the throttle.

Is the on/off throttle response normal for this bike? If so, is there anything you can do to get rid of it? I read another review that made the same observation. It seems like the bike had potential, but I don't think I could live with the throttle response in tight technical stuff.
 
Riding the TE449 in the tight trails is a lot easier with a 13 tooth front sprocket, especially as you get used to the bike. A powercommander is absolutely necessary for this slow tight riding, so figure that into the cost. The TE310s are almost identical in size and weight but knowing you are on a 450 will challenge your psyche. The 450 is a tractor and will go up anything. You can lower the suspension down closer to your XR.
 
I'd say if anything the suspension will be to plush for you stock but still pretty good. The on/off throttle response I'm sure could be cured by the power commander as Tinken said. I don't really notice it on the txc so I wonder if it has to do with his street sprockets. It's more noticeable at low rpm's which may be what you were riding in considering the gearing being to tall for the tight stuff. Either way, you'd probably get used to it quicker then you think. I have no idea what the effects of the recluse may be either.
 
The 310 will only get worse in regard to on/off throttle when you correct the gearing to a more trail appropriate 13/50 or 13/52 setup.
 
I guess it must be a fuel injection thing I'm used to then. I've been riding FI sport bikes, a wr250x and the latest Huskies I've mentioned. I'm sure you'd get used to it like I said but of your not comfortable with idea pick what's right for you. It's big money to spend to not be happy in the end. You could always go rent the txc and see what you think after a full day of riding. $130 isn't a lot to spend to make a decision that costs thousands
 
Oh and either way ill convince you to race at CORCS when you get a bike anyway, no better way to get used to a bike then to race a hare scramble. Don't worry about the lack of experience either, you can race with me In the back of the pack lol
 
I just got back to Ga from 9 days of AWESOME in Colorado. The TE449 tractored up all the rocky shazzitt without the first problem. And the fantastic brakes front and rear along with engine braking made the downhill stuff a piece of cake. These are truly nice bikes! My only mods are Race Map II, decatted stock muffler and opened up airbox. I was running 14/51 gearing.
DSCF0137.JPG


IMG_0145-XL.jpg
 
I ride quite a bit of tight stuff on a TXC 449, here is my list of "musts":
  • Handguards (HDB is my personal choice).
  • 13-51 gearing.
  • Power-up - Race Map II or Race Map III, JD Jetting tuner / PC Etc.
  • Seat Concepts seat.
  • Skidplate and pipe heat guards.
  • I run the stock Akra "race can" that came with the TXC - they are light but dent really easy so I have a P3 can guard as well.
  • For a TE flush mounted signals and a tail-ectomy would be high on my list.
If you are not used to the CTS you will likely loop out the bike a few times before you realize and adapt to the fact that it is going to hook up on the bumpy stuff / rolling rocks etc. where a non CTS bike tends to hop more and hook up much less.
 
I feel that my stock Te449 is def no the best bike for slow going. It hates it. My old Honda crf230L was much better i. that respect. When it comes to trails with lots of rocks, roots, or ruts, it is unbelievable how good it is. The faster I go on it, the more stable my Husky is. Big hills are no problem what so ever if you are not in 1st gear. Learned the hard way how not to climb steep hills with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top