why call it a 511?

[FirstEliminator]

Hey guys,

Well, I love my vintage Husqvarnas yet wanted a newer bike. Back in 2007 I had bought a new Husaberg FE550e. The other day I was pondering about what I might get if I were to buy a new bike today. It wouldn't be another Husaberg as it seems that lately KTM is just stripping the soul right out of Berg. People seem to question how much longer the name will be around. Perhaps I'd resort back to Husqvarna. I love the torque of a big engine. The TE511 looked pretty good. As I am reading the specs of the 511 I realized it is really 477cc. What the heck? Why call it a 511? Why not have a true 500+cc engine? I think it's false advertising to call the bike a 511 when it is only a 477 which is a 449 with a small overbore. Turns me off to buying a new Husqvarna. Just seems the 449 and 477 are too close together. Truthfully, I don't care if the 477 has 50 more hp than the 449. 477 is not a bike I'd be interested in. If it were 511, I probably would be.

 

[McKay]

Your turned off by how they classed it?
I think there are many bigger issues in the world than that. They are both awesome bikes, I also thought about why they named it but it was only slightly more than the 449, So I saved a few bucks and went with the 449, havent looked back since.

 

[FirstEliminator]

Yes, i am turned off by it. You mention since it was only slightly more than the 449 you decided not to buy it. If it were actually over 500cc would you have still bought the 449? Or have gone for the top dog?

Your turned off by how they classed it?
I think there are many bigger issues in the world than that. They are both awesome bikes, I also thought about why they named it but it was only slightly more than the 449, So I saved a few bucks and went with the 449, havent looked back since.

 

[XLEnduroMan]

Read they called it a 511 to state that it is more of a bike then the 510 it replaced. I own a 510 and I am not a fan of the 511 branding myself. The guys that own them do seem to love them, so they must be a good 477. Don't let the cc's turn you away from the mighty H though. Try and find a 511 to test ride and forget about those blue and orange twins.

 

[FirstEliminator]

If that is their reason, that is pretty silly. Because what they are also saying is that the 449 isn't as good as the previous bike called 450.
I'm sure like any new bike it is a really good bike, there aren't any brand new POS's out there. All in all if someone buys a 511 because he wants more than 449 is not fully getting what he wants.

It pretty much just brings back memories of deception when I bought my first brand new bike. It was a 1991 "Husqvarna" WMX 125. A freakin Cagiva. After I realized this, I was like WTF? Now, it ran good. But, so does every brand new bike. I would have never bought a Cagiva because what I wanted was a Husqvarna. Reguardless of whether the Cagiva was a more sophisticated or better rated bike I felt duped because I didn't get what I thought I was getting. I want what I want for the reasons I desire. I am not some sheep that chooses a bike because the magazine receives the most advertising money from whichever manufacturor.

 

[zok511]

well said FirstEliminator...

 

[Coffee]

Marketing... at least that is my thought.

 

[McKay]

Yes, i am turned off by it. You mention since it was only slightly more than the 449 you decided not to buy it. If it were actually over 500cc would you have still bought the 449? Or have gone for the top dog?

No I wouldnt have bought it, Im not going to buy anything just becuase it is a particular cc, that make no sense to me. I buy becuase I like what I get in return for my money. I think some diligent homework is due when making a purchase this big, seems you did yours but let yourself get caught up in the marketing crap. Marketing crap or not, these are fine machines. BTW the engines arent made by Husky or BMW for that matter, they are Asian and they kick some serious ass. Dont pass up consdering this bike becuase it is not a true 500, 449 or 477 is plenty to get any job done you want on these bikes.

 

[Motosportz]

The 449 replaced the 450 and the 511 replaced the 510. They are not based on the same bike and totally different so they named them 449 and 511 to differentiate the models to lesson confusion. Bikes have been named a lot of stuff over the years. 570 and 610 are the same motor. 630 is too but has a new head. I dont think they were trying to do any marketing vodo and the specs are well published. I'm told 477 is about all this motor can go to otherwise they probably would have made it closer to 511. I have ridden the TE499 and my TE510 back to back. Noticeable difference but not huge. 449 revs slightly EZer and the 511 make more power off the bottom / coming out of corners. Both bikes are of the smooth controllable power type not the rip your arms out of there sockets KXF type motors. If your looking for huge power these probably are not going to float your boat.

 

[Motosportz]

BTW the engines arent made by Husky or BMW for that matter, they are Asian and they kick some serious ass. Dont pass up consdering this bike becuase it is not a true 500, 449 or 477 is plenty to get any job done you want on these bikes.

they are actually made by BMW via an Asian manufacturer. There is a difference to me as it is BWM designed, spec'ed and quality controlled and watched over on the assembly line. They are masters at this and build lots of very high quality asian sourced motors and bikes this way.

 

[McKay]

Agreed Kelly, but if the CC ratting turns some off, the engine not being built by the Germans will certainly turn others as well.

Either way I am one happy camper.

 

[Tinken]

I like the new Husabergs, specifically the new 2013 501. The engine they are putting in 501, which replaces the pancaked 570, is 510cc's, lighter and still puts out 60 horsepower. KTM uses the Husaberg line to test it's experimental tech. All the companies make different model numbers which do not reflect engine size, look at KTM 500, 501, 510, 525, 530, yet all 510cc's.

I love my TE511. It's nothing more than an over-bored 449. But no matter what marketing told me, I knew that the 101mm piston would hydraulically produce higher torque. I am not sure what the actual hp output is on a 511 off the top of my head (I'll look it up later), but it feels smoother and stronger than some of my ktm 500's and it's only a 477.

 

[Ex HVUK]

The factory wanted to differentiate the new generation bikes from the old so the decision was made to change from TE450 to TE449 rather than TE451 to avoid confusion regarding the bike being larger than 450cc and therefore not eligible for E2 class racing.

The TE511 name was chosen as being the next step up from 510, capacity not being such an issue for E3 class.

With regards the actual capacity of the 511, E3 class bikes have to be 475cc or greater so at 478cc the 511 is E3 legal. The old 510 wasn't 510cc anyway but a bit closer at 501cc.


Dave

 

[FirstEliminator]

How would you like to have 389 or 421 emblems on that Pontiac, but only have a 326 2 barrel under the hood?

Not quite sure what you mean that you wouldn't buy a bike because it is a particular cc. I mean, a few cc either way doesn't make a difference. You ended up with a 449 because that is about the size bike you wanted. Or, if a 125 was on sale that day that is what you would be riding now? Since you talk about value, perhaps you'll understand it this way. Go to the bank and withdraw 511 dollars, see how you feel when they only give you 477. If you go out and find a better sale it becomes a wash...right? But it still matters. Everybody wants good value. You aren't going to change my mind or sway me from feeling short changed if I were to get a bike called a 511 and really have a 477. No matter how good it runs, the 511 is embellished and inflated over what it really is. Since the engine size is inflated by 7% I think everyone that buys one should receive an addtional 7% off. With this correction it would make the MSRP on the 511 cheaper than the 449 by $229. Now which one is better value?

All in all I have no doubts about the capabilities of either of these bikes. Throughout history, bikes are measured by their cc's. Why should this bike be any different? This is misleading. Don't think I don't understand, I just don't accept it.

McKay, please understand this one thing. I am not picking on you directly, you just happen to be the near annonymous point of view coming in from the opposite angle about something I have a gripe with. Dirtbike and old cars, I'm sure we'd get along great in person.

No I wouldnt have bought it, Im not going to buy anything just becuase it is a particular cc, that make no sense to me. I buy becuase I like what I get in return for my money. I think some diligent homework is due when making a purchase this big, seems you did yours but let yourself get caught up in the marketing crap. Marketing crap or not, these are fine machines. BTW the engines arent made by Husky or BMW for that matter, they are Asian and they kick some serious ass. Dont pass up consdering this bike becuase it is not a true 500, 449 or 477 is plenty to get any job done you want on these bikes.

 

[krieg]

Yawn. Haters will hate no matter what you call it. As a former owner of a 449 and a person who's ridden a 511... I think the bikes speak for themselves. People who own them LOVE them. As for non-owners who bash them for no other reason than the sticker on the side plate.... ya gotta wonder if Forrest Gump was a right when he said... "stupid is as stupid does"

 

[rancher1]

HVUK gave you the real reason for the different numbers, it is amazing how many people do not know what actual bike they have. Husky has done this for years to help dealers get the correct parts for the consumer. Their 360 2 stroke was actually 349.5 cc but they did not want those customers asking for 350 parts since they already had a 350 four stroke. They also did this with the 400 2 stroke and the 410 4 stroke as well. These are just a couple of the ones that come to my mind.

 

[DIRTBIKE]

It almost seems to me that when they call a 477 a 511 they are ripping themselves off by not realy having the capacity/cc's they could and losing out on a few hp by doing so. The same goes for my TE 610 which as we know is just 577cc's. Although i've always known they are'nt realy a 610 i dont realy care because it still goes like any 600+cc thumper ive ridden even though sometimes i think to myself how good it realy would be if it was an actual 610.

 

[FirstEliminator]

Hey Forrest, you missed the whole point. Feel free to use the reply button to form a quotation where I said I hate the bike. Since you won't find that, what I said about the bike itself suggested quite the contrary. If you're too sleepy to read thoroughly, the gripe I have is that I was mislead once and this is another example of saying one thing and being something else.

Yawn. Haters will hate no matter what you call it. As a former owner of a 449 and a person who's ridden a 511... I think the bikes speak for themselves. People who own them LOVE them. As for non-owners who bash them for no other reason than the sticker on the side plate.... ya gotta wonder if Forrest Gump was a right when he said... "stupid is as stupid does"

 

[McKay]

No offense taken, and Im not trying to belittle your opinion, I do think we see eye to eye and hope my posts dont come across as my being an ass about this. You can call me Jeff to shed the anonymous tinge. I really do hope you can overlook this CC issue and not let it move you away from a real evaluation of the 511 or 449 as they are truly great bikes that may or may not fit your mold.

My take on the CC and not buying based on that solely is more towards the difference between the 449 and the 511, I dont race or compete and a 50 cc (published) difference is nothing to me.

Remember the mustang 2? How about the Bronco 2? My wife had an 86 Charger, built entirely in Korea if I remember right. Those I might take issue with.

How would you like to have 389 or 421 emblems on that Pontiac, but only have a 326 2 barrel under the hood?

Not quite sure what you mean that you wouldn't buy a bike because it is a particular cc. I mean, a few cc either way doesn't make a difference. You ended up with a 449 because that is about the size bike you wanted. Or, if a 125 was on sale that day that is what you would be riding now? Since you talk about value, perhaps you'll understand it this way. Go to the bank and withdraw 511 dollars, see how you feel when they only give you 477. If you go out and find a better sale it becomes a wash...right? But it still matters. Everybody wants good value. You aren't going to change my mind or sway me from feeling short changed if I were to get a bike called a 511 and really have a 477. No matter how good it runs, the 511 is embellished and inflated over what it really is. Since the engine size is inflated by 7% I think everyone that buys one should receive an addtional 7% off. With this correction it would make the MSRP on the 511 cheaper than the 449 by $229. Now which one is better value?

All in all I have no doubts about the capabilities of either of these bikes. Throughout history, bikes are measured by their cc's. Why should this bike be any different? This is misleading. Don't think I don't understand, I just don't accept it.

McKay, please understand this one thing. I am not picking on you directly, you just happen to be the near annonymous point of view coming in from the opposite angle about something I have a gripe with. Dirtbike and old cars, I'm sure we'd get along great in person.

 

[FirstEliminator]

Hey Jeff,

Simple thing like the lable is just one of those things that erks me. There's no doubt that any of the new Husqvarnas would be a phenomenal bike. I'd bet the 477 really does rip like a 500+. New engines get better all the time. An extra 50cc's wouldn't make me win any races that I didn't enter. Heck, I ride the wrong bike to begin with because I weigh 190 and ride tight woods---477 would be overkill. It'd probably cause me to go face first into another tree.

The kicker to this whole thread is I'm not looking to buy a new bike. I don't get much chance to ride and my 07 Berg doesn't have many miles on it. If I did get a new Husqvarna, I'd just automatically go with the TE511 like as if it were 1969 all over again and I were going to buy a muscle car. Further thought, since I have a 550 sized bike already i was thinking that TE310 would be a neat bike and the best suited for my local terrain. Hopefully, I won't get the chance to ride one, cause then I might have to spend money that I don't have to burn right now.

To be honest, sometimes I do get offended but quickly realize that we are all Husqvarna lovers here. Usually, I am most offended by re-reading my own posts and do a fair bit of editing. Don't want to be a total jerk. Partial jerk is sometimes o-k, but not really. I feel we are all on the same team, so support is a lot better effort. -----Apologies for things I've said that were abrasive.

Ugg, the cute Pinto. My step father still has a Bronco 2, what a POS. There is a long list of junk cars built new in the 80's. My newest truck is a 79 Ford. But, my newest car is a 1970 Mercury Cougar---the one in my picture that was taken 16 years ago.

Mark

No offense taken, and Im not trying to belittle your opinion, I do think we see eye to eye and hope my posts dont come across as my being an ass about this. You can call me Jeff to shed the anonymous tinge. I really do hope you can overlook this CC issue and not let it move you away from a real evaluation of the 511 or 449 as they are truly great bikes that may or may not fit your mold.

My take on the CC and not buying based on that solely is more towards the difference between the 449 and the 511, I dont race or compete and a 50 cc (published) difference is nothing to me.

Remember the mustang 2? How about the Bronco 2? My wife had an 86 Charger, built entirely in Korea if I remember right. Those I might take issue with.