High-end European enduro bike builders Husaberg have revamped their entire lineup.
It’s unclear how much of the new lineup will be street-legal – like most European dirt bike manufacturers, Husaberg has a long history of making edgy, high-performance off-road machines that have a light kit for the street as well. And, given that the company’s new slogan is “Pure Enduro,” maybe they’ve decided to leave that behind. There are no more motocross or cross-country bikes in the lineup, and no super-motos either, it seems.
But street-legal or not, Husaberg’s lineup looks considerably different this year. Only their smallest bike, the two-stroke TE125, remains in the lineup as the only machine without electric start (it’s standard on their other two-strokes and available as an optional retro-fit for their four-stroke machines, but Husaberg has followed the trend towards e-starters now, like everyone else). All bikes have headlights.
They’ve built a four-stroke 250 cc model for the first time, the FE250, with six-speed transmission and 48mm closed-cartridge WP fork. Husaberg is claiming the bike will weigh 236 lbs.
They’re still building the two-stroke TE250 as well, with an updated chassis and improved power delivery for 2013. The TE300 also returns, with a revised chassis and power deliver as well.
The four-stroke FE501 and FE350 both make a return to Husaberg’s lineup; these are the first and second models Husaberg produced, respectively. The 501’s return means the FE570 has been dropped, and Husaberg has also dropped the FE390. The FE450 will stay in production, but it’s been updated for 2013 as well.
The Husabergs all get a new double-cradle central tube chrome-moly frame, with fiberglass-reinforced polyamide subframe that’s bolted on. They’ve also lost the yellow paint – frames are painted grey now.
They all have re-designed WP PDS shock absorbers, which are 7 mm longer; triple clamps swingarms, wheels, mufflers, and airboxes have all been re-designed. The bikes come with plastic skid plates, and the four-strokes come with transparent fuel tanks.
Husaberg has abandoned the unconventional, tipped-forward engine layout they’ve used in the past; instead they’re using engines that are derived from their parent company KTM’s offerings. They claim the new motors are lighter and allow a reduction in rotating mass, reduced intake noise, a lower center of gravity, a bigger airbox capacity, simplified exhaust routing, and a more compact layout.
The FE250 and FE350 both get DOHC engines, while the FE450 and FE501 are SOHC. The motors all have re-designed heads with titanium valves (the two bigger bikes have steel outlet valves). The FE250 and FE350 have a redesigned V-Force 4 reed valve block.
The new Husabergs have a new oil-cooled 196-watt alternator – pretty impressive, for a dirt bike. All the four-strokes have Keihin fuel injection with a 42 mm throttle body, as well as two oil pumps.
Husaberg will also be offering the Pure Tech accessory line for the bikes, which includes the already-mentioned kickstarter.
Want more information? Visit Husaberg’s international site here; you can find more specs and other information there. The bikes aren’t available in the U.S. until September, and they’ve had no pricing released there, so it’s anyone’s guess when the bikes will be available in Canada, and for how much money.
they’re ktms