Steel single tube cradle (round tubes);
rear frame in light alloy
Front Suspension
45mm Marzocchi "Upside-Down" telescopic hydraulic fork with
advanced axle. compression
and rebound stroke adjustment
Front Wheel Travel
300 mm / 11.8 in
Rear Suspension
Sachs progressive "Soft Damp" type with single hydraulic
shock absorber, spring
preload adjustment, compression and rebound adjustment
Rear Wheel Travel
320 mm / 12.6 in
Front Brakes
Single 260mm disc
Rear Brakes
Single 220mm disc
Front Tyre
90/90 -21
Rear Tyre
140/80 -18
Wheelbase
1480 mm / 58.3 in
Seat Height
890 mm / 35.0 in
Ground Clearance
340 mm / 13.4 in
Dry Weight
140.0 kg / 308.6 lbs
Fuel Capacity
9 Litres / 2.4 US gal
.
Get onto some fast
flowing smooth fire trails and the TE-E feels most at home. Especially with a
set of hard terrain knobbies, this is where the Husky will leave most other
adventure bikes in its wake. The power is smooth, the suspension is soft and
supple and the brakes are great. Lofting the front wheel over small obstacles is
as easy as leaning back and giving it a squirt, although you might want to use
the clutch or downshift if it looks serious.
It is definitely worth
taking note that with a full tank of juice the bike will handle like a truck in
technical terrain, there is just too much weight (fuel) over the front wheel to
get through any bumpy terrain at any kind of a pace, especially with the ultra
soft stock suspension. For what the TE610E is designed for, its handling is
impressive in rougher terrain. I got to put the bike through its paces in some
big sand dunes, and with less air in the knobbies, the results were again
surprisingly good. The motor puts out great power at the back wheel, the
handling was respectable, and two wheel drifting over the harder packed sand
felt very controlled even with both feet on the pegs. With all that weight over
the front, you could disconnect the front brake; engine braking with a little
rear brake gave the most controlled results.
Even playing a bit of
silly buggers gave decent results:
second, third and
sometimes fourth gear wheelies were happening from time to time, (as you do). In
Husky's traditional yellow white and blue the TE-E looks sharp, and the twin
alloy silencers look ominous from behind.
The Last Word
I can't imagine taking
a Honda Dominator or the BMW F 650 through the same terrain as I took the Husky.
It is a matter of what you are looking for in a machine, and what the machine is
designed to do. For mainly on-road use there are better options but for a
fabulous off-road bike that can do more, the Husqvarna TE610E delivers the
goods. It fits in the lower middle of the range in terms of price, as adventure
style bikes start at around $8500 and go up to around $15,000. Or more, like the
Cagiva Gran Canyon at $17,500. The TE-E is $10450 + ORC, making it a lot of bike
for the buck.
The Ride
The joys of electric start! On a
machine like this there will be times when you don't have the full heavy duty
boots on and can't it hurt to kick over a big bike with soft-soled shoes?
The bike came supplied with a set
of Trelleborg off-road tyres so the on-road test was limited to getting to the
dirt. With the standard Metzler interrmediate Karuh tyres the TE-E would have
been a much nicer proposition to wander down the south coast somewhere. Hans
mentioned that most adventure bikes come standard with rubber rated at somewhere
around 70 percent road and 30 percent dirt where the Metzelers are more of a
true 50/50 tyre capable of riding more than a basic gravel road. On the road
with knobbies the 610 felt quite comfortable at a casual pace. The size and
mass of the bike (140kg dry) give a solid feel to the road but not something you
would want to ride in the wet or over longer distances.
The motor feels quite smooth and
balanced for a big single. There is not an over abundance of power as this bike
complies fully with ADR specs and felt a bit restricted. There are ways to
extract more power, talk to your Husky dealer. The power is smooth and steady
and makes the TE-E a real pleasure to cruise around on without feeling like it
will get away from you, if you need to get around slower traffic you will have
to use all the revs to build speed quickly.
Practical rear
footpegs and helmet holder are nice touches
The gears shift positively although
the action is not featherlight, the wide ratio gearing allows for healthy
highway speeds: cruising at 130km/h the motor isn't even revving. Riding with a
pillion is fine for shorter distances but not very practical for longer trips if
the pillion is not a jockey; the seat's too small. The rack fitted on the rear
guard behind the seat makes for a great grab bar for the pillion but can dig
into their back side if they slide back over bumps or under acceleration.
With between five to 10 Litres
of
fuel in the tank the TE610E resembles a true off road machine. However, your
riding style needs to adjust slightly to compensate for the 140-150kg weight
(with fuel/oil etc); for an enduro bike the TE-E is on the heavy side, but for
an adventure bike it's lightweight.