For 2016 it is impressive that Husqvarna in only its third true year of producing bikes in Austria has an all new line of 2016 MX bikes, four brand new from the ground up. And say and align what you will with the connections with KTM but those three letters have not even been mumbled or brought up the whole introduction. You have to look at it in the same way large auto manufacturers use a similar platform across different brands. Then the large amount of R&D dollars necessary for development can be realized with larger unit sales of similar, yet different versions of the same thing. So from here we’re talking exclusively Husky knowing full well what these bikes are very similar to. But they are different as well.
We spent a full hot day in the humidity in Budd’s Creek Maryland pounding out laps on all six of the 2016 offerings that will be hitting dealers in the fall. We were riding first run pilot production bikes that will also be used for the dealer show/ride in the following days.
The TC 125 is an all new bike dropping a serious number of pounds over the previous model through the new tiny motor and the chassis that is shared with the FC’s for the most part. The little bike is impressive and makes the long, smooth and flowing power that is characteristic of the KTM 125cc engine family. It runs every bit as good as any 125 we have ridden, if not better, feeling super controlled for a high-strung engine. Husky is claiming 40 HP at the output shaft! Of course that drops quite a bit once it hits the rear wheel but every indication was it is making good, sweet power. The clutch control is excellent and the bike feels lighter than you can imagine. It really highlights the agility and light weight of the new chassis. We played around with the suspension a bit and really got the WP 4CS forks working right on the track but like all the Huskys, you have to think about the clickers a little different. Once we had the ride height where I liked it (105mm) then the fork was a little on the harsh side. It was low in the stroke so we stiffened the compression up 5-6 clicks (this seems to raise the ride height and keep it from packing and in the end acting softer) and tightened up the rebound 5 clicks also to help the front end slow down, stay up and also keep it planted in the turns. Here the bike turned like a dream even without compression braking to keep the front wheel planted or the extra weight of a four-stroke. Even for a heavier 125 rider like myself, the bike resisted bottoming well and had a nice progressive feel through the stroke. And yes, it is no comparison to the old bike as it will make the old TC125 feel sluggish and heavy.
The TC250 was available to ride even though it was a BNG (bold new graphics) year. Husky likes to call it CTG (color, trim, graphic). This gives a good insight to how light and agile the new chassis makes the other bikes feel. The strong point of the bike is a smooth and clean-running 250cc two-stroke that makes plenty of power. The two-position switch really changes the character of the bike but we’d not agree with the terms aggressive and standard as they both have an aggressive point in the spread. The standard map was our favorite with a better and longer power on top with a smoother transition. The aggressive one felt a little flat on top in comparison to the more boosted bottom-end hit. The suspension feels less active than the newer chassis and the bike a bit heavy when leaning into the turns. But it also felt very planted and stable.
On to the all-new four strokes and starting with the FC250, they are all impressive. The big differentiation from the KTM line is the rear subframe and the plastic. Made from a carbon composite material the sub-frame attributes to the massive weight drop from the previous Husqvarna FC250 and a serious reduction in both the visual width of the bike as well as how thick it feels the whole bike through. In fact these bikes are seriously thin from radiator shroud to rear fender and we never hooked or snagged on anything. There is also plenty of stuff to grab on to with knees and ankles and a gripper seat as a bonus. The 250 has a very striking amount of torque right off the bottom that a novice rider will appreciate. And advanced riders will love it in the off-camber sections—Budd’s Creek had plenty of those. Then the engine comes alive and is very strong running, especially in the mid-range and especially when compared to the 2015 bike that felt somewhat muted by the airbox. This one is not. The top end at 14,000 RPM isn’t the most impressive as the bike has a taper to get you to shift and not hit the rev limiter. Shifting is excellent and the clutch is what other bikes aspire too. On the handling front the TC250 is light, responsive and very sensitive to the ride height and the fork setting. Like all the other bikes with the 4CS fork, you use the clickers more like a mid- or high-speed compression and rebound adjustment but luckily the baseline setting controlling the low speed and the bottoming is very good. Again, we stiffened the fork compression and rebound about 5 clicks to get the front end more comfortable, riding higher in the stroke and feeling softer on the small bumps. It worked and the bike turns on a dime. The rubber-mounted triple-clamp takes a noticeable amount of sharp hits out of the Pro-Taper bars as well. Time spent playing with the clickers really pays off and we never felt the need to touch the rear shock aside from playing with the ride height (105mm) to get the turning how we preferred.
The FC350 was very impressive and could be the real surprise in the line. Somehow the character of the motor through the airbox inlet just made the bike perfect. On this track it had abundant torque for the slow speed sections and ripping power on the top as well. The power is smooth, seamless and impressive in the standard mode and then in the aggressive position through the bar-mounted switch you can make it feel faster everywhere if the traction is abundant. On this bike we did not feel the need to mess with the suspension knowing from the get-go the fork on this track liked +5 stiffer compression and rebound. It seemed the control through the throttle would let you overcome anything on the track, lifting the bike over bumps and turning and steering all over the place—where you wanted to go. The motor and chassis feel like they were mated perfectly.
The FC450 really feels heavy in this bunch but not because of any other reason than it is a powerhouse. The term Velvet Sledgehammer comes to mind as the power is so smooth and so abundant it really is up to the throttle hand to make the decision on what you want. However, this power creates a heavier rotational mass/weight feel and the twisting torque of the engine, compared to other bikes we rode today, causes the motorcycle to want to stand up and go when applying ample throttle. Yet it will feel lighter than most 450s we suspect. The suspension has a slightly stiffer nature to hold the bike up and was a little less compliant (or maybe the track and the rider were a lot more beat up, yes?) with a similar setting from earlier testing. Here we slowed the rebound a little on the rear and a lot of the bump compliance issues went away.
We have a lot more to say about each individual bike in some riding impressions going up in the next few days so keep checking back and don’t be shy asking those questions in the comments section.
Here are links to the individual riding impressions:
http://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/husqvarna-tc85-first-riding-impression/
http://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/2016-husqvarna-tc-125-first-riding-impression/
http://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/2016-husqvarna-fc-350-first-riding-impression/
http://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/2016-husqvarna-tc-250-first-riding-impression/
http://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/2016-husqvarna-fc-250-first-riding-impression/
http://dirtbiketest.com/fresh-dirt/2016-husqvarna-fc-450-first-riding-impression/
2 Responses to “2016 Husqvarna MX Press Launch”
Richard Zinn
Well written! Interested in your take on the handle bar ecu mapping toggle.
Jimmy Lewis
The switch is very noticeable on some of the bikes and not so much on others. But the interesting thing is the way the Launch Control works. It is a time based system that also senses when you back off the throttle too. You basically hold the bike wide open (at least on the 250F, the 350 and 450 still lofted the front too much when applying this technique) and it impliments a lower rev cut. Then technically you should be able to drop the clutch and take off as fast as traction will allow. I would need to re-learn my starting technique to make this system work.