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- Jan 1, 2005
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- Gibbens
Husqvarna has released a new adventure bike -the TR650 Terra.
This bike appears to be squarely aimed at the KLR650 / DR650 market. Husky is marketing the Terra as a dual purpose bike capable of "light dirt" duty.
Here are some of the published specs:
- 404 lbs ready to ride
- 58 horsepower
- wide ratio 5 speed transmission
- (the engine is a modified version of the BMW G650GS engine)
- 21 inch front wheel, 18 inch rear wheel, spoked
- 3.5 gallon gas tank, 55+ miles per gallon should provide 200 mile range
- 7.5 inches of suspension travel
- 46mm inverted front forks (non-adjustable)
- steel frame, subframe, and swingarm
- Husky say options will include skid plate, windscreen, soft bags, heated grips, low seat, ABS
- $6999.00 MSRP
The first shipment of bikes have arrived in the US and initial ride reports are starting to be posted. Here are some excerpts from the first report posted on Cafe Husky.
"Got it. Initial impressions are pretty darn nice bike for 7K. I like that is seems simplified and not over engineered... Some nice features and looks very well built. Rode it a few miles, super smooth EFI, like perfect. Very smooth motor and seems to have lots of grunt. Clutch is cable but the pull is very EZ and shifting is smooth. Feels very natural and EZ to hop on and ride, nothing out of place of funky. ...sturdy steel kick stand with NO fall over in your garage onto your car feature. Fit and finish are very nice... Overall I am pretty impressed. Yes, you can see where they cut corners, thats why it is not 10K. Oh, will do 60 mph EZ in third. LONG geared. Bet it does 100 no problem...
OK, got a solid 60 miles on it last night, all street... I am here to say, much like my TE511 and the unknown Husky engineers took a good bike in the BMW and made a fantastic (IMHO) mount from it...This bike hits the nail on the head IMHO.
Motor:
This to me is the highlight of the package. Smooth, strong, powerful, EZ, ultra flexible, reliable brick. Makes super smooth power in a very linear fashion building power from the first rev to the last with no hump or valleys. You spend most the time between 3500-5000 and with that can go 30 -70 in the same gear. Canyon carving is extremely EZ, no shifting needed as it pulls pretty hard from very low RPM and keeps building power to redline. Well I'm guessing there as i never reved it past like 65K in respect of the new motor and really no need at this time. The engine is brilliant IMHO. On my way home I was thinking if someone blindfolded me and put me on this bike and i did not look down I would think i was on a Aprilia 550 V-twin or SV 650. I have ridden both and this bike on the road feels much like that. Feels very V-twin like and sounds like it too. The lots of bottom end and smooth thrust makes it feel this way and the twin pipes add to it.
When i met buddy Adam with the V-strom we were looking the bike over. His first comments were that the bike was far better looking than he thought it would be and it looked more dirt than the pix. We discussed the EFI and mufflers and that they have removable inserts and there might be EFI tuners out there etc. We hopped on our bikes a took off. About 5 or so miles into the twisties and my ear to ear grin was hurting my face so I let Adam take it for a rip. I followed don his V-strom, a bike i have ridden many times. My first impression riding the V-strom is it feels 80 pounds heavier and all of that seems high placed (tall tank and fairing). Next impression was I was pretty sure the TR650 faster even not using the last 2000 RPM. I figured I'd let Adam report before saying anything. We stop and Adam is all abuzz. "I freaking LOVE this bike", "I would not touch the motor, mufflers, EFI, it runs perfect and is way faster than my V-strom"... Well OK, that confirms my feelings too. His next words were " I'm selling the V-strom and ATK and getting one of these" Nice. He said getting on it "I should not ride this as I will want to sell my V-strom" guess he was right. The TR650 feels a good bit faster, way lighter, way better looking and has far better brakes.
Fantastic motor, i can hardly wait to get a few more miles on her and ring it's neck. As some of the quick ride reports i the mags have said you can feel a good rush of power coming in at about 6K and they say it revs to redline pulling hard. I did not go there but really looking forward to it. you could ride this bike all day long on the road using one gear and 3500-5000 RPM.
Transmission:
WIDE. The bike is slightly tall on final gearing. It is loping along at 70mph 3800 rpm at 60 in top gear. You could ride the highways in 4th EZ and that gives you more passing power. 3rd will take you to 65 plus.
60 mile feelings:
This bike is a home run. Fantastic street / commuting bike and should be a great off road. Like it far better than the V-strom. Great smoooooth motor and very neutral bike add up to a very EZ bike to ride and enjoy. Don't ride on if you don't want one."
"OK, got 203 miles on it now. I'm just going to come right out and say it... I love this bike. I predict it is going to get rave reviews and sell very well. The motor is awesome and seems to get better with every mile. Got 64.4 mpg on my first 103 miles...Bike continues to be fantastic on the street and feels like a V-twin to me. Gobs of power and can pass cars from 65 mph EZ. Just like a real street bike. As I said, the motor is terrific right out of the box. FAST and smooth. Clutch is super EZ, shifts nice, quiet. Brakes are breaking in and are very good and strong. This is a great canyon carving machine. Handles light and is fast.
Hit the dirt...
Finally got it on gravel and dirt and the bike hides it's weight and girth better than I had hoped. On the gravel it rules, motor is a flat track king, handles nice, could do hours of gravel at 40 plus mph all day long. Found myself ripping along at 64 mph on one gravel section and did not even realize it. I can't think of a better bike for gravel. Found some sandy two track, worked fine. Found some old road grades in the woods all grown over and the bike is FUN on that to. Steers far lighter than it should (most likely due to the under seat tank) and bike feels relatively light on its feet. I am a fairly accomplished off road rider and have ridden many bikes big and small and i found this bike quite acceptable off road. Better than i originally thought it would work due to how good it works on the street. I'm impressed. Not a 610/630 in the dirt but not as far off as you might think. In fact I envisioned a version of this bike stripped and with real suspension being a great bike for open off road like you would use a XR650 for.
Guys, this bike is the goods. No BS, it is a GREAT road bike and good dirt bike. I think they absolutely hit the mark with this bike. I can't believe anyone could ride it and not think so. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict this bike gets rave reviews in the next few months and sells very well. I'm not generating hype, ride the bike and tell me I'm wrong."
Here is the link to the thread at Cafe Husky for those who want to read all the discussion: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/where-is-the-650-forum-tr650-in-the-house.27986/
This bike appears to be squarely aimed at the KLR650 / DR650 market. Husky is marketing the Terra as a dual purpose bike capable of "light dirt" duty.
Here are some of the published specs:
- 404 lbs ready to ride
- 58 horsepower
- wide ratio 5 speed transmission
- (the engine is a modified version of the BMW G650GS engine)
- 21 inch front wheel, 18 inch rear wheel, spoked
- 3.5 gallon gas tank, 55+ miles per gallon should provide 200 mile range
- 7.5 inches of suspension travel
- 46mm inverted front forks (non-adjustable)
- steel frame, subframe, and swingarm
- Husky say options will include skid plate, windscreen, soft bags, heated grips, low seat, ABS
- $6999.00 MSRP
The first shipment of bikes have arrived in the US and initial ride reports are starting to be posted. Here are some excerpts from the first report posted on Cafe Husky.
"Got it. Initial impressions are pretty darn nice bike for 7K. I like that is seems simplified and not over engineered... Some nice features and looks very well built. Rode it a few miles, super smooth EFI, like perfect. Very smooth motor and seems to have lots of grunt. Clutch is cable but the pull is very EZ and shifting is smooth. Feels very natural and EZ to hop on and ride, nothing out of place of funky. ...sturdy steel kick stand with NO fall over in your garage onto your car feature. Fit and finish are very nice... Overall I am pretty impressed. Yes, you can see where they cut corners, thats why it is not 10K. Oh, will do 60 mph EZ in third. LONG geared. Bet it does 100 no problem...
OK, got a solid 60 miles on it last night, all street... I am here to say, much like my TE511 and the unknown Husky engineers took a good bike in the BMW and made a fantastic (IMHO) mount from it...This bike hits the nail on the head IMHO.
Motor:
This to me is the highlight of the package. Smooth, strong, powerful, EZ, ultra flexible, reliable brick. Makes super smooth power in a very linear fashion building power from the first rev to the last with no hump or valleys. You spend most the time between 3500-5000 and with that can go 30 -70 in the same gear. Canyon carving is extremely EZ, no shifting needed as it pulls pretty hard from very low RPM and keeps building power to redline. Well I'm guessing there as i never reved it past like 65K in respect of the new motor and really no need at this time. The engine is brilliant IMHO. On my way home I was thinking if someone blindfolded me and put me on this bike and i did not look down I would think i was on a Aprilia 550 V-twin or SV 650. I have ridden both and this bike on the road feels much like that. Feels very V-twin like and sounds like it too. The lots of bottom end and smooth thrust makes it feel this way and the twin pipes add to it.
When i met buddy Adam with the V-strom we were looking the bike over. His first comments were that the bike was far better looking than he thought it would be and it looked more dirt than the pix. We discussed the EFI and mufflers and that they have removable inserts and there might be EFI tuners out there etc. We hopped on our bikes a took off. About 5 or so miles into the twisties and my ear to ear grin was hurting my face so I let Adam take it for a rip. I followed don his V-strom, a bike i have ridden many times. My first impression riding the V-strom is it feels 80 pounds heavier and all of that seems high placed (tall tank and fairing). Next impression was I was pretty sure the TR650 faster even not using the last 2000 RPM. I figured I'd let Adam report before saying anything. We stop and Adam is all abuzz. "I freaking LOVE this bike", "I would not touch the motor, mufflers, EFI, it runs perfect and is way faster than my V-strom"... Well OK, that confirms my feelings too. His next words were " I'm selling the V-strom and ATK and getting one of these" Nice. He said getting on it "I should not ride this as I will want to sell my V-strom" guess he was right. The TR650 feels a good bit faster, way lighter, way better looking and has far better brakes.
Fantastic motor, i can hardly wait to get a few more miles on her and ring it's neck. As some of the quick ride reports i the mags have said you can feel a good rush of power coming in at about 6K and they say it revs to redline pulling hard. I did not go there but really looking forward to it. you could ride this bike all day long on the road using one gear and 3500-5000 RPM.
Transmission:
WIDE. The bike is slightly tall on final gearing. It is loping along at 70mph 3800 rpm at 60 in top gear. You could ride the highways in 4th EZ and that gives you more passing power. 3rd will take you to 65 plus.
60 mile feelings:
This bike is a home run. Fantastic street / commuting bike and should be a great off road. Like it far better than the V-strom. Great smoooooth motor and very neutral bike add up to a very EZ bike to ride and enjoy. Don't ride on if you don't want one."
"OK, got 203 miles on it now. I'm just going to come right out and say it... I love this bike. I predict it is going to get rave reviews and sell very well. The motor is awesome and seems to get better with every mile. Got 64.4 mpg on my first 103 miles...Bike continues to be fantastic on the street and feels like a V-twin to me. Gobs of power and can pass cars from 65 mph EZ. Just like a real street bike. As I said, the motor is terrific right out of the box. FAST and smooth. Clutch is super EZ, shifts nice, quiet. Brakes are breaking in and are very good and strong. This is a great canyon carving machine. Handles light and is fast.
Hit the dirt...
Finally got it on gravel and dirt and the bike hides it's weight and girth better than I had hoped. On the gravel it rules, motor is a flat track king, handles nice, could do hours of gravel at 40 plus mph all day long. Found myself ripping along at 64 mph on one gravel section and did not even realize it. I can't think of a better bike for gravel. Found some sandy two track, worked fine. Found some old road grades in the woods all grown over and the bike is FUN on that to. Steers far lighter than it should (most likely due to the under seat tank) and bike feels relatively light on its feet. I am a fairly accomplished off road rider and have ridden many bikes big and small and i found this bike quite acceptable off road. Better than i originally thought it would work due to how good it works on the street. I'm impressed. Not a 610/630 in the dirt but not as far off as you might think. In fact I envisioned a version of this bike stripped and with real suspension being a great bike for open off road like you would use a XR650 for.
Guys, this bike is the goods. No BS, it is a GREAT road bike and good dirt bike. I think they absolutely hit the mark with this bike. I can't believe anyone could ride it and not think so. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict this bike gets rave reviews in the next few months and sells very well. I'm not generating hype, ride the bike and tell me I'm wrong."
Here is the link to the thread at Cafe Husky for those who want to read all the discussion: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/where-is-the-650-forum-tr650-in-the-house.27986/
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