Goofy Footer 465 Posted May 9 4 hours ago, robertaccio said: PS that YZ400 was a terrible machine for me......I rode a first year model more than a few times in the off road environments , that thing was first hard to start cold, pop stalled and virtually impossible to start hot.........a very frustrating horrible offroad bike for me. I could start a Husky 610 easily hot or cold 1 or 2 kicks. That Yamaha was a shitshow in that regard and really scarred me. If I was racing enduro I would smoke myself in times on the TE610 over that blue trashcan. Glad they sorted the things out as years passed, but then in typical Japanocentric logic made them concentrated heavy weighted tanks in the offroad models......yes they worked.. but hell they weighed a ton. a YZM400 beat the Husabergs and won the 1997 Italian World Cup / Grand Prix !! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 836 Posted May 9 2 hours ago, robertaccio said: Remember that 400 YAM was not mine....so I can't account for owner maintenance and tuning. I love this stuff, because the TE450 (mine was 06 carbby model) took me alot of my dial in stuff and ended to be a good runner. But then came my 2008 TXC450 FCR carb bike too which was far superior but with the continuing thing you mentioned VIBES big time !! When I rebuilt we installed the 08 SM CB shaft assy. game changer. BTW the original TE world champ 400 engine in 03 as well as early TE models all had CB shafts. For some stupid reason ($$?) they lost them in the TC,TXC and TE models only the SM models kept the balancer shaft. My ex TXC450 is still alive and smooth as silk, the way the entire line up should have remained. BTWx2 All the SWMs have the CB shaft in them as designed originally under the Husky banner. Yes the FI on those injected Huskys was a bit of a nightmare for some reason (Mikuni FI) that was used on some Japanese machines with no issues...?? always odd to me, Yes, and I had the WR which had a heavier flywheel....probably helped with the flameout issues? If I had kept the TE and gone through the engine, a counter balancer would have been a no brainer. I suppose it saved a few ounces and added .5 horsepower, all about the spec sheets at some point. I did a lot of riding on my Husky, the close ratio transmission was probably my biggest issue, it was likely a better woods bike than a desert machine but being a dual sport it should have had a wide ratio. I'm interested to see the changes over the next decade or two. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 357 Posted May 10 3 hours ago, Goofy Footer said: a YZM400 beat the Husabergs and won the 1997 Italian World Cup / Grand Prix !! 1999 Bartolini YAM won the MXGP World championship but Smets KTM came right back to win again in 2000, then came the Everts YAM steamroller....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goofy Footer 465 Posted May 10 51 minutes ago, robertaccio said: 1999 Bartolini YAM won the MXGP World championship but Smets KTM came right back to win again in 2000, then came the Everts YAM steamroller....... The 1997 Yamaha YZM400 was a winner! Italy’s own Andrea Bartolini was the YZM400 rider who won the Italian Gran Prix And stateside, AMA Hall of Famer Doug Henry won the final round of 1997 Supercross at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on the YZM - the first modern four stroke to win. He beat Jeremy McGrath that race! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goofy Footer 465 Posted May 10 Cycle News front cover! @tntmo @robertaccio @Wintyfresh @Pokey151 @tubebender should I do a proper post ok this historic bike? I’ve been doing some moto history research on it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 357 Posted May 11 On 5/9/2023 at 3:18 PM, Goofy Footer said: a YZM400 beat the Husabergs and won the 1997 Italian World Cup / Grand Prix !! 1999 Bartolini YAM won the MXGP World championship but Smets KTM came right back to win again in 2000, then came the Everts YAM steamroller....... Somehow this quote will not go away!!!! I needed to say Doug Henry is and was an amazing guy!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goofy Footer 465 Posted May 14 On 5/8/2023 at 7:35 AM, dirt dame said: I bought my 1886 KDX 200 C1 brand new in September of 1985. Except for a brief time around 2008-2009, I owned and rode the bike until circumstances made it so that I could no longer keep it in 2023. That's a long relationship with a trail bike. Until that time, in early days, it went on many trail adventures and enduros, including a qualifier in the state of Washington in 1990, in which I managed to bronze the vet class. Later years saw the bike plated, and it never failed me on many dualsport rides such as those up in the San Bernardino mountains. Long live Bentley The KDX. Do you still own any of your CA plated KDX’s? I think the 86 is air cooled? I also remember you having a newer 200 plated. I almost think they’ve become cult bikes with their loyal following Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 452 Posted May 14 4 minutes ago, Goofy Footer said: Do you still own any of your CA plated KDX’s? I think the 86 is air cooled? I also remember you having a newer 200 plated. I almost think they’ve become cult bikes with their loyal following Have neither of my aircooled 200s. My 220 was not plated. I had a plated KLX 300 for a while. Have a plated Beta Xtrainer 300 right now. Fairly easy to plate the two strokes up here in Wy. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goofy Footer 465 Posted May 18 On 5/7/2023 at 1:07 PM, tntmo said: I think Yamaha is the only Japanese 250 2T remaining? Yes! And it was a Yamaha YZ250 that made it history this year: It was the first 2 stroke in 17 years to qualify for a 450 Supercross Main Event and it happened twice! https://dirtbikemagazine.com/inside-jared-leshers-sx-built-yz250-two-stroke/ @tntmo didn’t you see this guy at Houston? @Wintyfresh do you still have your YZ250? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 836 Posted May 18 10 minutes ago, Goofy Footer said: Yes! And it was a Yamaha YZ250 that made it history this year: It was the first 2 stroke in 17 years to qualify for a 450 Supercross Main Event and it happened twice! https://dirtbikemagazine.com/inside-jared-leshers-sx-built-yz250-two-stroke/ @tntmo didn’t you see this guy at Houston? @Wintyfresh do you still have your YZ250? I was at both events he qualified at. I stopped in the pits and talked with him a bit in Dallas. I had gone for a morning run from my hotel to the stadium and waved to a couple people, his van of people waved back. I said thanks for the morning motivation. Just a Sprinter van and a Walmart pop-up. The huge factory rigs are amazing, but seeing guys gritting it out like this are inspiring. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wintyfresh 46 Posted May 23 On 5/18/2023 at 7:23 AM, Goofy Footer said: @Wintyfresh do you still have your YZ250? I do, and Liz still has hers as well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 836 Posted June 1 Pretty good video about the Husaberg story. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shutterrev 408 Posted June 1 @tntmo friend of mine has one of them hussybergs and it's a super sweet ride. Feels like it has 690 power, but packed in to a bike the same size and weight as a 500. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 836 Posted June 1 I never rode one of those 70 degree bikes, they were very intriguing. Obviously it's an answer to a question nobody asked because it hasn't been duplicated yet. Makes you wonder if they would still be making them today if KTM didn't murder the company? Sometimes companies will due something weird and just stick with it because it defines them (BMW airplane engine? Moto Guzzi transverse V-Twin?) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 357 Posted June 1 5 hours ago, tntmo said: Pretty good video about the Husaberg story. Local famous journalista gets in the viddy! Jean gets her moment. And now that my wheels are on the way from UK my Swede! HBG FC501 project will be going into final assembly phase. 1994 FC501 chassis with a 1997 (oil pumper) FC501 6 speed engine. This thing should freaking rip some serious thunder will be heard on the Cahuilla Vet track. BTW the 70 deg engine bikes do ride like magic....they just have silly heavy feel on the stand from all the mass centralization. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 357 Posted June 1 (edited) 5 hours ago, tntmo said: I never rode one of those 70 degree bikes, they were very intriguing. Obviously it's an answer to a question nobody asked because it hasn't been duplicated yet. Makes you wonder if they would still be making them today if KTM didn't murder the company? Sometimes companies will due something weird and just stick with it because it defines them (BMW airplane engine? Moto Guzzi transverse V-Twin?) At the 2008 EICMA I met and had great discussion with the Swede engineers that cut and welded engines to form the 70 deg engines as well as world enduro pilot Joakim Ljunggren of the 70 deg machine. those welded up prototypes were super proto. Edited June 1 by robertaccio 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 357 Posted June 1 BTW the afore mentioned Thomas Gustaffson was not only an engineer at Husqvarna Sweden but he was also on the crew team that designed and tested the Husqvarna 510 4T engine from the early 1980s and rode in the ISDE with the factory prototypes in the big bore 4T classes. In 85 Spain ISDE he was even on a liquid cooled TE510 single shock prototype while all others were still on air cooled engines in the new single shock chassis (others like class winner Andrienni (ITA) and our very own Larry Roeseler (USA). Retail did not see the liquid cooled 510 until 87, pro racers mid 86 . Gustaffson is a Swede legend of 4T design and implementation. PS I owned rode and raced locally a US model 1986 510TX air/oil cooled single shock machine. Note until the Italians re-engineered the 510-610 they did not even have oil pumps, to me another brilliant Swede engineering design for lube and oil bath cooling. explanation if anyone want to hear it. My Huasberg although she has an oil pump still retains the RAL system as well.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe1knows 0 Posted June 1 Isn't that really an easy answer? Umm, Husqvarna.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zubb 965 Posted Sunday at 11:17 PM On 6/1/2023 at 7:01 AM, tntmo said: I never rode one of those 70 degree bikes, they were very intriguing. Obviously it's an answer to a question nobody asked because it hasn't been duplicated yet. Makes you wonder if they would still be making them today if KTM didn't murder the company? Sometimes companies will due something weird and just stick with it because it defines them (BMW airplane engine? Moto Guzzi transverse V-Twin?) Didn’t you “cycle through” one of those Sweeds in your shop just a year or two ago? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 836 Posted Monday at 12:18 AM 59 minutes ago, Zubb said: Didn’t you “cycle through” one of those Sweeds in your shop just a year or two ago? I worked on a Husaberg, but not the 70 degree one. Pretty interesting machine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
