Australasian Dirt Bike — September 2017

78 | SEPTEMBER 2017 http://www.adbmag.com.au

grunt off the bottom but it was not

available for the TPI bikes yet. By the

time you read this, they’ll probably

have one ready to go. They don’t mess

around those Euros.

Of the two bikes, the 300 ran

cleaner. At the top of the mountain,

the TE300 didn’t seem to be as

affected by the altitude as much as the

250. Sure, you could tell it wasn’t as
     strong as it was at 1500m but the
     engine characteristics were the same.
     Smooth, useable and easy to ride.
     Even on the ‘standard’ map, the
     power was super smooth. The way the
     ECU manages the power is going to be
     appealing to a wide variety of riders.
     Some people get scared that a 300 will
     rip out of their hands but these new
     two-strokes are nothing like that.
     Apart from the new injection
     system, there are a few other updates
     that the Huskies get across the board.

The WP XPlor forks have been given a

facelift with new tubes and firmer

damping to give extra confidence.

The fork is still a tad soft but with

the external preload adjuster, you can

crank it up and that helps the fork sit

up a bit in the stroke. The biggest

news outside the injection is that the

trusty Brembo brakes have been given

the flick for Magura units.

Considering how good the Brembos

are, I was surprised at this move away

from what KTM uses but, at the same

time, curious to see if they could stack

up. Thankfully, the Maguras have a

very similar feel to the Brembos.

Strong and progressive. Lastly,

ProTaper takes care of the handlebars

now and the new bend seemed higher

but is still comfortable and familiar.

SUMMARY

With so much hype surrounding these

bikes, I guess the only thing left to

answer is, do they live up to the

hype?! Yes, but the location of the test

venue meant they weren’t perfect. As

a racer I prefer snappier throttle

response and the more aggressive

nature of the carby 300s (TX300).

But at the altitudes we rode at, any

carby bike would have had to be

re-jetted and would have lost power.

That is the great thing about the

injected bikes, it’s all self-adjusting

and as time goes by, there will be

different engine maps that you can

load with an iPhone app.

I take my hat off to the Husky and

KTM guys for getting TPI off the

ground. They have created an engine

so smooth and easy to ride, that even

the most sceptical four-stroke guy

will enjoy it. I am very keen to ride

these bikes at home and see how they

stack up at Aussie altitude.

Some people get scared that a 300 will rip out of their

hands but these new two-strokes are nothing like that

Fuel pump in the

bottom of the tank

and level sensor

suck 250ml out of

the capacity, which

is down to 9.25L.

Mitsuba starter

still sits under the

crankcase but

gets extra help

from the new 196W

generator.

Not much daylight

behind the engine

anymore thanks

to the 2T oil tank

and fuel injection

plumbing.

WORLD LAUNCH | 2018 HUSQVARNA TE250/300i

Go all out!

I have never seen so much effort go into a bike

launch. The Husky guys went all out. There were

“Husky” bottles of water in our rooms on arrival,

Husky shampoo and conditioner and all the room

keys had Husqvarna logos.

We even got a supply of M&Ms, but instead of Ms

on the them, they had Husqvarna ‘H” logos. The real

food was pretty awesome as well.

The Husqvarna crew throw a mean party with any

and every kind of beverage you could imagine. They

love to sit down together and chat at every meal. It

really is a family deal and it’s awesome to witness.