Husqvarna Smr450
Husqvarna SMR450
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Hardcore hacker hits the streets
MARK CERNICKY
APRILIA SXV SM NAMED WORLD CHAMPION... Ducati Hypermoto earns design awards...KTM 950 SM expands the standard for standards... BMW HP2 SM on the way...and Buell just unveiled its new XB12 SuperTT. If it’s true that it takes two to tango, then V-Twin supermotos have crowded the dance floor of late. But let’s not forget the singular principle behind supermoto’s steady climb into the mainstream. Prior to this new wave of long-travel, radial-shod Twins, the SM play toy of choice has always been lightweight, highly maneuverable, single-cylinder four-strokes, converted motocrossers that lend themselves to being hucked and hacked around a part-pavement/part-dirt circuit with reckless abandon.
The Husqvarna SMR450 is just such a bike, a hardcore
racer dressed in civilian guise with street-legal lighting equipment, all of which can be removed in a matter of minutes for track attacks. While certainly not as practical a road bike as the new breed of supermoto-inspired Twins, Singles champion the virtues of price, performance and simplicity. Even a cash-strapped grad student can muster the means to maintain a bike that contains just 1.8 quarts of engine oil, has only four valves to adjust, and when not chasing down bikes twice its size on tight backroads, can provide upward of 55 miles per gallon.
Thanks to its top-shelf suspension and snappy engine performance, the SMR is an ideal platform for riders looking to experience low-cost track days or grassroots supermoto competition. Due to their durable dirtbike origins, bikes like
the SMR tend not to destroy themselves except in the very worst track tumbles. Bars, plastic and a seat cover are a lot easier and less costly to replace than the full bodywork of a traditional sportbike.
Hiking my 31-inch inseam over the Husky’s 36 inches
of seat height made mounting a little awkward, but once the wheels are in motion, awkward transforms into accurate. Steering is super-sensitive and as precise as anything I’ve ridden. The wide motocross handlebar offers plenty of leverage with only the slightest push or tug required for a change of direc-
tion. The Husky’s handling capabilities are owed to its triedand-true steel-tube cradle frame. It features a detachable aluminum subframe, the value of which I discovered after going over the bars while performing a nose-wheelie for our photographer. Said subframe was removed and straightened without too much trouble.
High-quality parts are sprinkled throughout. The Tommaselli aluminum handlebar can be adjusted fore and aft atop a new wider triple-clamp that’s been hogged out to
grasp a new Marzocchi inverted Shiver fork. A beefy fourpiston, radial-mount Brembo front caliper paired with a 320mm rotor have the power to put you (well, me, actually) over the bars quicker than you can say, Oh my... !
It’s wise to remember that a high center of gravity, longtravel, jump-absorbing suspension, roadrace-refugee front brake and sport-radial grip all add up to rather dramatic weight transfer. You can raise the rear wheel off the asphalt with a single finger (er, I used two) even though the SMR’s 59-inch wheelbase is 4 inches longer than on most modern sportbikes.
Behind every 41mm Keihin FCR breath, backing each wrist-twist, the H-Team has significantly improved engine output with mods aimed at upgrading reliability, as well. Unchanged is the 97.0 x 60.8mm bore and stroke used to achieve the 449cc displacement. Topping the update list is a more durable forged-aluminum piston that increased compression to 9.0:1. Race-spec cams with more lift and duration now actuate the quartet of larger-diameter titanium valves. The 37mm intakes have grown a whopping 4mm in diameter, while 31mm exhausts have replaced the 28.5mm poppets of its predecessor. Performance porting has increased the efficiency of exhaust-gas evacuation, resulting in quicker revs and increased power output. An earlier SMR 450 we tested produced 45.1 peak ponies and 30.1 footpounds of torque. This model ups the ante to 48 hp and 32.6 ft.-lb. delivered to the rear wheel through a revised closeratio six-speed transmission.
We’re certain the SMR could pull taller final gearing and found ourselves wishing it came so-equipped for those longer transits between town and remote backroads. As delivered, more than an hour of sustained freeway use is a stretch as the seat begins to feel increasingly narrow and hard the longer you press on. We found the SMR’s freeway sweet spot resides at an indicated 70 mph, where engine vibration is
bearable if persistent.
Get into “extended play” and your right boot begins to feel the heat off the exhaust pipe, but relief is always an offramp away as this Husky, with seemingly limitless cornering clearance, carves constant-radius curves with ease. I’d exit the freeway just to get right back on for a bit of leaned-over Brrrrraap!, an SMR specialty. Around town or on twisty
roads, the fun factor far outweighs any vibe bother or heat on the feet.
Shifting is light, slick and further complemented by the silkysmooth operation of the Magura hydraulic clutch. A Dunlop 120/70-17 Sportmax D208 mounted on a 3.5-inch-wide rim grips the road at the front with a 150/70-sized radial on a 4.25-inch rim tacking down the rear. Tire grip was consistent but not extraordinary. Owners looking to fully
exploit the bike’s capabilities would be well-served by spooning on a set of GP-compound Dunlops or their equivalent when these wear out.
The cool little digital dash features a tach that reads like a cell phone: “Signal bars” increase in width and height as revs rise. Mph is a digital number shown large in the center, with the trip/odometer located beneath. There are small indi-
cator lights for neutral, high beam and turnsignals, but no low-fuel warning light means relying on the easy-to-reach petcock to switch to Reserve when the engine sputters. Old school but effective and exactly what’s expected of a bike that has no keyed ignition switch!
A red power-on button located on the right-hand control just above the electric-start button is a stark reminder that this machine is on the very verge of being a racebike. Aside from your choice of aftermarket theft protection, there is a steering-head lock to at least keep would-be thieves riding in a very tight-radius circle.
Any lack of creature comforts is all forgotten once the road narrows and winds. On one particular single-lane asphalt ribbon that tightened and became dirtier and bumpier the farther we rode, my friend Rodney Aguiar and I soon forgot the freeway monotony and went into full tarmac tirade. He was aboard our Suzuki DR-Z400SM long-termer, and after a bike swap, compared the two motard-style streetbikes.
“The DR-Z is docile and oozes through corners, and the brakes are forgiving,” he said, “compared to the all-business, use-with-caution Husky.”
A serious piece, in other words. Husqvarna hasn’t jumped on the supermoto bandwagon; it has been driving the cart for years as a longstanding force at the forefront of the European supermotard scene and the first to field a factory team.
If you’re really into supermoto, then you have already committed to memory that at the sport’s heavily beating heart are lightweight, single-cylinder, converted motocrossers. Just like the Husky SMR450-except this one is streetlegal, ready to romp right out of the garage.
Our best advice? Keep your wits about you and remember: Don’t use the neighbor’s lawn as a dirt section. □
EDITORS' NOTES
BLIPPING THE THROTTLE IN MY DRIVEway, somehow the world looks a little different. The line between can do and can’t isn’t as clear when I’m straddling this Husky and looking out the lens of my goggles.
As I wait for the SMR to warm up, I glance down at the controls. Yep, there’s a speedo, a tachometer, mirrors and by my left thumb the blinker toggle. Every
time I get ready to go for a ride on the Husqvarna, I have to convince myself that it is, in fact, street-legal because as soon as I twist the throttle and slip out the clutch I swear I’m on a racebike. The delusion only gets worse (better) as thoughts of sliding through the next corner or wheelying down the street fill my mind.
And I haven’t even left the driveway!
-Mark Cernicky, Associate Editor
THE FIRST TIME I THREW A LEG OVER the saddle of the Husky, I knew that it was going to be a kick-ass ride. I’m no supermoto savant, like Cernicky or Canet, but I’ve dabbled and raced enough to know a thing or two. What I discovered about the SMR is that it’s everything that some of its competitors on the market claim to be.
Around town the Husky is pure fun, light, agile and precise. If I lived in a city like San Francisco, this would be my ride. Los Angeles freeways... yeah, I rode it there, but droning along the 405 on a Single isn’t my cup of tea-or the bike’s. The SMR is closer to a real racebike than anything else I’ve ridden in this emerging niche. The bike felt snappy and responsive, just like a motocrosser for the street. Not only does the bike jump out of corners, that awesome front brake scrubs speed with authority. Throw in excellent handling and it’s just a set of slicks short of race-worthy. -Blake Conner, Associate Editor
MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, EDITOR-INChief Edwards green-lighted CWs first supermoto project, my Honda CR500 motocrosser. Back then, experiencing supermoto-style pavement play pretty much required such a homebrewed conversion; take your favorite flavor of offroad bike and search out wheels, tires, suspension and front-brake components that often needed some creative persuasion to make fit. Those early seeds of the SM movement have taken root with steady growth evident in today’s turnkey (so to speak) production supermoto machines. Of the current offerings, most are targeted at either the street crowd or track-only use. The Husky SMR450 has bridged that gap quite nicely. While being lighted and legal for the public road, it’s also powerful and light enough to be very competitive on the grid at a local supermoto club race. Take it from someone who’s helped nurture the sport’s growth in the U.S., that’s progress in my book. -Don Canet, Road Test Editor
HUSQVARNA
SMR450
$7299
