te 450 or 510 suitable for the highway ?

[ssopo7]

i'm interested in buying one of these bikes and would be riding 90% trails and fire roads but would also like a bike wich would be reliable for some highway use. i would make several 1/2 hour trips and verry rarelly make a 2 1/2 hour 150 mile trip. i would like to know at what speed i could cruiseat without strainning the engine . i know these are aswome trail bikes but any highway feedback would be greatly appreciated to help me make my decision . thanks

[grizman]

Just a few hours ago I attempted to take my TE510 on the highway, or close to it at that. (We don't have highways where I live, just two lane death trap country roads). I would say I am very comfortable at a steady 45mph. Anything above 50mph was making me a little nervous. The wind was quite gusty and these light little rockets will fly wherever you, (or the wind), send them. I'm not saying it won't be suitable on the highway at speeds above 50mph, but that's not my style, it definitely gives you a little pucker factor, but then again, maybe with some supermoto tires or something... I have stock knobbers on. I am definitely looking into some street oriented tires to putt around on. It will definitely take you up to that speed and plenty more, but the vibes and lightness of her made me nervous, but then again, it could just be me. Just my .02 cents.... Take care.

Chris

[FtK Shadow]

I ride my TE 510 on the freeway here in So-Cal. I have no problem up to 60 or 65. After that it is like a bumble bee and I don't feel comfortable. It is awesome for what you are looking for. Exactly what I use it for about 90% off road. I assume it is the Knobby tires that make it vibrate like that at highway speeds. I am actually thinking about changing the sprockets to a 15/48 setup to maybe lower the RPM's at freeway speeds.

Good Luck

[A line]

I've ridden my 450 on the highway and freeway with mixed experiences.

First of all the bike rides great at high speeds.

The problems I run into are my visor being grabbed by the air and moving my helmet, air comming in my goggles, etc. One time I rode and it was super windy, it was very scary at 60 mph but I would have been just as spooked on a street bike.

I'm sure my bike will do 100 mph. It's just cruising at 65 and when you hit the throttle it gets up and goes!!!!

Depending on the ground surface the knobby tire can feel weird.

It's all good, get the bike and you'll be stoked.

[Tim Taylor]

The DRZ 400 is a little squirly at speeds, but in the case of that bike, you can buy a smaller front fender, and/or a steering stabilizer. I don't know if Husky sells these things, but it might be worth looking into.....

[arod2000]

It's a dirtbike with blinkers, that about says it all.

[bigbob 901]

It's a dirtbike with blinkers, that about says it all.

ditto.

[jjm525]

When you need to go long on highway or street rides, swap on a cheap set of street biased tires, Kenda makes a set that are pretty good and around $100 for a pair, though I use pirelli Scorpion ATs, and get a 1 tooth larger front sprocket, cruise at 70-75 without a problem. The knobbies are the biggest source of vibration and do not lend to any stability at speed. With street biased tires think tall sumoto, as good as any at semi legal speeds on good roads. KTM EXC wide ratio trans is a little better in this regard but not a big enough difference to sway me away from the TE/SM Huskies. Good luck, Jim.

[12GSRider]

nope , i dont think its too much fun at all. In fact I tried it once. Yeah real dirbikes dont fare well on the freeway!

[jkm712]

OK, I'm having a hard time making up my mind between the 450 and 510 and this thread is what I've been searching for. I already know that either bike will suit my off-road riding, but it's the occassional ride to work (15 miles) that I'm wondering about. So, regardless of the comfort level, will either the 450 or 510 run down the road (any road) at 65 mph without revving the crap out of the engine? The add says race it Sunday and ride it to work Monday. Could I, or does 65mph require revving the bike pretty hard. How fast will they run until they're working pretty hard? Also, does the bigger engine of the 510 run 'easier' at highway speed, or do the bikes run about the same rpm at about the same speeds? I'm not ignoring those who have already posted, but the main issues seem to be wind, etc. I'm not interested in that. I want to know what you guys think about the engine regardless of the usual 'conditions' we have to put up with traveling down the road. Will these bikes 'cruise' at 65? Could they actually do 100 mph? I ride off-road 90-95% of the time, so 'cruise' speed would be with stock gearing. I got alot of hype about the bike I currently own - "This is the best bike", blah, blah, blah - It does everything well",blah, blah, blah. You guys know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I've ended up being very dissapointed with it. I'm trying not to make that mistake again. I'm looking for honest answers. I already know that my next bike will be a Husky. I just want to get the best one for my needs. Thanks for any reply.........

[arod2000]

Well, the 510 will have a better top speed so should cruise easier. I have had my Husky up to 76 mph with stock gearing. Don't really recall what the engine was doing and don't care to go that fast again.

Neither the Husky 450/510 or ktm is a good idea to ride it on the street for extended daily use "in my humble opinion" because the transmissions aren't designed for street use. Street bikes have a cush drive in the transmission which absorbs some of the strain from hard acceleration on asphalt. Asphalt being different from dirt because your tire spins on the dirt. Who knows, you could probably go thousands and thousands of miles on asphalt without a problem, BUT the purpose of the street legalness is to "connect trails", regardless of what Husky's ad says. That's my 0.02!

[Husky-71]

Not sure where the rev limiter kicks in so I don't know if the bike will actually do 100 MPH or not with stock gearing - but my guess is not quite.

I've had mine up to 85 before per the GPS but it's revving pretty high at that point.

Here's a link to gearing spreadsheets I worked up for the 450 and 510.

Husky TE-450 Gearing

Husky TE-510 Gearing

Daryl

[coffee]

Not sure where the rev limiter kicks in

10,500 for the 2006 TE450 & 510, 12,500 for the 2006 TE250.

My TE250 will go faster than I want to ride - with stock gearing. The TE250/450/510 have the same gearbox/gear spacing.

edit - looked at your spread sheet. Made the same little spread sheet and adjusted the tire circumference to reflect reality of the weight on the tire and squishing it a bit. 83.26 inches seemed to reflect what the bikes seem to be doing with stock knobbies at 12psi. Trial and error playing around.

.

[Husky-71]

Thanks,

I keep meaning to measure the actual circumference but just forgetting to do it.

[coffee]

I sat on the bike and had my kid measure the distance from the axle to the ground - it came close to the rpm/mph of the bike. And that in turn matched the spreadsheets on the web - most of which are for street bikes.

I like your format of spread sheet more than what I came up with - good job!

.

[jmbaja]

My husky came 13/50 at highway speeds it felt like it was going to explode I changed the gearing 15/47 and it is better but also strained at 65 mph now it can do 95mph on the desert but the engine feels like its close to the red line I ordered the 16 front sprocket but I dont feel comfortable on the engine clearance, its too close, is anybody running a 16 front?

[twoburgers]

Good job Husky 71 - seems about right. To the question, I too wil agree with others... my 510 gets a bit buzzy north of 50 mph on pavement. Per the chart, it's pulling 5K on the tach. I too have been caught by the wind - on a bridge none the less - no fun at all. As Arod 2K has said (many times) it is a racing dirt bike. I would add, supermodels ain't known for their cooking... enjoy them for what they are.

Going back to bed,

Chris

[jjm525]

I have the SM450 and use it for commuting and pleasure riding, get a bigger front sprocket for street rides. I went to a 15 and the bike still pulls up the front wheel in 1st and 2nd, third gear throttle up wheelies are done but the bike cruises at 70-75 without strain. Felt a little high in the RPMs with the 14 CS sprocket. Takes all of 5 minutes to swap and adjust chain so it is an easy mod, might even pull it off road depending on how/where you ride. Either 450 or 510 has HP to spare, no worries there, get the best deal you can and ride. The TE street series might be geared tall already, the SM could stand more gear for what I needed, they will pull tall enough for street and 70-75 cruise regardless. Jim.

[Kx250FRiDeR651]

Ya get the 510 if your gunna ride to work somtimes..it will have less strain on the motor = better reliability most likely...and its not gunna be much different than the 450

my smr510 is just a street cruiser, i ride it to work sometimes (about 15 min ride) and i usually just fart around on early sunday morning rides...it can cruise at like 60 max with my 14/42 stock gearing but anything past that is just winding the bike out and thats something you dont wanna do at a steady speed on the street

remember...bumping the front sprocket up is like dropping the rear down 2

[Kx250FRiDeR651]

Well, the 510 will have a better top speed so should cruise easier. I have had my Husky up to 76 mph with stock gearing. Don't really recall what the engine was doing and don't care to go that fast again.

Neither the Husky 450/510 or ktm is a good idea to ride it on the street for extended daily use "in my humble opinion" because the transmissions aren't designed for street use. Street bikes have a cush drive in the transmission which absorbs some of the strain from hard acceleration on asphalt. Asphalt being different from dirt because your tire spins on the dirt. Who knows, you could probably go thousands and thousands of miles on asphalt without a problem, BUT the purpose of the street legalness is to "connect trails", regardless of what Husky's ad says. That's my 0.02!

true...but husky would be the only bike ide wanna ride on the street (well maybe a yamaha also if i had to)...but if you research around pretty much there is no issues with these bikes, and on the forums almost everyone has ridden thousands of street miles on there "street legal" mx bikes with no problems..i think if you dont drone the bike at high speeds alot you'll be safe