450cc ADV bikes

Ummm, I sell European bikes, that's all we do. They're great bikes but I've never seen 26k mile valve checks on anything like that. Hell I've never seen one with 26k miles on it period!
Please direct me to that bike and I will check it out immediately, I really don't care who makes it, but as it stands no one does.
Husky TE: Nope
KTM 500EXC: Nope
690 Enduro: you're up to the 3k mile oil change with this one but valve checks every 6k. Plus it's a 225w stator.


Decent seat? Surely you're kidding, I've never had a decent seat on anything but a street bike. My WR seat is horrible, XR seat, terrible stock. TW, you guessed it, awful.

Whatever helps you sleep at night

Sorry there's no bike available that will let you have an adventure...maybe adventure riding just isn't for you

Look at my list of bikes. I'm perfectly happy with what I have. I like pretty much all bikes with a few exceptions. I've ridden every bike I get a chance to and would have many more if I could afford it but I see why people would want a wr450r. No bike is without its shortcomings. I be honest the only bike in the shop I list after is a GasGas 300.

Is the Aprilia MXV the only 450 twin out there? I know it's an MXer but the twin would be a nicer powerplant for a DS I think

As far as I know it is the only one.
The Aprilia is really high revving, high performance engine. Being such, it's super high maintenance. There's really no need for a twin in that small of an engine. the two small pistons make them likely to be high RPM engines, not generally what most of us are looking for.

This isn't about Japanese vs European prejudice and the fact that you think that shows how little exposure you've had to the world. You see in Australia we get plated WR450F RMZ450 CRF450X etc as well as the KTM, Husaberg, Husqvarna and the rest but many people would still like a reliable off-road 450 because these bikes mentioned aren't designed for long trips, loading up with enough gear to carry someone for a month, or long runs on the freeway. These bikes are designed to be trailered to their riding location, then ridden hard for a few hours then taken home. Maybe a desert safari if you have a pit crew. The fact that we sell so many yet they're virtually never used as a commuters or adventure bikes is a fairly good indicator that nobody wants to run up the kilometres on something which will need to be rebuilt so regularly.

The DRZ400 clearly demonstrates the existence of this market, having been a highly successful bike here and even today it still sells well besides being a 13 year old design with very few changes and several shortfalls.

There are those of us who realize that we don't need to get hung up on cc's and brands and 26k mile valve lash inspections...get past that, and suddenly you see that there is in fact bikes available to fit the profile.

Example: Husky's TE610 300-ish lbs, 3000 mile oil changes, 50 hp, best transmission ever (single track to 75+mph cruise effortlessly), excellent long travel suspension, awesome brakes, dependable. Yes, if you want to cruise across woops at 50 with everything you own strapped to the back, you need to reinforce the subframe...but why do you think you need a light weight dirt bike if your goal is to carry everything you own on the back?

Last time I rode with a Husky 610 the owner spent all day worried his engine would blow up again. It is still a performance machine.

Last time I rode with a Husky 610 it kicked ass, took names, and produced smiles as fast as I could twist the throttle.

Please...links to all the blown up 2006-2009 TE610's, thanks.

So now one of the "requirements" is crappy performance? It can only be considered a reliable ADV bike if it's not a "performance machine"?

Stubborn brand prejudiced people are frustrating

As I've already explained it's nothing to do with the brand, you're the one with the husky trying to recommend a husky. It's to do with the class. If the 610 were as reliable on the street as you say then why don't I see them as regularly as I see KTM640's, DRZ400s, BMW650s. There is a new Husqvarna Terra 650, if you were to compare then you should use this which is a 180kg adventure bike. Surely wanting a 450 version of this bike that weighs in @ 150kg is not a ridiculous thing to want?


Oh and it took me 2 seconds to find this via Google:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/which-bike/husqvarna-te610-66097#post391801

Everybody has an opinion...and 1 opinion on the interwebz doesn't define a bike's reputation.

You don't see many because Husky is a very low volume manufacturer. Simple really.

I would have mentioned the TR650, but it doesn't meet your strict criteria. You want a Husky TE610...but you want it to say Yamaha on the side so you feel "safe" on it.

Why are you so hung up on displacement? Yamaha proved with the WR250R that small displacement doesn't equal low weight...and how "light" does an ADV bike need to be to get packed with 100 lbs of shit on the back?

I think Bob's handle (Bobnoxious) sez a lot about his opinions. He's just stirring the pot.

As you say, there are hardly enough out there to earn a "reputation". However, the opinion in question is pretty damning of the 610 for street use and certainly seems to be based upon some experience with the model - The author claims to have been a Husqvarna mechanic for 6 years which should give his opinions some credibility - more so than anyone else who has posted on here so far, anyway.

I looked hard at buying a TE570 at one point - hoping for a better suspended, more powerful version of my DR350. What I learned in considerable (on-line) research was that the Husqvarnas need much more frequent TLC and may come from the factory with any number of fairly serious flaws (internal to engine and transmission) that would take much more than a few farkles to fix. Whilst I appreciate that I would have been gaining a lot of performance, the trade off was unacceptable for me. My little DR can be ridden just about anywhere except on the track, whereas the TE570/610/whatever will handle the track but possibly not an 800 mile ride each way to-and-from the best mountain trails. That makes the TE a better weekend racer but NOT a lightweight adventure bike IMO. Note that, not only do I NOT have any brand preference FOR Suzuki, but the idea of owning an unusual European model was also on the positive side of the equation.

I see a lot of orange bikes green-laning in SW England carrying nothing but the rider and a camelback but don't see them loaded down with camping gear on the motorway and don't recall seeing any when I was in the Scottish highlands, hundreds of miles from the nearest KTM dealer. I guess it depends on what you call adventure riding.

Not sure if this has been found yet, but Christini tech is making AWD street legal 450s with wide ratio trans, All for only $7695. But I have heard there basically Chinese knockoffs of the Honda crf 450. I still want one, even if its just to try out the AWD.http://www.christini.com/bikes/christini-awd-450-ds

Please...stop now. You know nothing about Husqvarna and the models they offer and their reliability/maintenance needs. That is fine in and of itself, but you state it in such a way as to come across as actually stating fact...you're so far off base that I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Just to clear up your obvious confusion:
-Husky 570 was a race bike
-Husky TE 250/310/450/510/449/511 are high performance 80/20 dirt bikes with plates and lights (7000 miles of beatings and counting on my '09)
-Husky TE 610/630 (more specifically '06 and newer) are 50/50 dual sport bikes, with good reliability records, the ability to run single track/80 mph all day without a gearing change, above average charging output, and 3000 mile oil change intervals.

While you're telling lies about them on the interwebz, plenty of owners (they are a low volume company...stop with the "I don't see a lot of them" crap) are racking up miles on them traveling South America, Baja and Mexico, TAT, on and on...

I owned an '06 TE610 for 4 years (I miss it quite a bit), and we currently own our 2nd DR350...the DR is fine and all, but it's no more "reliable" than my Husky was, and it's not nearly the bike the Husky was/is...the Husky was better in every scenario possible, including the street/long distance. Period.

Why do you bother? This is the Internet and Internet conventional "wisdom" says Euro bikes are high maintenance race bikes that spontaneously detonate the instant you exceed the recommended service interval.

You might as well accept that "fact" and move on. If people want to wait for a mythical bike that never will be produced because it never can be produced and then complain that it doesn't exist then so be it.

Some of the guys I ride with are Japanese only for some of the reasons posted here. It doesn't bother me a bit. I don't mind waiting for them. It gives me a chance to change my oil and adjust my valves.

I don't believe I stated anything as fact. I reported what I heard from others (and I'd rate the opinion of a 6-year Husky mechanic over any owner's experience.) I'm still interested in the Husky models, particularly the 610/630, despite concerns about things like the FOUR oil filters/screens and requirement to remove both radiators and header tank to check valves - Not sufficiently convinced to crack open my pocket book yet.

The Christina 450 DS looks interesting... 30 day warranty on the motor, tho? Sounds like a Husky. <ducking>

The technology and weight on any of these bikes is not the major interest to me. I ride my ST1100 places most GS's never go. It has 8000 mile oil change interval and 16,000 mile valve check interval. I have pushed both those limits on a single 2-month ride, 18,000 miles in 2010. BTW, this bike now has 167,000 mile on it, nearly all my own. Many STs have gone 100,000 with no shim changes. Would like it better if it weighted <500 but hard to get 200 lbs off it. :)

I have two goals:
Ride where I want (pavement, no pavement, dual track, single track)
Pick it up when it falls over (without rupturing a disc, which is a distinct possibility with the ST.)

Both these so I can take a really long solo ride to places I've never been. Yeah, I carry stuff too so a strong sub-frame is mandatory.

Always seemed to me 400/500 is the sweet spot for light weight AND enuff power. The DRZ is just a little to short on power and a little too hefty on weight. All the bikes repeatedly listed in this thread which fix those two problems are a little light on reliability, no matter the brand. I could do as others and build my own, but I'd rather buy it.

The 450-E Husaberg looks to have a lot but the plastic subframe raises questions.

All my opinion of course, your mileage may vary. I'm still holding out for a CRF450X with the reliability and service intervals of the equivalent Honda quad (same basic engine without the titanium bits.)

To me, a primary reason for going production Japanese is availability of replacement parts around the world. Secondary is the reduced chance of needing them.

BTW, Bobnoxious, we want what we want whether we ever get it or not. Why do you feel the obligation to try to talk us out of it?

Meh...I get that part. It would be easier to swallow if it wasn't accompanied by loads of made up bull trying to "justify" said "want". Tell me you just like Jap bikes better, and that's that

Your post did indeed seem as if you knew for a fact that all you were saying was true.

Again, more false statements...the 610 has 2 metal screens/strainers that can be checked occasionally if you feel like it, or after the first couple of services they can be ignored. The ONE oil filter is just like the DR oil filter...cartridge type paper filter, a couple of screws and a cover with a spring. Changing the oil and filter on the 610 is quicker than on the DR. The radiators are in the way, but can usually just be loosened up and left full. If removing radiators once a year is the breaking point for you, I encourage you to stick with air cooled technology...or stay home.

Where the hell do you come up with this stuff? You are indeed fooling yourself if you take a mechanic's word over an owner's