The Motorbike Archives

Motocross races of world-class caliber are motorized ordeals conducted on vicious, natural-terrain courses seemingly designed by the devil himself. Every minute on the track means punishment for both man and machine as they encounter a sadistic assortment of brutal bumps, rocket-launching jumps, violent elevation changes and abusive whoops, all while being tricked by bike-eating mud pits and greasy off-camber turns.

To master that kind of torturous terrain, a motorcycle needs one all-important characteristic: predictability. The devious track throws you enough curves that you don't need a motorcycle that serves up unexpected knuckleballs. If the 1979 250 CR is any indication, the people at Husqvarna not only subscribe to that school of moto-thought, they could write a book on the subject. The 250 is as predictable and effortless to ride as anything current technology has to offer the motocrossing public.

The most obvious tip-off to Husky's game plan is the CR's extremely controllable reed-valved powerplant. Instead of shooting for big numbers on the dyno at the expense of low-end and mid-range power, Husqvarna blessed the CR with one of the flattest, smoothest 250cc powerbands we've ever experienced. There are no surprises, no bursts of wheelspin, just an almost linear increase in power as the revs pick up.

There was, however, a price to be paid for all of this predictability: The 250 CR can't quite match the sheer power output of many other 250s. Down a long, smooth straight or on some of the TT-like motocross courses of the Southwest, the CR just isn't as quick as some of its competition. It's no dog, but the Husky lacks the peak horsepower that could make the difference between getting a holeshot and ending up in the middle of the pack on the smoother tracks.

Of course, Husky didn't design a drag-racing motor, but rather a motocross powerplant. And since motocross isn't supposed to be a dragrace or a TT, the nastier the track gets, the better the CR works compared to other machines. While the pipier bikes are struggling through the gnarly stuff, wheels a-spinning and chassis a-sliding, the Husky motors through in a straight line with little wheelspin or wasted movement.

But power alone isn't what makes the CR easy to ride. After all, the best powerband on the planet is of no use if the bike's chassis is unable to translate that energy into forward motion. With this in mind, Husqvarna has pulled out the stops in the suspension department. Last year's Huskys were equipped with the very best stock forks and shocks available, and the '79 CRs have taken that suspension superiority one step further. With 11.8 inches of travel at both ends, the new CR has picked up about two inches over last year's model, even holding a slight edge over Honda's long-legged CR250R.

Externally, the Husky-made front fork doesn't look much different from the older model, except for air valves in the cap nuts and a few spare inches of stanchion tube poking up through the upper triple clamp. The added length not only makes room for longer springs, but it increases the air and oil volumes to provide the desired spring rate progression. Husqvarna recommends that the fork be pressurized with 10 psi or less to retain its responsiveness on small bumps while still having enough bottoming resistance for the really big stuff.

The Husky's back end is supported by a pair of Ohlins remote-reservoir, gas-pressurized shocks almost identical to those on last year's big CR motocrossers. The shock travel is the same, but relocation of both shock mounts yields the 1.8-inch increase in wheel travel. The damping and spring rates were both increased to compensate for the heavier loads on the shocks, and there are now three more spring preload settings, for a whopping total of eight.

But numbers alone don't accurately express how superbly both ends of the machine work. The Husky's suspension absolutely refuses to misbehave. No matter what, we bashed into, jumped off of or ran over, all of our testers were treated to the best suspension performance they had ever sampled. There is never a hint of unnecessary harshness, even on abrupt, sharp-edged bumps. Both wheels follow braking ripples and stutter bumps precisely, yet there's enough progression to prevent excessive bottoming. Our 160-pound tester was unable to bottom either end solidly—and that was with zero psi in the fork and the shock springs set one notch above their softest preload setting. There's still plenty of room left to stiffen up both ends to suit heavier riders or brutally rough tracks.

The benefits of almost two collective feet of nearly perfect wheel travel are numerous. The CR is uncommonly stable at speed on deep whoopers and choppy ground. Nothing ever seems to really tax the chassis. And the dual-spring Ohlins that keep the enormous 5.00x17 Trelleborg rear tire (a Husky exclusive) firmly planted have to take a lot of the credit for the 250's predictability. Nothing we've ridden gets its power to the ground more effectively than the Husky.

For that matter, nothing gets its stopping to the ground better, either. The super-supple front fork takes all of the abuse and pounding out of braking on rough ground, and the back end stays straight and chatter-free due to the responsive shocks and full-floating, rod-operated brake. The stoppers themselves are quite powerful, unusually progressive and extremely controllable.

The fork effectively keeps the new 3.50x21 Trelleborg on the ground in bermless, undulating corners, but that wide knobby front tire seems a little confused about what its job is. It handles deep loam and sand nicely, but when on dusty, hard-baked ground, the tire lapses into an erratic behavior pattern. It will skate on hard surfaces and in powdery dirt, mostly on slower corners. Dry turns require the rider's undivided attention if he is to make the minor corrections necessary to keep from losing the front end altogether. If you expect to spend much time on hard, dusty courses, swapping the Trelleborg for a 3.00x21 Metzeler would probably make a significant improvement in the CR's steering characteristics.

On loamy dirt, the Husky can hold its line without any problem, although a number of other 250s steer more quickly and precisely. In keeping with their puristic motocross philosophy, the Husqvarna designers biased the CR's steering toward stability instead of quickness. The slower steering works to the machine's advantage on bermed turns where it can be stuffed home amazingly hard without feeling squirrely or uncontrollable.

Other Husky trademarks—durability and quality—are evidenced in the 250CR. The chromoly frame is new this year, now sporting two large-diameter backbone tubes instead of one. The new lower tube is linked to the swingarm pivot by two smaller tubes that help triangulate and strengthen the whole structure. The new frame is very similar to those used by Husky's factory riders last year.

The frame changes resulted in a more conventionally positioned, brilliantly designed airbox. The large foam element can be removed for service in less than five seconds with your bare hands. Also new this year is a special throttle assembly that uses a roller wheel to make the cable exit the unit parallel to the handlebars. Not only does it work smoothly and extend cable life, but it looks to be much more durable in a fall.

The Husky also has one of the best chain-tensioning systems around. Two solidly mounted plastic rubbing blocks on the swingarm just behind the pivot work on the bottom chain run to keep the chain tension consistent throughout the rear wheel's arc of movement. There are no springs to break or wear out, and no fragile parts to bend.

Even down to the small details, the CR shows a deep concern for finish and function. For example: the rubber-mounted handlebars that help insulate the rider from vibration and cushion the impacts that make it past the front fork; the nylon lock nuts that are used throughout the chassis; the lubrication fittings on all the control cables; the rubber-cushioned steering stops that eliminate another small source of harshness.

Even with its changes this year, the CR still has a couple of minor hold-over problems. The chromed gas cap leaks whenever the tank is full and the seat is unnecessarily difficult to remove—though luckily (maybe purposely), no normal maintenance requires it to be taken off. The fork seals on our test bike weren't protected by any kind of wipers, and leaked profusely after a short time. Our bike, however, was one of the very first '79 production models, and fork wiper boots are promised for later 250 CRs.

The only new hassles this year are due to the increase in suspension travel. The seat height is now an incredible 38.8 inches, though the suspension settles sufficiently under the rider's weight to allow him to balance at the starting line without assistance. That is, unless he's under 5'6" or so, in which case elevator motocross boots may be necessary. Also, the engine sits high off the ground, so the sheer altitude of the kickstart lever makes it awkward to use. In addition, the 250 can only be kickstarted in neutral, which complicates matters even more.

For some obscure reason, the gold anodization on our 250's Husky-made front rim began to flake the first time we rode the bike. This appears to be an uncommon occurrence, though, since two other recent Husqvarnas we've tested were fitted with nearly identical rims and had no such anodization problems.

But these minor gripes pale in the brilliance of the 250 CR's performance. This is a motorcycle of uncanny competence, a professional-quality motocross tool that knows precisely what it is doing, even if its rider is unsure. And it achieves that status not just because all of the separate pieces are properly and superbly crafted, but because they all work together in near-perfect harmony. The Husky is not the fastest, the lightest or the most accurate-steering 250. But it is incredibly tractable, remarkably predictable and plenty fast enough to win. And it proudly boasts a clearly superior suspension system that just loves someone to give it a real workout on the meanest, cobbiest track he can find.

That ravenous appetite for roughness is the key to understanding the CR. It was designed for hard, demanding, honest-to-gawd motocross and nothing less. If that's what you ride and that's what you'll use it for, you can't buy a better 250 than the Husky 250 CR.

RIDE REVIEW

Blindfold me, stuff cotton in my ears and drop me like the Hertz man onto the seats of a hundred different moving motocrossers, and I'll single out the Husky 250 CR every time. Aside from a few ergonomic eccentricities common to all Husqvarnas, the suspension is the tipoff. The exceptional Ohlins shocks don't know the meaning of the word "harsh," and Husky's homemade front fork is plush like no other in all the world. No suspension can alter the profile of a cobby motocross course or remove all the bumps. But when you're on the Husky, even a rock-hard track feels like it has suddenly been turned into soft foam rubber.

Other aspects of the bike's performance say "Husqvarna" almost as emphatically as the suspension. The reed-valve engine's power output might not qualify the CR for AA/Fuel competition, but it is money from home on a punishing motocross track. And if there are better off-road brakes than the Husky's, they must be on Russian army bikes or some other two-wheeled device I've never seen.

The subtleties of the 250 CR cannot be fully appreciated in a few laps. The real value of the tractable power, the peerless brakes and that wonderful suspension aren't apparent until the frantic final laps of a long moto on a tough course. That kind of challenge is what motocross is all about. And so is the Husqvarna.—Paul Dean

 I've had just about enough of this mumbo jumbo about powerbands, 27-speed gear boxes, torque curves, high-rpm power and low-end grunt. Why muddle along discussing these things as if they meant something? As far as I'm concerned they're simply excuses for a motocross engine that doesn't work the way you want it to.

No such excuses are necessary for the 250 CR engine. It just works. There's no erratic behavior, only power whenever you want it. It's the result of a masterful combination of porting, carburetor and flywheel that is usually described simply as balance. The truth is that this engine performs just like an Open-Class motor, churning the bike's fat rear Trellborg as if it never heard of anything as crass as a powerband.

With a lot of motocross machines, the contest is in keeping track of the bike's eccentricities so you won't be left behind. With the Husqvarna, however, you never have to worry about such things. It has the motorcycle's job handled. Your job is to think about racing the people on the other motorcycles. And the ability to think about racing instead of just riding is the advantage that every rider of a Husky 250 CR has over his competition.—Michael Jordan■