Husqvarna enduro bikes get fuel injection for '08
By TMX Archives on 27th Apr 07
HUSQVARNA has confirmed that its production TE250, TE450 and TE510 enduro models will all be fuel injected next season...
The Italian concern will be the third manufacturer - along with Gas Gas and Aprilia - to fit fuel injection to their bikes as standard Husqvarna and the 2008 enduro machines will also come with an all-new chassis, revised bodywork and each machine will be five kilos lighter than the existing models.
''The new TE model enduro bikes will all come with fuel injection,'' confirmed Husqvarna's Martino Bianchi recently. ''They are all Euro 3 homologated, which means that they meet the strict European emissions regulations. This is a big improvement for the 250, 450 and 510. We are putting a lot of hours on our test bikes as we want to gather as much data as possible with the Keihin injection system.''
As well as the fuel injection systems fitted to each bike the new enduro range will also look and, according to Husqvarna, handle better than the current models thanks to the introduction of an all new chassis and bodywork.
''The fuel injection will not be the only new change,'' added Bianchi. ''The four-stroke range will be completely new in terms of the chassis - the frame will be different, the swing-arm will be different and the suspension will also be different.
''The weight is also reduced by five kilos. The handling of the new bikes is much improved due to the new chassis. The look of the bike will be similar to existing models but there will also be new bodywork, especially the rear fender and side panels.
''We will begin a pre-production batch of ten of each of the TE enduro models in May.''
The geometry of the new enduro chassis is expected to be similar to that being used by Husqvarna's official Enduro 1 rider, Bartosz Oblucki in this year's WEC series, and Husqvarna are also busy testing and developing a 144cc two-stroke.
''We are looking at the possibility of producing a 144cc kit for our 125cc two-stroke. We have only had the cylinder, cylinder-head and piston for a couple of weeks, so it is early days. The bike seems to work well but we don't know yet if we will produce a 144cc bike, a kit that people can buy, or possibly we will not do anything because the rules are still not decided. We will see. If there is a green light to start producing a 144cc two-stroke we will be ready.''