The 2024 Husqvarna model launch…
By Glenn Foley and Kyle Lawrenson
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“Come and ride,” said Husqvarna SA. “We’ll treat you lot to a boat cruise on Hartbeespoort dam and then a day of riding at the Blue Groove enduro track.”
Man, that sounded like real work. Straws were drawn and we roped in the talents of Ryan Hunt to join our Kyle Lawrenson to put the bikes through their paces.
It seems almost as though, as soon as you get used to a particular model, a new one gets released. We’ve just got used to TPI…. Well now there’s TBI, and we can’t blame you if it all becomes a blur.
The fact is that this motorcycle manufacturer upgrades their models every three years, with heaps of input from their international enduro stars. This is polar opposite to many of the brands out there who slot in incremental changes over a seriously long period of time.
Kyle shares his thoughts on the launch and the new bikes:
We arrived at around 16H00 at the Harties Boat Company and were joined by a bevy of other motorcycle journalists and a couple of local Husqvarna dealers, catching up with everybody before the unveiling of the 2024 Husqvarna enduro range.
The presentation was done aboard one of HBC’s biggest barges, we boarded the boat and went for a cruise before the actual unveiling. Really very cool!
The occasion was marred only by the amount of pollution in the dam. From the road you only see the hyacinth, however the actual pollution in the water is beyond atrocious, it is actually flippen sad. The conversation onboard was reminiscing over the old days of us all growing up tubing, swimming and jumping off the bridges into the dam… sad really! let’s hope we can fix it.
Fortunately, that did not dampen the anticipation of the new bikes and the jovial mood aboard.
Onboard, Husqvarna SA unveiled the all new TE300, dressed to the nines in all the aftermarket Technical Accessories available for this particular model.
From the “Guts Racing” seat, to a full system FMF Factory Series exhaust and so very much more. Once the presentation was done, all the new features and upgrades were explained to us… And you would have seen many of these details on the new KTM lineup.
New frames, subframes, TBI two-stroke engines, fresh bodywork and graphics, revamped suspension and Braktec brakes.
New for the ‘24 lineup is the new suspension, chassis, TBI fuel injected two-stroke engines, Braktec braking systems front and rear, new 250/350 4T engines and a new electronic control unit.
Details such as the tyres and brakes are areas where Husqvarna differs from KTM on the 2024 enduro models. While KTM uses Maxxis tyres for example, Husqvarna uses Michelin. They have also paired GSK brake discs with Braktec calipers.
You’ll also find linkage type rear suspension on the Husqvarnas.
Some ‘24 highlights:
- New 48 mm WP XACT Closed Cartridge spring forks.
- New WP XACT rear shock, lighter and developed specifically for enduro riding.
- New ergonomic bodywork.
- New two-stroke engines wighTBI technology.
- Narrower exhausts on the two-strokes.
- New 250cc and 350cc DOHC four-stroke engines.
- LED headlight .
- BRAKTEC brake system and high-performance GSK discs.
- A Multifunctional Map Select Switch design controls the Quickshifter and Traction Control on the four strokes.
- New 8.5 litre (TE) / 8.0 litre (FE) polythene fuel tanks with one-piece fuel pump and filter.
WP suspension upgrades:
Husqvarna has completely overhauled the forks and rear shock with lessons from the WP Pro Components range applied. It all works on new shock mountings and triple clamps mounted to the new chassis.
Polyamide-reinforced aluminium subframe:
Using 60% polyamide and 40% aluminium, the two-component subframe has a total weight of just 1.8kg. The lower subframe spars and frame mounts are made from extruded aluminium profiles for toughness. The upper subframe combines injection-moulded polyamide and 3D formed aluminium with no welded joints.
Lighter, stronger swingarm:
A new, hollow die-cast aluminium swingarm is designed to improve stiffness and reliability at the lowest possible weight. An improved casting process reduces weight by a claimed 190g and matches the new chassis.
There’s a new 22mm rear axle, new chain adjuster marks to aid adjustment accuracy and a completely redesigned chain guard and chain slider.
BRAKTEC clutch and brakes.
Husqvarna has fitted the BRAKTEC clutch and braking systems across all models.
This system is upgraded over previous components found on GasGas. Cast aluminium front and rear callipers, 260mm wavey front and 220mm rear brake disc by GSK, a new brake pad compound.
The new front brake lever is offset by a smaller 16mm brake pump to reduce pulling force. The bikes have a redesigned rear brake calliper bracket for improved clearance when fitting the rear wheel (nice!)
They’ve done a great job with this Braktec set-up. The levers and adjustment are simple, really easy to set up and most of all, they performed perfectly on the day with a consistent feel about them.
Map selection, quickshifters and traction control.
The two-stroke comes with its two-map selector switch as standard on the Pro Taper handlebars. The four-strokes get maps as well as new traction control options and a quickshifter.
The quickshifter only works from second gear and only on upshifts and can be turned off if you don’t want it.
The Traction Control reads throttle input. If it registers a loss of grip, it reduces the amount of power to the rear wheel. It can also be switched off.
A pretty cool feature on this year’s two-strokes is the electronic exhaust control. You can change it by hitting the map switch on the handlebars. Much like the four strokes, the green option is the more aggressive map, and the white is more mellow.
Simplified electronics.
A new Off Road Control Unit replaces fuses and relays under the seat. Let’s say there’s a fault on the fuel pump – the OCU LED light changes from green to red. Once traced and repaired it returns to green.
New engines:
The 2024 FE four-stroke range features a 42mm Keihin throttle body .
The TE two-strokes arrive with the much talked about 39mm dual fuel injectors (TBI). “A more immediate throttle response thanks to the direct cable mounting and more efficient system.” they say. Gone are the days of getting out the measuring cup and doing your oil-to-fuel mixture ratios. There’s a cool little cap above the usual fuel cap and you fill that with oil and it feeds the oil through at the correct ratio.
The bikes have a new dual injector set-up, one low load injector (positioned as on four-stroke models) and one “top-feed” oriented injector for performance before the throttle valve. A new, and more robust TPS-Sensor on the 2T bikes provides the same cold start mechanism as on the four-stroke models.
Why’d they do it?
Husqvarna says, better idle control, more stable idle behaviour, and much better fuel-air mixture,. More power, more response, and a larger possible fuel air mixture operation window in comparison to TPI. Less chance of engine cut-outs or hesitation and the whole system is less sensitive to differences in temperature, altitude and humidity.
Cooling is improved and they got rid of some coolant hoses. It is neater and less vulnerable. Only the four-strokes come with a fan as standard.
The adventure continues:
Our cruise headed back to shore with a few beverages and a lot of “Ooh-ing and Ah-ing” over the new bikes. We then disembarked and headed to our digs for the evening where we all congregated at the local watering hole and discussed a lot more about the bikes and anticipated the ride the following day, by this time the bench racing had begun.
After a hearty breakfast and some strong coffee for some to remedy the previous evenings bench racing after effects, we all headed to Blue Groove where we were introduced to the entire range of Husqvarna’s 2024 enduro offering before swinging a leg over each of the bikes.
Kyles thoughts: But we’ll need to ride them all again soon!
The 2T’s:
TE150: Just… easy.
We are blown away at the bottom end of this bike. Yes, it has a lot of torque and power, but it is more the response off the throttle that will get your attention. With the new TBI, you feel like you have more of a four-stroke bottom end. You don’t have to use as much clutch like you generally would on a 125 or 150 two-stroke. The new TBI set-up gives the TE 150 more of a four-stroke feel off the bottom. It’s more torque and a more gradual feel through the power, but if you want that two-stroke to sing, all it takes is a little flick of the clutch to bring the RPM up.
The bike is fairly lively beneath you, making it an exciting ride in the mountains and on the track. It feels like a mountain bike with some really impressive bottom-end power, and its really fun to ride in the slower conditions. Having that nice bottom-end power makes it easy to manhandle and ride. Rev up the motor and drop the clutch, it points in the direction you want and off she goes. An absolute blast.
TE 250: What a bike!
This thing, top to bottom, was just so much fun to ride. Similar to the 150, the power delivery is just so lekker, but obviously a fair bit more powerful, roughly 11 horsepower more than the 150. Haven ridden the orange cousin in Lesotho, I couldn’t wait to get this bike. It feels amazing. “Blown away” is an understatement. The power down low as well as the high rev range of this one will definitely make you a faster, smoother rider. The suspension soaks everything up with good feedback and a well planted feel.
Kyle: “So much so, I might just take this bike over the 350 four stroke. The more I ride it, the more I like it!”
TE300: It’s all about power delivery
We’ve had lots of people ask the difference between the 250 and the 300?
It’s all about power delivery. Bottom-end-wise, the larger capacity model actually seems to be a little more mellow, but stronger in the middle, while the TE 250, has a more snappy feel right from the get go. It’s Smoother and easier to ride than the predecessor. Almost so smooth you think they have made it soft. Well they haven’t. They have kept all the good stuff and made it better.
The 4T’s:
FE 250: The mountain goat
This, without a doubt, is the mountain goat. If we were to describe it in a word: Easy.
On the flat and open section you have to use the full rev range, it really is a fantastic bike for beginners and ladies. However, it is one of the nicest bikes to climb technical sections with. When you open the gas and hit a climb, it doesn’t spin all the power away but just somehow manages to find the traction and climb, and climb and climb. Point it in any direction and drop the clutch and off you go. Even though it is confidence inspiring for the new rider it definitely punches above its weight when it comes to performance and even the experienced rider would enjoy this in really technical sections.
FE 350: The perfect Four Stroke?
“I am just going to say it outright and how it is, this is the perfect motorcycle…. For me anyway. Why do I say this? You can ride it slowly, you can ride it quickly and you can climb anything you point it at. I love this bike…. And its orange cousin.”
What makes us love the 350 so much is that it is a brilliant balance between the 250 and 450, it has the extra bit of power that the 250 lacks and a little bit less aggressive than the 450 making it a more enjoyable all round bike to ride. Fitted with the quick shifter and traction control as standard it just makes the bike easier to ride and that much quicker with a different dimension of useability. The new front end keeps you pointed in the right direction and keeps everything tidy.
FE 450: Serious enduro.
This is a pretty serious enduro machine with loads of low down grunt and stupendous top end power. The 450 just disappears into the distance when you touch the throttle. The power curve on this machine is much more aggressive than all the others. The rear linkage, available across the range, really does keep the back end planted and the harder you ride the more you can actually feel the rear wheel being pushed down onto the track. It is almost like it squats down into the traction to deliver the best feel and feedback possible.
FE 501: The Big Daddy
The Big Daddy, it sounds intimidating but it is almost as easy to ride as the FE 250, that is how good it is. In and around the single track the 501 is a peach to ride. It feels light and has all the power in the world, it doesn’t really beat you up or make you tired. Up in the mountains you can just use the torque to pull you up that mountain pass. It can get angry with you when you open her up but we wouldn’t suggest doing that on an uphill climb. Playing with the mapping modes (this is available across the range) the standard mode definitely means business when you open her up whereas the calmer mode makes for some really easy riding.
Yup! easy riding on a 501.
This would be my second bike in the garage.
That’s our take. But you can look forward to more features on these bikes in the future.
The Two strokes with the new TBI were analysed in great detail and they got two thumbs up.
Listening to the guys through the day, there was lots of chat around the suspension. The new setup really is very well received. Big discussions raged about linkage vs. PDI suspension. It really does come down to personal preference, with some preferring the plushness offered by the Husqvarna range.
The choice of brakes also came under discussion, most are accustomed to Brembo, but as we said earlier, the Braktec system felt pretty darn good.
In closing. Just look at them! Ain’t they pretty?
At your Husqvarna dealer.
