The chassis and suspension were about as good as you could get for the conditions largely due to one standout Husky trait: stability. The bike would go where it was pointed and do everything in its power to stay straight when I was seeing orange and red bikes slip sideways! But the back end on the TE resisted coming around as I dodged the downed bikes, and it tracked straight and true even while crossing ruts. Sometimes it felt a little tall in the turns, but it stuck just fine. The suspension feels as if it rides a bit high in the stroke (it isn't the plushest initially, but it isn't bad) and then blows through when it hits something. Not as progressive as some other setups, it does work, especially on grass track-type terrain or in the nasty woods. It is a setup that keeps the tires planted to the ground. You can actually dial it in pretty well with stiffer compression settings for the faster stuff and softer settings for the slower. I even got really comfortable on the motocross track with only some additional compression damping.
The rest of the bike was a really good package to be racing on. The brakes were strong and progressive. The riding position wasn't too cramped, and the seat and tank allowed plenty of movement and were great for hanging on. The bike didn't steam in some long bottlenecks even with mud-caked radiators, though I'm pretty easy on the clutch in those situations. About the only bother was the bike was a little hesitant about full-power upshifts. It also stalled a little easier than normal if I whacked the throttle too fast and hard. And there was the horn. Evidently illegal during AMA competition, I just couldn't help but honk when I wanted to get by. Hey, my bike is street-legal-I deserve a horn!
And back in the rainy mud, sloshing through the trees and then finally coming out onto the famous motocross circuit that looked way more like the 1987 Motocross des Nations circuit than the one the factory riders are usually greeted with on sunny days, I was actually having fun. I was keeping Ayres in sight and just waiting for the final lap to use my Husky power and blow his doors off. So about a mile from the finish, I wicked it up and got really close. Since the bike was quiet it was a sneak attack-that was, until I laid on the horn and let the pressure take over. A few turns from the end on a slick set of roots, Ayres' KTM 125 flew sideways and onto the ground, and I blew straight across it on the Husky. Victory was mine, and I think the Husky liked it, too. It wasn't shiny anymore; it was broken in. Not too bad for a dual-sport bike. Not too bad for a Husky. And when you consider in this level of performance and the availability of a license plate, Husky has a licensed winner here.
What's Hot
* Street-legal
* Straight-line stability
* Six-speed nicely spread for tight woods work
* Exhaust note is stealthily quiet
What's Not
* Heavy, even for an enduro bike
* Suspension not very progressive