Race test: Husqvarna WR 125

• Video

Husqvarna's entry-level model in the hard-enduro world is called the WR 125. They also offer a slightly more civilized version of the WRE (no, E doesn't mean electric starter) with fewer kilowatts and fewer racing components that should be part of the road or off-road program. That being said, if you are not worried about the uncomfortable seat, you can go on a longer trip. The WR, however, runs counter to the road.

Not only because of the racing narrow seat, but mainly because of the engine they borrowed from the motocross program. When moving at a constant speed, it "crunches" and reports that it does not smell when the gas is half-closed. When I replied to a colleague (otherwise driving a 530cc EXC) who, after a few tens of meters with the WR, asked what to do to get it moving: it needs to be turned!

For a more plastic representation of how power is unevenly distributed in this explosive crusher, the impression of a flat road: when you lazily add gas and shift to a lower rev range, the digital tachometer stops in sixth gear at 65 km / h. However, when you turn the throttle all the way, the engine revs at about 75 km/h and in an instant only launches a heavy keel weighing a hundred kilos to a good 100 kilometers per hour – it will still work, but it is not designed for high speeds.

This Husqvarna, along with hundreds of cars, mostly around 450cc, has become a hallmark of the cross-country racing hobby. Cross-country means he starts in a group and then rides in circles, while hobby means he has an hour and a half to cross the finish line as many times as possible. Race "Expert" lasted an hour longer. At the start, Husa started first, but I still had a bad start - the bike was in the second row, and the other two KTM riders obviously had problems starting.

While hundreds of riders scream in one direction, one in ten of them seems incredibly long, so I slipped a little annoyingly between them (it seems to me now when I remember the video) and hit the motocross track. ... I look for holes in the crowd and try to compensate for a bad start by overtaking, but in some places there is no other choice but to wait. In difficult areas, everything is standing, enduro riders run, fall, swear, some engines with smoke signals already report that they are too hot, despite the cold Istrian breeze.

In such cases, when it is necessary to manually help gasoline horses, the advantages and disadvantages of the WR-ke appear. The good side is definitely the light weight. When it comes to climbing and turning back into the valley in the middle of the slope, every kilo is extra, and the WR 125 is feather-straight with 100 kilos of dry weight. The problem comes when you push the bike uphill from the left side and the two-stroke kicks in.

The WR doesn't have an electric starter, so you'll have to sit in a three-foot-tall seat and engage a small starter. There were no problems with ignition, even after the falls - if not with the first, then after the second blow, it probably caught fire. As soon as such an inconvenience happened to me, I became more attentive and always pressed the clutch in time so that the engine did not stop unnecessarily. When manually shifting the bike, I would point out another minor drawback: the plastic under the rear fender could be made more rounded so that the fingers of the right hand would suffer less.

Once the “movement” eased, all went well. Smoothly, calmly and with a minimally aggressive start, I overcame ups and downs, but there were some falls on the wet Istrian soil. One was fatal to the plastic radiator shields and front fender bracket. Otherwise the rudder is the one that "catches" the impact and protects the bead when dropped, but on my hips I turned so that the rudder went into a deep ditch and the previously mentioned elements were damaged. Pok. I immediately heard something explode - damn, I was cruel.

The engine is a typical two-stroke with a small displacement, that is, lazy at the bottom and explosive at the top, but still surprised with its useful power even in the middle rev range. It didn’t have to be lifted to climb most descents, but it also ran at medium revs where the engine pulls well under load. You just need to choose the right gear, there is no need to expect miracles from 125 cubic meters. The gearbox must be praised unambiguously. Due to poor feeling of the clutch lever (several times it seemed uneven for "horses") I switched without clutch while driving, often even on descents.

The gearbox has never stalled at idle or in an unwanted gear! A few words about the suspension - Marzocchi and Sachs work well, but if I hadn't tried the TE 250 later, the Kayaba forks are screwed into the front spiders, I wouldn't have noticed that the WR 125 is quite a jumpy bike when riding bumps. There was no time to test different suspension settings, but a head-to-head comparison of the WR 125 and TE 250 showed that driving with less suspension required stronger arms and more attention from the rider. Since the test WR had Marzocchi forks, it looks like it was also for 2009 – they already have Kayaba forks installed this year.

I completed five laps in an hour and a half and finished 108th out of 59 participants. So says the organizer, who had a lot of problems with the ranking of the participants, despite the timekeepers. I am satisfied with the rating, as well as WR. Beneath the line is an extremely fun bike that a 16-year-old would be hard pressed to ask for more, and there are no competitors on the Slovenian market other than KTM’s EXC 125 (€6.990).

Four-stroke alternative

After the race, Jože Langus, dealer and repairman for Husqvarn, ditched his TE 250 IU with an Akrapovic exhaust system per lap. The 125 2T and 250 4T belong to the same class of racing enduro, so I was very interested in how the big brother behaves. Already on the spot, it feels heavier (dry weight 106 kg) and also falls a little more clumsily into tight turns than the WR 125, otherwise the bike is generally excellent.

Power is distributed much more flexibly and evenly, which is less fatiguing, and also makes mistakes when choosing a gear. As already mentioned, the bike mounted on the Kayabo (Joje says he did not change the suspension) is more stable over a light year. TE instilled such confidence that it immediately flew at almost full throttle to the furrowed “target”! The TE 250 with electronic fuel injection is a better but more expensive choice. They value it at 8.549 euros.

Husqvarna WR125

Test car price: 6.649 EUR

engine: single-cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled, 124, 82 cm? , Mikuni TMX 38 carburetor, foot drive.

Maximum power: np

Maximum torque: np

Energy transfer: Transmission 6-speed, chain.

Frame: steel pipe.

brakes: front coil? 260mm rear coil? 240 mm.

Suspension: Marzocchi inverted front adjustable fork, 300mm travel, Sachs adjustable rear shock, 296mm travel.

Tires: 90/90-21, 120/90-18.

Seat height from ground: 975 mm.

Fuel tank: 7 l.

Wheelbase: 1.465 mm.

Dry weight: 100 kg.

Representative: Avto Val (01/78 11 300, www.avtoval.si), Motorjet (02/46 04, www.motorjet.com),

Moto Mario, sp (03/89 74 566), Motocenter Langus (041/341 303, www.langus-motocenter.com).

We praise and reproach

+ live engine

+ light weight

+ agility

+ quality plastic parts

+ driving position

+ gearbox

+ price and low maintenance costs

– sharp plastic edge under the rear fender

- Worst directional stability on bumps

- feeling on the clutch lever

calloused hands went to: Matevzh Hribar, photographers replaced :? Mitya Gustinčić, Matevž Gribar, Mateja Zupin

• Basic data

  Test model cost: € 6.649 XNUMX €

• Technical information

  engine: single-cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled, 124,82 cm³, Mikuni TMX 38 carburetor, foot drive.

  Torque: np

  Energy transfer: Transmission 6-speed, chain.

  Frame: steel pipe.

  brakes: front disc Ø 260 mm, rear disc Ø 240 mm.

  Suspension: Marzocchi inverted front adjustable fork, 300mm travel, Sachs adjustable rear shock, 296mm travel.

  Fuel tank: 7 l.

  Wheelbase: 1.465 mm.

  Weight: 100 kg.