#dirtbike #offroad #adventure
It’s here! The Husqvarna TX300 two-stroke is available now and we have one. This has a completely new motor with throttle body fuel injection. We’ve been going nuts waiting for this bike and it actually arrive sooner than we expected. So it’s only been five years since Husqvarna and KTM came out with their first EFI two-strokes, which were all transfer port injection. Now, they’ve gone back to throttle body injection, which seems to be older technology. Does that mean TPI was a failure? Husqvarna’s people say no and point out that TPI is still used on the TE300. The nature of that design provides a very smooth power delivery, which is perfect to the more trail-oriented TE. In the last five years, both designs have been in continual development. Now, throttle body injection has developed to the point that it comes closer to the original goal, which is a more carburetor-like power delivery. That translates to a more aggressive nature, which is appropriate for the TX300, a cross country race bike. It also solves the problem of how to lubricate the crankshaft. With TPI, oil injection was necessary. By moving the injectors upstream, the crank and rod bearings are lubricated by oil mixed in the gas, which seems to be the way two-stroke purists like it. Setting the issue of fuel-injection aside, the rest of the motor is new, too. The electronic powervalve is now controlled by the same CPU that alters the fuel mixture and the spark advance. It has to be the most complicated multidimensional map ever. Like most of Husky’s new bikes the TX300 got a new frame, although it is different from the one used for the four-strokes. We think it must be lighter because the TX300 didn’t gain weight like all those other bikes. On our scale without fuel, it weighs 224 pounds, which is the same as last year’s version. The suspension is basically the same as that used by the motocross bikes, just revalved for off-road use. It has slightly less suspension travel than its KTM counterpart (the 300XC). That’s to reduce seat height. The TX300 has about a half-inch less seat height than the KTM.We’ve finally come to terms with the new Husqvarna frame and appreciate its strengths and weaknesses. It’s stiffer, which results in a negative first impression, based purely on comfort. After you ride it a little longer, you realize that it’s more stable at speed and has less chassis movement. It still initiates turns with very little effort and has less squat under acceleration. Plus, we’ve learned once you get more time on the frame, it loosens up a little and the rigidity becomes less of a factor.
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