HUSQVARNA SM610 (2005 - on) Review

Year: 2007

Annual servicing cost: £100

Amazing bike for short blasts, not comfortable for any longer than 2 hours at one time. After market seat may help if you can find one. Engine is brilliant up to 80 mph - not much after that though. Great for twisties and country lanes but keep off the motorway as there's no wind protection and the bike does not enjoy high speeds for long periods of time. Wouldn't use as a commuter due to cold starts can be tricky sometimes.

Got an 07 model with arrow race can, wet racing front tyre and now a liberated air box. The Handling is excellent and you can carry more speed round corners than most other bikes. The saddle is narrow and not the most comfortable but not the razor blade that others claim. The front brake is good and rolling stoppies are easy but it can be prone to warping with hard use. Torque from the engine is good and it can loft the front on the power in first but you have to be quick with the gear change as revs can run out quickly. The clutch is very responsive and fairly light. The engine can be a little vibey if you're used to multi cylinder engines but against other road singles its smooth. The exhaust pipe can catch the inside of your left hand trousers and singe them slightly. I wrapped mine in heat resistant ceramic tape and now don't have the same problem. The low fuel indicator is taken from the fuel tap and this can work slightly loose. This can sometimes mean the low fuel light doesn't work so keep an eye that its not loose. Fuel economy seems to be reasonable at around the 40's to the gallon. The rims and swingarm can start to look tarnished if not looked after but other than that the finish is good (the husqvarna stickers can however peel slightly if you ride at higher speeds for a while). For me however its definately one of the most fun bikes I've ridden. It encourages a style of riding that feels utterly illegal but at speeds that wont get you too noticed. I think the styling is brilliant and its one bike that always brings a smile to my face even on a hum drum commute.

kicks arse,headturner poky and light,strong ,dropped it twice, 20 metre slide no damage ( acerbis hand guards a must)i still dont understand which bits of the bike are sliding down the road!! 2000 miles so far, starts on the button. sits in the rain and cold no worries, tyres suck wearing them out rapid so i can put on some with some grip. best thing about this bike is its a real bike, no b/s. good mpg i think!? seat was uncomfortable for an hour now is all good. did i say the tyres are shit? cant locate the panniers that allegedly exist, dont feel the need to upgrade or trick out this bike, unlike all my others, which is good, only things i have put on are acerbis handguards and r&g fork and swingarm protectors(after drops) change the tyres before you take it home, change the oil.

I owned a 2006 model from new last year that i used to courier on in central london. Comfort is not as bad as most say but you have to stand up every 20 mins or so without fail to allow for bloodflow .. ;-) The engine is amazing fun for it's sheer lairyness. I have yet too find a more fun and easy bike to wheelie if you should so please. The bike is physically large but thin and very responsive making filtering a joy. I once filtered on the back wheel for over 200 metres through moving traffic on this bike (I wouldn't have been able to on any other bike i've owned). If you fancy a laugh and to be kept entertained on every ride then thias bike is great. It's wet weather handling is also a lot better than you might believe but expect the back end to spin up and you'll be fine. Only wish i could still do without the poor motorway manners as this bike dosen't like large motorway mile munching though tucking in helps and can easily cruise at 100.

Ok let's get the bad stuff out the way. This has to be the second most uncomfortable I have ever riden, it is like sitting on two razor blades, I certainly couldn't ride it for more than about twenty minutes. The engine was also a little gutless for road use. However, where this bike really excels is in the fun factor, it is a loot. you can have real fun in the corners. With the right tyres on I an sure it would handle quite well off road too.

I got into supermoto’s after starting a family, as a speed junkie I liked the fact that I could still have some fun with out the outright speed of a sports bike. This is my second supermoto, first being a DRZ400. The DRZ was fun but expensive to bring it up to a good spec. I brought a sm610 2006 with 2000miles on the clock for £3500. The sm610 looks stunning and is very good standard spec except the engine does not get enough breath. Sort this little issue out and you have one fantastic everyday road going supermoto. You will find yourself for ever fighting the front wheel on acceleration and doing the opposite on breaking. When I ride this bike I feel like when I was 15 on my BMX. The bike has so much feel and it just begs you to go into every corner sideways. If you hate road humps get one of these and you will soon be looking for the biggest ones around. As long as you’re not going to be doing ANY motorway miles you can’t get much more fun then one of these. The bike has been very reliable for me so far. I have dropped it a couple of time but these off road based bikes are so tuff you just pick them up and off you go again. That’s another bonus over expensive fairings. Very highly recommended, I would not change this bike for anything right now. I gave it a one for equipment, but it has a throttle, clutch, breaks, lights and a speedometer that sometimes works. What else do you need?

A fun bike to ride, but the seat is like two parallel razor blades. It get uncomfortable very quickly. The engine also feels very underpowered for riding any distance. however, for short stints and town riding it is great fun.