New BMW-powered Husqvarnas ridden

The new flagship in Husqvarna’s range is the 449, which has taken the engine from BMW’s now discontinued G450X enduro and given it new life.

Made in two variants, the TC is the motocrosser, the TE an enduro. It’s brand new this year, a complete ground-up exercise that takes up where BMW left off and pushes the 450X motor forwards into a whole new future.

The engine has been significantly fettled. The motocrosser has been tuned to make the short, abrupt style of power that’s demanded in that arena, while the enduro gets a more linear power delivery and a six-speed gearbox somehow shoehorned into the original engine cases.

Full road test on motocross and enduro versions of the 449 in next week’s MCN, out August 18.

SPECIFICATIONS
Husqvarna TC449 (TE449 in brackets where different)

Engine
Type: liquid-cooled, single cylinder, four-valve, DOHC four-stroke
Capacity: 449.6cc
Bore & stroke: 98 x 59.6mm
Compression ratio: 13.1:1 (12.1:1)
Starter: electric (no kickstart)
Fueling: Keihin D46 fuel injection
Transmission: five-speed (six-speed), wet multi-plate hydraulically operated clutch
Final drive: Chain 15:53 ratio (15:51)

Chassis
Type: Chro Mo steel twin tube perimeter, aluminium subframe
Front suspension: 48mm USD Kayaba forks, 300mm travel
Rear suspension: Kayaba shock, 300mm travel
Wheels: 1.6 x 21” front, 2.15 x 19” (18”) rear
Front brake: 260mm disc, Brembo caliper
Rear brake: 240mm disc, Brembo caliper

Dimensions
Wheelbase: 1490mm
Seat height: 963mm
Ground clearance: 335mm
Rake & trail: 25.8°/101mm
Fuel tank: 8.5-litres
Claimed dry weight: 108kg (113kg)