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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 9:26 pm 
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Location: God's own County, Shropshire
davidscott wrote:
Glad you got to Wyn and Tracy's. They've only been open 2 years so nice and pristine.
And Tracy will make a nice bacon roll :D

Shame about the bike though.

Are the KTM 690's the same or do they do their own thing?
Probably cheaper too.


I made do with a cuppa tea on my return, but they seem to have a nice little caff there too :) Business looks good and he is obviously shifting bikes, ususally a good thing :lol:

My experience of the 690 was it was far edgier than the Husky, ergos similar, but very easy to mod with so many sold. Engine on the one I rode was... raw!


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 9:29 pm 
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steveR wrote:
davidscott wrote:
To try a 701 near Shropshire, get in touch with Wyn Hughes at Freestyle in Newtown, Powys as it can't be that far from you.
It's a wing of the Freestyle near here so he may well also do a demo bike.
http://www.freestylebikes.co.uk/find-us ... -sy16-3aj/


I booked a test ride and tootled over this morning as the ground is so damned wet, nothing can rally be done at the moment!

Lovely people and a very impressive array of off road kit in a pristine showroom, what happened to the back lane shed....?

I togged up after a briefing and look over, I bimbled off. As I know the area, I headed off down the roads to Kerry and Sarn, then back again and up on to the top, and did a wee bit of the Ridgeway before coming back to Newtown, 40-50mins I expect.

Impressions:

Pros.
Build seems nice and the castings etc all looked clean modern and attractive
Lovely, even balanced flow of power from the motor, picking up from nothing to higher levels although as I am a sympathetic soul, it was not revved hard during my ride as it onlyn had 500miles on teh clock(See below!) Nice crisp gearbox and clutch and throttle were lovely as were the brakes both ends.
Handling on the road was solid and planted, no skittishness at ll on the ride and the TKC's are a nice complement. Took it down a dirt road and seemed to soak of potholes nicely :)

Cons.
For my needs the ergonomics were lousy, high flat seat and low bars, never sure why makers do this as anyone who stands up HAS to put on risers anyway! Pegs too high for my personal needs, which again could be modded as I do on most bikes these days. Seat was the ribbed one and not very comfortable, needs an Airhawk for long distance which would help with the other problem... ;)
Vibes, lots of them and more than I anticipated with a balancer bottom end, through the pegs and seat at 50+ were not what I expected. Grip Puppies would work well on the bars and a rebuilt seat would sort the butt issues I think.
Heat shield is a joke, burned my waterproofs. I seem to have seen this was an issue for other too!!
Gearing... the real stumbling block for me! Why take a modern torquey single and saddle it with a close ratio gearbox??? 1st too high, 6th waaay too low. Lots of bikes with this issue and with a 5 speed, about understandable, but 6?? This is supposed to be a long haul Adv bike, not an enduro tool. Put 6th as an overdrive and first for nadgery... PLEASE, someone?? A taller 6th would negate a lot of the higher speed discomfort I felt.

To sum up, the Bike was not what I had hoped for several reasons although many could have been engineered out for not a lot, but it all seemd a bit too much compromise for an 8 grand bike..

I enjoyed the day out, meeting Wyn and his Missus, and in spite of my not chosing to go for a 701, I enjoyed my ride on it so I could assess the bike properly for my needs. Thanks to Nick and others who suggested it.


Have you considered the ccm gp450. It looks a well made bike.


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 7:40 am 
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To be fair a tall first gear suits me. Gives easier control on tricky bits at low speeds.


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 7:41 am 
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It's a shame CCM don't still make the 644


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:42 am 
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richgilb wrote:
To be fair a tall first gear suits me. Gives easier control on tricky bits at low speeds.



Don't see that myself! I always found 2nd was the ideal solution when I needed a bit more.... :)


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:52 am 
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Location: God's own County, Shropshire
Kevin Coates wrote:

Have you considered the ccm gp450. It looks a well made bike.


Tested twice, last year and again this Spring on a 2016 bike in case I had just had a "bad 'un" last year! I had really hoped it was the case, as it really seemed to be the ideal bike for me since it's inception. Money was burning a hole in my pocket when I went to Bolton last year... :lol:

I like the ergos, build and general flexible feel of the bike. HATE the motor and close ratio gearbox !! I feel CCM were too focused on a bike being built by off-road racers, and forgot some of the niceties that should be on a bike, being touted as a long distance adv machine, and that motor is not the right one for the job. I have no doubts it is reliable etc, it is the roughness that bugs me!! The Husky motor is I felt, streets ahead in comparison, albeit needing fettling for use as an adv bike.


Last edited by steveR on Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:40 am 
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Re the 690 motor/gearing

The motors get smoother once they are run in, which takes 20k ;)

Gearing change to 15/48 works wonders for trailriding and still allows for motorway work - last month I rode from Adnamurchan (Scotland) to Sussex in one hit mostly on the motorway at motorway speeds.

It's a high revving motor for what it is and wil sit happily at 6k+ rpm at motorway speeds all day long. It isn't happy being lumped along like an old school single.

At higher revs it is much smoother.

15/48 also works for tight woods enduro as well.

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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:12 pm 
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jonpaul1st wrote:
Re the 690 motor/gearing

The motors get smoother once they are run in, which takes 20k ;)

Gearing change to 15/48 works wonders for trailriding and still allows for motorway work - last month I rode from Adnamurchan (Scotland) to Sussex in one hit mostly on the motorway at motorway speeds.

.


Iron Butt stuff then! :)

IKWYM about time to run a motor in, but 20K??? :o


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:34 am 
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I Have just bought myself swm 300r ive wanted a 300 four stroke for a while so i sold my 2013 ktm 300exc 6day that i had from new with 480 hours and 11,000 mile and have got myself a brand new Swm first ride out was last sunday 109 miles around marlborough downs,lambourne downs and i have to say im very impressed.

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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 11:49 am 
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Location: Kent
I would've happily commuted on my CRF250L for a short distance. From memory it was comfortable, little vibrations, and the engine felt like it would last forever. Fuel controller improved it a bit. Might not want to do too much motorway though. Surely the CBR300R engine should slot right in for a bit more power? Or just the top end.

I would struggle to think of anything else beyond the obvious 690/701/GP450.

If you're interested in SWM you need to talk to Craig Whitney, he's the UK importer (used to import AJP). I'm sure he will happily take you out for a day's trail riding on the fleet of demo bikes, as he did for me. PM me for his number if interested.


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