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 Post subject: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:57 pm 
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125cc
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Location: God's own County, Shropshire
I went to look at a couple of bikes today and after ruling out an AJP PR5 (not much use for roadwork), I was moderately taken with the SWM RS300, which as far as I can tell, is pretty much a replica of a late model (2014) TE310...

So a couple or three questions please to users of the later 300 Huskys if I may? I want a bike as a genuine all-rounder, eg ride it across France to Spain, to then go trail riding at the other end and not be hammered by the bike's weight as found on the bigger "adventure" bikes once the going gets tough. Any bike can be modded to carry a throwover or 3 and the SWM's do have a proper rear subframe, albeit needs some beefing up for bigger weights!.

I actually was wanting to have a look at the SWM 650, which is a clone of the TE630, but it does not have a cush drive which for me on a 55hp bike doing big road miles with luggage, is an absolute no-no. There is plenty of stuff on the Husky forums about the problems that can occur with such usage! :o

However, the lighter 300 does have some appeal as a trailie, but I really do have concerns whether the RedTop motor will deal with sustained steady throttle riding on roads. The seat is a horror, but fixable! :lol:

So, the 310/300? Adv bike, yes or no?

Comfortable top whack with road gearing (can soon swap a gearbox cog out!) ?
Oil change intervals?
Better seat...? essential for road miles, but that is solvable.
Tank range on road work, not thrashing but steady 60mph?
Lack of cush drive... But only 30-35hp
Anything to be aware of??




WTH do Suzuki not sell the DRZ anylonger??


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:18 pm 
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125cc

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steveR wrote:
WTH do Suzuki not sell the DRZ anylonger??


They do....just not in this country. Sorry not of much use to you. Im sure someone alot more helpful than me will be along shortly


Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:21 pm 
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125cc
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Location: God's own County, Shropshire
Craig89 wrote:
steveR wrote:
WTH do Suzuki not sell the DRZ anylonger??


They do....just not in this country. Sorry not of much use to you. Im sure someone alot more helpful than me will be along shortly


Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk


No where in Yurrup AFAIK. Possibly the first reason I have found to consider voting Leave...!!





And Yes, this was a light hearted comment.... :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:58 pm 
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200 cc

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I've ridden a swm rs 300r. All be it just round an industrial estate.

The rear suspension seemed quite soft ( I am carrying a little extra beef these days :D )

Steel rear sub frame as far as I can remember.

Would the 500cc model not be a better choice considering your road miles?

I think they make sense at the price.

Service interval info seems to scarce.


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 6:29 am 
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I have owned the last version TE310 with red top engine. On standard gearing at 60mph it is buzzing really high. The late motor, as you know, is highly strung and was at the time the lightest engine of its type.

Mine broke down once in Wales. It got water in the electrics somewhere. It ended my day. A mate had to rebuild his engine after not too much use either. They can be funny hot starters too. I ended up kicking mine off a lot because I was worried about the sprag clutch.

I liked it suspension and tall rider suitability. So with a gel seat it might be comfy enough for distance work. But I would not trust its electrics and hot starting in the short term. And I would not trust the engine over the long term.

I would not use one for long distance trail riding at all.

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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:33 am 
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Very interesting.

Would you apply what you have said to the 500?

Are the engines very similar apart from capacity?


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 9:54 am 
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125cc
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Location: God's own County, Shropshire
Kevin Coates wrote:
I've ridden a swm rs 300r. All be it just round an industrial estate.

The rear suspension seemed quite soft ( I am carrying a little extra beef these days :D )

Steel rear sub frame as far as I can remember.

Would the 500cc model not be a better choice considering your road miles?

I think they make sense at the price.

Service interval info seems to scarce.


IKWYM about carrying more ballast, the strong sub frame is a must to carry the pies!! :)

The 500 is supposed to be pure enduro bike... Not what I want at all! From looking on't Net, servicing on the red top is competition level, so regular oil drops etc. I am sure I have seen some users fitting oil coolers to allow more oil in the system, but I am not sure which model it was TBH. The SWM does seem to have a larger oil capacaity than some of the 310 Husky's with 1.9l, which is respectable.


Last edited by steveR on Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:00 am 
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richgilb wrote:
I have owned the last version TE310 with red top engine. On standard gearing at 60mph it is buzzing really high. The late motor, as you know, is highly strung and was at the time the lightest engine of its type.

Mine broke down once in Wales. It got water in the electrics somewhere. It ended my day. A mate had to rebuild his engine after not too much use either. They can be funny hot starters too. I ended up kicking mine off a lot because I was worried about the sprag clutch.

I liked it suspension and tall rider suitability. So with a gel seat it might be comfy enough for distance work. But I would not trust its electrics and hot starting in the short term. And I would not trust the engine over the long term.

I would not use one for long distance trail riding at all.


Great and VERY useful comments there. I thought that with a 6 speed box, it would have a genuine long 6th, but apparantly not :( The Yanks/Aussies seem to have concerns about the long term reliability of that motor and seem to back up your thoughts on it as a long distance ride... Great as a one day machine with a van nearby :lol:

I can see a trip down to Worcester is in order, to ride the RS650 (Husky TE630!) and suss it out... ;)


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 3:53 pm 
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I had a bike from the factory where they are now making the SWM.

It was owned by MV Agusta (in turn owned by Harley) in those days and built Husqvarnas.

My bike was a Husky TE610E...it was supposedly a durable trail/on/off-road touring bike.

The reality was anything but...I can recall few rides that weren't interrupted by it throwing some kind of hizzy fit...blowing the main fuze, the fuel tap falling apart, the carb deciding to syphon the fuel out of the tank, the engine stopping because the bike had been ridden through a puddle (the air filter was by the rider's foot and drew air from underneath!), it just went on and on ... or rather, it didn't.

This WASN'T the competition TE610...it was the supposedly durable TE610E.

I found out the crankshaft was supposed to be replaced at 10,000 miles and got shot of the thing. Spares were expensive too.

I can't recommend the products of this factory to anyone...sorry. In fairness, things might change now the Chinese are running the show...and any change would be an improvement.


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 Post subject: Re: Husky TE310/SWM300??
PostPosted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:01 pm 
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KTM 690 or the gorgeous new Husky 710?

Should eat the road miles and be comfy but nowhere near as heavy as the big adventure bikes.
Still heavy compared to mid size enduro bikes though but far more practical and decent service gaps for touring.
I would be tempted if I went to one bike for road and trail riding.
My lack of ability would slow me down on the nadgery stuff but I would be happy to compromise.

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