• Welcome to the Yamaha FZ6R Forums. Member registration disables ads and allows you to post and share. Register Here.

Husqvarna Terra & Strada 650

B

bleedinblue

Senior Member
Elite Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
1,728
Location
Indiana
Visit site
These things look pretty cool to me.They have a reasonable price for a Italian bike.I haven't read into the details in depth, but I like what I see so far.Im not exactly sure of all of the differences between the two models.One has street tires, a motorcycle fender and standard ABS, but im not sure if they have any suspension or chassis differences as well.

I know the engine is from a BMW 650gs, but it sounds like its mainly just the casings.I did not catch the Baja lately, but does anyone know if the Husky 650 is competing against the big xr's and 450's?I saw it mentioned as a homogolation vehicle in a article somewhere.

If they are the same model besides ABS, tires and bodywork.I really might consider a Stradas in the future if I can convert the fender & tires when I wish.

Product details - Husqvarna Motorcycles

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD-JgrNsnYE&feature=related]Husqvarna TR 650 Terra/Strada Actionvideo & Details - YouTube[/ame]
 
bleedinblue said:
These things look pretty cool to me.They have a reasonable price for a Italian bike.I haven't read into the details in depth, but I like what I see so far.Im not exactly sure of all of the differences between the two models.One has street tires, a motorcycle fender and standard ABS, but im not sure if they have any suspension or chassis differences as well.

I know the engine is from a BMW 650gs, but it sounds like its mainly just the casings.I did not catch the Baja lately, but does anyone know if the Husky 650 is competing against the big xr's and 450's?I saw it mentioned as a homogolation vehicle in a article somewhere.

If they are the same model besides ABS, tires and bodywork.I really might consider a Stradas in the future if I can convert the fender & tires when I wish.

Product details - Husqvarna Motorcycles

Husqvarna TR 650 Terra/Strada Actionvideo & Details - YouTube
Click to expand...

It's not an Italian bike. Husky is Swedish originally, now owned by BMW. Not sure exactly where they're made, but much of the BMW single componentry is sourced in Asia (including the motor and transmission) and I'd imagine that's where these are mostly coming from regardless of the final assembly point.

Front wheel on the Terra is 21" vs 19" on the Strada. Same as the difference between the basic 650GS and the Sertao. Rear are 18" on Terra, 17" on Strada. Same suspension hardware otherwise. You could definitely play musical tires on them, but the wheel size on one is optimized for dirt and the other for street. Not sure how easy it would be to swap fenders around. You could get decent dirt tires for the 19/17 combo of the Strada, depending on your needs, but he wheels on the Strada are exactly the same as on the base 650GS, which are cast aluminum and not optimal for dirt.

They pretty much took the BMW GS single drivetrain along with many other components like the wheels, pushed the engine a bit harder, and built some slightly different variants. I think it's interesting that it still has an obviously BMW-derived "fake" twin exhaust. (Exhaust flows into the left muffler, then through a crossover into the right, then out. It's not really a twin pipe it just looks like one.) The local BMW/Husqvarna dealer tells me they were designed to compete with the KTM 690 Enduro, while using as much of the existing BMW hardware and design as possible.

They do look pretty good. Drivetrains on the BMW singles are not particularly crisp and I doubt these are much different.
 
They are assembled in Italy, just as Italian as Lamborghini these days.

The biggest reason I would want to swap the fender is mud.Even if it doesn't pack full of clay and affect performance, it would be faster to swap the fenders then clean packed mud out of the street fender.Id just like to have both options instead of that stupid beak most Adv style bikes are getting.

The Ktm would smoke the Husky, but for the price difference.The Husky has alot of room to mod before it equals the price of a Ktm 690.I just look at the Terra, and see the price of a wr250 right now lol.

Id have to buy a spare seat to shave down for when I ride solo though.Its probably going to be the biggest item that effects its off road performance.
 
Interesting....
 
I was thinking about this bike a bitt today.I cant help but notice that the revised engine has no torque increase along with the hp and throttle response, and it gets great gas mileage.

I bett there is alot to unleash with a simple exhaust/power commander upgrade.
 
OK, the two bikes are very, very similar. Other than the color, the most noticable difference is the 18" rear, 21" front spoked wheels on the Terra compared to the 17"/19" on the Strada.

The former would be ideal for dirt, less idea for street. The latter is delivered with "adventure" type tires that balance the two. You have the option of going more dirt or more street oriented in your tire choice using the Strada wheel combo, but they are cast wheels so not ideal for hardcore dirt riding.

Looks like the front fender would come off easily enough if you wanted to put a more dirt-oriented tire in there, and it seems like the "beak" from the Terra could be retrofitted to the Strada as well, though you will pay BMW prices to get one. Personally, I'd favor an aftermarket beak from somebody like Acerbis, which would save a lot and probably mount just as easily.

Putting on different sized wheels on the Strada could be problematic, unless you were willing to disable ABS completely.

As to the mechanicals: Dealer says it's pretty much a G650GS engine/tranny with revised cams, piston (for higher compression) and fuel injection profile. Like everything else coming out of BMW it is designed to run on the lean side for emissions and mileage, which usually means you could get more out of it with a power commander once somebody does some mapping. Exhaust is obviously based on the BMW design, restyled to suit the bike. Dealer confirmed that the engine and most of the other mechanicals are of Chinese origin, same as the BMW.

Was fairly comfortable as dual-sports go.

Nice bike. I'm pretty impressed. Terra is priced just $310 over a WR250R. Strada with ABS adds another $500. Hard to see how you could justify the WR under the circumstances. It's not a KTM 690, but it's also $3500 less than the orange bike.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info Michael.I don't want to sound like Whatever or anything.I wont have one anytime soon unfortunately.

There seems to be growing interest in dualsports, and adv bikes on here.So I just wanted to get a discussion going on this model, because I thought it looks like an affordable, flexible bike.Im definitely going to keep my eye out for news on this model though, while I pay off my fz6r.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top