in recent years. And though it’s not a world beater, the Italian machine is competitive. It will take a competent racer at the top of his game to knock off the competition (considering that the KTM 250SXF and KX250F are playing in a different league when it comes to horsepower), but it’s possible. That couldn’t be said two years ago. Husqvarna is going places. ;
Leftie: The TC250 exhaust system is routed down the left side of the bike.
It’s another feature that differentiates the bike from the competition.
Smooth as snot: In years past we had problems with the TC250’s hydraulic
clutch. That isn’t the case for 2013. The Brembo unit works very well.
2013 TC250
MXA
HUSQVARNA
TC250 SETUP
SPECS This is how we set up our 2013 Husqvarna TC250 for racing. We offer it as a guide to help you get your own bike dialed in.
KAYABA FORK SETTINGS These forks are beefy. This wasn’t always the case. In 2011 Husqvarna used way too light 0.43 kg/mm springs. Last year they jumped up two spring rates to 0.47 kg/mm. It was a good idea, but adding 20cc of oil was the kiss of death. The forks were jarring because they weren’t moving through their stroke. This dramatically affected handling. We removed 20cc of oil and backed out the compression clickers to put the forks within the zone of a typical 250F rider. For hardcore racing, we recommend this fork setup on the 2013 Husqvarna TC250 (stock specs are in parentheses): Spring rate: 0.47 kg/mm Compression: 16 clicks out ( 12 clicks out) Rebound: 12 clicks out ( 10 clicks out) Oil height: 290cc (310cc) Fork-leg height: 5mm up Notes: A bigger, faster rider will still benefit from removing fork oil but should start with the stock clicker settings. A minicycle transplant may need softer springs. KAYABA SHOCK SETTINGS MXA test riders became comfortable with the old Sachs shock on the TC250, but Husqvarna decided to go with Kayaba last year. For 2013, the TC250 has the same shock and settings. We noticed that there was a slight looseness to the way the rear end tracked over bumps. To remedy the problem, we went out on rebound, but that led to more hopping. So, we went the opposite direction, which deadened the feel of the shock but didn’t solve the riddle. Eventually we determined that the looseness was most likely frame flex. For hardcore racing, we recommend this shock setup on the 2013 Husqvarna TC250 (stock specs are in parentheses): Spring rate: 5. 3 kg/mm Hi-compression: 1-1/2 turns out (1-1/4 turns out) Lo-compression: 14 clicks out Rebound: 6 clicks out ( 10 clicks out) Race sag: 100mm
