Husqvarna TXCi250
Fuel-Infected
In 2010 Husqvarna redesigned its 250—the last bike born from the Cagiva marriage—to be the lightest and most compact engine in the class, and the result was a World Enduro Championship. For 2011 the bike was updated with a larger, 2.2-gallon tank, 18-inch rear wheel, sidestand, spark arrestor, hand guards and Mikuni EFI. The changes bring the new bike’s price up to $7399.
The TXCi250 is sleepy in off-road-legal trim, but when converted for closed-course competition with the available kit, performance improves dramatically and the motor positively screams on top. With six gears to choose from, the bike makes quick work of any terrain.
Suspension is stiff for technical trails but somewhat soft for serious motocross work, so it’s a good match for closed-course competition. Handling is crisp and accurate with amazing front-end feel entering fast turns. It’s hard to imagine a rider not liking this chassis.
The 250’s only weakness is its EFI. For fast, open running it works fine, but throttle response down low is poor—like a carburetor with an idle jet that’s way off. Working with a dealer to tweak the EFI yielded no improvement. We ended up installing a JD Jetting Power Surge fuel-injection tuner ($209.95; www.jdjetting.com) to get the throttle response where we wanted it. Once the fueling was up to the level of the excellent chassis, the 250 became a joy to ride.