Trail Rider Magazine

34 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Vintage Awakening! 1982 Husqvarna 430 WR Dick Burleson Replica This month's vintage feature could be considered a continuation of last month's '73 450 WR vintage feature, as it too was purchased brand new by my good friend Howie. The years between 1973 and 1982 resulted in vast changes in off-road motorcy- cle technology. Bike design evolved in leaps and bounds during the 70's and well into the 80's. To the untrained eye, there's really not much difference visually between a 1998 woods ride to our current 2018 offerings. Those nine years between Howie purchasing his '73 450 WR and this '82 430 WR resulted in an entirely different animal. Yes, they are both woods bikes but to compare them is apples to orangutans! Howie took a bit of a break from woods riding not long after he purchased the '73 450 from Morel's Husqvarna. Between school and working at the family business, time just didn't allow much riding. After graduating from college, he jumped right back in the mud with a new 1982 430 WR that he also bought from Joe Morel. During the '82-'83 sea- sons, the big 430 saw a fair amount of use running NETRA Turkey Runs, along with some group trail rides. Howie had big love for the Berkshire Moun- tains in Western Massachusetts and enjoyed explor- ing portions of the 1974 ISDT route on his 430 WR. Even though the '82 430 WR was only a cou- ple years old, it was soon considered outdated and pushed to the back of the barn. A newer sin- gle-shock, front disk brake ride took center stage, while the still fresh 430 soon disappeared in a cover of dust along with a host of other pieces of cast off machinery. As mentioned in last month's Trail Rider, my good friend Howie was taken from us five years ago from colon cancer. While visiting his family last fall, we ended up in his barn where the 430 and 450 WR's sat next to each other for more than a few decades. With a promise to wake them up, enjoy them in his honor and never sell, we loaded both bikes into the Sprinter van and off to Trail Rider Cen- tral for a thorough reawakening. After a comprehen- sive cleaning, the 430 really popped. Yes, it had seen some use but other than a few well- earned scars, it was in remarkable con- dition. No one ever questioned How- ie's skills on two wheels. The man rarely fell. Even though cosmetics were ex- tremely nice, the bike required a fair amount of attention as time had taken its toll on the con- sumable components. With a spotlessly clean slate, the first order of business was the fuel system. Starting with the air box, we found a moderately-sized mouse condo. Fortunately, the mice hadn't acquired a taste for Bel Ray fil- ter oil as the foam was untouched. Once vacu- umed out, the old filter literally disintegrated in our hands. Fortunately, sourcing a replacement filter is never a problem for a vintage Husky. The Mikuni carb had been drained the last time the bike had run but we elected to completely disassemble and give it a proper bath in the ultrasonic cleaning tank. Another bonus was the fuel tank had also been properly drained. Fortunately, we didn't encounter any corrosion issues, typical of vintage bike resurrections. After a fresh gear oil change, a thoroughly cleaned fuel system, new air filter and throttle cable, we poured in our favorite 2 stroke mix of Maxima 927 and 100 octane AvGas. Big bores love fuel on start-up so with a quick lean over to flood the cylinder a bit along with full choke, the big 430 instantly roared to life after only three kicks. There's something so rewarding about breathing life back into a long dormant motorcycle. I truly believe bikes have soul. This bike's got Howie's soul along with his deep voice. Pleasing for sure. The initial test ride was impressive; the 430 WR is a torque monster. Diesel-like, low-end

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