February 2018 35
grunt that builds to a very impressive mid-range
with much more over-rev than one would expect.
Although clutch pull is brutal, the bike has so
much grunt that it's not much of an issue. First
gear is low and it just chugs up the steepest climb
with never a hiccup. In fact, I think the front tire
could be against a log and the rear would just keep
churning a hole to China. Another bonus is that
even though it's a rather tall bike, it feels like a
featherweight. There's not much fluff on an old
air-cooled, drum brake bike. In actuality, the big
430 Husky is a very basic piece.
With a successful test ride completed, it was
time to dig a bit deeper into the project. Most of
the rubber components were long past their use-
ful life. The original Barum tires and tubes had
the suppleness of dinosaur dung. The forks were
mushy and topped out with a clunk when the
front end got light. The original Ohlins shocks
had little damping left and the spring rates
weren't up to the task of supporting this big
