“Seattle street ripper in retro trim…”
The Husqvarna TE610 was a serious dirt and trail machine, designed to be ridden straight into the elements from the truck, trailer, or van. With a 53-hp, liquid-cooled engine and 3.3 gallon, there wasn’t a hell of a lot that could stop the big Husky.
Enter Isaac Siegl of Speedy Siegl Racing, who makes lightweight CNC aluminum parts for vintage bikes and builds bikes out of his home shop. The 2000 Husqvarna TE610 you see here was the customer’s first motorcycle, and he wanted to revive the aging trail machine into a retro-styled supermoto. The result is the Seattle street ripper you see here.
Below, we get the full story on the build!
Husqvarna TE610 Retromotard: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
My name is Isaac Siegl, and I built my first motorcycle in 2004 at age 16. I have always loved race bikes, especially old ones! Performance motor builds have always been my specialty. I worked at Twinline Motorcycles for many years where I honed my skills and pushed my boundaries. I started Speedy Siegl Racing in 2015 making lightweight CNC aluminum parts for vintage bikes, and I have continued building bikes out of my little home shop.
• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?
2000 Husqvarna TE610
• Why was this bike built?
This customer has been a friend of mine for a long time, and this is my third build for him. This was his first motorcycle, and he wanted to revive it but with a new purpose. Instead of conquering trails it would now be a Seattle street ripper in retro trim.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
We had talked about how to build this bike for years. He was really into Supermoto bikes for a while, and wanted to build this bike into one. However, he also really didn’t want it to look like another dirtbike with small wheels, and really loved the look of the late 70’s to early 80’s Husqvarnas. I took that and ran with it.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
The first thing that was done was a supermoto conversion, which is pretty straightforward. Remove the dirt rims and replace them with wider, 17” rims and sticky sportbike tires (we used Bridgestone S21’s). A true supermoto has the biggest brakes it can fit, so we sourced a Brembo rotor and 4 piston caliper for the front.
Then we removed a lot of plastic! Everything but the fuel tank was stripped from the bike. My customer hand beat some aluminum panels to mimic the bare aluminum patches of the early Husqvarnas. We painted the rest of the tank Swedish blue.
Next, the muffler was cut down, a custom wiring harness was made, and we installed a yellow LED headlight and trail-tech gauge unit. We added some yellow number plates, a 1974 Husqvarna front fender, and a 1982 rear fender to complete the look. I added a few details here and there, but I really wanted to leave a lot of the “charm” that was left on the frame and motor.
• How would you classify this bike?
I call this build a retro-supermoto, but I suppose you could call it a super-scrambler too.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
Nothing stands out as a particularly proud moment, but I am happy to give this beast of a bike a new purpose so it can continue being enjoyed.
Follow the Builder
www.speedysieglracing.com
@speedysieglracing
facebook.com/speedysieglracing
Photos by my wonderful wife @steviesie
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