TWO-STROKE PROJECT: CARBURETED HUSKY 300 OFF-ROAD UNICORN
MR. CLARK BUILDS HIS OWN MYTHICAL CREATURE – OCTOBER 2025 ISSUE
Bike builder Jay Clark came across a low-hour Husqvarna TX300 for an insane deal, so we teamed up with him to help build it into something special.
In the off-road world, your opinion of the what bike might be the best can definitely vary depending on age, geographic location and what type of riding you’re doing. Bike builder Jay Clark is a West Coast guy, he rides mostly singletrack in either Southern California or Utah, and his favorite machine is a carbureted Husqvarna TX300. He came across a low-hour machine for an insane deal, so Dirt Bike teamed up with him to help build it into something special.
This project has personal touches everywhere, featuring upgrades from industry-leading companies like Rekluse, FMF, Decal Works, Dunlop, IMS, ODI, Nacstar, Schmidt Performance and more.
THE FAIRY TALEÂ
With this bike being Jay Clark’s personal machine, everything was customized to him, unlike all the other bikes we usually build with him that have a more generic setup. Even though this bike had low hours, it was torn completely down for a few reasons. One, no one could stand the ugly blue frame, so it was sent off to San Diego Powder Coatings to be fixed ASAP. Two, even though it had low hours, we didn’t know the maintenance history, so everything needed to be checked. Three, the engine had to come out for modifications, and the suspension needed to be removed to be worked over as well.Â
With the bike in a million organized pieces only a few hours after the project officially started, we got the frame shipped off to San Diego Powder Coatings and focused on the engine. Although the Husqvarna TX300 has a sweet power delivery, we are greedy, and Jay just wanted to see if it was possible to find a little more. The cylinder and head were shipped out to Tom Morgan Racing (TMR) in Wisconsin to be modified. While the top end was out, a Rekluse TorqDrive clutch system was installed along with a Rekluse slave cylinder.Â
Other than porting the cylinder, cutting the head and installation of a Wiseco piston, no other internal performance modifications were made to the TX300. But that doesn’t mean we stopped looking for more performance and added a complete FMF Powercore exhaust system with a titanium 2.1 silencer and Fatty expansion chamber. Although it doesn’t necessarily gain performance, the stock Mikuni carburetor was replaced with a brand-new 38mm Keihin with internal jetting done by the crew at JD Jetting. More engine accessory items that are not usually associated with performance included an IMS coolant recovery catch can, CV4 silicone radiator hoses, CV4 high-temp radiator cap and a Trail Tech fan hard-mounted to the ICW modified radiators. Â
The MotoMinded headlight upgrade is impressive, so if you have an older TX300, look into upgrading to the newer hard-mount system.
When building an off-road bike for tight technical trails, bolt-on protection items are a must for both the rider and machine. P3 Carbon handled engine case protection with a full-coverage skid plate that covers the complete underside of the cases and has side-case protection built in as well. With this being Jay’s personal bike, he went to the factory level and had mounting tabs welded to the frame to make sure the skid plate wasn’t going anywhere. The FMF Fatty is also equipped with some carbon fiber protection from P3. Other notable protection items for the bike included a rear shock clevis guard from Bulletproof Designs and an aluminum rear rotor guard from Tusk Racing.Â
More fuel is always a good idea on the trail for many reasons, so an IMS oversized tank was also added to the build, providing over a gallon of extra fuel capacity over the stock unit. Although this bike didn’t have many hour on it by Husky two-stroke trail bike standards, the stock wheels were in rough shape, and Jay wanted to accent his custom Decal Works graphics, so he installed a brand-new set of Nacstar Works wheels with red-anodized aluminum hubs, black 7050-T6 aluminum rims and stainless steel spokes. He, of course, wrapped this with Dunlop heavy-duty tubes and Geomax AT82 tires.
The IMS oversized tank adds major amounts of fuel capacity, and the more fuel you can carry, the more fun you can have, right?
Like we mentioned before, this bike was built for Jay specifically, and Jay builds a lot of bikes, which means a few things: he can be very opinionated on what he likes, he has lots of random parts laying around, and he knows what upgrades are going to give him the results he is looking for personally. Jay’s unicorn build received three such upgrades: two that he just had laying around the house (he claimed), and one that updated not only the style but actually made perfect sense for multiple reasons.Â
The first item just laying around in the garage was a 6500 spring conversion kit for the WP fork, and since Schmidt Performance was reworking the suspension, it made sense to install this major suspension upgrade at the same time. Second on the list was switching out the stock BrakTec braking components with Brembo units all around. Third was updating the entire front-end plastics from 2019 styling to give it a 2025 model-year look and provide more lower-fork protection with a wraparound-style fork guard. This also eliminated the older-style straps that held the headlight on with a hard-mount bracket system that doubles as a front brake guide. Naturally, the headlight itself received an upgrade with an internal unit from MotoMinded that plugged right into the OEM Husqvarna wiring harness.
Test rider Jared Hicks at the controls while Ron Lawson captures the moment with his Nikon camera.
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Jay Clark has been building project bikes for many, many years, and one thing is made very clear with this build: he knows what he likes! Is this the bike for everyone? No, but only because in today’s world, the customization options are limitless. Although this bike is set up specifically for Jay, so suspension is on the soft side, it works amazing on the trail. The power is increased all around without making it a handful, and the jetting on the Keihin carburetor is spot-on.Â
The P3 Carbon skid plate and pipe guard offer lots of protection but also provide huge bling factor.
The Trail Tech fan mounted to the ICW modified radiators and IMS coolant recovery system are upgrades that any serious off-road rider can appreciate.
During testing we got caught out on the trail a little after sunset and were very impressed by the headlight upgrade. The MotoMinded system lights up the night way brighter than the OEM unit, and the 2025 hard mounting of the headlight bucket eliminated the bouncing effect associated with the straps. We are happy to report that Jay Clark has found his unicorn and is living happily ever after riding it on his West Coast singletrack trails.
