A little back ground on me first. I am 34, and have been riding for around 18 years but just really got into off road about 5 years ago. I am not a racer but am entertaining the idea. I ride hard and fast most of the time but I do enjoy a slower ride from time to time. I am 6'1" and about 190 dressed with a 34"+ inseam and long arms. I ride mostly very tight woods with some connectors in between in the hart of the Shawnee Forest. My WR250R is my daily ride and I was afraid that with the trail rides I do I would tear up my WR and be stuck without a way to work. With that in mind, two weeks ago I bought a new 2012 Husky TXC310. I just got done doing the break in oil change and thought I would tell everyone what I think of the bike so far. First impression: The bike looks good. The fit and finish is on par or a little above most. I like the in-molded graphics on the plastic. A majority of the graphics on the bike are, however the few that aren't don't last past the fist bath. I like how the bars are four way adjustable. I like how the seat comes up with just a half turn on the toolless screw on the back. The bike comes with all the bells and whistles for the most part and I am not at the level where anything on the bike isn't up to my needs. Before Brake-in: Took the bike out just in the field to start the brake-in procedure. The bike starts right up. Preload looks to be just right for my with the manual spec 4" sag. I took off and loved the smooth engagement of the clutch. Once underway it became clear that the bike is much different than any of my other bikes. It is BIG. I didn't realize how far out my arms were in relation to my other bikes. They also set much higher. I had arm pump in 15min. First time in years I have had it. I normally can ride hard for 2-3 hours without getting it at all. Must have something to do with the reach and the height because the suspension felt smooth. It could have also been the vibration because there is quite a lot of it. The power is nice but the throttle is SO sensitive. I don't think I will get use to it. It is so on/off. I just don't see how you can deal with it, on a track no problem but this was crazy for the woods. The transmission is tight. I hit neutral every time I shift from first to second. This is annoying and has me concerned. Oil Change Time" So this is the hardest bike I have every had to change the oil on. Listen up bike manufactures IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A BIKE THAT REQUIRES OIL CHANGES AND AIR FILTER CHANGES EVERY TEN HOURS OR LESS, MAKE IT SO YOU CAN CHANGE THE OIL AND AIR FILTER IN UNDER TEN HOURS! I have never seen anything like this. Basically you have to remove the skid pan which isn't that bad being it is only one bolt. When done with that you must loosen a hose off the bottom of the "drain bolt" which is more of a drain barb. The bitch of this is that you have to use an open ended wrench getting oil everywhere. Next the manual says to be sure you clean the screen behind the hose barb. Well thirty minutes later I could not find a damn screen anywhere. I don't think it exist. Next your replace the oil filter. This is straight forward and easy. I would like to let you know that the 2008 Honda CR250F filter is a crossover and fits perfectly. It is easier to come by and only cost $6 at the Honda shop. When done with resembling put in a quart of 10W50 and be on your way. QUESTION TO ANYONE WHO HAS DONE THIS OIL CHANGE: Do you think if you were to put a T fitting on the hose that connects to the drain barb with a valve on there that you could open and close to drain the oil? If you did this it would be the easiest bike I have ever worked on to do an oil change. I don't see why this wouldn't work. Also, what does that line go to? I looks like it goes into the bottom of the gas tank????? After Brake-In Rides: A lot of the vibration is gone. Now it is on par with most race bikes. On my first real ride out my number plate came off and the indicator light fell down. I quickly took it home and realized that there isn't a single screw on the bike with "LocTite" on it. So I spent the next 45 minutes fixing that issue. Although there has been a some new relationship pangs I am loving the bike. The transmission is shifting much better. I only hit neutral four times during a two hour ride Sunday. I am getting use to the power delivery. It is nice if you want to crawl around a lot and gets the front end up easy. It finds traction everywhere and I think this is starting to get fun. I still like the way a 2-strokes power comes on better but I love not having to worry about denting my pipe all the time. I am getting use to the geometry of the bike and I had no noticeable arm pump on that same ride. I am brave on the bike and trying some things that I normally wouldn't. I would recommend the bike to most anyone and I am glad I bought it. At the price there isn't anything that competes. Things that still piss me off: The oil and air filer changes are a HUGE pain in the ass. There has to be a better way! A few things I need: G2 throttle tube with a 400 cam--This is on order an should be here this week. This should take away the abruptness of the throttle. I bought it from them direct and I was pleased with their service. Cycra barkbusters--I have to keep my fingers my fingers. I bought these from you local dealer for $104. They are in my shop but I am waiting for the throttle tube to install them. MSR Radiator Guards--I bought these from my local dealer. The dealer was great and I picked them up for about $80. The guards once installed are effective and work well. With that said, this MSR product had the most confusing worst written instructions I have ever read. This took over two hours to do this install because of all the misinformation.
Must have changed a lot on those bikes. Oil changes are a breeze on my 510. Drain bolt on the bottom, plus two on bottom left side. To get the screens out, I use a paper clip straightened out with a tiny hook formed at the end. 10 minute job, but I usually let it sit for a few & let all the oil drain completely. Have to admit putting the air filter back in can be a bitch if you don't have the long bolt perfectly lined up.
The 510 is quite a different animal. If it is a newer model it is the BMW 450 engine just bored. Hell of a bike. The 310 is the only bike with this hose on the bottom of it.
My '11 te250 (also an Xlite motor) doesn't have that hose at all. Oil changes are easy. Hopefully that line can be dealt with, but I have no idea what it's for or what should be done with it. Air filter changes are a pain. I'm just resigned to pulling the battery. If you run an extra short length of battery cable you can pull the battery without disconnecting it. I haven't bothered with that yet. On that note, check the routing of the battery cable to the starter relay. They put it under a tab on the subframe to hold the cable, but the tab cuts through the insulation of the cable which is no good. The '12 may be different.
It's the oil return for the engine breather. Oil goes into the frame from the breather and gets returned via the sump bolt hose. It isn't present on the 250 so the factory obviously found some reason for installing this system when developing the 310... Dave I took this from the cafe' Husky forum. Some insight I guess.
the upper frame box is basically serving as a oil catch tank. you can remove the hose from the intake boot and plug the bung and drop the hose into a breather filter (K&N type) to atmosphere, mine is down and up front behind the skid plate. The the upper crankcase cover breather hose to its middle frame box barb, and lower to the oil pan drain plug for gravity scavanging of breather oil and vapor condensed oil. Or just deal with breather oil loss and run the lower box hose down under the motor and install a standard TC oil plug down below doing away with the hose to the drain plug, that stuff is all emission stuff for crankcase vapor closed circuit set up. I would still leave the crankcase breather into the frame box and not directly to atmosphere with a breather filter for a little bit of closed air volume to deal with crankcase pressure pules, if I was doing this set up (completly eliminating the frame box as a catch tank). I also found this but I am a little confused?
Well, I have been initiated into oil change insanity on this bike as well. I have the '11 TE310 and I just stripped the crap out of (what would be) the drain bolt. Apparently that thing cements itself in there after it heats up and cools down enough times. Strange, but that's the explanation I got. It popped right off the first couple times. :huh Now I have to order the part from Husky if there isn't another way in I'm not aware of. Someone came by the shop and told me the 'screen' is on the shifter side and that there's actually a drain plug over there somewhere!!! I'm convinced he's talking about another model year or else I'm about to make a great discovery for all of us, haha. Nothing about it on cafehusky. Again...:huh
you will need a pick to pull the screen out from behind the drain plug,......it's there honest and if you're prepared/practiced for the job it's really not that bad and still easier then any KTM RFS engine and do get me started on their LC4's I just upgraded to the 2013 TXC310R and I have changed the oil twice now by removing the rear "vent" (what used to be drain plug) because for 2013 they do have an actual drain plug on the bottom of the case so it's stupid easy now. However every few oil changes you should still take the screen out for a good flushing. The G2 will smooth out the power deliver on the 2012 TXC310 for enduro type riding vs hare scramble. However you may need to have the efi adjusted and optimized too in regards to the TPS reading/setting and overall idle/throttle sweep settings. It took about 10+ hours to get my 2012 to play nice with me and the 2013 was broke-in in less then 3 hours with the first oil change at 1.5 hours. The break-in oil they send in these Xlights is garbage, you want to get it out quick!
Hello All! I thought I would give an update as it has been quite a while. I have been riding the hell out of this bike. The only mods are listed above and are installed. The G2 made a great difference and I love the power delivery of the bike now. I have gotten use to the way the bike handles for the most part. The front end feels loose compared to my WR and my CR. I don't think that is something that will change. I have been riding the bike a lot and have gotten accustom to the oil and filter changes. Huge pain in the ass. I guess what I have to say about the bike is 50/50. The pros are. I like the suspension quite a lot. It is great for charging the trail like I do most of the time. (If riding slow it is harsh.) I have no problem doing wheelies or nose wheelies when needed. I like the brakes, I like the seat comfort. The wheels are staying true, the tires are holding up well. The bike is shifting much better. It is hard to stall. It starts very easy. Most of all is I have rode this bike hard. After 6 months it needed zero valve adjustment with the measurement being .15mm intake and .20mm exhaust. Onto the negatives. Polisport plastic SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't say it enough. They SUCK!!!!!!!!!!! Everything cracks so easy it is crazy! So far I have cracked the front number plate and the left shroud. I dropped the bike at about 15 mph and knocked a huge hole in the left side crank case cover. I had to order this part and it took two weeks to come in. I had to order the number plate and it took three weeks to come in. I said screw it and just fixed the radiator shroud myself. The vibration of the bike is still bad but not as bad as when new. Overall the bike is a super fun bike to ride but a poor bike to live with. I wish I would have gotten the WR450. I would trade it in but have found that I can't get $3500 out of a 2012 bike that had a price of $7300 six months ago and not even the Husky dealers will take them in on trade.
Regarding oil changes on the X-lite motors. Buy a SIX point box end wrench to loosen the oil barb/drain plug. I rounded off the hexes on one of my bikes fittings using a 12 point wrench and spent hours with vise grips and chisels removing the fitting. I did replace the barb fitting with a plug from a TC but continue to use that six point combo wrench to keep the plug in good shape. The manual states for you to just loosen the hose clamp on that vent hose loosen the barb fitting without removing the hose. That would require an open end wrench! Don't ever do it that way!
Just a fun update more or less. At the bottom of this post you will see that I wished I had bought the WR450F but couldn't get $3500 out of my bike. Well all has changed. The final straw was when I broke the clutch lever and the dealer told me it would be three weeks + to get a replacement and there were none on ebay. I was able to get $4000 out of my Husky which wasn't that great but what are you goin' to do. Then I bought a New 2012 WR450F for $6300 plus TTL. WAY BETTER BIKE. I did the comp computer, stock exhaust insert, programer, barkbusters, and skid plate. I liked how I could get the front end up easier on the TXC but other than that the Husky had no advantages. Thank you again Yamaha for another great bike. I try not be a brand loyalist but man, I have owned a 2012 Super Tenere, a 2012 WR250R, and a 2012 WR450F. I think they are are great bikes and potentially the best bikes you can buy for the money.
