My Husky 610TE Saga

[Hoder]

My story begins a several years ago when I walked into the local bike shop with a friend to buy something for his dirt bike. I had raced motocross on a stripped down 1969 Yamaha DT1 as a teen & Desert raced a Honda 250R three-wheeler in the mid eighties but hadn’t thought about another bike since. It was shortly after seeing my first Dakar rally & what did I see but a shiny new KTM 640 Adventure. From that day on I had to have one. Every year I would go to the bike shop, check the web site & dream of that giant go anywhere beauty. Last year I started to think seriously about getting one but to my horror they were no longer available in the US (according to the web site anyway) so I started looking at all other makes of big bore dual sports. Every thing street legal had mediocre suspension & weighed over 350 lbs. I started to seriously consider buying a race bike (maybe a Husaberg) & plating it. I never even thought of Husky until I saw one in the parking lot of a nearby store. Hmmm……..
As I began to investigate the Husky & a few other Euro bikes that weren’t available yet, the 640 Adventure reappeared on the US web site. Now what do I do? The local KTM dealer got one in right as I’m getting ready to apply for a loan. What timing. The KTM’s got a bigger gas tank, better resale value & just plain looks cool. It also costs $10,000 to take it home and looks like an expensive proposition if you even mildly crash it. The Husky weighs 40 lbs less, has an inch more suspension, top of the line wheels, better carburetor, & looks more like a real race bike. How much Husky could I get for the price of a 640? Well, I got the bike and some bling. The GPS & bracket sent me over budget a ways ($10,940 total price) but what the heck.
My first impression of the bike is was how small it looked. Even though dimensionally it’s about the same as a 640, it’s so skinny it doesn’t look nearly as big. When I first sat on it (my first time on a motorcycle in 30 years!) I thought hmmm, this is heavy. Thirty seconds into my first ride that thought was gone. I believe Husky got it perfect with the size, weight & balance. Tight single track is easy for a bike this size unless you need to turn around. You need about 8 feet to spin it 180. The suspension works awesome (did a 35mph whoop section my second time out) & I haven’t even touched it yet. On the freeway behind a logging truck I’m glad it’s not any lighter. Everything about this thing feels like the perfect street legal dirt bike for me.
Anyway, this thread will be the story of my thoughts on the 610 & my experiences along the way.

[Hoder]

Bash plate is from Utah Sport Cycle. It's for an earlier model so I had to relocate the front mount holes & drill the second oil plug hole. Here's the dimensions if anyone's interested. The oil hole is 1-1/4". The camera angle is off so it looks like the hole's in the wrong spot but it's not that far off.

[FriedDuck]

That thing is making me swoon! I saw the Husky's firsthand at the cycle world show, and later at the dealer. Did you consider the 510 at all? A nice alternative if it's as capable on the freeway for short stints.

--Jeff

[Chadleys1]

You will love it.

I would like to see pics of how you decide to mount the GPS.

The part of your story about almost getting a KTM 640 is about like what I went through.

Good start to a cool thread.

PS make sure whoever is turning the wrenches on that bike checks the torque on the crank nut that holds the counterbalancer drive gear.

[EMrider]

Congrats. I went with a TE450 instead of the 610 and have been extremely happy with the bike. Build quality is excellent and the motor is amazing.
R

[Ruffus]

congrats on the new Husky, I got meself the 510,, lighter with just bout the same horsepower, But the 610 is much more Dualsport streetable than the 510, Ya gotta choose whats right for U & we both did

[sigsauer]

I bought the 510 as well. Almost went for the 640, but considering the type of riding I like and want to do, the Husky was the logical choice. I'm in the process of changing the plastic to the white and red scheme. (the white reminds of the first Husky I rode). I wonder if the cush hub off the SM bikes would work on the TE to make more DS-like.

[scfrank]

I am in the same position. Always wanted the 640 adventure. I walked into the dealer last week and there one was. I've been looking for over a year.

It seems LARGE to me. Tall and I'm 6'1". And yes, close to $10K.

I have a 450exc and love it. Great for dirt and gravel roads, not on pavement. I want something for both. I will keep the 450.

I have a loan approved and money down. I'm ready.

I want something I can ride 50-75 miles to the woods and in the woods and enjoy it. Slow to medium pace. Easy to medium stuff.

Is the Husky better ? It is lighter.

How much will it cost to improve the headlight ?

What else needs to be done ?

Decisions, decisions.



scfrank

[Hoder]

Originally Posted by FriedDuck

Did you consider the 510 at all? A nice alternative if it's as capable on the freeway for short stints.

Nope, the first time I went to the web site the 610 was my choice for Husky.

[tmh]

Originally Posted by scfrank

I want something I can ride 50-75 miles to the woods and in the woods and enjoy it. Slow to medium pace. Easy to medium stuff.

Is the Husky better ? It is lighter.

How much will it cost to improve the headlight ?

What else needs to be done ?

Decisions, decisions.

scfrank

Don't yet know whether I would want to ride a TE510 50-75 miles on the highway. "Claimed" dry weight of the bike is just shy of 240#. These bikes are 50 state street legal (if you can still find one of them - You might need to wait for the '07's to arrive). I had a blast in my company's parking lot a couple of weeks ago on it, as I was running it through a couple of break-in heat cycles. Loads of power even when new, and I weigh more than the bike itself! She really wants to lift her front wheel.

Acerbis and Baja Designs make some greatly improved headlights. Make sure that you factor in the additional cost of the stator re-winding/revision, and new voltage regulator (if needed).

Fuel tanks are small: 2.4 gal. Your ride "to the woods" would use up a lot of the available fuel. Larger tanks (3.5 and 4) made by IMS and available at Halls ( http://www.halls-cycles.com/HUSKY_PR.../Husky_acc.htm ) $225.

Other than a larger tank and an Acerbis headlight (http://www.acerbis.com/p107_headlight/3024.html), I'm going to leave mine alone for a while until I see what I "need" to add to it.

Oh, except for the Rooster skid plate and radiator guards I put on last weekend (~$160).

Tom

[scfrank]

I was thinking 610 - and the 06 says it has a 3.7 gal tank.

scfrank

[scfrank]

where did you get the skid plate and rad guards ?

p.s. - I ordered a TE610 - cancelled the 640 adv.

scfrank

[Hoder]

So as much as I really like this bike, there are some minor details that got skimmed over. here's my nit-pick list:

1. The wire harness to the left side cover was stretched so tight it pulled the grommet away. I had to snip the wire tie & push it back to prevent water entering.
2. The shock resrvoir shouldn't be right next to the pipe. (Husky isn't the only one doing this)
3. The preload is screwed all the way down. I haven't set the sag yet & I'm not that heavy but if it needs any adjustment that way it needs a new spring.
4. Factory oil leak. I haven't seen any drips on the floor so it's probably nothing but it freaked me out when I brought my brand new bike home.
5. Mirror broke from the inside the first time I adjusted it.
6. What's the high beam flasher switch for? I hear it's for passing or something in Europe but in the US only assholes flash their high beams at people. I'm an asshole every time I shift gears. Maybe I should put in a Rekluse & throw that lever away.
7. The computer went bozo the first time I washed it. (it returned to normal though) I hear some others have had problems with this too especially when it's wet. I'll be keeping an eye on this & putting a lot more time on the bike before I install the Touratech unit & void my warranty. I'm hoping to run them side by side.
8. Isn't the chain guard supposed to be over the chain?
9. Cheesy bar clamps. They work fine & I'm replacing them with the GPR clamps (if I can get it to work) but they should have been better on bike like this.
10. Maybe they thought it would be better protection to put the front brake line on the inside of the reservoir but now you can't rotate the brake lever down to a good stand-up position.
11. And the friggin' fender's crooked. Oh----My----God

Having said all that do I still think it's the best thing going? Abso Freekin Lutely!

[Hoder]

Originally Posted by Chadleys1

You will love it.

I would like to see pics of how you decide to mount the GPS.

PS make sure whoever is turning the wrenches on that bike checks the torque on the crank nut that holds the counterbalancer drive gear.

I plan to fabricate a custom rally type cockpit for everything similar to an older GS with external frame. (this bike will see lots of trees & tip-overs) For right now I'll probably just get a ram mount to learn the GPS with since it blocks the computer if it's on the crossbar. I will check it the crank nut. (just changed the oil too dammit)

[sTE610vE]

Originally Posted by Hoder

1. Cheesy bar clamps. They work fine & I'm replacing them with the GPR clamps (if I can get it to work) but they should have been better on bike like this.

Check these out, I think they fit but I would quiz ferracci before I ordered.

http://www.ferracci.com/store/cart.p...t_detail&p=108