2013 Husqvarna 650 Terra

I think cutting off the peg brackets right at the subframe and somehow making them bolt on is a very good idea. They look to be a in a terrible position on the subframe down tube as any force will be directly applied to the middle of it where it is unsupported, and it doesn't take a lot of force to bend a straight tube in this way.

Same problems on the F650GS/F800GS twins, drop them on the side without luggage on and you have a good chance of your subframe being fucked, like the one on the left here:

I just don't ride with passengers, so mine will probably go away. That's a good point Lukas. They do stick way out there ready to grab something or bend the subframe in a drop.

I think the BMW engineers got to design this bike, not the Husky engineers and it doesn't deserve to wear the Husky badge. When I first saw it I was quite excited but the more you look closely at it the worse it gets. Just look at the rear brake pedal for instance, mounted low and hanging underneath the footpeg..The swingarm looks very thin and made of steel. Not enough suspension travel and I'm guessing budget non adjustable components like BMW GS's.

Maybe I was hoping for to much. A TE 630 with the BMW motor !

Boo-hoo, BMW/Husqvarna didn't build a $10,000.00 bike and sell it for $7,000.00!

Yeah but I would have paid 10k for a Husky TE with the BMW Rotax engine, 3 liters of oil, 200 mile range and 330lbs. This bike has got me strongly considering looking for a G650X and replacing the suspension.

Checked Husqvarnas web site for dealer locations yesterday. Looks like there's not a dealer in the entire state of Tennesse or Kentucky. Closest dealership for me is Alabama or Georgia. A 5-7 hour round trip to the dealer will keep this bike out of my garage. Hopefully the 650 Terra will force Kawasaki or one of the big four to build a modern 650 dual sport bike soon. They better hurry too, My KLR will probably only last 10 more years.

And you just decribed why there is a plated MXC200 place holder in my garage instead of the TE310 I really want. I wish BMW dealers would start picking up the Husky line since there are a couple of those around me.

My KTM dealers aren't real convenient. But at least they are in my time zone. At least one of my friends would be all over this if Husky had a dealer network. But I suspect he will end up on a DR650 instead.

what are the chances BMW dealers fixing the huskies?

Yep, a cheap bmw made in china in Husky clothing, that's all this is, if it was marked bmw like it should be that would be ok but it's a Husqvarna in name only,
AND a 400+lb street bike at that. And by the way the TE610 sold for significantly less than the TE630, like I said it was because bmw decided to kill the 630 as soon as they could pay for the tooling other wise they could have amortized the tooling cost over several years and price would have been in line with the TE610, there weren't that many changes but enough tooling differences to have the jack up the price to try to pay for it in a limited run of bikes.

I still am amazed that people think the TE630 was/is KTM500exc competitor, it 's not, it was the best big bore true Dual Sport bike ever made imo. It is a 600cc version of what the WR250R is to small dualsports.
You couldn't find a better bike to ride the TAT than a 630 with for instance, certainly not this 5 speed porker, this bike is made for the pavement.

A bmw streetbike to compete with a klr sad days for Husqvarna indeed....

Look BMW has marketing experts that do research as to where the motorcycle market is headed and what buyers want. Every time someone buys a BMW motorcycle, they send them surveys to ask pertinent questions about why they buy certain bikes and what they currently ride. They also ask where and what they previously rode and why. Honestly, most manufacturers do this and they buy these surveys from each other. Ever fill one out? No! Too busy? Maybe riding some trail or to some exotic off-road location? Like most you can't be bothered.

Then, this is what you get! Next time fill out the survey. If you didn't, blame yourself. I guess everyone that did wanted this bike, because that's what they built. They must think it will sell. Besides, they're much smarter than you or I.

The X bikes are certainly proof of BMW marketing brilliance.

Those three bikes may be the only ones the TE630 actually out sold.

That was really just unnecessary sarcasm, Greatdog!

Sorry, couldn't resist. Gotta take having to work out on somebody.

But you gotta admit it is true.

I spoke with a Husky dealer this weekend asking when the 650 Husky would be in. He said he didn't think they would sell the new one because it required an $8k gizmo to tune it- computer parts I presume. That would mean they would have to sell a dozen or so to pay for the equipment. I don't blame him under those circumstances. I'm out for this thing. Looking elsewhere for my next dualsport.

If you were seriously considering this bike, why would the dealers diagnostic equipment change your mind? It's a Rotax type engine with Bosch fuel management vs Mikuni.

Interesting question... I'm almost with Steve 610 on the Husky being the best big bore true dual sport. I was real close to getting one but penalized them perhaps unfairly off my short list because there wasn't enough dealer support. Riding around the world reliability is really important to me and its not just how often a bike breaks down, it's how serious the break down is and how easy is it to fix it.

For example my most reliable dual sport - KLX351 might have a problem just as often as my KTM690 did, BUT total time spent fixing the KLX in a year last year was about 5 hours where as the KTM was in the shop, dealers, side of the road for almost 7 out of 12 months. KLX's "problems" are things most guys can fix with anything in 1/2 an hour or you even just live with the issue and keep riding.
The KTM's problems were almost always 100% complete failure, can't start the bike and usually even the dealer couldn't fix it. 2 times I had their top techs fly out to work on it and once they shipped the whole engine to Austria.
Riding around in remote areas "the cable" issue came up on the KTM in that most dealers didn't have it and needed it to work on the bike.
When you intentionally ride in remote places you realize things like though the cell phone companies add that 99% of Americans have coverage may be true, at the same time it's also true that 99% of America has no cell phone coverage!

So to your question modeselector my thoughts are if I was seriously considering this bike I would want to know does this Husky have a specific diagnostic tool, or can the diagnotstic tool used on the other rotax engines work on this bike? If it is a Husky only tool, I'd be real curious as to what percentage of dealers had the same thinking and didn't want to buy the tool for the same reason.

It just adds to the negatives of 7.5 inches suspension and 400+- lbs weight and I don't like BMW design philosophy. If this thing was actually a Husky I would possibly hang in there. I currently have a DR650 with RMZ forks and Cogent shock and I probably will just go with another one and move all my aftermarket parts over to it for my next iteration, although I am hoping for Suzuki to move forward in the market. Ideally I would buy a 630 Husky if they were still made. Also there are no other Husky dealers for me to buy a 650 at any where near me.

Another practical way to think about it is as I was trying to ride my KTM 690 to South America I was counting the number of dealerships along the way as I kept breaking down. And then of course stranded in some town waiting for parts from Austria you have lots of time to think.

I notice between the USA and Guatamala there were 4 KTM dealerships somewhat close to the +/- 3,000 mile route I was taking. (And of course any problems on the FI 690 can only be fixed by dealers though usually they themselves can't.) Along the same route I guestimated there were 4X as many BMW dealers while there was only 1 dealer who dealt with Husky. (And God forbid the Husky guy opt out of buying that cable!)
And while there may have been 100 Honda dealers for every BMW dealer, there were probably 10 Honda dealers for every BMW dealer that worked on "bigger" bikes like the XR400, 650 etc. And of course if you've got problems with those bikes many of the parts are more universal and so your support network is even bigger.

All that to say, for any adventure rider considering this bike that cable question is a good question to figure out!

Crap, that sounds like it has the same damn locked down EFI BS that the BMW's have.

I was hoping that husky would have a more open system like their other bikes.

Yup, if that is true I am out too.
BMW EFI is a nightmare I will not put up with again.

IT IS A BMW!!