2013 Husqvarna 650 Terra

[30Bones]

Originally Posted by Thinc2

Why not shop for aTE630 then?

Exactly, he wants a 610/630 but in a new Terra, not gonna happen

[farp]

Originally Posted by Muddler

All true, but I suppose if we are after a 80/20% road/dirt bike, we should just buy the Strada. That's what I don't quite get. The 16Xkg is ok if it means it can carry a load, but I can't get past the sub-200mm travel. Given we have the Strada for road performance, I think the Terra should at least match the KLR's travel. Hopefully for Mark 2?..

I agree that the Strada is an 80/20% road/dirt bike but I think the point of the Terra is that it is a 65/35% road/dirt bike and Husky hopes that it will successfully compete with the KLR in dual sport sales - and I think it will. It's 22 pounds lighter than the 2013 KLR and has comparable suspension travel; the KLR has 0.4 inches more travel in the forks but 0.2 inches less at the rear. These figures are close enough that the determining factors as to which works best are the bikes weight and how well the suspension components work. The Terra is 22 pounds lighter and I think it probably has better quality suspension, so I'd give the nod to the Terra in this category. As far as hwy riding is concerned, the Terra has drastically more HP than the KLR and the reports so far are that it is very smooth and capable on the asphalt, so once you're back on the pavement I think the Terra will be significantly better than the KLR. I have a couple of friends, very experienced riders, who routinely ride their KLRs over B single track trails. I think the Terra will do just as well on these trails as a KLR but I think you'd have more difficulty trying to ride them on a Strada and for that reason I'm opting for the Terra.

John

[Harder1]

As far as suspension goes when comparing a KLR and a Terra keep in mind how soft a KLR's suspension is. When you mount a KLR, you loose a lot of the travel right away. On the Terra, it sags maybe a half inch when mounted. The Terra has considerably stiffer suspension and is more usable in aggressive situations. I've ridden KLR's and my new Terra blows it out of the water in all categories. Especially engine performance. I sold my 650 V-Strom to get the Terra and I'm convinced it's faster than my Strom was.

[klxmack]

Today is glorious day. There are three things on eBay for the Terra.

1: Boost box for $150 bucks
2: a brochure for $8
3: and a new bike for $6999

I know what I'm getting for item 2 and 3. The question is what am I getting for 1?
5% more fuel is supposed to equate to a HP increase.
I want to see actual dyno graphs before I shell out 150 clams.

Am I out of line here?.

Cheers

[Fast1]

Husky should have just stuffed the Beemer contrived engine into this chassis. Everything would have been perfect.. well except the price for the new package.. What a waste of a great bike that just may have benefited from the Beemer thump.

[Dalmatino]

Originally Posted by Fast1

Husky should have just stuffed the Beemer contrived engine into this chassis. Everything would have been perfect.. well except the price for the new package.. What a waste of a great bike that just may have benefited from the Beemer thump.





You're absolutely right.....That is one beautifull bike..What's the wheel set-up 19" 18" ? looks perfect....

.............

[Fast1]

Originally Posted by Dalmatino

.............

21 front / 18 back for dirt

17 / 17 for pavement and graded dirt roads

~ 300 lbs dry weight with factory dual exhaust replaced..

[Aprilia]

Originally Posted by Harder1

As far as suspension goes when comparing a KLR and a Terra keep in mind how soft a KLR's suspension is. When you mount a KLR, you loose a lot of the travel right away. On the Terra, it sags maybe a half inch when mounted. The Terra has considerably stiffer suspension and is more usable in aggressive situations. I've ridden KLR's and my new Terra blows it out of the water in all categories. Especially engine performance. I sold my 650 V-Strom to get the Terra and I'm convinced it's faster than my Strom was.

Race Sag should be set the same for both bikes i.e. 30% of total travel. If your Terra is only compressing 12mm then spring rates are far far too stiff for you.

[Muddler]

Originally Posted by farp

I agree that the Strada is an 80/20% road/dirt bike but I think the point of the Terra is that it is a 65/35% road/dirt bike and Husky hopes that it will successfully compete with the KLR in dual sport sales - and I think it will. It's 22 pounds lighter than the 2013 KLR and has comparable suspension travel; the KLR has 0.4 inches more travel in the forks but 0.2 inches less at the rear. These figures are close enough that the determining factors as to which works best are the bikes weight and how well the suspension components work. The Terra is 22 pounds lighter and I think it probably has better quality suspension, so I'd give the nod to the Terra in this category. As far as hwy riding is concerned, the Terra has drastically more HP than the KLR and the reports so far are that it is very smooth and capable on the asphalt, so once you're back on the pavement I think the Terra will be significantly better than the KLR. I have a couple of friends, very experienced riders, who routinely ride their KLRs over B single track trails. I think the Terra will do just as well on these trails as a KLR but I think you'd have more difficulty trying to ride them on a Strada and for that reason I'm opting for the Terra.

John

Point taken
Looks like I had it wrong regarding thtravel. I thought the KLR had more then that. I recently did a 2000km ride with a KLR rider in Western Australia over some reasonably rough country. The KLR did it all, but the same suspenders on a lighter bike would certainly have done it easier

[kawagumby]

Originally Posted by Aprilia

Race Sag should be set the same for both bikes i.e. 30% of total travel. If your Terra is only compressing 12mm then spring rates are far far too stiff for you.

It might be that engineers tend to use a stiffer spring for two-rider bikes nowadays. I noticed my WR250R dual sport was much stiffer than my WR250F dirt bike - I bought a softer spring for my 170 lb weight to get the right amount of spring compression - works much better now. If a second rider isn't going to happen, yep, then get a spring that does the job right (if necessary). When I rode the Terra demo, I noticed the suspension seemed too stiff for my weight - hardly any compression when I sat on it - but I also had no idea how it was setup from the factory.

[klxmack]

Originally Posted by Fast1

Husky should have just stuffed the Beemer contrived engine into this chassis. Everything would have been perfect.. well except the price for the new package.. What a waste of a great bike that just may have benefited from the Beemer thump.

Forgive my ignorance, but they did stuff a beemer motor in the Husky TR650 chassis, wait its a Rotax, probably make in taiwan by kymco.
This is getting confusing. :

Your bikes are real purdy tho...

[big-t]

Race Sag should be set the same for both bikes i.e. 30% of total travel. If your Terra is only compressing 12mm then spring rates are far far too stiff for you.

Give it some time before changing springs,the Huskys suspension is very stiff when new.My sag gained an inch after 5-6 hundred miles of rough rocky road.

[HighFive]

Originally Posted by kawagumby

What bugs me is that I'm starting to get old - I don't want to have to lift up a 400+ lb bike when I'm out alone and just had a get-off out in nowhere land (perhaps injured). Right now my ride is a WR250R, which has a good suspension (shock modified) good range (aftermarket tank) and weighs in at about 300 lbs wet. It is good on the road and the trail - full confidence in that bike handling-wise - but it's under 30 hp. I would love a 45 HP version to be able to pass on the hiway, roost up some hill, have a bit more fun, etc.
Why are you telling me this, you ask? Because even though the WR250R is fairly heavy, most of the weight is well thought out...heavier brake rotors than the off-road version, a heavy-duty sub-frame yet aluminum hubs and wheels that are shared with the off-road bikes, aluminum USD's that are virtually the same as the off-road bike, a hybrid aluminum-steel frame, aluminum swingarm, alum brake pedal, etc.
Now dammit, why didn't the Husky use some aluminum too? I bet this bike could have dropped 30 or more lbs using $50 worth of aluminum.
There is no good reason that this bike wouldn't have worked for a broader spectrum of riders with a little more design effort - for little additional cost.

If "dead-lifting the bike" is the chosen standard of comparison.....ride an Observed Trials bike!

Now then, I happen to know a thing or three about the WRR. It's a real fun bike in the woods, as you say.....until you ride a Husaberg FE390. . Makes that WRR suddenly feel rather KLRish. Blame Einstein for the Theory of Relativity, I'm only confirming it. How a bike feels in motion is the greatest concern to me.

My test ride of the Terra really surprised me, in this regard. On the roads, it felt quite effortless and weightless in motion. Very compact, nimble, & mortard-like....and solidly planted. The power-to-weight ratio was flirting in the magical zone. Enough to make me smile and then I sensed real potential here....where the things not easily changed (motor and frame geometry) seemed quite good.

I did not lay it over and try picking up the Terra, but I bet it's not as difficult as paper specs would imply. My F800GS, equipped to my personal specs) weighs 510 lbs (the heaviest on the scale of all DS bikes I've owned), yet is not difficult to pick up at all. Quite surprisingly so.

To keep with your line of comparison, my KLR was about 440 lbs and...well...just plain sucked to pick up. To put it kindly. Very top-heavy and stubborn. My 950 Adventure was downright deadly to pick up....the one and only time I did so. Swore I'd never do that again...and made good on it. My behemoth Goldwing (exceeding 800 lbs) was significantly easier to pickup from a nap than my 950.

Personally, I trust my feelings, and there were some good vibrations. Hhhmmm...I need another ride!

HF

[Gryphon12]

Originally Posted by Fast1

Husky should have just stuffed the Beemer contrived engine into this chassis. Everything would have been perfect.. well except the price for the new package.. What a waste of a great bike that just may have benefited from the Beemer thump.

Sorry, but I disagree. The TE630 chassis is too good a DS to limit it with a 5-speed transmission. Sort the clutch and you are good to go as is. Everyone on all of the threads seems to feel the KTM 690e is superior as a DS, but I think this is only because the TE has been discontinued. I'll look for a TE/SMS next spring - still the best I've seen for 50/50 DS riding. Is it perfect? No. But better than the gremlin-riddled 690's.

[Cruz]

Even if the Terra 5 speed covers a wider ratio than the 6 speed 610/630?

The bigger singles with so much torque do not nead closely spaced gears like other bikes, which is the big problem with the 690.

My 650 5 speed would easily keep pace low down with the 610 and outrun it on the highway. If a motor can handle 5 speeds easily, why put in a sixth gear?

For any kind of riding I wanted to do, I could drop or add a tooth on the front in a couple of minutes using the same chain with adjustment either way.

Klxmac, did you mead Booster Plug?

How many times do people need to post the same photos over and over and over and over etc in a thread?