2013 Husqvarna 650 Terra

As far as the bike goes, it has no problem at all riding 2 up. Still great handeling and performance. Rider comfort was not so good. My wife is 5'1" and 125 lbs. and she was very uncomfortable. I usually drag her around on the back of a Buell Ulysses and she can ride on the back of it all day. 1 hour on the Terra and she was done. We got in our accident that day also, but she says that in no way affected her desire to not get back on the Terra, it is just too uncomfortable. We hit a deer on the Buell and she got right back on it.

We decided that if she is going to do any adventure riding it would have to be on her own bike. We got her a new 2013 Yamaha XT 250 today! Fuel injected even.

She said in all fairness, the Buell is very comfortable and if she had never been on it, then she may well have put up with the Husky not knowing any better. Her knees were just too cramped. She was constantly sliding forward and having to pull herself back. She was even getting a little cranky and that is not normal!

You sir are a lucky man indeed !

Hey Mark-looks like fun!

Since you've got a KLR, I was wondering how you thought the KLR compares to the Terra? I've got an 09 KLR, and would like more power, and have the weight feel like it's lower when I'm on the trails. Didn't know if the Terra might resolve both of these issues.

Thanks,
Steve

That is exactly what my GF said (similar proportions), just sitting on it in the showroom. My Tiger 1050 has spoiled her. But, a happy passenger makes for a happy ride.

Who is going to do the the kick stand foot like the new Baja?
It would be another neat touch like the exhaust, leaving a little Husky foot print every where you stop.

Thanks for the reply Mark.

Around home in SW MO, the power is not too bad. When I have to get on I-44 to get somewhere though with a bit of a load on, I've got that throttle cranked way open, and my mileage drops into he 30's. I've got a cheap cruise control, that when I'm not using it, is pointing darn near straight up in that scenario.

Looks like I need to find one of these Terras to throw a leg over and see how it rides.

Thanks for the info. My wife is taller (5'9") so I am guessing even more cramped knees.

Luckily, I don't need to make a decision any time soon, but we are thinking of getting a bike that is comfy for 2-up road trips but is also fun to ride solo and can handle some trails. I started this research project looking at the BMW F800GS, Triumph 800XC, and KTM 950 ADV (used). Now I'm leaning back towards the KTM. I've got an XR400 dual sport for the tight technical stuff.

Thanks!

Russ

It's too bad you don't have any fun!!

Looks like you're enjoying that retired life Mark..... Keep those pictures and updates of the TR coming. I'm wanting one of those.

Do you think it would be better if the passenger part of the seat was more level, and the pegs were lowered 2"? What if the pegs were also moved fore or aft?

I'd like something at least as dirty/low as the DR650SE, but with similar space/power/legs to a DL650.

These mild mods should do the trick. Maybe add a jell or better foam insert while you have the seat apart too. Not sure what type of staple gun to use because the seat cover is stapled in a small valley all around the seat pan. My BMW was easy to modify with a regular staple gun. Lowering the pegs should be simple enough if you have fab knowledge.

Any mods made would be worth it. The bike rode extremely well 2 up. We went to the top of Pikes Peak. No excessive shifting, still the same great handling and lots of torque.

I got my first Terra test ride today.....I liked it.

Did not feel big & heavy to me. Just felt natural, well balanced, and solid. Wonderful motor. Power to weight ratio seems plenty fine.

Very long legs in 4th & 5th. I would probably drop a tooth on the drive sprocket to actually gear it down a bit for offroad work as a pack mule.

Weird....I don't know how....but that seat was comfortable, at least for the short time I was on it. I'm 5 - 9 with a 32" inseam. I was almost flat footed on both feet while sitting. My heels were slightly raised when evened out.

Hated the kickstand action (its one of those automatic flip-up type that won't stay down. Probably an easy mod to correct the pesky culprit.

Can someone tell me the wattage output of the alternator? The dealer did not kow.

HF

400 watts

Mark,

Rather than cut that spring stud off could you make a small aluminum plate with an offset hole that moves the mounting point of the spring a little beyond the pivot point? The plate would have a hole that fit over the existing stud, but I'll have to leave it up to you to figure out how to keep it from rotating. I think I've seen something similar on some other bike I own or use to own. Maybe it's on my XR600R? Stupid brain won't recall! Please get all this stuff figured out before I get mine in the spring. Have you done anything about the radiator mounting stud? I thought I saw an easy fix using a c-clip on the stud to keep the grommet from popping off.

BigDog,

Maybe something like this: http://www.mcmaster.com/#spring-connector-studs/=k6d5yi

I saw the radiator issue here: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/tr650-mods.28603/ See post #8 for the issue and then #22 for the fix. Other post with other ideas as well, but the clip idea looked good to me.

BigDog,

I see a lot of comparisons being made between the KLR and the TR. Is it a fair comparison? If so, I'm really curious how you'd compare the KLR to the TR for travel on road (cross country) to get to the good stuff. I just completed the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route solo on my Wee-Strom and it was 4700+ miles (round trip from St. Louis) of awesome. My next couple of trips will be the Oregon BDR and the Washington BDR and I was thinking about trying a little lighter bike like the TR. I read about the RTW capabilities of KLRs, and I wounder if you think the TR would/should/could do that as well as the KLR. Right now I'm happy with the Wee making these trips, but if a TR can replace your 950 and the KLR then maybe it's a better choice for me as well. I'll be getting a test ride as soon as Gateway gets their demo in. Hopefully after a test ride I will be able to answer some of these question for myself, but in the mean time I'd appreciate and value your opinion.

Thanks for the write up Mark! I'm with ya on preferring to break my leg without a McDonalds audience! The certain shame far outweighs the possible assistance your audience might offer!

Anybody changed the oil in one of these yet?
Drained the crankcase, can't get the oil to pour into the filler, just sits there acting like its overfilled.

Looks like I got a qt and a half out of it. And the fresh oil is kinda cold.

Thanks BD, that's a handy pc. of info to have. The owner manual is a bit on the light side.
On the upside, it seems to take 3 less wrenches to do an oil change than what it takes on my LC4.

Here's a pic of said oil line.



The oil looks new because it is. I ran the bike 50 mi. and dumped the oil just in case there was some lingering sputum from the manufacturing process. Yeah, I know kinda anal, but this is my first brand new bike in 10 years.
I'm glad I did because it looks like it may have been slightly overfilled at setup. I'm measuring what comes out carefully and got a full qt and a half from the bottom drain with it fresh in from a ride hot. It was about an hour later that I read your post and opened the "T" drain. Not sure how much will drain out overnight but it looked like a qt in the bucket already.


Turns out, the oil change plug and the rear axle nut are the same 24mm.

Anybody get a toolkit? I forgot to ask when I picked it up.
Looks like a bunch of torx fasteners.

I got on the Motosportz skid plate list today also. They say it ain't gonna be cheap but I'm sure it will be a dang sight cheaper than knocking that oil line off the bottom of the motor.

Thanks again, I'll post up any new info I run across.