Living with a Husky TE510!

[Fast1]

sorry.. guess it has been a while since I've installed mine.. Ruffus puts everything in perspective.

[xscoobysnack]

Any of you guys with the carbed TE510's have any trouble with starting these beasts when they are cold? My 07 starts like nothing once warmed up but sometimes the first start in a week can be a challenge. I often wind up kicking it over but that almost seems to work better anyway. I follow the instructions and twist the throttle twice before turning it over (pumper carb) but am hesitant to keep twisting after every attempt with the electric start for fear of flooding. Any hints would be great. Otherwise, I love the bike. They are tough as nails.

[Mr Sleazy]

Originally Posted by xscoobysnack

Any of you guys with the carbed TE510's have any trouble with starting these beasts when they are cold? My 07 starts like nothing once warmed up but sometimes the first start in a week can be a challenge. I often wind up kicking it over but that almost seems to work better anyway. I follow the instructions and twist the throttle twice before turning it over (pumper carb) but am hesitant to keep twisting after every attempt with the electric start for fear of flooding. Any hints would be great. Otherwise, I love the bike. They are tough as nails.

I twist mine three times, and will twist again if it doesn't go the first try. Its a great starter, but if its been sitting for a while sometimes needs this twice.

[Sniper X]

Originally Posted by Mr Sleazy

I twist mine three times, and will twist again if it doesn't go the first try. Its a great starter, but if its been sitting for a while sometimes needs this twice.

My TE610 starts fine after two twists of the throttle and full choke so far down to 9f.

[Esteban]

Dan,
So this is where you have been hanging out !
BTW, I have been thinking about your last bit of advice to me and I agree and I'm working on it. Gotta keep up to you if I want to get my kicks.

SG

[Ruffus]

Originally Posted by xscoobysnack

Any of you guys with the carbed TE510's have any trouble with starting these beasts when they are cold? My 07 starts like nothing once warmed up but sometimes the first start in a week can be a challenge. I often wind up kicking it over but that almost seems to work better anyway. I follow the instructions and twist the throttle twice before turning it over (pumper carb) but am hesitant to keep twisting after every attempt with the electric start for fear of flooding. Any hints would be great. Otherwise, I love the bike. They are tough as nails.

It would have to be very cold & not used for a few weeks for me to have any real issue starting. Usually pull choke knob, 2 twist's & press the starter button for a couple cranks, if that don't I repeat, only flooded it once or twice when brand new. Not bikes fault, my screw up, I had to physical remove your hand from throttle & press start button, I was actually turning the throttle while trying to start (bad no no) If it's been sitting for more than a few weeks & it's cold, I give the throttle 3 twist's, never let me down since I realized the error of my starting technique

[Yellow Pig]

OK so it's still freezing ass cold here, so there has been little riding. To compensate I have been farkeling!

First I replaced this rubber plug:



With a proper screw to avoid it blowing off during a backfire:



Next came the Old Fat Guy Racing radiator guards. These things are a breeze to in stall and seem quite sturdy:






While I had the forks off to slip some fork gators on I greased the steering stem bearing. In all truth Husky does a great job from the factory. I was quite impressed. Opposite from my old Honda which had a Q-Tip dab a Vaseline on all the bearing the Husky was properly greased, even the chain adjusters had anti-seize on them.



Next I decided to install some grip heaters and some rally grips. I wanted to try something new this time to compensate for the lack of insulation on the clutch side. I had some foil duct tape laying around so I first put one thin wrap of electrical tape on the handlebar, then covered that with the aluminum foil:


On top of that went the grip heaters:



and then the rally grips:



After the grips came the Cycra Pro Hand guards. These went on pretty easily. The only caveat is that on the TE models the inboard mounts are really close to the ignition key and make it difficult to turn the key.



You can see here how close the mount is to the ignition block:


I love the look:



Here is my favorite piece of Bling:


Now that is a work of art:



Stuck a bit of foam between the frame and the skid plate to dampen sound:



Here is the muffler shied:


I also wrapped the pipe w/ some wrap and put a bit of heat tile on the air box:



The uncorked TE510 exhaust is way too loud for trail riding so in goes the Husky dB Killer:


Still sounds pretty nice, but cut the sound way down to a manageable level:



Gotta have some decent foot pegs too:

[lukachuki]

Originally Posted by AZ TOM

Owned a few including 06 TE 510 & 07 TE250. Bottom line if the 650 R had an E-start there would be no better bike on the planet!!

I would agree, but I would through in a 6 speed tranny.

[Yellow Pig]

To run the heated grips and the HID lighting I ran some heavy gage wire from the battery to the headlight area. I also installed pig tail on the battery to hook up the electric vest or the battery tender when parked.

Here you can see the red & black wires running up the frame:


and back to the headlight:



Here is the Bi Xenon HID ballast and electronics stashed behind the number plate. This is a temp set up to see how the HID works in the stock reflector and how durable the Bi-Xenon is in off road terrain.

There are a lot of wire to stash somewhere:



Here is where I tucked away the relay for the heated grips:


I wanted to install the TE610 rear rack sub-frame w/ a ProMoto rack, but the 2010 TE510 has a different rear fender which incorporates the new LED brake light. The LED light mount interferes w/ the rack support and keeps it from sitting flush:


TE610 Rack support:







I got rid of the silly rear mudflap/license plate mount and went with this:


I also picked this up hoping it will help the fuel injection better adapt to the typical 6000ft elevation change one encounters daily while riding in Colorado:


Not much space to fit all this on the TE. Here is how I stashed everything in the right side panel:



Next is the 3 gallon IMS tank. I chose clear even though it's ugly as sin for two reasons:

1- I can visually check the fuel level.

2- The lighter color keeps the fuel cooler. I have had issues in the past w/ black tanks.


The tank was full of plastic shavings from the factory and needed to be flushed out. Here it is drying in the kitchen:


Everything mounted up easily on the tank and I made sure I did the fuel pump mod to keep it from popping out of place.

I'm a bit disappointed by the tank.

First I wish it were a bit bigger, somewhere in the 4 to 4.5 gallon range would be ideal.

Two I'm really pissed that it will not fit the OEM tank shrouds. They are what give the bike its look. W/out them the bike looks naked/unfinished.

I ordered a second set of shrouds which I will attempt to mount to the tank. We'll see how that goes when I get around to it.

Even the radiator shrouds have to be trimmed from this:



To this to fit:



I also took the time to measure the fuel capacity of the tank in .5 gal increments. You can see the fuel level marking on the tank:



Here she is all buttoned up and ready to ride.



As soon as the temps break the 40F mark I'll take it for a proper spin and write a report.

That's all I got for now.

[ADVCoop]

Great looking bike. I really think when I get financially stable again (whenever that will be) I want to replace my F650 with a Husky.

[Yellow Pig]

Finally got out for a ride today. Did a nice street/dirt road loop covering approximately 120 miles. The bike averaged 41MPG, which is not too bad since I did a bit of spirited canyon carving.



Will be interesting to see what the MPG drops to in real dirt.

The bike runs great and has a nice smooth power-band. It reminds me a lot of my old XR650R. The biggest difference is in the vibrations. The Old BRP was electric smooth, while the Husky is pretty vibey. I can really feel it through the foot pegs and seat. I'm hoping it will smooth out a bit once the engine breaks in properly.

The power delivery is almost electric. Very linear, unlike the 525s and 530s I have ridden which have a bit more snap off the line.

The seat is atrocious and will be redone shortly.

The exhaust with the DB killer inserted sounds just right. On the other hand the intake snarl is really loud and can be heard through earplugs.

So far I love the bike. Lots of fun to ride!

[Yellow Pig]

So I finally got to put some real off-road miles on the bike.



Me likes:

The bike is great and handles better than the XR. It feels more nimble and maneuverable, where as the BRP and that rock solid straight line speed, just what it was designed for in Baja, but was a bit of a brute in the tight stuff.

Power delivery on the EFI TE510 is nice an linear. At first it feels like it's laking a bit compared to the snap of a carbed bike, but once you get in the dirt the smooth, electric like power delivery is great. It really helps put the traction down.

On a side not the EOM Karoo-II's are awful. The rear is OK and does a decent job, but the font is abysmal and tends to wash out really badly. I plan on putting some real dirt rubber on there soon. I'm initially thinking of trying out the Maxxis IT Desert Tires. I'll put those on before I go to White Wash in March.

The vibes are still there, but you hardly notice them when riding off road and on terrain like this:


Suspension wise I'm digging the bike. The forks are still a bit stiff, but they are still not fully broken in. Even so they are working much better on the rocks than the professionally re-valved forks I had on the BRP. I wonder if this is due to the steel vs. aluminum frame of the two bikes. The BRP would just beat me up on the rocks, while the TE seems pretty smooth.



The only issue I had was the bike running a bit hot. Temps were around 60F and the fan stayed on most of the time. Granted it was rocky 1st and 2nd gear two track I was doing.




Here are a few more pics from the days ride:

[Fast1]

Appears to be some nice terrain to fully break in the suspenison. Nice photos also.

My 08 TE510 came with Michelin Enduro III tires which have proven to be extemely adequate for my ride terrain. I wasn't aware that Husky was sticking Karoos on their 2010 TE510s.. that doesn't even make any sense for the TE610s let alone the 510s.

I'm surprised your 510 was running warm since I've never experienced that problem with mine even in 90 degree temps doing 1st and 2nd gear single track. I'm wondering if that DB killer you have stuffed in the exhaust is the source of your heat issues??? I'd try a ride without that plugging up the exhaust air flow and see what happens.

I'm wondering how the new front forks and 15mm shorter swing-arm on the 2010 affects the handling in comparison to the 80/09 versions?

The upper midwest isn't as rock infested but we have our own challenges which can leave you stranded..

[Mercury264]

Is the fan stock on the FI 510's ? Is there just one - how does it operate, via a thermostat (and if so where is it) or via a switch or ? I ask since, unlike a previous poster, I have big problems with my 510 overheating and I strongly suspect that is what killed my 450. Love everything else about the bike but I have to figure the overheating out.

[BikePilot]

The bike is looking great!

I bet that the snap off the bottom could be had with a bit of fiddling with the fi mapping (not sure that snap off the bottom is desirable though).