Husky TE610 questions?

[Harvey Mushman]

Anybody here own a TE610? I rode a buddies '07 TE recently. The motor is 100% stock, I didn't see a charcoal cannister on it so he may have removed it. My impression was it was not as powerful as my 620, but it was 10 times smoother. I'm sure w/some carb work you could get more snap out of it. The 6 spd was nice but It seemed to be a very wide ratio box which lends itself well to the street more so than much off-road work. The seat was nice compared to the 620. Although I think they weigh about the same the TE seemed to carry the weight better, possibly not feeling as top heavy. I'm sure I can do 95% of my own work on the bike but the lack of dealer support in the area concerns me some. I was -considering- selling my 620 and 450 and replacing them with one bike which would simplify my life some. I'd be interested in anyones thoughts that has owned the carbed TE. Thanks.

-Harvey

[Hank Moody]

Just call Hall's and order a JD Jetting Kit and it will wake the bike up! The 610 won't out perform the 450 on the trails, but will be much better on the road. It is the old trade off with a dual sport bike...

[safiri]

I have briefly ridden a 2001 610 off-road in Moab, while bgg used my 2001 LC4-400. We spent 7 days riding back in 2005, and traded off a few times. Hayden swapped, too. (We practice very unsafe motorcycling ...) Very similar in terms of what they can do, and what they weren't designed to do (unless you are Jimmy Lewis or some other pro...). Next trip, all three of us will be on KTM EXCs ... (the 450 and 510 Husqies would be equivalent, so my comment is not meant to be pro KTM / anti Husqvarna, but anti 300 lb bike when there exists some nice 250 lb models).

Unless you are planning on riding two up or doing some long distance dual-sport touring (with bags), I would think the 450 EXC would be the do-all bike.

I will see if bgg will post up his thoughts.

[Hank Moody]

I have briefly ridden a 2001 610 off-road in Moab, while bgg used my 2001 LC4-400. We spent 7 days riding back in 2005, and traded off a few times. Hayden swapped, too. (We practice very unsafe motorcycling ...) Very similar in terms of what they can do, and what they weren't designed to do (unless you are Jimmy Lewis or some other pro...). Next trip, all three of us will be on KTM EXCs ... (the 450 and 510 Husqies would be equivalent, so my comment is not meant to be pro KTM / anti Husqvarna, but anti 300 lb bike when there exists some nice 250 lb models).

Unless you are planning on riding two up or doing some long distance dual-sport touring (with bags), I would think the 450 EXC would be the do-all bike.

I will see if bgg will post up his thoughts.

HUSKY HATER!!!!!!!!

[Hayden]

I have ridden a 450, 610 and a 510. My last trip out to Med Lodge cruising around the Jip hills a fellow rider offered up his 07 610. I took the bait and rode it for a while. I was expecting power like my XRR. It wasnt there. Although a sweet little ride, it needed tweeked a bit for me to see if more power was under there somewhere. The XRR trips my trigger more though and the mass amounts of parts and endless mods for the XRR is the big reason I still have it over moving to a 610.

NOW On to the 510. I rode Hanks 510 for half a day down in AR this last fall. I was mucho impressed with this bike. It flat rips. I dont know what mods Hank has done or wether it was just the tight trail conditions but you grab a had full of throttle on this little gim and it gets interesting realy quick. It really needed a damper on uphill rocky climbs but when the trail opened up a bit, trees flew by much faster than I expected.

I also took Troys 450 for a spin down in AR last AFools. The FI is quite nice and more power again than I was expecting from a 450. I would say his bike is putting down more hp than a KTM 450. I dont know that for fact but his bike seems to have more punch than my EXC. Maybe its the FI???

Be true to yourself if you plan to switch up bikes. What kind of riding do you really do and what do you want to do. I would say you have the perfect set up now. An LC and a EXC. It doesnt get much better than that. Although if I was looking for a good medium between the 2, your in the right boat. A 610 or 510 would be sweet. Both lean more to their respective sides. 510 dirt. 610 Enduro street.

Hayden

[Harvey Mushman]

I'm probably not going to make any changes mainly because what I currently have is dialed in, proven and I have a good dealership network close by. If I had the time to go to Arkansas/Colorado/Moab, etc, 3 or 4 times a year I agree, either a 450/525 or something like that would be perfect all around bike but I don't have the time, therefore the 450 loses it's value to some degree, at least to me, especially with the 300XCW in the garage. Hopefully Husky can build their dealer network which will help them sell more bikes. With a few tweaks I think the 610 could be a damn nice bike.

-Harvey.

[Hank Moody]

With Husky now being owned by BMW maybe we can get some local support. I have not needed local support since I bought mine at LetKo, when they were a dealer. There are several items that both KTM and Husqvarna share which is nice. For parts it is just a phone call away and it is usually at my door in a couple of days. I'm VERY thankful for people like Hayden, BGG, XR Nut and Safiri for holding my hand with mechanical issues.

Hayden the steering damper will be ordered this week! I have an OEM fan install and running off the stator now thanks to Safiri and a new battery so hopefully I won't have that problem again. Thanks again for helping my tried ass out of the forest!

Harvey sounds like you might be selling a 450 in the near future????

[safiri]

I have briefly ridden a 2001 610 off-road in Moab, while bgg used my 2001 LC4-400. We spent 7 days riding back in 2005, and traded off a few times. Hayden swapped, too. (We practice very unsafe motorcycling ...) Very similar in terms of what they can do, and what they weren't designed to do (unless you are Jimmy Lewis or some other pro...). Next trip, all three of us will be on KTM EXCs ... (the 450 and 510 Husqies would be equivalent, so my comment is not meant to be pro KTM / anti Husqvarna, but anti 300 lb bike when there exists some nice 250 lb models).

Unless you are planning on riding two up or doing some long distance dual-sport touring (with bags), I would think the 450 EXC would be the do-all bike.

I will see if bgg will post up his thoughts.

HUSKY HATER!!!!!!!!

Yeah, that's why yours ends up in my garage! And why I do my best to break it when I work on it!

I have an OEM fan install and running off the stator now thanks to Safiri and a new battery so hopefully I won't have that problem again. Thanks again for helping my tried ass out of the forest!

Note: the battery was broken when he brought the bike to my garage!

And as to Tracy and that overheated bike ... A few of us worked on kick starting that beast. Ugh. And Brian and I felt real bad passing Tracy when he was stalled out on a nasty section with the Yellow bike. (Hank was nowhere to be found as he had ridden Tracy's bike to the top several minutes earlier ... ) Brian and I got to a plateau and started walking down to help when we heard him riding Hank's bike like it was a "rental". The bike didn't stall that time!

[Hayden]

You will love the damper Hank. Its quite an improvement over nothing at all and at the end of the day, you will feel a difference for sure. No damper just wears ya out.

NOW! Since I have ridden everone elses bike I think a 300 is in order...............hint hint

Hayden.

[Hank Moody]

I wish I could try this one out:

http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/_v ... rpstry=198_

It's a Husqvarna TE 310 4 stroke! Sounds like the prefect combo for trails and those fun fire roads.

[Harvey Mushman]

--Harvey sounds like you might be selling a 450 in the near future????

I have a love/hate relationship with the RFS bikes. If I resign myself to riding it at a "trail ride" pace, the bike is fun to ride. To me, it lends itself more to flowing, wide single track stuff. I really enjoy riding it on the street the most. Everytime I try to push the bike offroad I wish I was on the 300. The 300 is lighter, less top heavy, and chugs down low better and handles a bit better as well. The compression braking annoys me pretty quick on the 450 as well. My riding has transitioned to about 90% singletrack / FMHS stuff 10% dual sport over the last few years so the 450 doesn't fit as well as it might have a number of years ago. I just have to remember -MY- limitations with the bike and ride it accordingly. The bike will truly do anything. Just different strokes for different folks.

-Harvey