Rightio then. As promised, a little bit of a write up on my 2006 TE610. About 2 weeks ago a friend and I rode to central Australia to watch the Finke Desert Race amongst other things. I bought a 2006 TE610 to do the trip for no particular reason except I have had a number of Huskys and it was at the right price. This is the first 4 banger Husky I have owned and I now believe that the 610 is probably the most underrated and overlooked motorcycles on the market. We did 6000klms in roughly 15 days, used one set of tyres (GO the Motoz!!) and 300mls of oil. I thought that I had gotten away free of any damage or breakage but on closer inspection I noticed I've broken off the top chain roller above the counter sprocket. Not the first time I've heard of this and I must stress that the bike was heavily loaded so I purposely left the chain on the loose side (I firmly believe that a loose chain is a happy chain) and we traversed some of the roughest roads Australia has to offer. Some pics: Left side Right side I was really really concerned about the air filter arrangement on the 610. The fine bulldust that Oz has in someplaces has to be seen to be believed. I was not a fan of the stock airbox and was concerned the flat foam filter would not seal well against the airbox. Plus the airbox lid screws seize with monotonous regularity... Prick of a design. Drilled some breathing holes.. Cut the back out And put the Oz made unifilter pod in. The advantage of this I thought would be that I could carry three already cleaned and oiled filter socks and just change them daily, doing a thorough clean on rest days. The Supermoto boys do a similar thing with K and N filters. I'm not a fan of K and N. Yes they DO flow better than anything else but for particulate removal the oiled foam is better. The set up: Silicon elbow and UniFilter Pod and over skin. Remove the over sock and you have a comparatively clean filter underneath. Note that you need to put a filter on the crankcase breather.. The spare socks, oiled and ready to go. I did change them but having to use tools to access the airfilter is one of the very very few weaknesses of the 610. I hate to say it but the pumpkins have the no tool airfilter access nailed... I installed a James Dean jetting kit. Expensive for what it isbut the carburetor was spot on the whole trip. Starts were easy hot or cold and she pulled like a freight train. Me, Luggage, 35 liters of fuel, 10 liters of water and food and I saw 150 klm/h on the speedo before I chickened out. Was all the airfilter mods worth it? Probably not so next time I'll go back to stock filter and carry two complete pre oiled spare filters. Need to work out how to make the airbox a tool free thing 'though... Hmm.. Also put in a remote idle mixture screw adjuster as it's a pain to get to with normal tools. Didn't need it once!! If she started to idle a little odd I knew it was time to change filter socks. Speaking of weaknesses.... No Biggies but just as a point of interest. Slight oil weep from exhaust valve rocker cover. Yes I did use gasket goo and gasket on the tappet adjustment. Hmm.. may have to try and resurface the cover. Broken top chain roller.. from BIG bottom outs I assume? But that's about it really. The Cockpit.. Renthal fat bars (they don't bend), Bar raisers because I'm 6'1' and have trouble standing with standard config. Barkbusters, Longer brake line to suit higher bars (probably not needed). 12volt outlet wired direct to battery with fuse so I could charge stuff like ipod and gps even without the key in bike. Domino clutch lever assy. Do these come standard?? Mine was second hand and had a cheesy aftermarket assy. Utter garbage. I use Domino on all my Husky's Works well and fits the clutch cable exactly. Note the spare clutch cable zip tied in parallel. Not needed but will stay there for peace of mind.. Pivot Pegz. Undisputed king of foot pegs. Tough as and just genuine good stuff. If you do ever get the bark busters, make sure you get this style mount. Makes your cockpit rock solid tough. LED tailight rear guard assy. Note the discoloration from exhaust. The luggage I carried I think created turbulence that pushed the exhaust gasses onto the plastic. Looks like it'll scrub off 'though. Get your battery brackets reinforced !! I noticed mine had started cracking at only 800klm's and got a local bloke to weld in some reinforcing webs/gussets.. Simple blade fuse for the 12volt outlet The IMS 20 litre gas tank..... Hmmmm.. Thank goodness I had it. I also carried 15 liters of fuel in fuel containers. It gave me a safe range of approx 500 kilometers but one stretch we did was about 550 kilometers. I ran out 50 meters up the road from the servo.... I don't like the IMS tank. It's vunerable, especially the two forward taps that NEVER seat firmly and need lots of sealant and PTFE tape. I thought they would give me trouble for sure. Luckily not. As soon as RV aqualine make a safari tank I changing. My friend had a Safari on his DR650 and the build quality compared to the IMS is chalk and cheese. The fragile taps. More to come..
Also, get rid of the plastic fuel line T joints. Just asking for trouble. Replace with brass. Get a good quality clear FUEL line. Not any plastic hose but FUEL line and install a fuel filter. Some of the fuel you'll buy on big trips may come from questionable storage. No trouble on this trip but a peace of mind thing again.. The left side vunerable fuel tap. Fuel line routing has to be spot on or the fuel line rubs the exhaust. For peace of mind I put a 4 inch piece of solid line in place where it goes close to the exhaust. Problem solved. The trailtech head light that Kelly from Motosportz gave me a KILLER deal on. Thanks Kelly!! This thing is 800% better than the stocker. The cable guide came of the headlight, but that was my fault as I had my camelback draped over the front some times and it stopped the brake line from moving up somewhat putting extra stain on the cable guide. Fortunately it screwed straight back in.. I had a fender bag with two spare tubes on the front. Wolfman bag. Top quality. (I also used the wolfman Tank Bag. Top stuff.) But the extra weight did this... No biggy, as I said some of the terrain was extreme. Force accessories Radiator guards. Top quality stuff. They have a great big back brace incorporated as in there design.. part of the brace.. Unfortunately there is not a direct fit one for the 610 so I used the ones designed for the 450/510. I had to remove the radiator overflow tank to get it to fit. I took of the fan assy as well as I don't commute on the bike so didn't see the point. I monitored the coolant level for the whole trip, didn't use a drop. Removing the fan is just me being pig headed... Leave it on if you like. I never liked the exhaust cover/guards that the 610 comes with so I removed them and made this little guard. Works, but looks rough as guts!! I'm waiting for a Leo Vince complete system to fall out of the sky.... failing that one to come up on ebay for a good price. I have a Barrett exhaust on. It's a great thing. Works well with the J D jet kit and better breathing air filter. It's just that I've become so enamored with the 610 I think she needs a nice italian bling bling farkle for being such a good thing?? More to come, laptop nearly flat.
Found some power... I used JT steel sprockets. 14 front and 45 rear. Which is kinda handy as that's what my other Husky's use!! Barrett exhaust with the Dirt Bagz frame and exhaust guard. Both great items. The Dirt Bagz are a great thing. I read that Wolfman products actually manufacture the bags. Dunno if that's true or not but the quality is excellent on both. Go the Motoz Tractionator! This is after approx 5000klms and she still has 1000klms left in her at a pinch... B and B bash plate. Good Aussie product. Seal savers. A must have. Changing fork seals in the middle of nowhere would be NO fun! Bring back right side forks me thinks.. This USD thing is alright for 20 minute moto's but for real world bikes.. A joke. Anyone remember the 50mm RSD forks... Crackers! Rim locks. I can't believe that dirt bikes come out of the factory without them... A great tip taught to me by a mate... Put some zip ties on the front fork where you can get to them easily. Simple easy trick. There WAS about 30 of the things there before we left!! Always Always safety wire your grips... don't ask how I know... Here's something to watch... the rear brake line rubs the engine case... I'm going to replace it with a braided stainless one v. soon.. The right side radiator guard/brace.. I had a GREAT time... The things I wish I had done differently?? I would've fitted a steering damper. All the weight on the rear of the bike makes the front light and in the sand a damper would've saved quite a few sphincter tightening moments.. I only had one little lie down, when I wasn't paying attention because I was laughing too hard at my mate. Gave me a bloody great big fright but the bike suffered nought. If you were REALLY picky maybe a 6.8 spring on the rear. And a rear rack, just to make tying on gear a little easier. Only bike I would replace it with would be another 610. Some trip pics.. Apologies for the poor picture quality. I have a borrowed camera and it has trouble with low light situations. But the price was good! Australia is a vast and beautiful country. My heart is out there still. I'll be back. Thanks FBC
Awesome writeup and trip. Need more pix of the actual trip. "The trailtech head light that Kelly from Motosportz gave me a KILLER deal on. Thanks Kelly!! This thing is 800% better than the stocker." No problem man, glad to be part of your most excellent adventure.
Great report mate, i need to copy some of your mods and ive been itching to try those motoz tyres. I been watchin the OZ thread on ADV hopefully a few of us can hook up for a ride
Start of my ride report... Hope it doesn't bore the tits off ya!! http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=480357
Great report ! I've got an 06' as well. I appreciate all the usefull tips. I'm with ya on the MotoZ's. Great tires or should I say "tyres". Jerry
I know the 610 is great on the dirt but I would love a real view of it on the bitumen. You must have done some serious road work befoe the dirt. Was the bike balanced, did it head shake at speed, did it vibrate or feel stressed doing highway speeds-Love tov know and toying with getting one (have an 06 TE450-bitch on the road but grat in the bush) cop u later
