2013 TE511 Pre-Buy Checklist

Howsit Guys

I am looking at buying a 2013 TE511 that has been converted for a Baja-type rally.

I am going to look at the bike on Saturday and if all looks well I will probably buy it,
what are the things that I should look for and ask about?

So far I have read here about the gear shifter coming loose, Torque Limiters failing that needs an oil-recirculating kit and the air box breather mod.

How can I tell that this is indeed a 2013 year model bike?
This bike might not be perfect for what I intend to do with it, but I can get it Rally ready for way less than I would pay for a CRF450X / WR450F / KTM 450-525 EXC so that is why I am looking at it. It has completed the Amageza rally in 2014, the same rally that I would like to attempt with it.

I do not know if the owner custom made everything or if he bought a rally fairing kit, the bike has a rear 30 litre aluminium fuel tank, a navigation tower (no equipment) and a water/toolkit integrated sump protector. Also looks like an Akro slip-on.

The dealer wants 50 000 ZAR which is about 4 000 $, he says the bike has 4000km on it.
That will probably be 4000 full out desert racing and practicing kilometers.

I would like to hear your thoughts!

Fairing, sump and really tank appear to be Bianchi Prata items, i have the tank (a smaller 17L version) and it's great. The Akra on that bike is the "standard" Akra pipe (there are basically 3 original equipmant pipes: a huge great thing, that one (which i also have) and a full hi flow titanium race can). It looks like it's been re sprung (spring colour not original) , prob to accommodate the extra weight of larger fuel tank capacity. Also it might have some sort of oil recirc/catch mod as i can see a hose in frone of the red cam cover in ohotos 1&2 that looks slightly different routing to std.

Hope that helps.

Hi Padowan!

Thank you, I have not been able to track down the original owner yet to ask him what he has done and still wanted to do.
I am glad to hear that the spring is not original, I am sure it must be for the added weight at the rear.

I went to ride it today, it starts easy, the brakes are sharp, the clutch feels great and overall the condition looks good.
The fibreglass fairing has a few cracks, but they can be repaired easy enough. It does look like the one fork might be leaking some oil,
but I couldn't go far enough to really be able to tell.

I had to test-ride it on the tar, and over 85kmph the entire bike starts to wobble and sway,
I assume it's because of the desert tyres and adjusting the suspension to my wight might also help.

I might just be joining the husky owners club soon!

A raced 449/511? Tons of mods, not sure of its history, imo I'd say hell no but that's me. They were quirky from stock and a few mods made them better but that model bike still had issues which were expensive. 4000 raced miles torque limiter for sure, clutch may be questionable, map 3 download installed? Oiling issues man I'd steer clear and look at a much more reliable bike of your choice. Crf or wr sounds great. Good luck!

Eish, this bike is still eating away at me! I am pretty sure that the motor has not been rebuilt after the race.
It is actually a really good price, considering what I would need to fork out to buy a CRF or WR and get it rally ready,
probably double the amount of money that they want for this.

I have since found out that the springs have been upgraded front and back, and set-up by a well known professional.
The bike says that it is in Race Map II on the dash, how can I tell if Map 3 has been installed?

I dunno... I might lean towards: buy it for a good price. 4000Km is not much (but if that's all race miles... it's a different story). The TL is supposedly not that hard to replace. My kids '12 511 is pretty solid (same mileage?). the VIN should tell you the date code. The flywheel bolts have been problematic in some bikes.

wobble: wheel balance, more than likely. hit it with about 5oz of slime (150ml).

Both Speedbrain Hero TE449RR bikes have just finished this year's 9000km Dakar, the lead bike finished in 10th position!!!
http://auto.ndtv.com/news/dakar-201...letes-maiden-dakar-rally-under-top-10-1649013

I would also be questioning the history & milage since the last major work, but the 'reliability issues' are largely over hyped in my opinion.
Clutches are nuclear-proof, torque limiter will last if it runs in the correct volume of oil & starts out in new condition, oil spewing issue is easily resolved with several different methods available.

If you can get it cheap & do some maintenance work that is due, I'd have a go at it.