Adventures with my TE310 - the beginning

After two days of turning wrenches and safety wiring, I finally decided to brave the dank swamps of North Carolina with my "new" TE310.

I've never ridden offroad. I dont know how to wheelie or change a tube. How hard could it be?

Things I have learned:
1) Hidden logs suck. Nature's way of testing your resolve and skeletal integrity.
2) Nice, soft, cushy-looking bushes....aren't.
3) you can drop/submerge a Husky in the middle of a creek, and it will start again. If you can stand it up.
4) This thing needs more handles. Lots more.
5) crossing railroad tracks is a bad idea.
6) That Rekluse auto-clutch is starting to look pretty nice. Electric start is a god-send.
7) The loud muffler gets very annoying.
8) I tried, but nothing broke.

Things I need to learn:
1) better throttle management
2) how to stay loose on the bike and let it find its own path
3) throttle management
4) how to find better trails
5) how to find riding buddies
6) how to lift the tire over obstacles
7) evrything else

Things to put in my trail bag:
1) goggle cleaning cloth
2) Splint and pressure dressing/blood-clotter
3) a phone
4) Steroids or spinach


It's a great machine for learning, as I hoped. The light weight of the 310 was the deciding factor for me, and I was not disappointed. The on-road power is perfectly sufficient. I didnt try to top out the speedo, but I saw high 60's (maybe 70's) with a 15t front and 50t rear.
I may need the front tire balanced. It bounces the suspension repetitively.

I definitely need something to keep the weeds and marshes out of the chain.
I'm jealous of riders in wide-open spaces. Deserts, sloping prairies, even ice. Just so many fraking trees around here. And, between the trees - 2 feet of black water, snapping turtles, and beer bottles.

No photos yet. Sorry. Icing my femur and a shoulder. Just imagine a muddy bush with a helmet and two wheels.

At least you have a good sense of humor about it! first rides can be adventurous especially if you don't have anyone to show you the ropes. A 13 tooth front sprocket may be needed for off road.
The good thing is there is so much to learn and it can be very rewarding if you are up to it.
Come to knoxville and I will lead you around.
GP

Definitely balance that front tire. Get some solid core solder. It will take alot! And you might need to use something to help hold it in place, I use RTV silicone sealant.

Auto clutches are for wusses. Learn how to use your clutch! Keep at it, take a class if you can find one locally. It will really help you learn the basics that you need to practice for riding off road.

Between the handlebars and the side grips behind the seat, that's all you need to pick the bike up. If you get tired, turn away from the bike, grab the bars and the rear grip and plant your butt on the edge of the seat and use your legs to help lift the bike up. If the kickstand side is up when doing this, extend it first. This won't work if you haven't removed the nub that makes the stand fold up when not on the ground. No biggie, the bike is light enough to hold up while you move around to the other side.

If the bike is submerged, bad things can happen. Water can get in bad places and cause damage.

It's not advisable to ride alone for safety reasons.

Well enjoy your 310, I love mine. 2011 310. At 52 it keeps me young. I still don't know how you guys are are doing 60-70. I have a 45 rear and stock counter. If I pull 50 the bike is revving. Maybe its my speedo. One thing I learned is to rev the bike. It is not a 450 so I have to twist the throttle. Love it.

I'm running a 13/50 combo and turning 7500 at 55. Not much for a motor that redlines above 11k

Yeah, but it's loud and whiney above 9k or so. I really don't want to wind it up to 12 or 13k...

I'm only 135 with my boots on. It helps with the speed.
Doesn't help when I need to cross railroad tracks. It needs more handles - leverage is my friend.

I'm ordering a set of Tugger straps. My homemade one broke.

My right leg looks like a bad porno today. Must have hit the handlebars while I was cartwheeling through the atmosphere. It's glorious.
Broke my sternum in half in an accident this summer (old man turned in front of me). And a rib a few weeks ago. Altogether, I'm sufficiently sore to remember this year when I get Altzeihmers. This is my plan.



Yes, I didnt buy the auto-clutch because I wanted to learn the old-fashioned way. But, I'm a little worried about wearing out the starter, or water screwing with the electrics. Silly on a fuel injected machine...
The caveat with the Rekluse is the inability to park on a hill without it rolling away. Is there a trick to it? Intentional dirtnap?

Riding buddies would be nice. I'm a combat vet getting into med school, though. People like to hate me. They dont like finding themselves respecting a 135 pounder.
I can suture myself, if I need. But, it would be nice for someone to bring sandwiches.

Text without pictures is boring. This may help.

It's very hard to study with these in the backyard:


Here is where I work for now, making none implants and prosthetics:

A laser, for your viewing pleasure:

This is my dog

A place in New Zealand I'd like to visit:

A turkey I accidently shot for Thanksgiving:

I firmly agree you should stick with the cluch until you are an established rider. Throttle control, clutch management, picking up the bike.......will all become second nature to you in due time. Please find someone to ride with if you can, much more enjoyable and safe. I ride in the dense south jersey woods and trust me, once you are used to them, riding in a big open desert or field isn't as fun as it sounds.
Oh BTW, once you are an established rider.......the Rekluse is pure "magic"

WBCherry thank you for your service. I wish you all the best with school. Take it slow with the bike riding and don't ride over your head. Wear all the protective gear. No excuses that it doesn't feel right or it is to expensive. That is BS. I wear everything. Good knee braces are $300-$600 but you get what you pay for. A torn ACL will cost you much more. Neck brace, get one, even a cheap one. I hit a Joshua tree flying through the California desert sand. Got up laughing. Enjoy.

With a start like that, you sir, are a true rider. Enjoy that thing. (and be careful)

I have one of these, maxed out with the liner:
http://www.motoport.com/_product_106904/Ultra_Trek_1-Piece_Air_Mesh_Kevlar_Suit
The liner leaks severely in the crotch. The suit is fine for the road, but too hot and bulky in the trees. I'm eyeballing a pressure-suit.

I'm hoping to run across a used pair of braces from a rich suburbanite kid on craigslist.

Rather than a Rekluse...I'll get a TuBliss system, since I don't know jack about tubes.
I found an rechargable lithium-ion chainsaw on CL for $20, to make bridges over deep creeks and such.
Now, I need to quiet this muffler down, before I get a trespassing ticket...


There's a crotchety old man around here that inherited all the surrounding land. Acres and acres that he won't let anyone touch. He sells it bit-by-bit to McMansion developers to satisfy his uber-greedy wife.
The local horse farm is now completely surrounded by townhomes...

I am hopefully picking up a 310 tomorrow and a reckless is deffinetly in the cards for me. I have ridden and raced since I was a kid and it's not about not being able to learn a clutch. It's about convience and becoming a better rider. I look at it like electric start it's not a must have it's a nice to have and I can't wait to have it. Just like a steering dampener or flex bars.

I am a wuss, love my rekluse, my TC doesn't have electric start. Seems like my dad made me learn to use a slide rule before I got a calculator, didn't make much sense then, makes even less now. When is the last time anyone has seen a slide rule?
GP

I kinda wish I could use a slide rule. My TI-Nspire ran out of batteries during a test.



Where do I put tools on this thing?!?!?!
Some member fabbed an aluminum rack. Anyone know anything for sale? I'm fresh out of CNC milling machines...

My taillight/fender is flapping all over the place, too.

It may be old school but I still use a leather fanny pack. It unrolls and has space for just about everything I need. The rest I carry in my camelback (wallet and cell go in there to avoid damage). I just don't get the guys with the racks. No matter how it mounts it added weight to the subframe. With all that movement back there it's bound to ovalize holes after time. Plus I have just grown up caring what I need so that's what works for me.

Wb Cherry, do you realize you hijacked your own thread? Of course it's Your thread so who cares. Good luck finding a riding partner that will suit you but you need one. Not only for company when in trouble [looks like from your post, you will be in a lot of trouble] but for teaching [& picking up your bike]. It will be a lot easier for someone to tell you why & how not to----when you go ovr the bars.[ if you are coherant]. By the way, do you have handguards ect on yur bike? By the way I have a 310 also & i love it. 13/52 is what you need in the woods & I run a 12 in front in real tight woods. It takes nothing to change & it doesn't cost much. Remember 'throttle control' as in "not as much", unless in trouble then pull it all the way back Right???

Long ago I took a test while in the Navy to place me into certain level of pre-training. I had a single TI calculator, was the first class allowed to use them, slide rules were the norm. My battery also crapped out in the middle of the test. Continued doing the math tests long-hand. Too many long division problems, too slow, could not finish in time. From that point on, no slide rule, but carried a backup calculator and 9V battery :-)

On my 450 I have the Wolfman Enduro tail bag. Removable and just right to get in a high volume mountain bike hand pump, tire patch kit, a clever Motion Pro half moon shaped toolkit, a 15ft tow strap in a bag (with rings/loops), tape, spare bolts, waterproof matches, LED flashlight, spare inner tune, and more. Easily removable also, yet totally secure when mounted by velcro base plate and nylon straps. Many wear their tools in a fanny pack or backpack or OGIO flight vest. Those are also good for hydration bladders also, good to have when you are sweating away on the trails and swamps.

One tip, bring a pocket camera. No pictures, it did not happen! Also keep your cell phone where you won't crash and impact it. Harder than it sounds if you are wearing full armor.

Undergoing pre-flight mainetenance at the moment.

I'll return with photos and my chosen toolkit.
Thanks for the tips.

This adventure is slow in the making. My plan is to use the Husky to offer small medical services (sutures, wound cleanings, etc) to backwoods/elderly/poor patients in rural North Carolina. The mountain areas remind me of Kosovo.
Of course...I need to finish PA school first...