New to me 2005 TE450

Greetings,

This is my first Husky and also happens to be the newest motorcycle I've ever owned. I've had a '87 KLR 650 and a '91 DR350 previously. This bike is in pretty decent condition but it has sat in a garage for over a year so it has some basic issues to sort out from neglect.

1. Carb needs a thorough cleaning. It will start and run but only with the cold and hot start plungers out. Once warmed up, the hot start plunger can be pushed in but if the bike dies, you have to pull it out to restart. The choke plunger has to be out the whole time.

2. The hydraulic clutch has a slow leak somewhere. The previous owner swapped out the slave cylinder in their driveway for me and we bled the system so I could at least test ride it before loading it up to bring home. I suspect that the leak is at the banjo bolt. I notice that there is a crush washer there and I don't remember the PO putting in a new one. I do have a X-ring gasket but the slave cylinder is brand new so I initially opted to install it in OEM configuration to save time. Can the OEM O-ring be bad right out of the box?

3. The electrics need to be sorted out. I plan on dual sporting with the bike and it already has a tag and registration. Lights need some attention. There isn't a kill switch anywhere that I can find so I'll want to wire one in. Right now, turning the ignition key is the only way to kill the motor. That is inconveniently position on the side of the steering head. I know I can hold in the decomp lever but I would prefer a big red switch in case of emergency. The battery also seems to not be holding a charge.

4. The trail tech speedo seems to only work intermittently. I have no Idea how many hours/miles are on the bike. Not high on priority list but would be nice to keep track of mileage/hours eventually.


My plan is to first clean the carb and check the valve clearances to get the motor starting and running more smoothly. I will then turn my attention to the hydraulic clutch. I don't want to have to worry about loosing clutch control while I'm lost in the woods. Finally, I will work through the electrics. I have a year to get the lights sorted out before my first NC inspection comes due but the battery not charging properly has me a little worried.

Is there any sage advice anyone in the community can give this newbie? Anything I should be looking for while I have the bike on the stand? I do all of my own maintenance and repairs but have never worked on a Husky before. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Joe

welcome to the cafe, what i can tell you from my experience with my 05 TE 450. The valves from the 05 model will only fit a 05 model no other year will fit.
With the clutch leak you may find its the slave cylinder is worn and is leaking past the seal internally. How i got around it was to fit a 7602 clutch piston and it cured my problems. i tend to change the motor oil every fourth ride as it only takes 1.7 ltrs with a filter change HF 563 or 154 I think from the top of my head.
Also never touch the oil level plug on the right hand motor case as there prone to stripping the threads. Finally good luck let us know how it goes.

The proper oil filter for the 2005 models is a HF 154 not the one stated above although they will both work in the other bike. I think the 2005 model also takes slightly less oil than the 2007 models which had a larger clutch cover.

That model was my first Husq several years ago.

My clutch went out right before a dual sport ride. I had to load the bike back up and go home.

Turned out to be a leak in the hose. I replaced it and everything was good after that.

Thank you for the replies. The clutch system leak has me the most concerned. It is a brand new OEM slave that we installed (the PO and I) just before I loaded it up and brought it home. I took it for a ride on a warm afternoon recently and started to lose clutch control after about 20 minutes of riding around town. I did manage to get her home without completely losing the ability to shift. The slave cylinder housing was dripping. It appeared as though there was a little bit of fluid coming out from below the banjo bolt. This is why I suspect the crush washer. I did tighten the bolt a little, refilled the reservoir and bled the system again. I rode it for about 5 minutes without incident but it got dark and cold and I haven't been back out to check on the leak since. I leaky line is another possibility I will look at if there is another little puddle under the bike. I think I saw a spare in the box of spares that came with the bike. Thanks again. Joe

While you're taking apart the carb, you might want to get the JD jet kit. Also, I believe that there's some good info on setting up the accelerator pump on the Keihin pumper carb on this site.

Update: I thoroughly cleaned off the slave cylinder and took it for a short ride today (about 20 min out and back). When I got back, the slave was coated in mineral oil again. I was in good sunlight and could see oil running down the high pressure line. There is a small nicked in the line about 3-4" up from the slave. I dug out the "spare" in the extra parts box and found several nicks in that one. I'm guessing that one is a take off and should have been thrown out by the PO. Are these prone to getting nicked and failing? Is there an upgrade line available that is more robust?

Jack,

There is already a JD kit installed. I suspect the carb is pretty well dialed in and just needs some clogged jets cleaned out. I can't wait till it gets sorted because running rough as it is I can loft the front wheel in 1st, and 2nd with just a twist of the throttle.

Mobil 0W-40 oil instead of the 10W60 oil it calls for. Singer sewing oil(mineral oil)works fine in clutch master cylinder, and is cheap and easy to find. Lead acid batteries only last 2-3 years, so probably just replace the battery. I believe KTM's towards the late 2000's have the same kill switch. The oem o ring could have a nick or gouge in it. An x ring with a 7602 piston will alleviate any issues on the slave end. The banjos are known to leak after removing the slave a few times. The master cylinder can be replaced with a standard magura(doesn't have to be husqvarna brand), and there's three different sizes available. There's also a rebuild kit for the master as long as the bore isn't scratched.

I ended up replacing the master, slave cylinder, piston and a x ring. With a standard magura master cylinder(not brand specific), I just reused my decompressor top and mirror mount for my old one and saved about $50. Make sure to bring a small bottle of oil for the clutch when your out riding. It does suck being stuck on the side of a mountain with no clutch!

Good find! Keep us posted.

So like a bonehead, I left the fuel petcock open after my last ride. I found a puddle of fuel under the bike so obviously the float valve isn't doing it's job. My question is ... Do you think there is fuel in the cylinder? Do I need to worry about hydro-lock? How likely is it that my oil now contains 1/2 gallon of gas in it? Should I pull the plug and pump the cylinder dry with the starter motor and change the oil? I was planning on changing the oil anyway but can I run it a little to warm up the oil or should I drain it cold? I know gasoline reduces the lubricating properties of oil. What would you do? Thanks.

Your cylinder should be fine, it just dripped fuel out the carb overflow most likely.

Just hold the decomp lever in and crank it over.
If it doesn't lock up try to start it.
Probably the O-ring that goes around the needle valve seat.
Should be fine.
Later George

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it. Joe

Question! Would shrink tubing over the Magura hydraulic line be a good idea to prevent the nicks that seem to plague this part? I thought of getting some shrink tubing (the kind you use for electrics) large enough to fit over the banjo fitting and shrink it. It probably wouldn't shrink tight but it might be better if it didn't as it would provide a flexible shield against abrasion. Any thoughts about this? Is there a better idea? I have a new line in and want to do anything I can now to prevent having to shell out another $50 and potentially a long walk home.

Update: I cleaned the carb and replaced the leaking hydraulic line for the clutch and put it all back together. The bike will now idle without the hot and cold start plungers engaged but there is a little bit of a hesitation in the throttle and it backfires after you blip the throttle and on decel. I tried to play with the air mixture screw and I could make it a little better but cannot keep it from backfiring completely. There is a JD kit installed and from what I can tell, the "red" needle is installed and the main jet is a 172. According to the instructions in the kit, the red needle is to be installed when riding above 4000'. I am at around 1800' so I'm guessing I need to swap out for the "blue" needle in the kit. I am also considering changing to the included 175 main jet. I also noticed that there is a little bit of fuel weeping from around the "mid body gasket" (the one above the float bowl.) I'm taking the carb off again this weekend to try to fix the lean mixture. The intake manifold is in good shape so I'm guessing that perhaps a little air is coming in through the mid body seal making the mixture leaner than it should be. The air mixture screw was originally set to 3/4 turn out. Does anyone know what the stock setting should be and what would be recommended with the higher flowing exhaust I currently have installed?

I recently took a 20 mile ride and started to lose the clutch again. I thought I had bled the system but when I got back home, the master cylinder was still full of fluid but needed to be pumped to work. I went ahead and bled the system again and noticed that the fluid coming out of the bleeder was kind of milky (full of tiny air bubbles maybe) I did notice a smidge of fluid weeping around the piston on the main cylinder. Could that be pumping air into the system during a ride? Should I go ahead and get a rebuild kit?

Any and all advice will be welcomed. I have a 200 mile enduro ride coming up in a couple of weeks and really want to get things sorted out before then. Thanks! Joe

Previous post was Wednesday and it is now Friday. Update to the Update while waiting for the previous post to be approved.

I have a master cylinder rebuild kit on the way. I've found several threads here describing how to clean the bore with solvent and a .38 caliber bore brush and some fine grit sand paper. From what I read, it seems to me that the small leak at the piston is pumping air into the system explaining why the clutch fades after about 20 minutes of regular use but the reservoir is still full of fluid. That also explains the ultra saturated fluid with the tiny air bubbles.

Now for the carb. I have found a mid body gasket kit available at Jets R Us for $24 but now that I have the carb off, I can't figure out how to remove the 4 screws that hold the two halves together. Is there a special tool I need to order? Here is a link to the kit. https://www.jetsrus.com/individual_parts/KL_18_7968.html
Has anyone here dealt with replacing these gaskets before?

I did discover that I had put this gasket in backwards which could explain why there was a hesitation in the throttle. Here is a pic of the correct orientation courtesy of JD Jetting.



Tomorrow I will be getting the carb back together without dealing with the mid body leak to see if changing the needle, main jet and the gasket orientation will make a substantial improvement. I'm also setting the fuel mixture screw to 2 full turns out. I will eventually replace the leaky mid body gaskets once I figure out how to get it apart. I'll keep you all posted. Joe

Magura w/ heat shrink tubing: are you referring to the clutch slave banjo? ehhh, go ahead if it makes you feel better. I guess. Put the banjo bolt in before you shrink it. I'm not familiar with the problem you're trying to solve though- IMO any rock hard and fast enough to nick the banjo isn't gonna be stopped by shrink tubing.

also- are you sure a brand-new slave cyl. needs that kinda treatment? I'd take it off (hose intact) and slowing rotate it trying to get any bubbles to jump up the banjo and up the line. Then do the same thing with the master also (hose installed still) at least an hour later. Also, I.D. that "milky fluid" or "tiny bubbles" too. Seems to me that if a master was letting in air, it'd be letting out fluid- so I take it this was down at the slave.

I'm starting to think that you need to start separate threads; it won't affect your wait time for approval.

"mid body gasket"- I can't remember... is the carb supposed to be disassembled to that point? seems like there was a carb (FCR??) that this was a no-no.

swapping out to the richer needle would probably fix the lean thing; there's some difference between between 1800' and 4000'. And i'm guessing you understand this: do either the mj or the needle... not both at the same time.

that's a lot of non-help... sorry. frustrating to wait for approval too (I know- believe me).

good luck.