1. 4 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
    TE = 4st Enduro & TC = 4st Cross

TE450 2008 troubles

Discussion in '4 Stroke' started by craigy, Dec 27, 2015.

  1. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR
    I bought a 2008 TE450 from an old riding buddy, he has taken up adventure riding and has a stable of KTMs (690 and 1190) as well as a Ducati Multistrada a new Guzzi and a Gas Gas trials bike. The 450 had been sitting neglected and hadn't been ridden since March, he does a lot of his own mechanical work and can be a bit shoddy. He assured me it had been running well when last ridden and it had a large (Acerbis?) tank, radiator guards, disc guards, silicon radiator hoses, an arrow exhaust, Trailtech Vapour speedo (the original is missing presumed smashed), Supersprox rear sprocket and a Shorai lithium battery. Anyway I got it very cheap so I was happy enough.

    I got it home and set about getting it up to scratch. First thing was starting it up and riding it around the block just to check if it ran properly, it went well with no problems in performance noted.
    I then set about cleaning it, the exhaust has about 3 years worth of baked on mud, the air filter box had a clean filter however the filter oil and dirt mixture was half an inch thick. I stripped it down and cleaned everything up enough so I didn't get covered in filth when working on it, this revealed the worn swingarm and linkage bearings, the bent subframe, the sloppy subframe nutserts and the missing nutsert for the rear mudguard replaced with a 10mm bolt! It also had a number of incorrect fasteners used holding the plastics on and the brake pedal was missing the tip which had been replaced with a piece of aluminium.

    I sent the suspension off to be serviced, revalved and had the forks modified so hopefully the seals keep the oil in. Swingarm, linkage and chain roller bearings were replaced. Brake pedal was replaced with a 2nd hand item from eBay. Steering head bearings cleaned and repacked. Subframe straightened, nutserts replaced, the 10mm hole filled with a 10mm bolt centre drilled with a 5mm thread and loctited. Wiring loom checked over and some connectors replaced as necessary. Wheel bearings checked and found to be near new. Brake calipers cleaned and sliding pins cleaned and lubed. Brake fluid replaced. Rear tyre replaced. Nearly seized chain adjusters removed cleaned and anti-seized. Front and rear mudguards as well as headlight shroud replaced. Mismatched fasteners replaced with correct ones. Valve clearances checked, oil and filters and coolant replaced.

    I rode it around the block a few times and it all seemed good however it is hard to test properly when you are limited to suburban speeds.

    On my first trail ride it ran well for five minutes and started coughing and died, I restarted and manged to start riding back to the car when it cleared up and starting running properly, I turned around and kept riding and got into the single trail, this is when the clutch lever started to come back to the bars without disengaging. A few pumps and I had clutch again. A check of the master cylinder, line and slave revealed no leaks so it appeared the slave was leaking. Anyway I decided to carry on. A few moments later I had coolant coming out of the overflow bottle lid, Oh well probably over filled it I thought and then it died again. It would start and idle but wouldn't take any throttle or if you started with full throttle it would rev and pop/bang/miss and then die. I pulled the tank off and check for fuel pressure and the pump was working, pulled the spark plug and checked the cap all appeared OK.

    A bit of pushing and a decent walk later I was back at the car.

    I got home and did some reading here. I decided that even though it had fuel pressure the injector and fuel pump were likely suspects. I pulled the fuel pump out and found it and the filter were the originals, I ordered a chinese pump from eBay and found a 30 micron metal filter as well.
    I spoke to Stefan my local Husky shop (R and D) and he suggested I check the connector and resistor that replaces the O2 sensor (it was OK) and I ordered a temp sensor as the original was still there. I also checked the coil anf cleaned the mounts ensuring there was a good earth and checked the ECU connector, cleaned it with contact cleaner went over the wiring loom looking for damage (none found).
    I cleaned the injector and the spray pattern looked good, installed the new pump and filter and rode it around my house, all was well. I didn't replace the temp sensor as I like to do one thing at a time and also I noted the fan was coming on after a while as it should so I suspected it was OK. I replaced the clutch slave cylinder o-ring and fluid and the clutch is now fine.

    So next ride, I went to a place that was mostly up hill for the test so if anything went wrong I could roll (mostly) back the car, I also took my other bike (KTM 125EXC) so I could still get a days riding in if the Husky failed.
    Anyway 10 minutes in same thing as before except this time with the downhill it would run if I kept a steady throttle, I got back to the car (just) and it stopped and would idle but wouldn't take throttle. When I got back from the ride and it was cold it started and ran fine. Unfortunately I didn't take my new temp sensor with me so I couldn't swap it and test.

    So I am suspecting either the temp sensor has a problem when hot or I have a stator or ECU problem. I will replace the sensor and try again, If it still plays up I will look at the other more expensive options.

    Anyone have any other thoughts? Sorry for the long story I just wanted to get it all down so people could see the process had been pretty thorough.

    In the past I owned and raced Huskies from 1993 until 1999, I had a 2 x 510 TE, a 510 roadracer, a 610 roadracer (supposedly built by Thomas Gustavsson and imported by Hans Appelgren), a 410 TE and lastly a 250 WR. I switched over to KTMs when the RFS models came out and have owned KTMs since.
  2. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR
    It looks like I have solved the problem while waiting for my original post to be approved.
    I gave the bike a wash and when I started it and rode it to dry it out it starting missing straight away. I lifted the tank to access the fuel line to check if the fuel pump had pressure and couldn't get the pump to run. I started to get my meter to check the power going to the pump and noticed when I bumped the ECU connector the fuel pump relay clicked. When I checked the ECU connector I found it wasn't pushed all the way home. It was very tight and I had to really push it for the clip to hold.
    I started it and took it for a long ride and found some dirt near home, no missing popping or other problems.
    268fords likes this.
  3. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR
    Someone want to approve me so this gets seen?
  4. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR
    Even though I'm talking to myself due to still not being approved I thought I would continue with my saga.

    So last time I rode the bike everything was fine but.. it wasn't a very good test as it wasn't on proper single track and I couldn't get it properly hot.

    Yesterday I finally got out to do some riding with a friend for back-up.
    The bike started fine and we headed off down the road which leads to the fire trails. About 500m in it dies. Fuel pump runs when I turn the key on, so I remove the fuel line from the injector and fuel runs out, I turn the key - no pressure. We remove the tank, thankfully it has a one way valve on the breather that stops fuel from running out when I tip the tank up. I remove the fuel pump and find one of the hoses has popped off the fuel filter. The Gates submersible fuel hose sucks and is difficult to tighten, I'm looking for a better hose. We put the hose back on and use some creative cable tying to hopefully help keep it in place.

    Everything is reassembled and we set off again, the bike is running fine, we ride for about 20 minutes without any problems except for a couple of cough stalls, I enter some very tight single track and it starts missing just like before. I manage to get back to the main fire trail and head back to the car. It is missing but if I keep the revs up it keeps moving, thankfully it is all downhill to the car and that helps.

    Once back at the car I decide to try a few things, since I'm at the trail head and if I go home it will mean another trip later. We pull the tank off and I have a think about the problem. I decide that the power relay could be suspect as it provides power to everything fuel and ignition related, plus it is the same as the fan and DC relays and is an easy swap. I swap it with the fan relay, I also remove the tacho wire that runs to the Trailtech vapour that is on the bike. I doubt that this could be the problem however it is easy to remove and eliminates one more thing.

    We set off once again, bike is running fine, we do about an hour of single trail and fire roads, it gets nice and hot without any missing, I was reluctant to try some really gnarly tracks as i didn't want to be stuck at the bottom of a gully, however I rode the bike for the longest time yet and we did some pretty tight and gnarly first gear tracks and stopped a fair bit while I helped my mate. I'm very hopeful this has fixed it.
    I'll get two new relays next week and replace the power relay with a new one and put the original fan relay back. I'm not going to reconnect the tacho as it is next to useless and I never look at it.

    Now the bike is running properly I can add my thoughts on it. Personally I'm not that impressed. The power is good but the gearbox ratios are too tight, first is a bit too high but sixth is too low. Engine vibrations are high, it needs a counterbalancer. It feels top heavy and the seat is too tall, the floating rear disk rattle is annoying. I had a good fall when I was climbing some rock steps and it stalled as I fed the throttle, the fuel injection doesn't feel as nice as a well setup FCR. I need to play with the suspension as I wasn't getting good drive at times, stuff my 125 rides straight up gave me problems. My 2005 KTM 450 was a nicer bike I think.
    I'll see how it goes in future and if I can improve the set-up, If i'm not happy I'll probably sell it and get another KTM.
    benwiggin2 likes this.
  5. MFGamesta Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    SoCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE449
    Other Motorcycles:
    S1000R, Beta 500 RR-S
    Sure sounded like a bad fuel pump to me. Glad you got it worked out.
  6. 268fords Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Powell, Wyoming
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08' TE510'
    Other Motorcycles:
    Honda CRF 100, Kawasaki KLX 110
    Glad your getting it sorted out. Make sure to put dielectric grease on all connectors and carry a few spare fuses. The 08's fuel injection was a one year only system. Not the greatest, but gets the job done. It sounds like the bike is now in good hands. There's a lot of tricks and tips on here for getting your 08' sorted out.
    craigy likes this.
  7. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR
    I replaced the useless gates hose with some from Aeroflow. I talked to them and although they couldn't guarantee it's performance in 100% petrol only E85, it was the best fuel line I could find and much cheaper than the gates stuff. I replaced all the gates line and the new hose is much nicer, I will pull it out and check if it is degrading from being fully submerged soon.

    I rode it again yesterday, 3 hours of mostly tight ST. It ran fine but overheated a few times, I might have to look at installing a better fan (the original is gone and it has a PC fan) and replacing the radiator cap. If that doesn't fix it maybe engine ice or evans.
    I still had a few problems with stalling so I raised the idle, this has improved it a lot. The clutch intermittently changes the take up position, it's as if the piston in the master cylinder isn't returning fully, if pump it a few times and push the lever out a few times it comes good. I'll strip it down and check it out.
    It looks like the relay was the cause of the major problem I had and the new one has resolved it, I suspect the contacts were getting high resistance when being used for a while and that caused the problem.
    I'm a lot happier with the bike now and would take it away for the weekend without being concerned, I just need to fine tune some things.
    268fords likes this.
  8. 268fords Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Powell, Wyoming
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08' TE510'
    Other Motorcycles:
    Honda CRF 100, Kawasaki KLX 110
    The hydraulic clutch can be a pain. Once it's sorted out, it's great! Keep us posted.
  9. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR
    New update.

    I went away for a 2 days of riding and camping with a friend who couldn't get his bike sorted in time, so I lent him the 450. About half an hour into the ride (very wet and steamy conditions)it started missing again, however it wasn't as bad as before so we continued on. An hour later and it would barely run so we headed back to the camp.
    We had lunch and spent a few hours going over everything and went out to ride again unfortunately there was no change. The good news was it was permanent and we noticed that the bike would start and idle but the tiniest movement of the throttle would stall it. This lead us to believe the problem is related to the ECU/TPS. I thought it may be battery related so I jumpered off my car battery, no change still missing. We removed the TPS/MAP/Temp sensor assembly from the throttle body, examined it and tried to take some measurements. We could see the temp sensor OK but couldn't easily check the others (I left the manual at home). We also noticed the butterfly wasn't fully closing. It was getting dark so we left it for the night.

    The next day I started it up and it was missing straight away, this was good news as previously it would clear up overnight.
    I decided to go over all the electrical connections with contact cleaner (including the ECU) and my friend reset the throttle body butterfly to fully closed at idle. After reassembly it started and ran fine.
    We had some other riders turn up so decided to take it out and ride. It was running great, better than before, the pop stall was much better. Then the clutch started to fail to disengage, a few pumps and it would come back until the reservoir was empty. The slave cylinder was leaking again.

    The motor ran fine for the rest of the ride and even without a clutch we coped (start in neutral, apply front brake and throttle, unweight seat, select first gear, rear wheel spins, release front brake).

    The discussion continues whether the problem was resolved by the contact cleaner or the butterfly re-positioning. I believe it was the contact cleaner on the ECU connector and suspect it is getting moisture in it.

    A search on here revealed that the clutch slave cylinders wear, I looked at mine and yes it has a groove in it. A new one from ZIp Tye is on order with a new piston from 7602.

    I have a copy of iBeat now and I'm making a cable for it, I just have to finish setting up XP on an old laptop I have. Looking at the workshop manual and the iBeat manual there isn't a lot of info on setting up the TPS and butterfly position but I have found a few posts here on what people have tried, hopefully I can get somewhere.

    I checked the parts list and noticed you can buy a racing wiring loom. I'm going to look for one as i think the wiring on these bikes is pretty average and prone to failure.
  10. 268fords Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Powell, Wyoming
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08' TE510'
    Other Motorcycles:
    Honda CRF 100, Kawasaki KLX 110
    The whole harness should be gone over with a fine tooth comb. The harness's were kind of half a**ed, and prone to rub through. Try calling Motoxotica or Halls cycle and ask about the TPS settings. Mine acted up after an oil change and wouldn't run for nothing. Dan at Motoxotica got it sorted out and it's been fine for 4-5 years now. Sounds like you're getting it to run good for you.
    craigy likes this.
  11. JonXX Administrator

    Location:
    Bill's Motorcycles Plus
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    360CR 360WR SM610 TC450 TXC250 TC250
    Other Motorcycles:
    Hondas, Harleys, Yammys & a squid
    On your clutch hydro issue, don't leave out the master. The Magura mineral oil units are garbage and don't last long. The plating on the cylinder bore galls and grooves easily. One is tempted to buy a piston kit, but it's wasted money. One can even polish out the cylinder with 2000 grit sand paper, but that's just buying some time, it will continue to bypass under pressure as it's now out of spec. Several of us on here have either replaced the master cylinder and switched to 5w fork oil or had the cylinder resleeved with a stainless unit, or both.
    Jersey Dave, 268fords and craigy like this.
  12. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR

    Yes, I'll be definitely looking at the master as well.
  13. 268fords Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Powell, Wyoming
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08' TE510'
    Other Motorcycles:
    Honda CRF 100, Kawasaki KLX 110
    You don't have to buy the Husqvarna specific master cylinder. You can buy the universal magura master cylinder and just swap your handlebar clamp with the mirror mount. You save $50 that way. I don't remember if I put the 9.5 or 10.5 on mine. Singer sewing oil can also be used for the master. Cheap mineral oil!
    JonXX likes this.
  14. craigy Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    TE 450 08
    Other Motorcycles:
    KTM 125EXC, Ossa SDR
    The 450 is gone, after all the dramas I had and never really being happy with the way it was handling and the way it made power I decided to get rid of it and get something else.

    I'm thinking I may replace it with a Beta 390/430 or the other option is to go full adventure mode and get a DR650. I've ridden the Beta and it is very nice, lower seat height, lower center of gravity, lighter and much nicer power delivery.
  15. R_Little Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    NJ
    The difference between a new Beta and a DR650 is profound!

    That being said my modded '96 DR was actually a very capable and versatile bike.

    Even raced a couple of enduros on it!