Well it’s been a week or so since I picked up my new Husky TE610 and it’s already past due for some protective gear. Ever since seeing J.T.Kirks Highway Dirtbike handguards last fall in Moab I’ve wanted them on my bikes…….. So today I met up with theantipaul – Paul at his shop up in Niwot Colorado. He was kind enough to let me do the install up there and tackle a couple of the pesky 610 issues at the same time. As I had read before getting the 610 the gauges are indeed place a bit low and in a difficult to read spot. Even worse, the key is tucked down amongst wires where it’s hard to get to and turn, especially with gloves on. The stock set up. In taking the handlebar clamps off and removing the stock gauge mount I wanted to see if it would be possible to raise it up. Apparently the 08’ come with a little more wire than the 06’. Behind the mask. I thought…. Hmmm this should work. A little measuring. A little cutting. And zippo presto, prototype mod attempt one. Huh…. Umm yeah that’s sitting a tad bit high. Well no matter what happens I’ll need to be able to move the mask up as high as possible so I needed to relocate the horn. The hole spacing was different so we had to slot the bracket. So we decided that there was enough metal to mount it underneath instead. So a little more cutting. Attempt two. Much better with mount lower and the mask up higher. I’ll get with Paul later so he can measure the cluster and make a billet protected mount like he does for the KTM and Trailtech gauges. Bringing the gauge cluster up like this is much nicer. They’re easier to see and the key is accessible. Now it would be nice if the mask went 20-30mm higher but it will be fine for now. Once Paul gets to making the gauge surround it will be nice. Also I’m still playing with the idea of the Britannia composites Lynx mask and lights. Or I could just add a small laminar lip to get the extra coverage. Ahh, much better. Now to get going on the handguards themselves. A nice feature he uses is the barend insert where you tap the barend. Tappity tap tap. Threading in the insert. Now it does get a bit crowded on the brake side where the key is but it is manageable. The billet mount. Next time my arm will break and the barkbuster won’t…… Almost there, just a little more reassembly to go. All set. From the riders view. And from the front. You might notice that I did choose to put a riser plate in there as the extra height is more comfortable when standing. It’s also a dampener submount for if or when I get a scotts or motosportz. Also pardon the sucky pictures as I forgot my camera and had to work off my trusty iphone (yay smugshot ). I should be getting an uptite bashplate in a day or two then I can go start playing off road a bit more. And if you’re not familiar with the HDB guards the mirrors as I show them are folded out. They are concave so the fold in tight to the guard and is protected when offroad. I’m pleasantly surprised with how well they work on road too. I decided to test a couple of different focal lengths and it’s dandy so far. Damn…… I haven’t been this excited to ride for a while. Another 200 or so miles of breaking this baby in and I’ll be a roosting fool. Thanks Paul, you rock
Nice mtne, I like what you did with the cluster! I love my HDB guards too, I think I might trim mine like Kelly's, that looks slick. Man that WR125 is one sexy bike, I love big honking 4 strokes and screaming lightweight 2 strokes. If I had more off road riding spots here in CT I'd seriously consider getting one to match my 610!
I LOVE mine too...... My deflector "wings" are completely sniped down to the indentation for a more supermotard look -( an experiment by Paul, looks awesome ) Few questions mtne; Is the four axillary hole the current 610 version or a TE thing? -( mine is a three hole on the sm ) The whole relocation of the instrument cluster I guess have a lot to do with your height or is it for when you're standing? -( at 5'9" I don't have any problems with the location of my cluster and sadly I don't get to stand on the bike as much as I would like too ) Will spending time with Paul did you notice of any progress on the integrated turn signals?
Just got mine ordered today, thanks for the pic post mtne I was wondering what I was gonna do with the dash and key after I installed the HDB setup. I ended up swapping a Baja Designs halogen light assembly, the nice thing is that it's about 2" taller than stock so everything should tuck in nicely. The big plus is that I have a functioning headlight instead of a candle up front. cheers, Mike
Hmm, well I felt like I had to look further down with the stock location. It also seemed to be kind of under all the wires and cables, especially the key. With them moved up I feel like I can see, reach, and operate stuff easier. Which is all also easier when standing (the view I guess) not like I'm looking when doing that kind of riding. As for the turn signals I'm exctited for them as well. He did show me a billet set up for the rear signals which uses a LED sixpack. Should be nice. Nothing new for the fronts that I'm aware of, a couple of prototypes are there tho. Now for the other bit I'm lost..... four axillary hole? I'm just not sure to what your referring
In --> here <-- between the first and second picture lies your answer It's a cool feature, I'm surprise Paul didn't tell you about it
Yes the new top clamp has four holes. I saw geeks tonight and commented on the three holes and it dawned on me what you meant..... I've got plans for all of those and hope to convert all the switching to his clamp mount stuff. Ran into paul on a local loop today and got to see his personal setup with the prototype led turnsignals front and back........ some good!
Any issues with removing Cycras and installing these? The Cycras also use a threaded insert of sorts. I don't know that i want to try to remove them. eeps.
The BBT came yesterday and my helper/pit crew couldn't wait to get the HDB guards installed. We had a little confusion as to which tool to use but it got sorted out: The installation was very easy with only minor tweaking to fit the Pro Taper bars: This is top notch nice kit and as bullet proof as you could ever ask for. Hat's off to Paul for designing a great product And the results with the Motorsportz mod to the sheilds: cheers, Mike
I put mine on Thursday night and so far I love them. Paul gave me the tallest riser he had. I'm 6' 3" and they are at a good height for me. Some pic so you can see the difference from stock. I like not having the big mirrors to break.
I finally got to test these off road and they performed as expected. Both the 525, ridden by a novice friend, and my 610 saw the ground a few times along with a couple of good tree wacks. As we should expect from any guard, no bent or broken levers. And in this case no broken mirrors even in one get off when I had one out to spot the noob..... um, yeah I should have been looking forward...... Anyway still loving the HDB set up..........
