630 - Ride Report

[Indy]

Got the TE about a week ago and was busy with work all week and took the TE out today for it's first proper ride, did a little over a hundred miles on varied roads and just getting to know the bike. Thought I'd share some riding impressions. I've rode sport bikes for about 6 or 7 years, but got the dual sport bug last fall and bought a DRZ 400s. It was a great bike, but I wanted more, so I traded it in on the 630.

The 630 was powered up at the dealer before I got it home, didn't take the intake maze and canister off until after the ride today, I should have done it before. I could tell a difference with the air maze gone.

Like other have said, the trans is great, the 6th gear is really only good for 65mph or faster on flat land. The bike pulled strong off idle, but felt a little weak in the mid range, but I could tell that improved some with the air maze gone.

I really like the suspension, I'm about 240 and it seams about right, and should still handle some luggage without too much stress. The spring is adjusted pretty tight from the factory, so if you're lighter weight, you should have some adjust-ability. Handled great on back roads did ok on some gravel also. Didn't get too crazy on the gravel as the tires are less knobby that the 606 MT-21 combo I was familiar with on the DRZ.

Another thing I've noticed is that you can almost take the whole bike apart with a 8mm socket, NICE! Should keep the tools needed on the trail to a minimum.

Looking forward to bolting on a skid plate and some hand guards so it' s trail worthy. Haven't decided about what to do about the heavy pipes yet, but a power surge sounds like a good idea.

Looking forward to many miles with this one.

Here's a couple glamor shots just west of St. Louis before it gets all dirty and loaded up with farkles.

 

[rocko]

That first picture is cool, the building looks very retro to me for some reason.

 

[Indy]

I think it's just old. It's in Augusta, MO, very small town and old town.

 

[TE 450 Pilot]

Thanks for the report.

I have only had mine two weeks. I found that changing the counter shaft sprocket to a 14 tooth helped the bike out for me. I am tempted to also change the rear to a 43. I will almost never have the bike over 100KMH. I had my bike lowered 1`at the dealer. By cutting the front spring they were able to stiffen up the front end a bit for me. The rear seemed good but the front i found too soft. ( Coming off a TXC 450 with EE suspension.) The skid plate is a must for me and i also added hand guards and a Husqvarna rack. I am tempted by the Lynx faring for the longer rides.

 

[REZRIDER]

This is great stuff to read. I am goin to be in the market for a 630 by years end (NO LATER if I have naythign to say about it...). It's killing me not to be able to take advantage of the price discount going on BUT, I have obligations that end within a few months...WOO HOO. I can only hope there'll be some left!

 

[CJBROWN]

Mine got it's first ride on dirt Saturday, about 50 miles with a bit of singletrack thrown in. Here are my impressions I posted on the big 630 thread on advrider:

The new bike is just fantastic. I spent this last week tinkering and prepping, riding it to work a few days and got about 50 miles on it. Yesterday took a 75 mile trip with ADV inmate 'Grinch' into the Cleveland Forest that included about 50 miles of dirt roads with bit of single track thrown in. Bike handles very well, does not feel like a 350lb bike AT ALL. The big surprise were the Karoos - I figured them to be crap off road but I had no front end wash-outs and the back took everything I threw at it from soft trail, baby-heads, rock step-ups, really more than I even wanted to get it into for a first time out but a real good test. I did get CYCRA CRM handguards on but no skid, it's on order. The guards worked out really well although no tip-overs to test them.

​

Another big surprise was the suspension. Some have complained that the forks were too stiff, I found them to be perfect. Nice soft landing on jumps, used half the travel for general riding but one time I hit a big rock and they went full travel. I wouldn't want them softer for sure. The rear worked well but on the way home I noticed the damping had gone way down with hot shock fluid so I may crank up the rebound a few clicks for sure. ​

The motor is a torque monster. You can short shift this thing all day long. With such a big motor you don't need revs to brap yourself out of a situation. Just roll on and it goes. Ergos are good although I couldn't shift it with my MX boots so a half a block out of the garage I had to turn back and move the shifter up. And it's a PITA to get to, you have to remove the counter sprocket guard and get in there with a 10mm box-end wrench. Then it seems like it was a bit high. Still have to fiddle with that a bit. ​

Seat firms up right where you want to move back a bit for more relaxed riding. Has a nice narrow front though so you can get right up over the bars for sliding corners. Again, I was amazed with these silly DS tires as I've been using D756's for years. The Karoos work REALLy well on tar as well. ​

I already put a 14T counter on and it seems really good for dualsporting. It's still a bit tall for anything technical, but certainly do-able. Still will cruise 70 on tar at right about 5 grand. ​

All in all it's pure joy.​

 

[REZRIDER]

Nice report...can't wait to get mine.........

 

[CJBROWN]

Don't wait, they'll be gone. The 2012 is gonna be a TE650 with BMW's F650 twin. And it ain't gonna be $6495!!
The BMW finance deal goes 'till Aug 31.
Since you're in Norco, call Brian Anderson at Malcolm Smith's and see if they can get you one. Tell 'im Chris Brown sent you and you want the same deal.

 

[colemanapp]

Indy,
I recognize all those spots in your photos. I was actually letting some young (early 20's) Husky riders get used to some offroading at our farm outside of Defiance on saturday morning. We can do the same for you. We're starting to get alot of Huskies in the St. Louis area. If your'e out that way saturday, PM me for some trail riding. I also hit up Charrette Creek and Lost Creek area as well as a couple others out there I know of.

 

[ContraHusky]

Don't wait, they'll be gone. The 2012 is gonna be a TE650 with BMW's F650 twin. .

BMW's twin is an 800. It's single is ~650. The twin won't fit in this bike, and they already sell two "dual sports" with it. The TE would turn into a 400lb bike if the twin motor was inserted.

The single...I gotta think it's coming to Husky's largest dual-sport bike. Look at all the struggles getting the 630 motor to meet emissions...to the great dissatisfaction of end-users. Power-up kits, ECU tuning, no-cat mufflers...the G650 motor makes more power right out of the box than we end up with after spending $600-$1300.

The current BMW 650 motor has more power, meets emissions without being strangled, and gets an easy 60+ mpg. Oil change intervals twice as long as we have. I just can't imagine they don't switch motors. I thought long and hard about that before buying the TE630, but this motor has plenty of power and I can live with the mediocre fuel economy. If the next gen of the the TE has the Rotax 650 in it, it's gonna be another 35-40 pounds, minimum. The motor is bigger, the frame will need to be bigger, the subframe beefed up...it's gonna end up being a G650 with a Husky logo. A TE650 with the Rotax motor is going to retail for $10k+.

The TE630 might end up being the last <350 pound dual sport you can buy with the capability to do long highway miles with gear. You'd have to drop down to a WR250R to even come close.

The last two times BMW had a summer blow-out sale on all stock of a given model, it was then discontinued. The X650 lineup, and the G650. I had an xCountry for a short time. The bike was a dog, but there was nothing wrong with that motor.

 

[Thumperama]

I hope they aren't blowing them out due to plans to discontinue them. I'm hoping that it's just to generate interest in a fine bike from a manufacturer that has been in the background for awhile. If I could figure out how to justify 6 bikes in the garage, I'd pick up a SMS too. I've still got a few weeks left to figure it out.

 

[rocko]

There are seven days in a week...

 

[CJBROWN]

Contra you've explained in detail my point, whether it's a twin or a single, it's gonna be more expensive and heavier. Will it be better? I dunno, I really like my 630. And while I have repect for BMW motors for the points you make, they are also known to be very expensive to maintain and repair. When I was looking at the G450 I priced a piston for it since they come due in about the frequency of my KTM 250, 70-100 hours, and they are almost $400. My KTM is $150. The TE will most likely run into 4-500 hours I suspect, maybe 15-20K miles?

Near as I can tell the current 630 model will be around for another year. Seems to me I've seen reports that the 2012's are unchanged so I suspect the changes we're debating will come for 2013 at the earliest.

My primary point was don't wait to get one of these if you want one and if you like them. I think it's enough better than the 610 to choose it as well. There may be some for next year and there may not be.

After experiencing the new bike I have no doubts about it's superiority over all of it's competitors, WR, DRZ, DR, KLX, KLR. The closest model is probably the 690 but with all the trouble complaints it's had I knew I didn't want one. Not to mention that it's another three grand at current pricing levels. Much as I like the new Tiger and F800, they're just way too heavy for any serious offroading. Besides, for me with a Versys, the TE is a perfect compliment to my array.

Did my first oil change last night at 200 miles. Oil was pretty dirty and had that metallic sparkle to it you see from a new motor. Will do the filter and go synthetic at 1000 miles and check the valves. Super easy to work on, nice design. I really like that you can change valve shims without having to pull the cams. Neat setup.

One thing I did notices is the shop manual says there are o-rings at each end of the screen on the left side of the motor. Seems the design has been updated as the cap is different than the diagram and there are no o-rings. Can anyone comment?

 

[ContraHusky]

Agree about the competition...the only other bike in this class is the 690 Enduro. Nothing wrong with it, really. Just at $10,200 it's an easy decision to go with the TE at $6500. If the TE was $9500...it would be hard to decide. That 690 has a really nice motor and longer maintenance intervals. The TE is a hundred times prettier, though.

The BMW 450 was a failed experiment that was being planned pre-Husky acquisition. BMW will not be selling any more enduros, that's for sure. The F800GS is not an enduro -- it's the adventure travel bike that the 1200GS wanted to be. The big GS is just too huge and fat for anything trickier than a dry dirt road. Anybody watching Ewan and Charlie struggle with those beasts shoulda got the message.

 

[Indy]

I think dual-sporting should be called multi-sporting. Most places I go a 1200 gs or a wr250 would both work. Just depends how you want to ge there and what your budget is. Way more than just two ways, i usually ride interstates, state highways, us highways, county roads, gravel roads and sometimes trails all on the same day. For me the 630 is gonna be a good fit I think. I think marketers are still figuring out the dual sport market place. The 1200 gs sells really well and so do dirt bikes from what I can tell. It's all of us between those two spectrums that are hard to pin down. Kinda what makes it fun.

I think a TE with the Beemer twin would be cool. Just a different kind of cool. Also BMW already makes a 650 dual sport gs for around 8 or 9k. So I think the TE might stay the same for a couple years. Probably be dropped before updated unfortunately.

 

[worker]

Contra, CJBrown -- I also agree with you guys -- the 630 is unique. most likely there will be no equivalent at the 6.5K price point ever... I am thinking about second in SMS variant.​

 

[HuskyBrutha]

Don't wait, they'll be gone. The 2012 is gonna be a TE650 with BMW's F650 twin. And it ain't gonna be $6495!!
The BMW finance deal goes 'till Aug 31.
Since you're in Norco, call Brian Anderson at Malcolm Smith's and see if they can get you one. Tell 'im Chris Brown sent you and you want the same deal.

Allways new BMW would replace the 630 with a porker , just did not think it would be so soon.
Don't believe me ? See post #14 at http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/new-610te-or-new-630te.15951/

This is precisely why, already having a SM 630, I recentlly took delivery of one of the last TE 630's in the country.
Did not want to get caught napping.

 

[ContraHusky]

... I am thinking about second in SMS variant.​

I just picked up SM wheels for my TE. Two bikes in one!

 

[Indy]

I just picked up SM wheels for my TE. Two bikes in one!

Was thinking about that too. How did they bolt up? How did you handle diffence in brakes?

 

[ContraHusky]

Was thinking about that too. How did they bolt up? How did you handle diffence in brakes?

Don't have them yet...being shipped. I'll use standard TE rotors on them and see how the brakes are. Plenty of people don't go to larger rotors on these...depends on one's riding habits, I suppose. I'm a pretty tame rider on the street.

They should just mount right up. Main issues are gearing (and chain length) and the speedo difference. Speedo will over-count miles...