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Convert SM 610 to TE 610

J

JeffMyers

Husqvarna
Has anyone converted an SM610 for dirt? What are the gotchas?

I have a 2008 SM610 that I am trying to convert to dirt riding, I checked with my local dealer and was told there was no difference between the TE and SM other than the superficial tires, wheels, and front brake assembly.

I purchased wheels hubs ect. Used off a TE and a new brake assembly from calipers to brake handle. Every thing was looking great until I tried to mount the calipers.

The bolts for the brake calipers are smaller than the holes on my forks so there is some play there, also there is about a 1/3rd of an inch between the forks and the caliper assembly when it is on the rotor.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
It's more than that.....The whole geometry is different on the SM. The forks on the SM are spaced further apart than the TE. I drilled out the caliper bracket to accept the SM 10mm bolts instead of the TE 8mm. you will need to space the bracket over 10mm or so to deal with the further reach to the TE rotor.....or you can buy a TE triple clamp.

You may find the SM swingarm to be shorter than the TE swinger too. The Stock SM forks are WAAAY to stiff for a dirt bike. I converted mine with TE damper roods to make them 1" longer and took all the preload off. they are okay now. the shock is okay stock.

Look in the 610 pics thread and you'll see my SM with 19" front and narrow 17" rear wheels.

I still have the modified caliper bracket if you need it...
 
Thanks, great feedback, really wish I would have been told all this back when I bought the damn thing, I bought the SM specifically because I thought it would be cheaper to convert to a TE than a TE to SM.

My soon to be ex-dealer told me the only difference between them were, wheels, tires, and front brake.

Thanks for the idea of drilling out the caliper bracket, I was going to try and find a bolt that had a ten mm shank and 8 mm threads.

Couple questions,

How did you space the bracket over?
What is a TE triple clamp
How much did the dampner rods cost and did you do the work youself

I have to admit to being a little, no a lot frustrated, I had this vision of being able to be able to switch between SM and TE configuration in just a couple of hours, but it seems like that is not a possibility.

Very disappointing.
 
It's not that bad. You know it is always easier said than done!

As for the 10mm /8mm bolts I guess you can do that..if they are the right length (doubtful). Otherwise I still have that bracket with 10mm tapped holes.

I had a suspension guy do the forks and I really do think this is important. You can find a set of 45mm husky forks all over Ebay cheap. Any 2001 up CR/WR/TE/TC etc will do. Use your stock springs and get the "new forks lowered about an inch. You cannot really lengthen the SM forks cause they use shorter damper rods. The Stock SM forks have almost zero static sag and are super stiff. The added bonus is if you have an 07/08 SM you have no compression adjusters and the new damper rods will get you some.

I'd space the TE caliper, swap the wheels and ride it and see.

Oh....you will most likely tear the front fender off because of the 21" front wheel...I use a 19"

Where are you?
 
JeffMyers said:
Has anyone converted an SM610 for dirt? What are the gotchas?

I have a 2008 SM610 that I am trying to convert to dirt riding, I checked with my local dealer and was told there was no difference between the TE and SM other than the superficial tires, wheels, and front brake assembly.

I purchased wheels hubs ect. Used off a TE and a new brake assembly from calipers to brake handle. Every thing was looking great until I tried to mount the calipers.

The bolts for the brake calipers are smaller than the holes on my forks so there is some play there, also there is about a 1/3rd of an inch between the forks and the caliper assembly when it is on the rotor.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...



/quote]I just finished coverting my 07 SM 610 to a TE. I had the same problem with my caliper and caliper bolts. I got Te cailper bolts and bushings ( bushings are inserted into the fork holes where the caliper bolts go and convert the holes to 8mm. they also take-up the the 1/4 inch space between the fork and caliper). You can get these part no.s off a 07/08 Te 610 parts sheet pdf. Call Dan at MotoXotica for the parts.
 
Hi Guys

I'd also like to be able to convert my SM over to a TE.
I'd like to be able to do a bit of green laning (off road) in the UK nothing too serious.

I saw a pic of a bike converted with a 19" front wheel and think that might be the best way to go too.
What parts did you use, where did you get the wheel or rim from ?

Also can I use the Brembo rotor and brake from the SM ?

Any Pics of the conversion process or the parts / spacers I will need.

Thanks very much
Gav
 
R_Little said:
It's more than that.....The whole geometry is different on the SM. The forks on the SM are spaced further apart than the TE. I drilled out the caliper bracket to accept the SM 10mm bolts instead of the TE 8mm. you will need to space the bracket over 10mm or so to deal with the further reach to the TE rotor.....or you can buy a TE triple clamp.

You may find the SM swingarm to be shorter than the TE swinger too. The Stock SM forks are WAAAY to stiff for a dirt bike. I converted mine with TE damper roods to make them 1" longer and took all the preload off. they are okay now. the shock is okay stock.

Look in the 610 pics thread and you'll see my SM with 19" front and narrow 17" rear wheels.

I still have the modified caliper bracket if you need it...
Click to expand...


I thought I already had everything to do the conversion (front brake, 21" and 18" wheels) until I came up against the caliper bracket problem. I want to get the bushings but I could get a couple of bolts with a 10mm shank and 8mm threads or I could drill the TE caliper but that would mean buying an M10 tap which will be costly. I am tempted to find some of the aforementioned bolts but that seems somewhat inelegant and I would rather source the bushings which sort the spacing issue at the same time.

I don't see why R_Little says the suspension is so important though, why does it matter if the suspension is a bit stiff? I have done all sorts of shennanigans on the SM wheels and the stiff suspension has never caused a problem.

Also re the wheel spacing, the spacer can be taken off the SM wheel and put onto the enduro wheel which spacers it correctly, if you put the SM wheel on without the spacer it wouldn't fit also.

I was just trying to load up the partsfiche but the website is only partially loading the document so does anyone have a part number handy for the 2007 model 610te bushing insert which converts the brake caliper bracket to 8mm?

Edit: The parts fiche is behaving itself this morning, the part number is 8000 A5987 for the bushings.
 
Right, update on the above. I got the bushings today and I can't see how they are meant to work. I had assumed they would have a thread on the outside to screw into the caliper mounting bolt holes but they are completely smooth. I had thought that perhaps I was supposed to get them threaded myself but I took them to a local engineering shop and they said the bushing was too thin to have a thread cut into the outside of it.

Determined not to leave my bike chained to a lamp post six miles away from home any longer I did what I was planning to do before.

1. I spaced the calliper between the calliper and the fork bracket with m8 nuts

2. I put the m8 TE calliper bolts through the m10 supermoto bolt holes and tightened

The trouble with the above is that there is 2mm of movement in the bolts which obviously isn't ideal, and every time you use the front brake I can imagine the threads gradually getting mashed over time with the bolts moving around in the holes.

I am quite frustrated with this situation as I have waited a week just to find the parts I thought were going to solve the problem properly won't and now I have had to improvise something that I could have done a week ago.

So in short unless I am missing something it appears the bushings don't allow you to convert an SM front brake calliper fork bracket to accept a TE front brake calliper. You can improvise like I have but I wouldn't recommend it.

My TE front brake doesn't lock the wheel on anything but loose surfaces either. It is really lacklustre, I am gonna bleed the fluid but I don't know if it is due to this improvisation I have had to make or not so I don't wanna go chasing dead ends if the mounting is fundamentally wrong.
 
I feel for you. Going from SM to TE is a pain. My buddy Sam used his SM caliper for a TE wheelset - he had to use a grinder to shave off a chunk so it would clear the spokes. I worked, and its still running, but maybe not the ideal solution. Hope you solve your bushing problem.

The SM suspension is stiffer and shorter than the TE. Depending on dirt conditions, that can impact a whole range of factors - the bike might have less traction in bumps or washboards, or it could be harsh over rough rocks, this might result in surprises or kicks, shorter tire life, lower fuel economy, more wear and tear, less comfort, greater fatigue, lower overall speed, reduced confidence, more falls... But all that misses the key thing: as you point out, folks have fun riding all sorts of bikes in all sorts of conditions. Sam rode his SM with TE wheels on the TAT and we had a blast.
 
Thanks for the help. I am actually considering buying a spare fork tube in case I have a nasty surprise when I want to swap back to SM and find the threads mangled. I might hold off for the time being and check them further down the line.
 
I did a full SM 610 (A1 model, 2006 with FCR) -> TE conversion a year ago. I think it is worth to share all the information here.
  • Wheels: Were advertised as 8AE wheels, year ~1999, 21-18 Excel with 20mm axle and "old" 6 screw brake disk. Really old ones with the strange 3-bolted cover on one side, instead of seal. I bought some cheap bearings with 25mm inner diameter, alu tubing with 25mm inner diameter and a set of seals that would fit. So I converted the wheels to 25mm axle.
  • Wheel spacers: made from the same tube as above. One "add-on" spacer for the rear and one for the front wheel. Hub side where the brake disk mounted does not need an extra spacer.
  • Rear Sprocket: same tooth amount as in 2006+ TE manual, it came with the wheels.
  • Chain: O-Ring, same links amount as in 2006+ TE manual. SM chain won't fit.
  • Rear Brake disk: 6-bolts, came with the wheels.
  • Front Brake disk: 6-bolts, Supermoto 320mm, from 8AE. Perfectly fits on the 21" wheel.
  • Speed Sensor: from A1, perfectly fits 6-hole-8AE 320mm brake disk.
  • Front Fender: some TE model
  • Kickstand: don't really remember, some old TE. It fitted the mount but had nothing to attach the spring. I cut a tiny bit from it that prevented it from fully opening. There was nothing to attach the springs to so I put a clamp on it, with the springs attached to it.
  • Suspension: Sag checked, settings adjusted as in 2006+ TE manual
  • Speedometer: adjusts in a minute as in the service manual
  • Extras: 4mm thick tubes, rim locks (came with the wheels)
Basically, it was a cheap conversion as close to TE as possible. The only thing not touched was the suspension. I drove ~1000km mostly "rally-like tracks" like that (HardAlpiTour and gravel tracks of Bosnia). No problems, suspension fits these conditions well. Well, Ok, the only opportunity to go above 100km/h was a bit dodgy. And it was a bit hard on the rocks, however I adjusted a rebound adjuster at that moment by mistake :)

Conclusion:
  • You can get really close to TE and save money getting really old wheels
  • The bike will be TALL and BULKY. Really. Even for 177cm guy. The center of gravity will go up
  • The TE or SM are ANYWAYS too heavy and tall for any technical riding
  • Unless you do really technical riding the SM suspension is OK and 320mm brake disk is awesome
  • I got a "drift machine" driving on torque. A bit like a bodybuilder's dirt bike on steroids and hormones. It consumed Pirelli Enduro FIM rear tire in this 1000km.
  • Getting back to SM spec: bike feels strange and under-powered
  • This conversion is good but NOT LEGAL in here ANYWAYS
Aftermath:
  • Changed the SM to TE310 :)
  • Going to sell the kit
Prooflink:
  • Bosnia 2015
  • HardAlpiTour 2015
  • 0_990bf_8bb18df5_L.jpg
  • 0_990bd_e14b6c7c_L.jpg
 
this was easy on my 2001 model, it was basically an enduro with road race wheels, slicks and a big brake.

The 2006 on the otherhand seems to have been specifically designed from the beginning as a supermoto, it is a much smaller bike than my 2001 was.

I can only assume the swing arm is shorter and the front forks are shorter, the fender is also downwards pointing for aerodynamics.

I was hoping to have a bike the same as my 2001, a simple caliper swap (drilled and tapped to 10mm), fender swap, wheel swap and you had an enduro.

Looks like that isn't the case at all with the 2006 model, it's too compromised from being built as an SM, the air box cover lets in water and dirt as well.

I am gonna sell my new shape 610 and probably buy a KTM 625 which seems a lot closer to my 2001 610.
 
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