did i buy the wrong bike? te511 versus terra

[YOGAVNTURE]

oops I just rode my new te511 on the interstate for the first time. yuk, I rode my dirt road to interstate and was in joy , then I hit the pavement and was unhappy. bike didn't want to go 70mph. maybe 65 tops............front end was squirrely...........on pavement..........and sounded like I was going over logs half way during each tire rotation..........now im wondering if I should have bought a terra........listen, I don't ride that much ........I go to the store for bananas, and little stuff that's it.......so I thought the te511 would be fine. but I can see now that the te511 is a full on dedicated motocross bike that somehow got thru the feds rules and now is street legal.......its obvious to me husky built that thing for one thing......dirt........now I need to know if I can alter the te511 to function better on the interstate,,,,,,and Im happy to accept a little less dirt performance..........

 

[meijerclassics]

I think I have the opposite problem. I have a 610 that is probably too street oriented. I love it on the road, but it is a bit much in the woods. hmm.......wanna trade?

 

[Mike-AK]

oops I just rode my new te511 on the interstate for the first time. yuk, I rode my dirt road to interstate and was in joy , then I hit the pavement and was unhappy. bike didn't want to go 70mph. maybe 65 tops............front end was squirrely...........on pavement..........and sounded like I was going over logs half way during each tire rotation..........now im wondering if I should have bought a terra........listen, I don't ride that much ........I go to the store for bananas, and little stuff that's it.......so I thought the te511 would be fine. but I can see now that the te511 is a full on dedicated motocross bike that somehow got thru the feds rules and now is street legal.......its obvious to me husky built that thing for one thing......dirt........now I need to know if I can alter the te511 to function better on the interstate,,,,,,and Im happy to accept a little less dirt performance..........

Yes. You bought the wrong bike. Sell it immediately at a loss. Or not.

 

[Russ]

I'm not sure either bike is the best choice for this type of riding. They are primarily designed for hard offroad use, with few compromises for onroad - usually just enough add-ons to pass registration requirements. They also have relatively short service intervals compared with road/trail type bikes such as the TE630 and TR650.

The most important thing is a frank appraisal of the type of riding you will do most of the time, then buy a bike primarily designed for that.

This was what I was trying to tell you, before you bought the bike. The 630 was probably the better choice, although may be harder to find these days. Don't know about the Terra, depends on how tough a offroad riding you do, as you'd be limited to relatively easy stuff on it. I'd just keep the 610 if its reliable.

 

[MaDProFF]

I just bought a TE449, and have ridden it on the road, done 100 miles of or so, it would quite happy sit at 80 MPH on straights, sure the tyres were a little bit of a handful, you soon get used to it certainly for 60/70 MPH.

As I wanted to use mine a lot on the road, especially in the winter, hence I have put 17" rims and road tyres

 

[FabOneUp]

I feel a little bit of your pain. I have to ride a main highway for about 1 mile before I can bail and hit a side road to take me to the trail head. That 1 mile is dreadful. I think you can alter your 511 by adding either a 40 or 42 tooth rear sprocket and maybe removing your rim locks and having the tires balanced. This will only cost you about $100 and get you close. If you can spend more, then get the Sahara tires like the Terra has and purchase a new seat from Seat Concepts. BRP probably has some bar risers that would add to comfort as well. Good luck. I hope someone else has something to add. Removing your rim locks will leave a hole in the rim that would have to be addressed somehow.

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

I feel a little bit of your pain. I have to ride a main highway for about 1 mile before I can bail and hit a side road to take me to the trail head. That 1 mile is dreadful. I think you can alter your 511 by adding either a 40 or 42 tooth rear sprocket and maybe removing your rim locks and having the tires balanced. This will only cost you about $100 and get you close. If you can spend more, then get the Sahara tires like the Terra has and purchase a new seat from Seat Concepts. BRP probably has some bar risers that would add to comfort as well. Good luck. I hope someone else has something to add. Removing your rim locks will leave a hole in the rim that would have to be addressed somehow.

I think im going to keep my te610 2006. I guess you don't know what you have that is good until you try something else and it don't work as well....I got a good price on the te511.......and I will contact halls in Illinois to see if my te610 can be tricked out and updated......i will keep the te 511........I could swear I feel this weird vibration and sound on the new te511.....its like going over logs sound/feeling but ONLY HALF WAY AROUND THE ROTATION.....WHAT IS THAT? its a strong feeling......my older te610 don't do that..........

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

I just bought a TE449, and have ridden it on the road, done 100 miles of or so, it would quite happy sit at 80 MPH on straights, sure the tyres were a little bit of a handful, you soon get used to it certainly for 60/70 MPH.

As I wanted to use mine a lot on the road, especially in the winter, hence I have put 17" rims and road tyres

if you are in uk. don't they outfit these bikes differently for Europe??????? I will investigate what to do........I want a motocross bike , that's why I bought it......I guess I just felt it would perform more like my 2006 te610........im not complaining here..........that bike is a great motocrosser (te511)........but im disappointed on the road.......(im still thinking how I want to keep the te 610 and the te511 and somehow make them both useful for me......I would prefer to have just one bike...........but as of this moment.......the te610 performs better for what I use it for...........I guess I felt Husqvarna made a dedicated motocrosser in the tc model?????????? and they would alter the te model to be a bit more road friendly .........that is not the case im afraid.......alterations await........im not a motorbike expert........but i know what I feel under my legs.....and I can tell those tires (Michelin) on the te511 don't perform as well as the metzlers i have on my te610........another guy on this thread is saying something about rim locks (whatever that is) and rim size. whatever that means......I dont know much about bikes......i will admit

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

I think I have the opposite problem. I have a 610 that is probably too street oriented. I love it on the road, but it is a bit much in the woods. hmm.......wanna trade?

I love this post.......good one.........no I don't wanna trade I have both now..........that means I have to post twice as much now......I don't want two bikes....heck, maybe i have to start a collection to get the right bike? is thier such a thing as motorbike collecting addiction? I have to think this out. that is why im here, I don't know much about bikes. but i know how it feels under my legs............and that te511 definitely needs alterations......I bitched about my speedo being too big on my te610 now im bitching about the speedo being too small on the te511.........HUSKY USA SHOULD HAVE MADE THE TC FOR MOTOCROSS USE AND NOT JUST STUCK LIGHTS ON THE TE511. THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE THE TE511 A BIT MORE ROAD FRIENDLY............now I have to do that somehow with my limited knowledge where to start? I think if i put some endure tires on my new bike that would help alot on the interstate????? its obvious to me those Michelins that come with the stock bike are full on motocross tires.....im surprised they are street legal.

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

I feel a little bit of your pain. I have to ride a main highway for about 1 mile before I can bail and hit a side road to take me to the trail head. That 1 mile is dreadful. I think you can alter your 511 by adding either a 40 or 42 tooth rear sprocket and maybe removing your rim locks and having the tires balanced. This will only cost you about $100 and get you close. If you can spend more, then get the Sahara tires like the Terra has and purchase a new seat from Seat Concepts. BRP probably has some bar risers that would add to comfort as well. Good luck. I hope someone else has something to add. Removing your rim locks will leave a hole in the rim that would have to be addressed somehow.

I have no clue what a rim lock is. can u educate me ? I read what you say and I appreciate it. you know more than me.. my gut says get rid of those tires on the stock unit immediately and get a set of smoother endure tires?

 

[wright184]

A rim lock is a mechanical device that prevents the tire from spinning on the rim.
They unbalance the wheels. Not very noticeable off road but can be problematic at speed on pavement.
You can put an equivalent mass of weights or another rim lock on the other side of the wheel for road riding.

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

A rim lock is a mechanical device that prevents the tire from spinning on the rim.
They unbalance the wheels. Not very noticeable off road but can be problematic at speed on pavement.
You can put an equivalent mass of weights or another rim lock on the other side of the wheel for road riding.

thanks for the pics. what you are saying then is that I need to get the wheels balanced like I do on my car? but my te610 doesn't have the problem.......maybe they are balanced..........its obvious to me now that when husky made the 610 they had a road/dirt mix in mind. but now with the te511 they have only dirt in mind. the question is ......can i alter that on the new bike......im a bit skeptical but maybe .......maybe front end squirrel can be removed by altering tires to a smoother endure tire.........and rear end feeling of going over logs on the interstate can be removed by smoother endure tire. and what u mention here counter balancing the rear end wheel.......THAT FEELING OF GOING OVER LOGS ON THE INTERSTATE WAS PRETTY PRONOUNCED AND I DONT HAVE THAT ON MY TE610 EVEN THOUGH BOTH BIKES HAVE FULL MOTOCROSS TIRES.... I wonder if that is because the Michelins are new on the te511 and as I look at eh metzler karoos they seem a bit beefier or stronger (less road finiky) versus the Michelins. I think those Michelins need to go into the garbage bin?

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

This was what I was trying to tell you, before you bought the bike. The 630 was probably the better choice, although may be harder to find these days. Don't know about the Terra, depends on how tough a offroad riding you do, as you'd be limited to relatively easy stuff on it. I'd just keep the 610 if its reliable.

I appreciate your opinion. unfortunately I got sucked into the good price for the te511. and the looks are killer. but im not happy at all on the interstate with that bike........but I own it now. I have to either sell it or alter it.....I own a te610 in good shape. its heavy but it runs pretty good in dirt. and pretty good on interstate .....the new te511 runs GREAT in dirt and CRAPPY on the interstate.......need to see if with alterations I can make the new te511 run more like my old 610.......so i can sell my old 610.........if I have to keep two bikes I will be overwhelmed.

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

A rim lock is a mechanical device that prevents the tire from spinning on the rim.
They unbalance the wheels. Not very noticeable off road but can be problematic at speed on pavement.
You can put an equivalent mass of weights or another rim lock on the other side of the wheel for road riding.

I already want to balance my new te511 wheels as you say. but I want to investigate if their is a better fix than this via new rim size? or tires?........im a bit upset this te511 might become a money pit to alter it to what I feel husky should have sold the bike as.......A GOOD DIRT BIKE AND A GOOD ROAD BIKE. I understand the terra is marketed as that......but with ktm buying out husky, that terra will become a dinasour in a few months.........maybe all the more reason to buy one now?

 

[JOXY]

Swap ya TE511 for a DR650.

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

Swap ya TE511 for a DR650.

I don't know what a dr650 is.......I will look it up.......I looked it up . I don't want a jap bike.

 

[JOXY]

I don't know what a dr650 is.......I will look it up

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/DR650SE/2012/DR650SE.aspx

Great bulletproof Zooki, i personally don't like the look of the Adv Husky's.

 

[YOGAVNTURE]

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/DR650SE/2012/DR650SE.aspx

Great bulletproof Zooki, i personally don't like the look of the Adv Husky's.

when I looked up your link no photo was attached. I don't know what u mean by the statement adv. huskys......I guess u mean you don't like the look of the te511? I think the te511 is a physical beauty.......especially with new pipe. problem is it feels like im driving over logs on the interstate...........their must be a fix.

 

[JOXY]

Well look up Suzuki DR650 on google.........

Not talking about the TE511, I'm talking about Husky's Adventure bikes - EI: TR650, TE630, 610 etc..

There is no real way to make a TE511 fully road comfortable... it is and Enduro bike.

 

[Russ]

Well look up Suzuki DR650 on google.........

Not talking about the TE511, I'm talking about Husky's Adventure bikes - EI: TR650, TE630, 610 etc..

There is no real way to make a TE511 fully road comfortable... it is and Enduro bike.

His current 610 would be a far better bike all round than the DR - it's a dinosaur.