To Motard Or Not To Motard...That Is The Question

[jtemple]

I'm curious about assembling a SM kit for my TE 630 for my street riding days. I'm curious about whether or not the swapping time and money for the parts is worth the effort. For those that have ridden both, are the difference between knobbies on the TE and street tires on 17" wheels really that dramatic? I'm not riding on the track or anything; just riding around town.

 

[HuskyBrutha]

I'm curious about assembling a SM kit for my TE 630 for my street riding days. I'm curious about whether or not the swapping time and money for the parts is worth the effort. For those that have ridden both, are the difference between knobbies on the TE and street tires on 17" wheels really that dramatic? I'm not riding on the track or anything; just riding around town.

Got the 630 TE and SM both.
Still running Metzeler Karoo's on the TE which are fine on pavement.
I enjoy riding both on pavement just as much and for my needs the TE is great on pavement.
Unless you plan on really hanging the SM out in the twisties, I would keep the TE as is any use the cash for something else.

Depends on how you plan to do the conversion.
Most people do just the 17" wheels, others do wheels and brakes, and even fewer do wheels, brakes, front forks and rear suspension setttings.

You may find the cost of new SM wheels, brakes and front forks ( if you plan to do a proper conversion ) probably 40 - 60% of the cost of a good second hand SM - another option.

I find riding knobbies on pavement rather crappy.
So when I feel like giving my TE510 solid pavement time, I have another set of stock wheels, complete with disks, sprockets and hubs etc, but with pavement oriented tyres.
Swapping wheel sets is quick and easy, and the pavement experience is great.

 

[bpowa]

heavier wheel in the front requires sm brakes. they dont have brembo on this bike for no reason. i am close to 4k miles on my sm. and the brakes are needed to be replaced soon.

 

[Fast1]

Here is my opinion and I've thought about doing the same thing you are contemplating. Have both the SM630 (girlfriends) and TE630 in the garage now and these are the most notable differences that I've experienced in normal public road riding between the two.

SM pros:
Much better front brake.. most noticeable difference between the two
Stiffer shock valving and lower ride height
Smooth ride with non-dirt tires

I feel unless you are in a remote area traveling well known twisties that the SM set up does not offer enough advantages over the TE especially if you don't change the front brake along with the wheelset.

IMO I'd just put some well rated 30/70 or 50/50 tires on the TE wheels for the pavement. At least you could try that route first before going full supermoto with front brake upgrade and find out if you still need more.

If you want to humiliate the crotch rockets in remote twisties .. well then go for the wheelset and front brake upgrade.

I guess you really have to assess what you really want to do with your bike and how fast you want to push it on public roads or if you will do some track time..

I've pushed my TE with a Michelin desert front and MT21 on the back out in the mountains on pavement in the twisties and easily flew by all but the race rubber clad motorcycles. Not sure if the tires were holding me back or the front brake and fork valving..well maybe the thought of imminent death if I made a mistake.. I was very surprised about how low and fast I could throw the TE into the 30 mph posted turns and hairpins (felt like I was running a berm at times). It was certainly fast enough for me on the paved mountain roads that I was traveling and would have easily got me a night behind bars if caught.

 

[jtemple]

The twisties here aren't all that twisty. When I had my sportbikes, you could easily hold triple digit speeds on the twistiest roads in my area.

When I went to CO and rode those twisty mountain roads, I had no trouble at all on a fully loaded TE and knobby tires. As a matter of fact, I had the most fun I have ever had on two wheels out there! I ran my MT21's all the way to the edge there, no chicken strips whatsoever.

I think the SM kit might be a waste of time, really.

 

[Fast1]

I think allot of it depends on where you live and what your ride environment is like.. If I lived over in Europe I'd never think twice about a full on super moto.. Here in the midwest we don't necessarily have the roads to fully utilize one. just my opinion..

BTW,, the most fun pavement roads I've found nearby are located just off the east side Mississippi river banks near La Crosse WI. Allot of nice riding down there and I've had my TE on knobs while ripping up pavement and was still getting a huge grin on my face. Sure I could have went a bit faster on the SM and dived into corners deeper but life becomes riskier when the roads are new and some farmer may have left mud across the road right around a tight corner .. you get the picture.

 

[jtemple]

Same issues we have here. Rolling around a familiar corner, you never know if there is going to be a pile of mud, gravel, or a big fat turkey waiting for you that wasn't there the day before, or even hours before.

 

[Travis Shrey]

http://www.cycleworld.com/videos/popular_videos/husqvarna_sms630__urban_supermoto____l_a__style/

The SM Husky getting a little love...

I can back the TE into corners with the Karoo's, but there are definitely days when I would love to have sticky street tires and big front brakes. I'm going to wear out the stock front tire before the back with my street braking. If I had the money laying around for a set of Marchesini's I think I would splurge, but since that isn't reality I'm going to go a little more street oriented tire like a K60 next.

 

[Fast1]

if I could just teach her to be a bit more black and white... and ride more like that video

 

[1lunger]

I have trusted the MT 21 set up a little more than I should have a few times and they haven't let me down! I was amazed how well they stick to the road at speed! I agree, use the $ to buy a used sumo and keep the TE set up! I bet there's more guys wishing they bought a TE over the SM for the opposite reasons. The road gets old after awhile and a sumo set up isn't very good in the woods! Wow that all rhymes, road old, good woods...

 

[Thumperama]

I just picked up a set of stock SM wheels because I got a good deal on them. I am going to try the front with the smaller TE front disc so TE to SM swaps would only take a few minutes. I tend to ride much more sanely the older I get, so the TE brakes may be plenty for me.

Just one of those things I've always wanted to try. If I really like it, I'll probably just pick up a SM to add to the fleet.

 

[Sizzler]

The front wheel I'm using is (Honda VTR250) lighter than the original 21" wheel. Along with the smaller diameter, this gives it significantly less gyroscopic mass, so that it turns and brakes a whole lot better, even with the standard disc. While a bigger disc may give more bite, the standard 260mm is more than enough. The 17" wheels steer quicker, and far more positively than the 21", regardless of what tyres you use.
If you have any twisties nearby, I'd call a second set of wheels a good investment.

 

[schoops]

I'm with Sizzler. Each to their own of course and depends just how hard you want to go on the bitumen (or dirt), but yes, if you really want to crank it over, good street tires over knobbies is a big difference (if you're just commuting maybe doesn't matter so much). Conversely also a big difference between dual purpose tires on the dirt and true knobbies (just replaced the stock Karoos with Dunlop Geomax and the difference is huge but I'd hate to use/trash them on the bitumen). I used to use road tires on my standard XR rims and that was great fun, but you have the hassle of having to change tires every time you want to go from road-dirt-road. I bought the TE with a mind to do both dirt and road/supermoto, so I've bought a set of 17 inch Mach 9 wheels for the TE - come new with discs, caliper mount, sprocket, spacers and a good set of Michelin Pilot Powers mounted for a smidge over $1000 (of course you can go a lot cheaper sourcing second hand). It takes me less than 30 minutes to replace the wheels - best of both worlds. In an ideal world I'd buy more bikes (although I'd still want a supermoto - they're so much fun), but on a budget - and keeping 'she-who-must-be-obeyed happy' - it's a great way to go. Check out supermotojunkie.com for heaps of good info on supermotos (heaps of guys with Huskys).

 

[schoops]

Jodiesel's thread might help you too - he's gone road tires on the standard rims - maybe not a bad way to try it out before you invest too much time and money.......
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/poor-mans-sm.24761/

 

[Fast1]

Have you guys that are pro-SM wheelset spent any time on the SM630 to experience the difference in braking and stiffer front suspension valving in comparison to the TE630 front brake and soft front suspension?

I've got both and from my time on them I feel that the front brake along with the suspension valving make more of an impact for performance driving than the wheelset. I can literally do a stoppie on the SM with my girlfriend on the back and the TE will have difficulty doing that with just the driver on board. IMO I don't think you can get that much of a benefit with the 17" wheelset unless you upgrade the front brake and stiffen the front (especially) suspension. The TE front brake will also fade much quicker than the higher fluid capacity SM version.

Another thing most don't realize is that the geometry of the SM is different than the TE plus you have reduced suspension travel. The SM also rides significantly more firm and this is very noticeable between the two. If you are riding rough pavement filled with potholes the TE will track better and stay on course easier.. plus if you ever leave the tarmac you certainly have much better chance on the TE to "ride it out" and avoid going down ..

wheelbase - TE 58.86 SM 58.46
Trail - TE 3.27 SM 4.53

 

[schoops]

Yep, have tried an SM and don't disagree with you, of course the SM is going to be better on the road than the TE. Kinda thought the original post was about knobbies versus SM wheels with road tires. If you have the cash to buy a dedicated bike for the bitumen, great. But if you have a TE and want to play on both dirt and road without buying another bike the kits are a great way to go and you can still have a lot of fun on a TE. But as I said, each to their own.

 

[jtemple]

Next spring, I should have the coin to buy a second bike. If I do that, it'll most likely be a standard. CB1000R, Speed Triple, etc.

The thing is, I don't know if I want the added costs & maintenance that go along with having another bike. I have always been curious about how it feels to ride a motard. But, as I have said in another thread, I do have some concerns about putting a ton of miles on my Husky. I just don't know if they're built to take that kind of abuse.

In a nutshell, I have no idea what I want to do.

 

[CJBROWN]

The Versys is a really fun standard roading motorcyle that does a LOT very well and can now be had used for $4 to $5K. Long lived, cheap to run, and all setup for road-going. Just sayin'.

I love mine. Would only consider a replacement for something better for 2-up. As an urban street fighter and mild tourer it is highly regarded. Very fun to ride, keeps up with SM630's easily.

 

[Fast1]

In a nutshell, I have no idea what I want to do.

If you can find someone that lives nearby with a Husky SM you could try out their wheelset and know for sure what is right for you. You will still have to fit a small TE rotor on the SM front wheel however for a try at it. You can not retrofit the SM front brakeset to the TE due to front caliper mount.. I tried..

 

[Thumperama]

You will still have to fit a small TE rotor on the SM front wheel however for a try at it. You can not retrofit the SM front brakeset to the TE due to front caliper mount.. I tried..

I wondered about that. I was thinking that there was an adapter that you had to use. I'm still going to try it with a TE rotor, as I doubt I push it hard enough to need the SM rotor.