1200 Miles came and went without me noticing, so it's time I did a report on the Terra. About 1/3 of those miles have been off-road. I've done anything from single track to fire roads and technical in between stuff on the Terra, so far. To kind of preface this all, I'm new to the dual sport and dirt and modern bike game. I've only ever owned vintage bikes, only worked on vintage bikes and only ridden vintage bikes. I'll sometimes throw the r90 on some creek crossings and gravel roads. The Terra has been a champ. I started out with just running it on street until I got a bash guard in. It's everything you've read about on street. Predictable, lighter feeling than what the numbers lead you to believe, great handling and plenty of power. I just got in from a 3 day off road ride up in North GA. Couple or few hundred miles of fire roads, forest service roads and some technical stuff. The terra will do pretty much anything you throw at it, but at it's own pace. It will chug through the technical stuff just fine but isn't going to win you a speed award. I was up against a TE310 and a KTM 625 this past weekend, so needless to say, I stayed in the back. The biggest down falls of the bike (off road) are the tires, weight and low hanging stuff like the rear brake leaver and side stand sensor. I managed to brake the side stand sensor this weekend and just bridged the plug with a piece of wire and road on. Barreling down gravel roads and dirt roads at 45mph was all too easy. The gearing isn't actually that bad for getting up technical stuff at an 8MPH pace. It will chug through some really slow stuff and power right out of it without lugging the motor. The only things I have on the bike for this trip were the motorsportz skid plate, giant loop great basin and a wolfman enduro tank bag. Btw, the giant loop was just perfect for this bike. I really can't think of a single bad thing about that bag on this bike. Flawless. With better tires (really wish I could get a fat enough dunlop 606 on the rear), less weight (maybe just shed 1 exhaust) and a more experienced rider...just about anything is possible on this bike at it's own pace. I need to do my first service, hunt down some bark busters for her, find a better tire set up (seriously, the metzlers are garbage off road) and pull things like the vap can off. I'll have videos and pictures on this thread later. Btw, I didn't drop it at all on this past trip but the first time I took it out, she had a few drops and I can definitely say it handles tumbles really well. Only broke the brake lever, chain guard and my pride.
Thanks for sharing your pics. I was curious about the Great Basin and if it would be too big. Looks like a pretty good fit. In the sixth pic, the right rear 1/4 view, just above where the exhaust weld is and just to the right of the white upper fender tab there is a vertical 'dirt splash'. Just about where the cracks in krussells and big-ts fenders were. Or am I seeing things. I know some of the guys have pulled that metal reflector hanger gadget to lighten the load on what is possibly a problem area. Probably just some of that Georgia clay I got familiar with when stationed at Ft. Stewart.
I don't have any cracks, however....That black part of the fender that does crack is just kind of hanging loose because someone thought it was a good idea to secure it to the upper white part with flimsy plastic tabs. I need to find a better solution than that...for now it just kind of hangs but doesn't bother anything.
great report and excellent pics. Looks like a pretty tight package on the Terra, yet strikes me as a little top heavy looking, any feelings or feedback on handling appreciated.
I'm not seeing a heat shield on your exhaust. I thought giant loop included 1 with the great basin. Did you have any heat problems. Did you use the included wet bags inside your great basin. Thanks for the pics, this was the setup I was thinking of getting.
You don't need the GL heat shield with the stock, plastic tr650 ones in place. Just make sure the bag hangs over those. I've done probably 600+ miles off road with that set up, so far. Those included bags are not wet bags by any means. The second it rains...things are getting soaked. I didn't use the included tube of sealant, which I imagine is only for the seams but water seemed to soak in everywhere...especially the non-rubber tarp material at the bottom. I'm actually not so happy with that. A day of riding in the rain and not a single thing in my bag was dry. The bag is a bit big too and hard to zip up as well. I'm considering going with the smaller coyote. The straps, if not synched down with the power of the mighty Zeus, will jump around and loosen up a bit. I know this because I lost quite an expensive Big Agnes tent somewhere on the north GA trails.
Hey Blaine, After a few miles how do you feel about the Great Basin on the TR650? I am looking at hard luggage and soft options. May leave whatever I buy on the bike full time... not sure yet. Thanks for any advice.
Blaine, Thanks for this write up. I'm new to the dual sport game as well. Just completed 1800 km on mine. Only 15% on dirt. Dinged my pride a few times too. That said, I love the way this bike handles on the rough stuff. As many reporters in oz wrote it is a very forgiving bike for new dual sport riders. Thank God! May your miles be many and your falls few. Seasons greetings.
It's not just a great bike for dirt neophytes, it's great bike period. I still haven't broken two hundred miles with my bike however, this being my 22nd bike (since I was 14) I can tell you it handles differently from any thumper I have thrown a leg over. Great balance, in fact the balance is exceptional. And such a smooth powerful engine, wow. I'm a fan. The one complaint I have is the front forks and their lack of adjustability. But I am looking into that.
Try and contact the guys at Safari Tanks. Their lead guy Robin, adjusted the front forks on my bike by a few mm (it was one of their project bikes for the new safari tanks). He should be able to give you advice on what he did. One of the other guys has mentioned it as well, but not on the safari tank thread..I checked. Have fun with your redheaded mistress.
Actually I was speaking of pre-load and dampening adjustments. Raising the fork tubes is really easy. Just loosen the pinch bolts and let the triples slide down tubes where you want them. If you adjust too much it will change the geometry of the bike. I got quotes from Go-Race, Race Tech and Traxion suspensions for rebuild of the forks. Each told me that they require new cartridges in total and their quotes were all similar. $1200-1500 dollars. I'm thinking I am going not do that until my other Mistress (the one I'm married to starts to ignore what I've spent on this bike thus far. I was told the forks for a BMW F800 are the same and are rebuildable and adjustable. Can anyone verify that?
