Am taking the bike in for its 20,000km service shortly (just under 3 & a half years old). On the list so far are: New battery (second replacement), probably Shorai New steering head bearings (second replacement) New chain & sprockets (second replacement) Air box nuts (still spinning in housing) The usual consumables - oil, filters, tyres, brakes Is there any preventative maintenance you would recommend at this mileage, e.g. timing chain? At this age and mileage, having been ridden quite hard, I'm wondering how long we can expect reliable performance from these bikes. It's been absolutely awesome to date & there's nothing else on the market to trade it on, other than the KTM 690R Enduro, which has some features (mostly narrow gear ratios) & reliability issues that deter me. I see they may be bringing a Husky version of it out - let's hope they fix a few niggles in the process. If so I'm in! Thanks, Russ
The manual calls for the timing chain at 10K miles, so at 12 you may very well be needing one. Have you pulled the CCT to see where you're at? I guess the question back at you (to aid others in making suggestions) is to ask what all you've done to the bike. I'm assuming you took care of the clutch cup washers. When my engine went kaplooey I started looking at other bikes but yeah, you're right, there's just nothing out there that suits my preference (in terms of intended use, price, power/weight, etc.)...so I'm plunging some bucks into resurrecting it.
No engine/internal work has been done & I haven't experienced any issues with the clutch or anything else internal. I expected a timing chain would be required, but wasn't sure about the clutch. If I recall correctly, that was a problem on the early models, i.e. before mine. I wonder how many kms a big single will last before niggling issues start to pop up. Ordinarily I'd consider trading up about now as I do ride in remote locations, but as I say, there's nothing out there I really want instead and can't get a new 630. I rode a mate's new F800GS recently and it's a heavy pig of a thing in anything challenging & certainly not for me. As I say, the only other I'd consider is the 690R.
Clutch Cush washer check. For what it's worth, I pulled my timing chain at 15,000 Km and it measured out exactly the same as a new one. Still have a tick I haven't been able to find tho.
26000 miles on my 2008 610SM. One cam chain, one clutch arm, clutch washers, 2 bronze clutch bushings, one chain and spocket set. And as we speak, I have a new oil pump rotor and oil pump housing on order -- the rotor and housing are scored. I will post pics of this when I replace it. Also one battery, two headlight bulbs, two clutch cables, two front sets of brake pads, one air filter, fork seals, cam chain tensioner, drive chain guide.
If it helps the mechanic doing my rebuild said that other than the damage to the interior of my casings my internals looked very, very healthy. Said the cylinder walls, rings, piston, etc. looked great. Again this is at 8900 miles and I change oil every 1K. A big part of why I chose to rebuild (other than there being no other bikes attracting me, and cost) is the fact that these big singles are known to go the long haul - many have gotten impressive miles, like circus has and some much higher. Sounds to me as though you got lucky with that clutch basket- they're all susceptible. My washers were as thin as Iggy Pop. If you're in there to do the basket then yeah, do the clutch bushing (mine was fine but for what was, I think, 12 bucks I threw a new one in.) If you've kept up with maintenance, as you seem to have, I wouldn't be concerned about niggling issues with the engine itself. Sure, you may have small/cheap shit annoy you along the way (be it TPS, gear position sensor, or things like that) but nothing major. As you know, these bikes are pretty simple overall. Now I would very carefully inspect (whenever you have tank and other parts off) the wiring harness whenever and wherever you can- Husky wiring routing is recognized as a bit sucky so fraying is not uncommon (happened to me once, where the wires go under the battery tray to the voltage regulator.) In the end, when a bike starts getting on in age, I'm of the mind of "well, every month/season I get is another that I'm not laying out bigger bucks to replace it."
Thanks Gentlemen, Yes, my bike has been serviced by a dealer approx 3 times a year, so every 2,500kms or so, being each time I need a new rear tyre! I then do the basics in between. I tend to get them to replace things like battery, chain & sprockets before there is any issue. I'll get them to inspect the clutch & wiring loom & replace anything that looks suspect. But by and large it sounds like these engines seem very reliable so I might keep it for another couple of years, because as Eric says, it's always bigger bucks to trade up, especially if looking Orange! Thanks again, I appreciate your help.
