2013 TE310R - Issues

Just reading through this thread and am a little confused.

The bike kick starts ok but won't crank on electric start.
There's been several suggestions to check valve adjustment but I don't see a reference to them being checked/adjusted. If I missed it and they were checked, what were/are the readings?
I assume this model has a manual decompression lever....does the starter crank the engine with it activated?
Does the starter crank the engine with the sparkplug removed?
It is possible to have burnt or worn contacts in the starter solenoid which will give poor starter performance, has it been checked?

The bike kicks over okay. But the electric starter mostly will not even move the engine. Sometimes just a click, other times it will get a partial turn then stop. I never hold the button down as I don't want to burn out the starter. It was just rebuilt with a slightly heavier wire wrap, that in theory should make it have a little more power.

The valves were checked and were pretty much spot on to repair manual spec with intake at 0.006in and exhaust at 0.008in. The exhaust was reset to be between 0.005in and 0.006in as noted on many forums to help keep the decompression mechanism open a little longer.

As far as I know there is not a manual decompression lever (if there is someone tell me). Haven't tried removing the plug and firing it over either. The shop checked out the starter relay and said it was good. If there are easy checks I can do to verify I wouldn't mind working through them.

The part that really got me was talking to a shop that does work on the older Husky's like mine (shop is not local to me in Vancouver), and was advised that something crazy like less then half of these bikes have working starters, those that do fail have bleak chance of working properly even when the starter gears are replaced. The design itself appears to be flawed, having a 90 degree turn in the gear reduces the starters effectiveness, then followed by the starter worm gear to gear it mates to having clearances so tight to cause additional wear or binding.

So after spending a fair bit of $$$ trying to get this bike running properly, then having to spend more again on the starter gears without even knowing if it will change anything. At least the money spent getting the valves checked and reset was something that, although it didn't work to get the electric starter going, provides some relief in knowing the valves were fully compliant to the factory spec and are now set properly to best work for the bike.

first off, I'd like to clear up some misconceptions:

Husqvarna NA will not solve your problems. They do not want to solve your problems. They can not solve your problems. They do not even want to talk to customers- they will suggest you call your local dealer. They do, however, still stock & distribute a large inventory of Italian husky parts. They come in KTM plastic bags.


Because of this, the "buy-in" price you mentioned is usually insanely low for a racing bike of this caliber.

here's some US & Canada contact info anyways (which took about 6 seconds to find) but it looks like they don't want emails:

Husqvarna Motorcycles North America, Inc.
East
1119 Milan Avenue
Amherst, Ohio 44001
Customer Service Phone: 1-855-282-6227
http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/us/

West
30100 Technology Drive
Murrieta, CA 92563

here's some Canada info:
8701 Boul. Samuel-Hatt
Chambly, Quebec j3l6v4
+1 450-441-4451
http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/ca/

good luck.

I've never heard of the statistic that less than half of these bikes have working starters. In fact, I'm highly incredulous.

A starter drive system that has a 90° turn is not uncommon.

The worm is the flaw- you can't let the engine go backwards. I just posted a long explanation of my theory.

tl;dr- basically set a high idle, run tight valves, and learn to use the clutch like an A/B rider.
...and JIC you want to read the whole thread:
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/sh...-electric-starting-a-few-long-thoughts.87927/

AFAIK, not too many people have been recommending this... though there may be an echo-chamber effect. But let me take it to the next level: go to 0.004" (0.10mm) on the left exhaust if you feel like rolling the dice.
You should be good to go at 0.006"- I just don't know why OHC engines are spec'd so sloppy. there's gotta be a reason.

there is no manual decompression lever on red heads. pre-'13 yes, IIRC. [edit: after thinking about it- I think this lever is just controls the air by-pass for cold starts. anyone?]

My starter failed (I thought) at 6000 miles. I started to do a little diagnoses and discovered my $23 1-year old cheesy lead-acid battery from china failed (they're sending me a new one!) while still holding a 13+voltage. Meanwhile, the 3 year old Yuasa still cranks it over. 300 hours, 98% dirt, 75% single-track, 5 hours est. road. 13/14 oil changes. 8 flats (getting a bit tired of 'em). No breakdowns.

I am still going to recommend you get one of those perfectly adequate trail bikes (or even something like an XR200R). If you want something newer, one of the Free Rides or even a FE350 (best street legal dirt bike IMNSHO) but be prepared to pay- I bet a used one is $10,000CDN

Your mtb experience is directly transferable ('specially downhill) but I still would not recommend someone learn to drive a car by buying a F1 race car. (a touch of hyperbole but...)

TC85, Thanks for the replies and time to respond. I did read over the thread, interesting, but not certain it helps me with my current situation. I did have a sheared key, the bike was very hard to start after (only had kick start available), and ran very poorly which makes sense as I believe the timing gets altered (if I read your thread correctly).
As far as the stats, they are not mine and I have no reference on the number of bikes like mine failing with starter problems other that what I have seen on forums and we all know those with bike that have had issues comment more than those whose bikes are running perfectly fine. The numbers came from a shop south of me that still works on these older Huskys.

The gears could be the problem as I never had the case off to look at the other gear the worm drive meshes with. My only reference was when I pulled the starter out and saw the worm drive, it looked totally free of any flaws.

I am going to ride the bike for now without the electric start, and see how it goes. Just need my back to loosen up before riding (sucks getting old). At the same time I will keep an eye out for other bikes that could work for me. From what I can see it is a small sample size of bikes that fit the bill. Lighter weight, don't want to be over 300lbs, 200/250 to 400cc, streetable and still good on trails. I did see a 2014 FE350 that is of interest, but as you noted, they are not cheap same as the newer EXC 350's.

Are 2 strokes registerable in your locale DJ as a 150 to 250 could be an option for an aging body.

Not certain, but I don't think so. From what I have seen, the standard lights, signals, and horn appear to be the prerequisite on being street legal.

Update. I did end up contacting Husky Canada to inquire about the recall. As was noted in the 2013 TE310r Electric start issues thread my 2013 TE310R with vin of DV000149 should be on the recall list. No previous recall work has been done on the bike. Got a case # and contacted the LBS to get it in motion. Might take a week or so for the parts to show up, but I can live with that. Keeping fingers crossed that no changes to Husky continuing to support the recall and that the full scope of parts and labour are covered as indicated by the person I spoke with. Hopefully this will sort out the electric starter issues. Will update once I know more.

I have another update on the bike. The parts came in, dropped the bike off to have the starter gears recall completed. Just picked the bike up and even with a very low battery the bike turned over and started with the bike in neutral. Very happy that this is working as it should and really appreciative that Husky Canada honored the recall even though it was pretty old.

Hopefully, now the bike continues to run well and the starter continues to work.

Glad to hear they covered it and all is working.

rideitall/DJ-
that's good news. congrats.

remember though- all of your issues were/are because husky used a worm gear. Sheared key, worm/ring damage, no start etc. These problems can and will still come up; including blowing out the cases.

my recommendations from the other thread- probably the best approach is a multi-pronged policy to reduce backfire :

• a high idle speed: 2100+ rpm's
• Tight exhaust valve lash: 0.004" even?
• strong ADC spring which keeps the ADC working at higher rpms (husky has done this)
• heat-treated gear teeth (husky has done this on the updated ring/worm set)
• a good spark plug
• gear your bike down so you are at higher rpms in slower situations
• keep one finger on the clutch when you're in first or second, especially when you're lugging it; pull it in before a stall.
• don't lug it
• A Rekluse clutch (I'm not a fan, but if you don't have the skill-set to modulate your clutch- WTH)
• learn to modulate the clutch, in low-speed situations especially, to keep the bike from stalling.
• don't let your bike roll backwards downhill and then dump the clutch.

There's a TXC ecu on ebay $150 + $10 shipping- https://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Husqv...687804?hash=item21347f703c:g:OuYAAOSwO7haJcf4

I'll still go with my other recommendation too: an entry-level dual sport like that XT250 or CRF230L might be the right path for you. Or take the sprag out of your husky for a year until you're used to having one finger on the clutch.

good luck.

TC, thanks for the feedback. I do have a couple of questions / comments on your recomendations

• a high idle speed: 2100+ rpm's - idle is already pretty high.
• Tight exhaust valve lash: 0.004" even? - this was just set to the 0.005" - 0.006" range
• strong ADC spring which keeps the ADC working at higher rpms (husky has done this) - Nothing further here???
• heat-treated gear teeth (husky has done this on the updated ring/worm set) - Done
• a good spark plug - Haven't looked at the plug. What's considered a good plug?
• gear your bike down so you are at higher rpms in slower situations - I understand what you are saying, but not why. What is the issue with lower rpm and lugging the bike???
• keep one finger on the clutch when you're in first or second, especially when you're lugging it; pull it in before a stall. - Getting much better at this, but still a work in progress
• don't lug it - same thing - What is the issue with lower rpm and lugging the bike???
• A Rekluse clutch (I'm not a fan, but if you don't have the skill-set to modulate your clutch- WTH) - Had considered this, pretty costly upgrade. Lots of debate on Rekluse or not. The newer versions seem to have the best of both worlds in modulating the clutch for you at low rpm, but still letting it work like normal at slightly higher rpm. A 2011 Te300/310 that I had originally looked at had a Rekluse on it. Would have been interesting to get more time on it.
• learn to modulate the clutch, in low-speed situations especially, to keep the bike from stalling. - again, getting better, work in progress.
• don't let your bike roll backwards downhill and then dump the clutch. - why is this an issue??? Not that I do this, but not certain as to why this could be an issue.

Don't take my comments as not believing what you are saying, I am just trying to learn as I go and understand more about bikes in general.
FWIW, until someone pointed out to me that it was harder on the bike to start in neutral, I had no idea. When I owned some street bikes in the past, starting in gear was not an issue. I get it now, as a reference, the difference in trying to roll the bike forward in gear with the clutch in (not started) vs rolling in neutral, and feel the amount of drag from the gears.
I don't think I am ready to give up on this bike and move to towards a XT250 or CRF250L as they are so much heavier and lack the power that the Te310 has. Such a difference, rode a friends CRF250L and it was noticeable in the delay of the power coming on and needing the rpm to spool up vs the Te310 immediate response.
I guess the biggest issue is that there are not really too many street legal bikes that offer up the off road performance. Older Husky Te, newer Fe, KTM EXC, Beta has a model or two I believe and possibly Sherco has one. The lack of options and supply keeps the prices this used bike segment very high.

All of these points are trying to reduce the chances of your engine going BACKWARDS.

That's when the damage is done.

...or take out the sprag (so the worm is no longer connected to the flywheel) and stall or spin the motor backwards until the cows come home- no damage; but no electric start either.