I had the pleasure of riding a great dualsport this past weekend that was put on by a local club. After around 50miles of tight woods in 90+ degree weather I came to a few conclusions: 1. While the 610 is a great "all around" bike it is not, I repeat, IS NOT a tight woods bike. Steering with the rear brake was mandatory all day and I think I collected most of the sapplings in the HDB guards and IMS tank. 2. My technique needs some work and after lower back surgery this past winter I'm a bit rusty and really out of shape. 3. The IMS 4.5 gallon tank really throws off the handling if over 1/2 full. 4. Having Harvey @ Aces rebuild the forks was a godsend. 5. With 14/47 sprockets I still spent all day between 1st and 2nd gear. Simple fact of the matter, is the bike is geared too tall for the tight woods. 6. Rivnuts in the subframe to hold the exhaust on don't work very well and I'll have to fix that setup this weekend as they all pulled loose after laying it over one time. 7. The motor is a tractor and will pull stumps. 8. Suspension could use to be lowered about 2". Having a high seat height is great until your off camber and trying to thread it between trees, over roots, shale, silt and mud while turning in sharp at the same time. 9. I still love the bike and out of 200+ riders there were three Husky's which was pretty cool. I'm hoping the brand will make a comeback here as in the sea of orange there was alot of buzz about the 2011 TE310. 10. I'm gonna keep the old girl around for awhile, I like what the bike has to offer but I think a more appropriate tool for the job is in my future. cheers, Mike
good recap. What would you describe your mission as? And what sort of tool are you thinking would be better suited? I hear you on the seat height. I am 6'1" and the bike feels tall to me. I think its partly because the springs are too darn stiff. It needs to ride a bit lower in the stroke and I am in the process of addressing that. As far as turnability it weighs about the same as DRZ400 but seems a fair bit less flickable which I believe is partly because of the inertia of the extra rotating mass in the crank etc.
In a perfect world.. I would have a spare set of street wheels/tires for my 610, which THOSE would be on her MOST of the time, for my "not sure where I'll end up" longer explorations..... AND a TE 310 ( cause I NEED a plate in Ct. ) for when I KNOW I'm gonna be in the woods mostly that day...... I either need to find much more work, OR hit the lotto.... So yeah.. I know what you mean about your 610.... A big girl like her that will run 70 MPH all day whether on dirt or slab without breaking a sweat, ISN'T a GREAT single track machine.??. imagine THAT.. >>.
I try to go like the blazes in the woods but I just get whipped. After tiring, all finesse goes out the window and it's a fight to stay on track. Don't get me wrong, for a light duty ADV bike I don't think there is anything better and if I lived out west where I could stretch her legs a bit more offroad I would not want for much else. I have a spare set of wheels which I switch off when it's time to slab for awhile. I currently live in town and the bike is the perfect urban hooligan/commute machine. After beating the heck out of it this past weekend I think a smaller package is in the cards for next year. Plated dirtbikes are the norm here and the way Ohio is you can just about plate anything. I saw a licensed 2009 WR300 ripping it up on Sunday which looked like a blast. I'm thinking real hard about the 2011 TE310, just have to see how the finances pan out mid-year. I'm not trying to get down on the 610/630 bikes by any means as there is not really any "do-it-all" machine out there however, based on my personal experience over the last 2yrs aboard a 610 you would be hard pressed to find a better off the floor compromise. I guess it really comes down to my expectations when I bought the bike, I was looking for the perfect "do it all" machine and now I realize, there simply is not such a machine for me personally.
You just wrote almost the same thing I did a few days ago. I sold my KLR and XL250R plated bikes to pay for my TE610 because I was constantly choosing between them, and I found my interests increasingly targeting more difficult terrain. I figure the TE610 will tide me over until I get a small bike in the future. I live out west, and I am wanting more :-). I think you would still also! It is steep and rocky and rooty around the west in between the deserts. I have been taking the TE610 on single track plenty enough and muscle-ing it way more than my 400/250 trail riding buddies are ("Why are you fogging your glasses? We are only half way into the trail."). So I was eyeballing the 2011 TE310 something fierce lately. Not hear yet until November I hear, and high priced for some time. Need to wait a year. Oh,,, - no will power,,, - a great deal on a '06 TE450 popped up! Going used bike (again) route to cure my ills. So I added a '06 TE450 to my stable. Back to choosing my weapon again. But at least the 450 fits me better then the smallish XL250R did and is a small amount better on pavement. Now I can wait (easier) for that 2011 310 to drop in price or go onto the used market in an year or more. My very dialed-in TE610 is not going anywhere soon though. Damn fine multipurpose weapon, even out here in the (wet) west. I take it to the desert in WA and Utah and Death Valley also and still do 70% of the single track around here and mix that with serious miles and forest road coverage with ease. The suspension is sweet, and the recently added steering damper made it even better. I LIKE this bike. Some day I will actually bother to air down the tires offroad. - Mike
Agreed. Which is why I have the 610 and a KTM300 for the true single track nastiness. Am going to CO in 2 weeks so will see how the 610 does; although there will be no (easy) single track just rough jeep passes so we'll wait to pass judgement on the easy single track. After I get it all modded up the way I want, I will be $2500 past a DRZ so it better romp alot better than my 03 400S did I actually wouldnt prefer to be in the deep woods doo doo on a 610 with that weight and no kickstarter in case the battery decides to take a break. So kudos to all you who choose to take that mission on
It is what it is. That you could do the ride at all is cool. It is very good at splitting the difference street / dirt. Do that same ride ona DR650 and report back
I did do a "dualsport" on a DR650 a few years ago (pre 610) and it was brutal. Talk about a wallowing pig in the woods...
The 610 is definitely not a good choice of bike if you want a "woods weapon" because of the three very important factors (which I think you already mentioned). The height, weight and turning radius. Having to stop and get off the bike and use your body to kick the back wheel around on really tight switch backs sucks but it's something you learn to live with. Actually for being so big and heavy I think the 610 handles the woods trails pretty good. After a while you figure how to make it work. Momentum is key when you get into hairy situations where you're not sure if you'll make it up something. Just punch it and go for it. If you hesitate then you screw yourself. I crash more often when I stop before a tricky section and analyze how and what line to take. So no, it's not a "woods weapon" but it's my woods weapon because that mainly where I ride it.
1. Neither is my 95 XR600, but then it raises eyebrows at what it can do at 300#'s. That said the 610 is nearly as quick. 2. Do need to be in ok shape when throwing around a big bike. 3. 150 miles on the stock tank, wouldn't run a bigger tank. 4. Les @ LT Racing redid both ends, big difference. 5. Drop a tooth up front and it will handle both tight woods and 60 mph at a mild cruise. 6. No problems here. 7. The big pull comes at a price...#'s 8. Shave the seat down and get the suspension set up for your weight. 9. BMW/Husky. Should be around for a while. 10. Conclusion: Run a Continental TKC-80 up front with 14-15 max psi. Dunlop 606 with around the same. This combo works great in the dirt with decent road manners. Air pressure is a HUGE factor in traction with the 610. A couple of pounds can make a world of difference. Only run a little extra pressure if you plan to run desert speeds over buried rocks, unless you like smiley rims.
I agree with everything you've said. Both front and rear suspension on my 610 was redone by LTR by the original owner so I never got to experience the before and after affect. The 14 c/s makes it almost perfect gearing for everything although I've been contemplating trying a 48 rear sprocket and would like to hear some feedback from anyone who has tried it. Haven't tried the Continental you mentioned but the bike had a 606 on the back when I bought it. Once it was done I went with MotoZ's and haven't looked back since. Love those MotoZ's mate....OUT !!
1. Neither is my 95 XR600, but then it raises eyebrows at what it can do at 300#'s. That said the 610 is nearly as quick. I hear ya. We normally ride with a few KLR 650's and most are amazed at what can be done on those bikes also. I'm 6'0 tall and the extra height makes it a chore to weave the bike in and out of the really tight stuff. I scaled the bike and myself last year w/just gear and a 1/2 tank of gas and the real world weight was 531lbs total. That's alot of weight to be swinging around up there. Mike are quite sure about that weight?
Yes it is, the thing is I'm not sure that rider weight really counts in the equation. In my experience a heavier rider has les of a chore muscleing around a heavy bike.
I recon we all need at least 3 bikes, A bush weapon (2 or 4 stroke) a real DS say a 610/630 and a touring bike. Now that I think on it some more I need a hypermotard and a real road bike. And for training a trials bike. Also you need a couple of classics, so its now ten and counting.
I find my '03 TE610e at 308dry to be a pretty light bike. It is 150lbs lighter than my BMW F800GS after all. Sure, it's not a 250lb dirt bike. But it's not a dirt bike. It's a Dual Purpose bike. Even the WR250R clocks in at 298 wet. That's only 30-40 lbs lighter. Those 250lb dirt bikes have 600 mile service intervals. Dual sports do not. My Te610e doesn't have 6000 mile service intervals either, but at 1800 or so, at least I don't have to do a full service twice a weekend if I go on a long ride...
