Well after having my bike out of action for over 6mths, I've now done a 3000km bush trip through Western Australia to Mt AugustusI wasn't sure whether I could trust it, but the Terra performed flawlessly. Prior to the trip I fitted a steering damper, RC high fat bars and D606 knobbies. Might even get a Safari tank for it now. Some photos: Near Helena-Aurora ranges Between Sandstone and Meekatharra Near Yalgoo South of Paynes Find
Sorry for repeat photos, made a mess of that and there seems to be no "edit"option >> fixed. Thanks Joe
Great photos, great trip! I'm looking for new rubber for the 2nd hand spoked wheels I bought for my Strada - were you happy with the D606s? Plenty of tread left still?
Thanks Chuffa Yes the Dunlops have worn well. Fairly happy with them. The front is not great in sand, but then again, what DOT tyre is... Think I'll try MT21s next set for comparison purposes. Mods ahead: - raise the seat DIY - booster plug - lower temp radiator fan sensor. Need to research this but the 690 guys did this fairly easily - Safari tank - fork springs And if I blow it up again after that I'll be really pissed!
Good to see your bike back on the road again! Think about rota pack tanks either side, it keeps the weight central and they are cheaper and removerable. Cheers Hendo
Forget the Booster Plug, if you really want that type of mod, do it yourself with a 10K ohm variable resistor costing 1% of the price. I would be interested to know about the fan temp sensor mods too.
Will post when/if I find anything out Mark. Probably won't start investigating for a few weeks yet. I'll delete the thermostat first too.
Yes, as far as i am concerned the Thermostat Modification is a must. I have done 36 of them here in the Philippines, all with total success and very satisfied owners. Best and cheapest way is to use existing lower cage and fit a coin held with 4 screws as a baffle, I posted pics in the relevant thread on here.
Great pics Muddler..... Love the set up...says "I mean business and dont need a wagon train for support in case I want my porta potty"
Decided to tackle the radiator this weekend. First of all spent several hours researching coolants and views on the thermostat delete on here and AdvRider. These sites are a great resource, but sometimes the more you know the harder it is to decide!! While acknowledging the importance of engine temperature, I eventually decided that for the hot Australian environment, preventing meltdown in slow going in the bush was my priority - I would do the delete. In my amateur opinion, the Terra's temp management is just too close to the upper limit for my liking. So I picked this coolant: Drained the coolant, no problems. Next, let's see if I can get the thermostat out. Read the instructions on here again and got stuck into it, carefully.... Tried levering the tab, tentatively, didn't want to break it. No dice. Pulled the hose off and tried pushing from the inside with an Allen key. Still no joy. Hammer, nope. Ok, I'll have to get serious, pulled the radiator off and repeated all methods. Nope, Nup, nada - this thing is stuck solid. So after a couple of hours of trying to coax the thing out, I'm now at the point where I have usually broken something, and/or thrown the nearest tool to the far end of the shed. I really don't like working on bikes, things never go to plan and when something goes wrong, it's usually expensive. The force I was putting on this thing was gradually increasing consistent with my rising frustration, better to put it to one side and come back tomorrow. One last try, I changed my tack and used a smaller ALLEN key so I could reach the closest lip. I put a socket and extension bar on the end of it so I could hold it properly and get a decent hit on it...and I won....YIPPEEEE!!! Pulled the thermostat apart and tried an Aussie 20c coin for size. A bit too loose for my liking. Then I was wondering if any of my pvc or poly pipe fittings might work. I found a poly bung (19mm I think). Ground the thread off and shortened it to fit with a hot knife. I'll then secure it with screws as per the coin method. It's a nice snug fit, should I drill a small hole through it to help with bleeding air?
Been thinking of doing this mod myself. Would be keen to see how effective it turns out to be in the WA heat this coming summer.
Given that I had the square end of the bung protruding, I decided on a different approach to secure it. I cut a 5mm stainless bolt to fit. It worked pretty well, plus the good thing is that the thermostat is 100% reversible. There is now very little obstruction to flow to the radiator and very little bypass. So my question to you Terra's is should I create some bypass leakage?
Pulled the cover off the fan switch and it looks like this I was hoping for a more conventional Tridon unit, but can't find anything that looks like this via Google. I'm very happy that the thermostat delete is working, however for slow work in soft sand I would still prefer to change the switch to cut in at 95 deg. Anyone know where I might source one? (I'll ask on adv too)
Is that the fan switch or only the coolant temperature sensor? From what I see from wiring diagrams that sensor feeds to the ecu on Pin 13 and the radiator fan relay is triggered by Ecu on Pin 21, so the temperature/fan switching settings are in the ecu not the sensor, which is only a thermistor. Therefore, based upon what we know about how to spoof the Air Intake temperature sensor/thermistor..... If you use an additional resistance in line with the Coolant temperature sensor, you could set the fan to come on any temperature desired. A variable resistor would be even easier to dial in when wanted. This would create a spoofed bar gauge display on the dash, which you could dial up and down to suit requirements. The value of the additional resistance required can be worked out if we know the nominal resistances of the original thermistor at various temperatures. It can be measured when cold and again when hot to find the rough values. I realise this method may change both Fan on and Off temperature values, so care is needed but it is possible.
Thanks for this feedback Mark, looks like a simple swap over is out then. I thought it was just a switch like one of these I like your remedy, but I don't trust myself to start mucking about with resistors, so that one is out for me. Do you think you might do it? The simplist fix for me might be to just add a 2nd fan with a bar mounted switch
I was playing around with the Strada and GS911 the other day. Fan comes on at 103 degrees. Same as the Terra. I forget the shut off temp, but thinking 85. If you put a resistor in, the fan may never shut off, or run 90% of the time. The ultimate fix for this is mentally configured for me. A thermostat delete, with the delet plug threaded for a temp sensor. Then a spal 4 inch with a speed control. And finally the thermobob. I think it can be done for about $200.
The temperature sensor is the same sensor as used by the 650GS, it is a dual sensor with one of the two elements not used (the one on pins 1 & 2). The fan cut in point is as per 650GS at 102c and cuts out at 95c. The unused sensor has a different resistance characteristic to the one for the BMSE as it was used for the dash display in some of the cars. The sensor reduces in resistance with temperature so you cannot add resistance or the fan will come on at a higher temperature and you then also affect fuelling as well as the autochoke for cold starting. Trailtech has second fan kits for KTM/Husaberg/Husqvarna (but not the Terra/Strada) with a sensor mounted to the radiator and a gauge, you would need to ditch the metal bracket for the other models and work out a bracket. The fan they use is a 4" SPAL as per one of the other fan mods here on CH http://www.trailtech.net/digital-gauges/tto/digital-fankit It would be possible to use the second unused sensor element to trigger a second fan to cut in earlier and then cut out when the main fan cut in to reduce electrical load but that would require a little creative thinking
