Well, it was gonna happen eventually. I was travelling on an easy forest road with awesome conditions going about 40mph into a right hander. The whole turn was invisible slime/clay and I went into a full drift, staring at my rear wheel on the left. I gassed it but still hit the left bank causing me to whip around to the right so far that I was actually going backwards! Bike slams down on its left side with me laying on it in a full skid then a couple of rag-dolls and a quick assessment of the limbs - I'm good. ATGATT! But there's Husky pieces scattered about... I broke my left lower radiator shroud, license plate holder, bent my shifter, and broke off all of my radiator mounts. This is the weak point in the bike's design. It's all plastic around the radiator and the mounts are integral and plastic. Not good. I used bailing wire to hold the radiator on it's post to get home. At least the radiator didn't puncture. I'm going to have to fabricate a new way to hold this radiator on the bike. Hmmmm. Let the games begin. Here's some pics. View attachment 23008 View attachment 23006 View attachment 23007
Looks like you were having a blast till you went down! As a bonus, that license plate mount looks good!
The Terra lures you in to rallying hard! But, when it breaks loose it can be a handfull. I think I have enough tail left to make a plate holder...
I blame the decal on your windshield. It threw off your riding equilibrium, feng shui and karma. I guess this your going to figure how long its going to take to get some fresh parts. Thanks for taking one for the team. lol Cheers
Soooooo it looks like some form of crash bars are in order.......I'll be picking my TR up on Saturday.......Sorry for your bike....but good info
Yep. Big bikes are always like that. Takes a little bit more effort to bring them back once the excrement starts heading for the fan.
My Dad was riding behind me on his DR650 and he went down too. We were both looking at each other with wide eyes, like what the Hell was that?! It happens. The bike can take a good fall. But that radiator mounting design is bad. Anyone who tips over can break off the plastic mounts. Crash Bars would be sweet, and I'm sure they'll come out eventually. Anyone know where to buy plastics? I only need the lower piece of the shroud. I'll post pics of whatever fix I come up with! Cheers.
Holy cow!!! Glad you guys ore alright. I was going to try and make some time to make a radiator guard this week, but now I AM going to make a guard. This is sooo fricken true!
I think the problem you have is a design issue and has to do with the fact that's its a one piece radiator that straddles the front of the frame of the bike. Every liquid cooled dirt bike of DS I have owned has two rads. If you crashed hard, the shroud peels back and the aluminum rad folds backwards and usually will bend back. The own piece rad digs in and torques itself off the frame. Not your fault Kimosabe,one piece rads are best for street bikes. Your right, rad guards are in order for aggressive trail riding.
Yeah, have bashed radiators on dirt bikes in past and found a place north of you near Seattle that fixes for $50. See pics --- the CRF450X rad (that I traded for a TE310) went from bent to good as new and I didn't even drain the whole system. But I definately put rad guards on both sides when put back together. Not sure if this is an opportunity for Motosportz, but Altrider is coming up with an engine guard for the TR650...maybe it'll protect raditors similar to those for big ADV bikes. I'm planning to get a Terra to replace a dedicated street bike, so prioritizing my accessories list now. Thanks for the real-world example of how the Terra withstand a slide (with a half twist ).
I like the SW motech crash bars at twisted throttle for the g650gs so I'm going to make a set sorta like them. With a modified Husky OEM skid pan should be ok protection on the front and sides of the motor/radiator.
It is possible, those 2 items are related. With better mounts, the radiator might have sustained damage. Though obviously an improved mount with radiator protection might seem the best thing to do.
I think you're exactly right Coffee. The mounts breaking probably helped minimize damage to the rad itself. But, it would be nice if the fasteners were replaceable. Crash bars would take care of the problem. I did the same thing in the snow on my V-Strom and the SW Motech Crash Bars saved the bike. Snow, V-Strom, Don't ask...
Sorry to hear about the wreck, seems to of exposed a week link. Not a fan of the big rads either, but seems to be the order of design for FI. I took my first tumble in snow late October first couple of weeks ownership. I also found out about the rad, as it dislodged from the mount, as there is nothing securing it there but a rubber bushing, plenty of room for improvement. Glad you made it home safe!
I think I can salvage my lower shroud. I'm in the midst of a JB Weld science project with all the broken plastic brackets. The two main upper rad mounts are next. Those are integral to the whole Rad, so I ain't gonna even ask how much! I'm going to talk to my Dealer today and ask if they can get plastics. And that reminds me, where'd you source your black shrouds? The Dude Abides!
