Dual-sporting a 2010 TE 450, with cheap tricks

Will you be riding your TE all the way from home or trailering to the K trail? From the photos, it looks like you should have a blast riding there.

How do you like those D606s? What size are you running?

It's about 400 miles to Mena AR from Austin, so I will be using the pickup to get there. My 15 tooth countershaft sprocket wont fit with the tall D606 tire and the chain length I have. I am having to run the chain length I am running so that my 13t CSS will work. I am currently and will run a 14t CSS in Mena, we will be riding 90 miles on hiway on Day 1 to get to the trail.

The rear is a 130/90 which is a little narrow and it is taller than normal. I love the tire, I handles great on the street, does fine in the dirt and sand and rocks. I wish I could get it in a 140/80. I have a Pirelli Scorpion Pro All Terrain/Enduro Rear Tire waiting to go on the bike when this one is done, the Pirelli is 140/80 and it is rated Best DOT tire by Dirt Bike magazine.

Thanks for the advice, dude. I've got a similar project going on with my '05 TE450. I sold my truck, so my bike has to make it to the trails on its own.

Went to Mena, AR June 4-5. Rode the K Trail east from Clyton, OK back to Mena, then rode the Ouaquita Mountains of western Arkansas.

First up, one of our stops riding from Mena to Clayton, early morning, 70 degrees, a sweet pavement ride, fast and cool.



Clayton OK WPA era school auditorium, built in 1937, on the Historic Register site as one of two remaining.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_High_School_Auditorium_(Oklahoma)


Next up, the flat tire morning break in the forest, Rob would point to a tool, and we hopped to it! Roofing nail was a bear to get out of the tire.



A view from one of the fire towers, you can see the TE450 on the ground.



Second day, early on, the Speed Demon himself, lookin' confident for the day.




Boxercup Dave on his first trail ride in 20 years, found some submerged stone ruts that were sharp as serrated knives, grabbin' his tires as he passed thru the crossing.




Here's the Husky on the Little Mizzoo River, in Albert Pike rec area, where the campers died.
Main article: June 2010 Arkansas floods
During the night of June 10-11, 2010 a flash flood along Little Missouri River (Arkansas) killed at least 16 people in the campgrounds of the Albert Pike Recreational Area.[1] In a matter of less than four hours water rose from three feet to over twenty-three feet.




Blue Hole, 5 minute ride up to the top overlook was a challenge but the Husky slapped it silly.


Lunch in the mountains.


The TE450 performed flawlessly, I was geared up with a 14t CSS, and I climbed everything that all the other riders did. No boil overs, even though it was over 100 degrees heat index. This is a tougher bike than I thought, because I am really layin' it on now, rough stuff.

3800 mostly street miles now, no free dirt here in Central Texas. The bike has been off-roaded in central New Mexico and kicked ass, western Arkansas and did well, and now I am getting it ready to go to the Rocky Mountain Adventure Ride in Saguache, CO.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=607314

No problems to report, the bike is getting to be bullet-proof. I've wrecked it pretty nasty twice now due to poorly set-up front suspenders, but I think I have that under control now, my fault. I am back to stock gearing, 13/47 I think. I really want to be able to low-end these guys in Colorado. Been using Castrol 4T synthetic, 10w50 with HiFlo filters and the bike seems to run better every month. The horn bracket broke under the Lynx fairing, not a big deal to fix that. the heat shield on the muffler/header join broke so I made a new one from a leftover scooter heat shield.

Looking forward to seeing Dan B.'s 510 in Colorado at the RMAR.

New shoes,Pirelli Scorpion Pro All Terrain/Enduro, rated best dual sport DOT tire by Dirt Bike mag. I think I will like these tires, the rear is my stock 140 width so thats good.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.co...corpion-Pro-All-Terrain-Enduro-Rear-Tire.aspx

On my trip to Saguache, CO, the Pirelli Scorpion Pro All Terrain/Enduro was good in the dirt, not so good on the street, overall, I wasnt too impressed with it, so I got another Pirelli for my trip to New Mexico..Here's the Pirelli XC MidHard after 500 miles of New Mexico dual sport riding, its a great tire felt as good as a D606 in the dirt and the street. I like the XC better than the Pirelli Scorpion Pro All Terrain/Enduro.



I made a sidestand foot out of some scrap plastic deck board I had laying around, I traced the outline of the stock foot onto the board and used a router to make the shape, then used wood screws to attach it, has improved tremendously the ability to park the bike in the wild, on sand, dirt, rocks, and snow.
.

In a previous post, you'll see the TouraTech "luggage rack" for this bike. It's TINY, about the size of my handprint. I found an old scooter luggage rack that I had stashed away, it had broken the pin for the top box, I used some pop-rivets to attach it to the TouraTech rack and now my 2 inner tube pack sits much better on the rear fender.

Another cheap trick:
I rode 500 miles over 3 days in NM recently and my hands were hurting every day from my death grip in the rough stuff. I got some bicycle handlebar wrap and used bicycle inner tube pieces to seal off the ends. The comfort for me is incredible. There's a wide selection of colors and material on wrap, you can go cheap or some really nice grippy silicone stuff. It also cuts some of the vibes to my hands as well.

I FINALLY got my aux gas tank to draw fuel by natural suction. I had tried it back when I first got the Acerbis number plate tank but I could never seem to get it to work. So I met a guy on a ride with a sub-frame aux tank and he had tapped a fitting into his tank and sealed off his cap vent. His system worked perfectly. So I did the same, BUT I found that the gas and the main tank WILL expand with heat from the engine while the aux tanks gets cooled by riding in its location. So, there are times when there is no vacuum pressure from the main tank. That's why I installed a petcock on the tank vent. When I need to relieve the expanding tank pressure and introduce a vacuum, I can do that with the cap vent now. I've ridden several times now and I have emptied the aux tank before the main tank was accessed. Another benefit of this arrangement is that I introduce much less natural air into the main tank, thus less moisture from the air. It's pretty ugly right now, I plan to use some nice black hose and clean up the fittings on the cap when I can. I really messed the cap up 6 months ago when I drilled out the spill-block device, but hey, its airtight now! The $1.50 plastic petcock is from a beer-making supply house.

I like your setup. Probably have to copy some of it.

Another cheap trick or two:

This mod to the footpegs is posted on TT I think. You cut the boss off the bottom of the peg and make a new boss/spacer and put it on the top of the peg, effectively lowering the peg and moving it back a hair. The consensus on the other post was that the change should be welded to keep the now unsupported pin from bending at the gap in support in the middle.. What I did was to replace the pin with a shanked bolt, and a lock nut. I don't think the bolt will bend as some have said the pin would bend, especially since the length is now supported by the nut on the end.. You have to swap the springs from each side of the bike to the other side as well.

In the pic you can also see where I have zip tied some large diameter rubber hose to the brake lever. I have seen a few pics floating around where the shift lever and brake lever have pierced the side covers, leaving the rider to make a field repair with JBweld or somesuch. I''m trying to avoid all that drama, and I DO lay 'er down every once in a while.

6,000 mile report

No major problems, this bike seems to be indestructible. I really can't believe how dependable this bike has shown itself to be.

I change oil when I can't see thru the sight glass. Been thru alot of tires, maybe 5-6 rear and 3-4 front.

I put BelRay 2.5w in the forks and totally transformed the bike's handling. I was suffering from stiff, "packed down" forks on rough sections, like rock gardens, and it really exhausted me, trying not to lose the front end every time the going got rough. The front end is much more plush now and I can relax my grip in the rough stuff.

I've adjusted the valves about 4 times now. Always looser, using bigger shims to take up the slack, which is completely different from every other Husky I've read about.

Getting ready to order a boatload of stuff, probably from Taskey's , brake pads, temp sensor, chain sliders, levers for spares, etc. I've been hesitant up until now, spending money on keeping the bike long term, but I think it's proved itself, I think it's a keeper.

I got behind a guy on a Husaberg 570, with a new rear tire, and he pitched a rock back on my Lynx fairing, I patched it up and painted it black, so the bike gets a new look for its next 6000 miles.

The 4th valve adjust was to happen right after I posted the last update, and sure enough, I had to shim for TIGHT valves, for the first time ever, amazing. It sure was quiet though, with the valves at the tight end of the range......

With the tank off doing the valves, I did find a couple of things that needed attention, both seemed to be my fault and not the fault of the bike.

First, the fuel pump filter, my fault that there were holes being rubbed into the filter, I hadn't secured the after-market, too-large pump, tight enough to the flange. I always pull the pump assembly when I check the valves since the tank is off. Got a new filter at the auto store, and I should be good for another 6000 miles.

What's the part number on the metal filter- or what's it off/from- and what are the inlet/outlet barb sizes?

I like your pics- nice to see that thing ridden like that windscreen and extras and all. Reminds me- I love cresting a hill or "offroad jump" getting air, landing on the rear, and pulling away with the front rising and you have to let off to get the front down at some point. Love that when it just happens when your riding in that "on it" zone.

I used $30 a foot submersible 5/16" fuel line, so the AutoZone generic filter must have 5/16" barbs, I picked this filter just because it was the smallest overall size I could find with the 5/16" barbs.

Yeah, since I got the front end softened up with BelRay 2.5w suspension fluid, I have ALOT more confidence on the bike, to ride it the way I used to ride when I was alot younger, the bike has been a blast for me, I'm really starting to get attached to it.

It might have been you that tipped me off to ATF being fairly thick, in terms of suspension fluids. Below is the research I did to get to my determination of my front end problem and the solution. The red circle was where I was, harsh, front end packing, washing out on downhills, no feedback, just plain crap, with ALL the rebound damping backed out. The green circle is where the bike is now, with 2.5w fluid in the forks.



Most cartridge type forks use a viscosity of 16 cSt@40C.
Most damper rod type forks are specd for a viscosity of 34 cSt@40C. (Basically ATF Fluid) although most setups require far thicker for adequate performance.
http://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid

Brand......weight..................Viscosity
.............................................cSt@40C
RedLine...LikeWater..................5.50
RedLine...Extra Light Blue..........9.80
RedLine...Light Yellow..............18.40
Bel-Ray...2.5w..........................9.20
Bel-Ray...5w............................20.50
Bel-Ray...10w..........................37.40
Maxima...5w...........................15.90
Maxima...10w.........................32.00
Maxima....15w........................46.00

PACKING: Too much rebound damping slows down rebound and causes the front of the bike to pump down over bumps.

PACKING: If rebound damping is too high you may have lack of “feedback” and in extreme cases where the suspension can't react quickly enough to extend again it will pump down until it bottoms out which is simply dangerous,

PACKING: Takes first bump in a series well but harsh over later bumps, poor traction in washboard corners
CAUSES-Too much rebound damping
SOLUTIONS-Reduce rebound damping if adjustable - Non adjustable - reduce oil weight

If you direct your attention to the right side of the traction versus rebound damping curve (see picture graph), you will note that at high rebound damping, traction has suffered. This is due to the wheel not being able to follow the ground simply because it can't respond quickly enough. The suspension compresses as it hits a bump. Then, it can't follow the ground (return to its original position in the travel) fast enough after the crest of the bump to maintain traction. When this is excessive it is called "packing."

I learned this the hard way some time back on a hard/fast track where my front end was pogo-ing. I kept dialing more rebound damping and it kept getting worse. A friend pointed out that my forks went down a bit on the first bump, further on the next, until they were half way through the stroke on each successive bump. So instead of being in the first few inches of travel and supple, they were in the mid-stroke and harsh. This is known as "packing". Too much rebound damping slowed them down so they couldn't get back to full extension and let the first few inches absorb the small stuff like it is supposed to. That is, they were "packed down".

Thanks.

Yea I remember that thread- where you had mentioned your issues with packing. I have loved my suspention from the get go on my 09TE450. But once I did Dwight's (vinduro's) sag settings I was even happier. I also changed my fork oil- mainly to complete maintnence, and had some Motrex 2.5 (same as reacetech) left on my shelf and used that since I had it. I noticed alot of difference- I had to change my clickers- But between the sag settings front and back and the 2.5wt I found my suspention very compliant and I am using more of my suspention- which is the point.

I too am happy in every way with my 09TE450 and plan to keep it a long time- just a blast to ride and it makes some things stupid easy- Yes-:very confidence inspiring

I DID find one little problem that was not a reflection on the bike at all, the Spal fan support plastic was broken in one spot. There was nothing to anchor a zip tie to, I just wanted to draw the broken parts together without alot of force or might. I saw the mounting bolts sticking out from the nuts and so I formed some stainless wire to loop around 2 of the bolts, put some red Loctite on a couple of little nuts I had, and then secured the zip ties to this thing. It works and was free to me.

I put the aftermarket Ducati fuel pump on in January of 2011 and I put the auto fuel filter on shortly after that. At about 6000 miles and 12 months of use, the filter clogged up and led to performance issues, cutting out, dying, etc. Popped a new filter in and the bike runs strong again. I remembered to get a pic of the part number this time for those that need to get rid of that nasty plastic filter on the EFI bikes, this filter has 5/16" nipples I believe.: