So the first offroad foray and the first big bump I hear a weird clunk and sure enough, the reflector hanging down under the license bracket broke right off. I decided today that contraption has to go so I start taking pieces off and find that I can use the original bracket for the plate by turning it over and bolting it to the underside of the main part of the black fender slip-on piece. After some hacking and trial fitting it all worked out pretty well. No more junk hanging down to break off, and I didn't have to find a new mount for the signal lamps. Plus I get to keep my red reflectors as required by CA vehicle code. For a license plate illumination I'm going to get a pair of those LED bolts and connect to the leads for the original lamp. I have some time before fall when it starts to get dark earlier. I just need to get under there with my dremel and trim the thru-bolts.
Hmmm...yes, there's your answer. Those aren't the CRM guards so they're attaching in the tapered part of the bar. The CRM's are longer and the bar clamp attaches near the tripleclamp where it's not tapered. Problem solved!
Picked up my new TE630 yesterday. Ya I got the front end shimmy going on at 60MPH on up. REALLY hates the grooved pavement like Highway 580 Oaklnd and the upper deck Bay Bridge, but the shimmy is noticeable elsewhere at those speeds. Have not checked tire pressure yet. Never had this on my 610, never had the Karoos either though as I bought that bike used with other rubber on it. The 630 definitely feels like higher gearing, which with the quiet twin pipes FEELS slower. But the motor is new and not broken in, will go down a tooth up front and see. Certainly the power is adequate! Yes, the power up has been done. The speedo lags behind the change in speed a full 3 seconds, no big deal. Just as long as it does not die like on my 610 I see the upper roller mount is the same inadequate spot welded nut, am certain that it too will break off my on first Baja trip. Will either check to see if they spot welded the backside this time too, or maybe change the roller over to the nearby bolt 2" aft. Love the new hydraulic clutch. Ditto the new integral steering lock. The old frame mounted lock broke after a spill and had to be removed in the desert before riding further. 630 also feels like it needs more lock to lock steering room like the 610. Again you get used to it but nice to have more swing when moving the bike around. Longer kickstand is nice. Engine looks pretty classy with the red valve cover. Oh yes, the engine has a lot more clatter up top, might not be so smooth as my 610 but again it's new and tight. If the cam chain lasts 15k miles I'll be happy. Have not taken the 610 out in months, will do a side by side before selling off the 610.
Good report. My shimmy is gone after backing off the shock preload a ton. Set sag for about 3-1/2 to 3-3/4". Have not balanced the wheels/tires, seems fine. Top speed showing on the speedo is 78. Guess it gets along pretty good on the freeway. It must be the tires on the grooved pavement - I noticed it big time going out the 91 last weekend. The front end hunts side to side. A friend said his DR doesn't do that, different tires, kendas and 606's I think. I do like the karoos otherwise though. Surprising on dirt, great on the road. I can already tell they're not going to last though. Looking at Mefo's. Valve clatter is definitely noticeable! As long as that's normal. Speedo is funny. Just put a mount on for my garmin so will now get to see if it's accurate or not. I've been running with the tach displayed so I can keep an eye on revs thru break in. I just found out last night the rev limiter is at 8400. Peak power 5500-7500. Great low end torque though. A 14T counter makes a big difference. Bike is a little snappier, still cruises nice, and will crawl for reasonable trailing. Anything more gnarly than that and I'm not sure I'm on the right bike. Some like 14-45. Might try that if more trailing is involved. 70mph is 4800, 5000 puts it about 72. Perfect. The wind pressure is tiring though. Not sure I'd want to do 6 hours of that. Didn't notice lock to lock 'till last night trying to move the thing in the garage. And it's too heavy to pickup and move like my 250. I found husky666 peg relocators and sent him a PM. That will fix my shifting issue with MX boots. Apparently the shifter is an inch closer to the peg than other bikes. The relocator sets them back half an inch. And I want to de-cat the cans, see how that goes. Thinking of GL coyote like Jtemple's setup. I like it!
Haha, yep! Although if I ever do buy another street bike, the Streetfighter is on the short list (if it even exists by the time I get to that point).
I backed off the preload a 1/2 turn and I'm still only getting 3" of total travel -- difference between wheel-off-the-ground and me-sitting-on-it. (1" unloaded sag.) I want something closer to 4", correct? About how many turns of the adjusting ring gets 1" of travel? I have a spring from a TE610 that is marked "5.8" -- stocker is "6.4". I weigh 190 pounds with gear and a tool kit. Might that other spring be better for me? Is it possible to change springs at home, or does a shop have to do it? Final question (of 5!) -- am I missing something or do I have to pull the shock to get clean access to the rebound adjuster at the bottom? Can't see how to get at it.
The new model is pretty cool, eh? Sounds like you're right about there. Sag is measured from fully extended, that's all the way up, pickup back of the bike to extend the shock fully, and then measure from axle to a point up on the fender, I used the passenger handhold bend, and then measure again sitting on the bike. From your description I think that's what you've got, and 1" static sag is good as well. A helper can do the sitting measurement, just make sure they're measuring to the same referrence point you did. Factory manual says 90-95mm which is 3-1/2" to 3-3/4". The stock spring and preload were selected to accomodate a passenger as well as the rider, so for just a pilot its a bit stiff. Since we're not gonna do 70mph whoopdies with this bike it's probably fine. I backed my preload off more than I thought I should have to, but it's working fine. Apparently they do break in some and sag increases so we'll probably have to run them down a bit after a couple thousand miles. With the rear suspension unladen you can reach in with a screw driver at an angle and adjust the rebound damping screw. The detents or 'clicks' are about a fifth to a quarter turn each. I ended up running mine in about 4 clicks from 20 out (stock setting) as damping wanes as the shock oil gets hot. The high and low speed compression settings I left at full out so far which is the factory setting. So far I have also left the front rebound at the factory 20 clicks out. Front end is nice and plush and firms up nicely at full compression. It's not a 50mm race fork so don't expect 70mph whoopdies with this end either. I'm about 185 with gear, backed off the preload from factory almost an inch to get the right sag. Doing a quick adjust for a passenger is impossible. Fortunately it's not the type of bike that would get a long range passenger! I don't know what the spring rate values mean but I would be hesitent to deviate unless it's a known outcome. BTW, get a link from Jtemple and download the shop manual, it's great. Also, there is more detailed info in the owners manual on the flash drive than there is in the printed manual.
OK -- that's about what I've got. I'll back off the preload another turn to get another 1/2". The compression settings on mine were far from factory. They were only a few clicks from fully closed. Fully open now and I'll see how that rides. That's why I want to get at the rebound adjuster -- close it and then open it back up the right amount. No way of knowing how far it is turned right now. Might be 20 clicks, might be 10. Only way to know is to close it and come back out. The forks are a little stiff, but have to ride it a while and see if they soften up. The fork rebound settings were also off from what the manual says to start at. I did get the shop manual. Very helpful for lots of little things and big things.
I have a spanner wrench for the rear shock, but it won't fit in that tight space on the left side to make adjustments. Are you folks pulling the airbox to get at it from the other side? I've done some small adjustments tapping on the rings with a screwdriver. But, it takes FOREVER and starts to beat up the teeth on the rings.
Yeah, it's as difficult as any bike I've seen. I used a dull screw driver and a rubber mallet. Lubed the threads with a light spray (amsoil mps) and it turned pretty easy to get it backed well off and set to the right sag. No damage. Did not remove the airbox. BTW, I did pull the airbox when doing the power up b removing the large clamp behind it. It's a bitch to get back on. The manual shows to remove it by taking the boot off the carb/TB injector. I found that after the fact.
The shop manual mentions using an aluminum punch to turn the lockrings. No way a spanner fits in there. That would only work if the shock is off the bike. I finally got my 3-1/2" sag. Tapped on that sucker for three full turns, one tooth at a time.
I am the same weight as you and these are the # I got with the 5.4 spring, 37mm or 1.46" static sag and 102mm or 4" race sag. Ideal setup for me. Spring easy to replace. Put bike up on a stand and support rear wheel. Let go top shock mount, bottom shock linkage and drop shock out the bottom to replace spring.
I had my bike lowered 1". Instead of removeing the spacer in the front fork i had the spring cut. This stiffened up the front a bit. It seems much better for me. I found the front of the bike too soft.
A spanner will not work. You have to use a punch (or screwdriver etc.) The mechanic at the dealer confirmed this for me when they did the sage adjustment. They do not remove the airbox on the other side.
The rear pre-load adjuster willl be easier to turn if you put the bike on a stand and take all the weight of the rear tire.
That I've done. What I haven't done is lube the threads. I'll have to give that a try. I could use a little less preload I think.
Gutted the cats and internal stainless muffler baffles, replaced with perforated SS pipe for full flow-thru glass packs. Details here: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/my...ans-to-flow-throughs.19706/page-2#post-175658
