I'm headed tomorrow to my dealer (Big D, Woodland Park, CO)for a MOSS session, oil change and check up @ 4K mostly off-road miles. MY bike has always been under-powered compared to my BMW Sertao. If the Beemer puts out 50 ponies the Terra could not be greater than 44 IMHO. I had it on the MOSS at 600 miles,which didn't change anything. The bike feels like it has a potato up the tailpipe and will stall unexpectedly, especially in the first 1/2 hour. It runs much better warm than cold, but overheats rather easily at temps above 90F. I have never checked the air filter. I ride alone and don't encounter much dust. If the air box assembly/design is faulty and has dirt in it, shouldn't that be a warranty issue? I have a fairly loud metallic clunk in my front end. I and a friend spent two hours trying to diagnose and couldn't find anything askew although we both agree it feels and sounds like a lose head bearing. I also have a slightly scary head shake at 70 MPH. We tightened the head bearing nut about 1/4 turn but no improvement. The action is very smooth. My question: Can any of you think of any culprits that would make my Terra so hesitant? Any tips on what to ask the dealers mechanic to do or check out? Any clues on the clunk? Mahalo
I highlighted the text with the left click button on the keyboard. Wow, 4000 miles of mostly off road with no air filter change or even checked the air filter. If the dealer finds dirt in the air box with a plugged air filter they could claim neglect. Which would void the warranty. I hope the bike is okay.
Here you go. I'm headed tomorrow to my dealer (Big D, Woodland Park, CO)for a MOSS session, oil change and check up @ 4K mostly off-road miles. MY bike has always been under-powered compared to my BMW Sertao. If the Beemer puts out 50 ponies the Terra could not be greater than 44 IMHO. I had it on the MOSS at 600 miles,which didn't change anything. The bike feels like it has a potato up the tailpipe and will stall unexpectedly, especially in the first 1/2 hour. It runs much better warm than cold, but overheats rather easily at temps above 90F. I have never checked the air filter. I ride alone and don't encounter much dust. If the air box assembly/design is faulty and has dirt in it, shouldn't that be a warranty issue? I have a fairly loud metallic clunk in my front end. I and a friend spent two hours trying to diagnose and couldn't find anything askew although we both agree it feels and sounds like a lose head bearing. I also have a slightly scary head shake at 70 MPH. We tightened the head bearing nut about 1/4 turn but no improvement. The action is very smooth. My question: Can any of you think of any culprits that would make my Terra so hesitant? Any tips on what to ask the dealers mechanic to do or check out? Any clues
Pull the filter and clean it before you go if you know whats good for you and your warranty. It's best to appear like you took care of the bike and knew what you were doing. The mechanics can tell if the bike has been abused or neglected mechanically more than likely. Tell them of the signifacant power loss, stalling, thump in the fork or steering pivot, overheating and other problems
Bad gas. Isn't Colorado one of them ethenol loving states? Terra needs the good gas. It will run on the other stuff, but really kills the performance
Well, I showed up at Big D early, but they had some bad news. Apparently they weren't able to use their MOSS machine due to some arcane log-in problem in the server in Germany. I had to leave the bike with them for a few days at least. We did inspect the air box with an inspection camera and it didn't look bad to me. My air filter didn't look bad either after 4K miles. I suppose that's because I ride alone. Ryan(their factory schooled mechanic) and I explored the clunk a bit, but he didn't have any diagnosis yet. He agrees that the Husky shou ld easily be faster and more powerful than my Sertao if the published HP numbers are correct. As for the fuel: I use mostly Premium without ethanol. We are lucky in NM because we have a pretty good network of NO Ethanol stations. Honestly, I can't see much difference but I hate Monsanto and agribusiness welfare.
I realize it is now at the dealer and hope they figure it out, but I will throw my 2 cents in here. I had a BMW X-Challenge that had a number of similar issues that you seem to be having with the Terra. It was was supposed to make more power than it seemed to, was very susceptible to stalling (though mine got worse the hotter it got) and ran quite hot (fan on all the time). The muffler was so hot that it was unbearable to ride seated for more than 15 mins at a time. Mine had a failed/clogged catalytic converter....in a sense, a potato in the tail pipe. Now the Terra has 2 pipes and 2 cats (I think) so it seems odd that both would have failed, but perhaps even one being clogged could be enough to cause you grief.
I will offer that my buddy with a 2012 Sertao feel that the TR650 is significantly smoother and quicker than his BMW. Please do let us know how it turns out. It's a long shot, but checking to be sure you don't somehow have the 35kw version is worth looking at. I think it's stamped on the throttle cable guide near the throttle body--someone from down under should be able to confirm. In the US we should all have 43kw bikes.
This theory has me curious. I have literally ridden both bikes back to back, and the Husky was much faster and smoother than the Sertao. I was also thinking that maybe a restricted throttle body made its way to the US. It wouldn't surprise me. I just can't think of anything else that would give the symptoms he described, especially on a dual exhaust system.
I wonder if it is running the restricted program with the US throttle body. That would cause it to run extremely lean
The only difference between a 48hp & 58hp engine is the bracket on the throttle body to give the cable maximum travel and fully open the butterfly. Some Aust owners have had their bikes derestricted and this was the only requirement.
Unbelievable, who would of thought. Great to know, a buddy of mine is looking to buy a used 650 Terra right now.
Thanks for the various theories. I'll pass them along to the mechanic. I personally and within 5 minutes of riding this bike told my buddy that I thought the exhaust was plugged. Spose it has a defective/obstructed muffler? If it was just the cat that was blocked you'd still have sufficient pass through because guys( Big Dog) have been cut off and blocking the right hand pipe successfully I think.It should be easy to check the throttle body and program type once Ryan gets the MOSS up and running.
