My Txc310 Is Almost Perfect

Another race next weekend - kind of GP style with some MX track and 8 mile loops. The Husky has been teaching me how to ride and I've learned that I can carry more speed thru many turns by not slowing down as much then pitching the bike in ... before I get to the turn. The Husky searches for traction and take a moment to settle in and finally starts turning when I get to the turn and I'm then I'm on the gas early powering out. More speed in and more speed out.
I've put the stock 50 tooth rear sprocket back on and kept the 2 link longer chain which has shoved the rear axle all the way back. This puts more weight on the front tire which helps make sliding and turning predictable without having to climb all the way up on the tank (I'm 6' and haven't found handlebar clamps to put the handlebars far enough forward to make getting up on the tank easy), This also keeps the rear Pirelli trials type tire from getting too much traction too soon which is a problem I've been having. The 90 series Pirelli front MXMH has slowed the steering just a notch which I like. 7psi back and 8psi front.
When I shoved the axle back I had to reset the sag and put one more click of compression in the forks and the bike is really well balanced now.

A out of focus picture of my cheap sag tool in action: Lowes metal yardstick with metric and us marking, socket which fits just inside the axle bolted to the hole Lowes was nice enough to provide, zip ty and duct tape to hold the top in place and provide a line to measure at. (machine sag 40 and race sag 110 with stock spring and my 192#) I put a piece of black tape 110 from the free sag and when I get on the bike it's easy to see if I need to adjust up or down without anyone else to help.

At 80 hours I finally got aound to getting the forks done - I waited WAY to long!! Local guy put in new seals and Merge Racing progressive preload springs for the dual chamber forks.

HUGE difference !! I've been struggling to get the front to stick and today the front was GLUED to the ground. Now the front matches the rear with the Pirelli trials tire. The Merge preload springs are supposed to let the forks soak up the small stuff but still retain hard hit capability. My forks ate up trail trash with less deflection than ever and soaked up big hits better than ever. I rode with the "usual" suspects plus a guy who was a lot faster than me last year. No one could catch me.

A - get your forks done at 40 hours as reccomended.
B - the Merge preload springs work well on the closed chamber KYB's.

Did you get them revalved or just serviced and new springs? I changed the oil and seals in mine at 20 hours and was supried how dirty it was. I went with 350 ml of 5 wt Maxima RFF in the outter. Merge Racing progressive preload springs, sounds interresting MX or Offraod? My guess is the off road ones. I was looking for more bite on the front end when I ride Marana as I sometimes blow the ruts in some corners. I was going to go down a spring rate on the fork but may try the preload springs. If you revalved them who did you get to do it?

ZR1 did the work for $175 (a huge bargain). Donnie is pretty good at the maintenance of forks but most of the "A" racers I know don't like his revalve too much. (they mostly ride KTM's so they have suspension issues to start with ) Donnie told me that the new KYB's are awfully good to start with so he only suggested the Merge springs for off road use to give a little softer initial feel.

Mike:
Good info, thanks.
No work needed on your rear shock? You're happy with the rear?
Those Merge progressive pre-load springs replace the stock ones? Not just an insert?
My forks and shock were shop done by the previous owner. The rear shock has a stiffer-than-stock spring... 5.2 vs 5.6 now. This seems fine. But my forks seems stiff and seem to lack pliability at slow speed in rocks. Speed above 25 mph they start to feel better. I'm trying to zero in on the right setup. Because of compression and rebound dampening, it can be hard to sort out what needs to be adjusted.

I've just started to fiddle with the forks.
Nice to know it might be possible to get both ends (slow spd and high spd) right.
Thanks.
Dave

Dave - I think the TE has open chamber KYB while the TXC has closed chamber which are more MX oriented. The Merge spring is for the closed chamber.

I raced a single track event this weekend which had lots of sand and rocks and only a little hard packed dirt. My TXC was a magic carpet at speed. The Pirelli trials tire out back keeps the rear glued to the ground with 6 psi in the Tubliss - the newly modified forks have tremendous feedback when you want it yet glides over rocks that you see but never feel and just dances over the tops of whoops. The 90-100 Pirelli MXMH on the front works very, very well in all conditions from rocks to hard pack to loam to sand but the knobs are chunking already. I may keep running the trials tire out back (which has been on there since 8-1-12 and still looks good, works good) and use that money savings to go through a few of the MXMH out front.

I passed 30 guys in the first 8 miles of a 30 mile race - was able to use a lot of lines others weren't or couldn't (especially in rocks) - and really square off and hammer the inside lines and exits. And when things opened up tapped out in 6th gear up several sand washes - very stable.

I've been running my AKRA without the quiet insert and sparky at the last couple of races because they were on private land - it gives me a little more top end boost, sounds like a formula 1 car, and lets me blip the throttle like I am somebody when I catch and need to pass.

Mike - I'm about to get a set of Ohlins fork inserts for the KYBs. Also getting a Ohlins rear shock. I'll post some pics when I get them back and installed.
Sounds like those Pirelli's are doing the job for you. If I was racing, I'd have to give them a try. We're into our mud and snow season up here, so I'm trying Michelin S12 XC Softs front and back.

Sounds like you have the bike really dialed now, if you're blowing by everyone and floating over rocks. How does it feel to blast down a sand wash in 6th? Huskys are stable, I've always liked them for that.

How did you open up the Akra without drilling the rivets? I didn't see a way to do open it.
Dave

I've got the aftermarket race AKRA with a bomb in the header pipe and a bolt to intall/remove the insert in the muffler.

Decided it was time to check my race fuel mileage: race last weekend was about 32 miles with maybe a mile before the start to warm up .... it took exactly 1 gallon to top off the tank. Right around 32 mpg. The race took about 1 hour and 20 minutes so .... 1 tank should be good for 3 hours of racing! (as long as I don't tip over and spill)

Mike,

What fork oil height did they set yours at?

What weight are you and what size springs front/rear are you running?

I don't know what oil Donnie used - he works on a LOT of suspensions so maybe there's a "standard" oil he uses in the closed chamber KYB's .... I assume it was the same weight and ammount as "factory". I do know that the clickers are close to where they started at a year ago when the forks were new.
I weigh 192 without gear and use the stock springs. Machine sag out back is just right when race sag is set so the spring is right AND up front I have a little less sag than Vinduro recommends but it feels good to me.
To tell the truth, the Pirelli trials tire with Tubliss at 6-7 psi out back gives such a "dead" feel that it makes the shock feel great. I just adjust the compression toward the softer side of things without any bottoming - and rebound is set somewhere between too fast resulting in rear kick on turn entrance and too slow resulting in rear pack in whoops.
Up front I adjust compression pretty much like the rear (rather soft but little or no bottoming) - and the rebound is dialed slower and slower until the bike doesn't stand up when I exit a turn under power.
I'm not too picky but it's pretty cool when things are close to right - the bike settles into turns and finishes them with authority turning with either the front or the rear - and gets up on top of sand and whoops with straight line stability.

Ok, great. I am little heavier and front may land fine. Rear, think I have to go up 1-2 sizes.

Mike:
Do you have any races coming up? Are you taking a break?
I haven't seen any race videos from you lately!
I'm looking forward to watching more of your sunny AZ race videos while I'm freezing my butt up here in Oregon and dreaming of warming temps.

I have been working on some suspension mods to my 2012 TE310 that I'll post when complete.
Dave

I lost my skid plate at the last race in the early Dec. I ordered one but it still hasn't come in ... I'm a little pissed at the dealer in Phoenix (I think it's his fault not Husky). The stock skid plate works fine for me but ... the Akra makes access to the mounting bolt difficult and I guess i didn't blue loctite it last time I changed oil. My dealer in Tucson got me all new plastics and sprockets with my "Husky Bucks" so the bike looks pretty good.

There was a race the first weekend of Jan but it was in a silt pit so I didn't go (not to mention the skid plate). The next race is in 2 weeks but it's on a Saturday and I have to work. I hear there's a lot of entries from Ca, Nv, Co and some other states. The MM's (milemarkers) northwest of Phoenix is a great area to ride and it's supposed to be about 80 miles of desert single track. Rocky, hilly, sandy, and plenty of cactus off trail.

I also bought a "practice bike" for $800 - a 2003 YZ250 - which has hardly been used and I've been riding it lately. (funny how I was able to get a skid plate for it from RockyMountain in 3 days)

My club has a race set for 3/9 a little north of Tucson. It's always a good event on some of the best racing single track in Az - not the most technical - not real high speed - just real flowing and fun to ride. The town of San Manuel has suffered since the mine shut down ... they let us use the now unused middle school ball fields for our pits and the town supports the race - and we contribute a large percentage of our net proceeds to the school.

If anyone wants to race in "sunny Arizona" check out the AMRA web site.

Some times it is tough gettin parts. Hang in there. You will have to post some pics next time you run.

After watching some videos of other 310's I was wondering why mine didn't 'rev' like theirs did.
I happened to take a good look at the intake screen under the filter while changing the air filter this week. I'm kind of critical about making sure air filters work well and seal well around the edge - I found that while intalling filters over the last year and a half I have left residues on the screen and it was partially clogged. I removed it and riding it toaday there was a very big difference in how my engine ran. I expected a little more top end but instead felt a couple horses more from bottom to top - and the charactoristic of the engine changed a little - far more 'revvy'. Does make me wonder if a 'trumpet' might improve things yet more.

I pulled mine on day one and never had a problem. Only reason for them is for protection from flames in a back fire situation. Most filters are flame retardant these days.

Thanks for the heads up, Mike.
I'll have to check mine. The engine does need to breathe smoothly without any restriction or turbulence. Might be worth looking at the rest of the air path in.
Dave

Mike - I'm out at Marana most Sunday mornings at 8 now that summer is coming. Steve Hatch has a clinic at Canyon MX in Peoria on the 11th - if I can get a Saturday off I'll be there.

I just watched the video of todays ride. My bike now has that 'ripping' sound that was missing. My first video (from Feb 2012) was about 11 minutes at Marana under perfect conditions - I got to the same 2 sahuaros in the same time today in dry, dusty, slick, and hot conditions - even pulling over to let a faster guy by. The faster guy rides a KTM450 - he rode my Husky and came back with a smile, said it handles as well as anything he's ridden and the real world acceleration in dry, slick conditions was not much different than his 450. He's really tempted now with the prices so low.