I do! Each day at work someone throws a coke can in the bed of my truck! In a few years I may be able to turn them in for a brand new HUsky Great looking bike. Congradulations !!
The same exact thing happened to me last week - although the one in my truck was a 2010 te310 - really weird!
Man, I'm not sure I like the 48t rear sprocket... It's like having 3 first gears... I definitely hate the Karoos. I was thinking of putting 6 day extreme tires on as my 610 had one on the front when I picked it up used and I kinda like it. What tires would you folks suggest for a 95% dirt use bike? I might street it a little more later on, but for now, it's going to live on the dirt mostly.
I managed to take it for a quick 5 mile spin when I got home. All street as there's no dirt nearby. My initial impressions... 1) Height. damn, this sucker's tall. And it's shorter than most dirt bikes. I had to stand on my bike stand to get on the darn thing, I have a little hip trouble and bruce lee kicks are not in my repertoire. 2) Tires. Karoos suck. The tread pattern is lame and it feels really weird in leans in the right range of angles. I knew I wanted different tires anyways, but I was hoping these wouldn't suck so much. They're so bad, I don't feel comfortable on the bike in general maneuvering. At speed in a straight line they're ok... if you consider 40mph 'at speed.' 3) Seat. The seat looks good. But it's not that great. I've had worse, though. I'll probably get a custom seat made, which will be lower as well so I can reach ground a tad better for dabbing. I will resist lowering the bike as much as I can, though. I want the travel and clearance. 4) Gearing. It ships stock with a 13/40 sprocket combo. It comes with a 48t sprocket and a longer chain, which I had the shop put on. Dayum! I've got three first gears. I don't really care for so much, so low. I'm probably going to switch it back to the 40. Of course, I reserve the right to switch back once I see how that feels. Best to make informed decisions. In any case, I'll definitely get a ride in before I swap over to the 40, so I can evaluate it well. 5) Starting. Man, she's fussy when cold at night. I had to let it warm up quite a bit before it would stay running with the choke off at idle. And the choke is spring loaded to shut off, so I had to hold it, which kinda sucks. I'll have to see if there's an adjuster for that. At the shop it started up fine, but it was much warmer and was sitting in the sun. Once warmed up, she was fine. 6) Weight. Oh god, this is so much lighter (75lbs lighter than my '03 TE610e). Just loading it in the truck is tons easier. I love it, I love it, I love it. 7) Power. Perhaps the low gearing helps, but it has no problem lugging my fat ass around. I wasn't really pushing it at all being uncomfortable on the bike - didn't even wheelie it once or violate the stairs. Once I am more comfortable on it, the stairs are mine and I'll be doing wheelies down the back street by my house (I need the practice big time). 8) Ergos. The bike is VERY narrow. So much so that I haven't found where to grip it with my knees. I feel knock-kneed trying to grip with my knees. The bars are beefy, but a bit low for me. I may get some risers or maybe some taller bars with a cross bar. Or both. I'll probably start with just some risers so I can stand up a bit straighter. 9) Side stand. Well, it's stronger than a KTM's. I'll give it that much. But it's a pathetically weak POS that I wonder if it would snap in a strong wind from the wrong direction. I've never been comfortable getting on a street or dirt bike with the stand up and if I do that on this bike, I'm going to snap it (it doesn't look or feel like it would bend) in no time. I'm going to look for a shop to weld an I-beam on the inside and tack it in 3 spots or so to bolster the stand. It looks like there's enough room. I could add a tab to grab with my foot to help put it down, too. 10) Turn Signals. Big. Effective. Not flexible. But at least not super fragile. However, one decent dump and one of the rear ones will be toast in no time. I'm going to look into some flush mount LEDs. The front signals might be ok, though. 11) Brakes. Brembos and single discs front and rear - typical for a dirt bike. Seem to work quite well considering. I doubt I'll find them lacking on dirt at all. 12) Suspension. Definitely sprung a bit heavy. It didn't bottom out when I got on the bike and by my estimate based on seat height, I think the sag may be just about right. I expect I'll need to respring the front a bit heavier, possibly the rear, too. We'll see. I just did pavement, but there are a few spots of ripples and patches that are downright painful on the Harley. The 310 took them just fine. Noticable, but not painful. I doubt the suspension comparable with the WPs you find on KTMs, but the Kayaba/Sachs combo here seems much more than adequate for my limited abilities. 13) Exhaust. Sounds lower pitched than I'd expect for a small displacement bike. A tad on the loud side, at least when it's being fussy starting up in a semi enclosed space. 14) Gearbox. Totally different feel shifting gears than with the 610. Firm, solid, almost too tight feeling switching gears. No false shifts. A neutral light would be nice. I think the display shows N at some speeds based on what I've read so far, but I didn't see it at a stop light. The cabling blocks my view of some of the lights on the display, but risers may fix that and I may be able to tweak the cable position. I think with a bit of time to get more familiar with it (and more than just a run to Bernal Rd and back at night), that I'll really come to like this bike. The power seems good, the suspension seems fine and the extra light weight is nice, although that might also contribute to the uneasy feeling. I'll get used to that, though. Most of what I don't like so far seems to have easy solutions. I'll be taking it really easy for the first real ride or two since it's not broken in yet. But after that, I'll still be taking it easy because, well, that's how I ride at this point. I've only been seriously getting into dirt riding in the last year and I think in many ways that this bike will lessen the learning curve for me. I have no intention to race or do really hard core dirt, that's really not where my interest lies. I'm more interested in adventure riding and dirt is a means by which I can develop and practice my skills. And have some fun while I'm at it, too.
If you are close to Bernal, then you could probably ride out to MetCalf. That is the important part (to me).
I'm 2 exits down 101 from Metcalf. If I take Monterey Highway all the way down, it's probably 5-6 miles to the front gate from my house. I've never ridden there, though. I usually go to Hollister.
Congrats on the truck bed find...it's a sweet looking bike. Hey I had to unload a new 2011 TM 250MX from my truck bed Monday; it must be something going around like a bike flu LOL. Enjoy your bike.
For now, yes. It's 75lbs heavier, but it's a great medium weight bike. But it's possible I might decide to trim the herd later on.
welcome to the 310 club mnb... i had the stock tyres replaced with MEZTZELER SIX DAY EXTREME tyres with mooses i then added SAMCO HOSES, REIKON footpegs, a nice G2 THROTTLE CAM SYSTEM, heavier rear shock spring I also cut of the auto return pin on the sidestand so that it dosen't whack you on the shin when your not wearing your boots. other planned mods are XTRIG TRIPPLE CLAMPS,STERRING DAMPER, the only gripe i have with it is that the rear panels still have the "stick on". graphics which flake off when your pressure washing.and the front exhaust pipe looks a bit 1980s have fun riding the 310 its pretty awsome
