Hello Everybody! I bought my Terra last spring and got nearly to the 10k km/6k miles and service is coming up. As far as i know, the 650GS got a 20k km interval for valve clearance check and the terra 10k. I am thinking about skip the 10k check and do it at 20k. Had anybody issues with valve clearance at 10k? Hows your experience on valve check/setting? I am not sure if i can do it on my own, workshop is pretty expensive and far away. By the way - i tried to take care about the airbox issue. Had a lot of dust and grime in there. I opened up the airbox and sealed with silicone, put in a K&N Filter with grease around the filter. Should this be ok from your experience? Thanks a lot! BR
Hi and welcome. Difficult to give clear advice. Regarding valves it seems the norm that they don't need adjustment but some had to adjust them early. If you have/had the air box off it is only a few steps more to take the valve cover off and measure the clearance. Not too difficult. Adjusting them is a bit more elaborate. Regarding the airbox i'd say it is not ok. One issue with the airbox is that the airfilter only seals on three of the four sides against flanges in the airbox. At the top the airfilter does not have a proper flange to seal against and has to rely on sealing against the top of the airbox. Grease certainly helps but may not be enough. It may also happen that the seal on the airfilter gets kinked when the airfilter is pushed into the box. The lid of the airfilter compartment has to properly seal as well. Next issus is that there is an internal divider in the airbox that does not have a seal installed. Then the air intake temperature sensor is not properly sealed either. Can't comment on the K&N filter but have seen mixed and negative reviews/opinions on here.
My experience with valve adjustments on all motorcycles I've owned is that the likelihood that the valves will be in/out of spec depends largely on how hard to use the bike. My Terra routinely spends a lot of time at high-ish rpms offroad. When I inspect at 10K, I expect to find at least one valve to be near or past the limit. I've also found that the valves stay put much better after the initial valve adjustment. Whether that is due to a new engine having broken in or some other factor (like the factory not being as precise with the initial valve lash setting during assembly as I am during the valve adjustment), I don't know. But that is what I have observed on my personal bikes. My guess is that most people could certainly wait to 20K to inspect. Even is something is out at 10K, it is unlikely that it is out of spec enough to cause any damage by the time 20K rolls around. But that is the risk you take. Your call. I personally always do the first inspection as scheduled in the manual and am less stringent after that point. I agree with CarstenB concerning your airbox. With respect to the K&N filter, I know for a fact that it let very fine particulates pass through on a 1200cc Buell Ulysses I had. I could wipe them from the inside of the throttle body, something that never happened running the OEM paper filters during the 30K kilometers prior to installing the K&N. It wasn't a lot mind you, but it was there. Does the K&N let enough pass through over time to make a difference in the longevity of the engine? Perhaps not, but I didn't like it. (Full disclaimer: I used the Buell off-road occasionally. Perhaps my results would have been different had I used the K&N on the street only. Maybe the K&N works better on a Terra than a Buell? Just sharing my experience. I'm no filtration expert and have no firsthand knowledge of anyone's motorcycle ever being done it by a K&N filter.)
Carsten and Gully thanks a lot for your information! Any other opinions regarding valve clearance and air filter?
Talking to the local Husky dealer last weekend. (while buying ngks) He said, the major service is now at 40k km, saying husqvarna learnt early on that 10 and 20k adjustments were costly and unnecessary. That said, one would think, 20k km at least. (like the GSs) Of course "more rev's means more maintenance". Ultimately it's up to you and your riding style. My Terra has 44k currently and like my KLRs I don't plan on cracking the top end open till 50-55k km. But I ride like a old pussy. (on the back wheel that is) With the airbox. Avoid the dirt like the plague until you get it sorted.
With the new-to-me Strada there was dust in the airbox, throttle body and on the butterfly. The stock filter that came out was twisted and the seal cut on an oblique angle in two places. Judging by the dust distribution in the airbox it was mainly coming from the filter. With Jim's help it now has a new airbox seal, and I've put a Unifilter in with grease spread around. The valve clearances were checked at 12.5 K kms and were in spec. 9 and 15 from memory.
RE: K&N air filters. Some years ago a company running dump trucks, loaders & earth movers did a side by side comparison of the stock paper filters and the K&N's. They found about a 30% reduction in time between overhauls due to the amount of fines passing through the K&N's. I just picked up a 2013 MG Norge that had just had a new K&N installed. First thing I did was to replace it with the stock paper filter. Also $13 for paper vs. $71 for the K&N. YMMV
Yeah, there is criticism of K&N quality around. The problem with the TR650 stock unit is the seal, whether from the design or installation or both. That leaves the Unifilter or pod mod.
The problem is in the design of the airbox, and while the foam unifilter will probably get a better seal, it is not completely immune. The only way to be sure is to take the location of the air filter completely out of the area. The bottom of the paper filter snags on this plastic lip which causes the filter to distort as you push the filter carrier into place. and when the filter shape distorts, it hits the inside of the airbox on the air intake side, and this edge distorts which can create a gap for unfiltered air, and this leads to tearing of the rubber frame and further opportunity for unfiltered air to enter and also weakness which will stop the filter from seating properly in future.
And thats why we dont like dust....Not dust in the wind as we all are or I am at least... but dust in our engines. Hate the idea of 1200 grit at 6000 rpm Thats faster than I can sand by hand...did ya know??
