While on the road and taking a break from towing the new bike home I had a chance to look over a few things that will need attention. Skid plate, for sure! The rubber peg inserts have to go, right away, and the shift lever needs to be adjusted up, of course, to clear my boots. I wonder if there are any aftermarket shift levers for the BMW 650 and if they would fit this bike. The brake lever needs attention. If the lever can be flipped over and a new section cut and welded to the front to go over the peg it would be good. I'll have to remove the lever to see what's on the back side at the pivot point. The master cylinder connection to the rod will have to be changed to come in from the top, with an offset tab. This probably won't make sense to anyone yet. I just don't want the lever hanging down so low. With some good welding, grinding, filing and some powder coat, it will look factory. The kick stand on mine is nearly a suicide item: kicks up by itself usually when lifting the bike off the stand. It's about 3/4" short at first glance, unless a lot of sag is added, and the pad is too small for dirt. That is easy to fix. I'm going to reinforce the back side of the stand with a half round tube welded all around, like I do on my 630 stands. That should make it strong enough to let me stand on the peg when mounting over gear, etc. The suicide bit means looking at the spring location and changing the geometry just a tad. Not too difficult either. No chain guide in front of the rear sprocket? Not needed, or just a cost cutting measure from the factory? I wonder if brackets could be fabricated to clamp around the swing arm so that a good BRP roller guide can be installed. I think so. The rims are suspect, but if the bike doesn't get hammered on the rocks and ledges, maybe they will be OK. I'm sure they are fine for the street. Looks like the hubs are straight off of the BMW 650. Motosportz, want to tackle any of this stuff? All in all, not too many projects, and not too difficult. But first, to go for a ride. I didn't even take it around the parking lot this morning; just loaded it up and headed for home. Tomorrow I'll put on about 300 easy miles if all goes according to plan. Cross bar on the bars, for sure, just welded on as per Mark Sampson.
Yeah, i have ridden mine some off road and it does fine. Seems to want you to sit down which is hard for me to get used to but works. Like any heavy bike off road just dont ride over your head or you'll pay the price.
Just a proposal - Kenneth will you be so kind and resend your last post as separate topic on 'TR650 farkles' ? This thread is now so massive and hard to follow Separate topic on farkles pls...
That was the TR650 I was going to get!!! But I'm sure Lon will put my name on the next one. I sold my KTM990 today so I'm ready to buy I just not sure between the Terra and Strada. Decisions, decisions.
Already got the rear brake pedal figured out. I goit one off ebay for an F650/800GS. It goes over the top, Same pivot point. Ordered the spring for it and will need to mod the rear portion of it to match OEM one. Lastly, need to sort out how to activate the brake switch. All minor stuff. Will post some pics... Wheels are strait off the BMW G650GS. I bought a rear and they are 17/19. IF someone wanted to lower one, would be the perfevt way. Rims are decent to be honest. Working on figuring out which excel rims will interchange....
Fatbar mount kits done... http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/tr650-fat-bar-mounts-almost-done.28126/#post-255194
Hello there and thank you for the great review. I need your experienced input...I know you and others will be able to help. I am buying a HUSKY TR650 this weekend, but I am not yet ready to solve my DILEMMA between the TERRA and the STRADA. I will be riding as follows: 40% URBAN (NYC) 40% FREEWAY 20% DIRT (no hard core) Which would be more suitable in those conditions? Thanks all, I appreciate your comments. LCL SAFE RIDE
Get the Terra. The Strada is a wonderful bike and sits a touch lower, and has ABS and tubeless tires. For your percentage of riding, one might think the Strada is the best choice, and may very well be. HOWEVER, once you take the Terra off road, you will yearn for more, and those number may change. All those places you never thought interested you because they were dirt, become tantalizing, inviting quests, that free the mind. So, if you are an inquisitive type, like to explore get the Terra. If you are a point A-B person, get the Strada. The Terra performs well on the pavement. You will only loose the ABS, which for some, is a must have.
ABS is the only major thing that distinguishes between the Terra and Strada (in the US). Sure there is a bunch of other differences, but ABS is the only one you would have a very hard time putting on the Terra yourself. But, you can easily put all the Terra parts onto a Strada yourself. So, it generally boils down to how much you'll kick yourself over not having ABS vs. how willing you are on spending the extra money to get the Terra parts on a Strada. Don't care much about ABS? Easy choice, then.
ANOTHER DILEMMA! I had a dilemma about which TR650 to buy, and now that a decision was made, TR650 TERRA, I called the onwer of my BMW/Triumph/Ducati/Husky Dealer in NY and I was told that they will no longer be albe to support maintenance for the TR650, they have only one unit availble (2014) and that is the end of its production. I got so impressed that a my good and honest friend dealership told me that this is not the time to buy the Husky, as I am ready to do it tomorrow! Just to clear up my mind, I called in another dealer who has two TR650 available and they told me the same thing and offered a 1K discount on any of the 2014 bikes (TR650 TERRA TR650 STRADA), but also fully explained to me that if any elctronic problems...it will be difficult and expensive to find a fix at this moment. Also he told me that it will be a BIG HUSKY EVENT in Europe on Oct 5th, and from that event we will no more of what is going on about these two TR650... Hope you guys have some news and post it, as I am now backing off from purchasing the Husky! Thanks and please any imput would be valuable. LCL
Brazz, you have to do what you feel is right for you. My decision was based on, I loved the way the bike handled, I loved the power, I love the efficiency, I love the fact that it is powered by the BMW based engine. I love the look, I love the uniqueness. There is much more to love about the Terra. When it came down to the purchase, it was known to me that this was a one year wonder, and parts will be harder to find and get. I figured, most of the BMW stuff will switch over, and much does. Electronics is just that, there are people capable and people not capable. Diagnostic tools are in the works, so reliance on the dealer will be minimal. The sale of Husky has terms of parts and service for 10 years. After that time, I will either part my bike out if it goes bad, or buy parts used to fix it. Much like it is for any older obsolete bike.
