OK, got 203 miles on it now. I'm just going to come right out and say it... I love this bike. I predict it is going to get rave reviews and sell very well. The motor is awesome and seems to get better with every mile. Got 64.4 mpg on my first 103 miles. I think I sold one at the gas station. Dude came over all abuzz asking about it. "Dude, i was just about to by a DR650"... I think he changed his mind. Bike continues to be fantastic on the street and feels like a V-twin to me. Gobs of power and can pass cars from 65 mph EZ. Just like a real street bike. As I said, the motor is terrific right out of the box. FAST and smooth. Clutch is super EZ, shifts nice, quiet. Brakes are breaking in and are very good and strong. This is a great canyon carving machine. Handles light and is fast. Hit the dirt... Finally got it on gravel and dirt and the bike hides it's weight and girth better than I had hoped. On the gravel it rules, motor is a flat track king, handles nice, could do hours of gravel at 40 plus mph all day long. Found myself ripping along at 64 mph on one gravel section and did not even realize it. I can't think of a better bike for gravel. Found some sandy two track, worked fine. Found some old road grades in the woods all grown over and the bike is FUN on that to. Steers far lighter than it should (most likely due to the under seat tank) and bike feels relatively light on its feet. I am a fairly accomplished off road rider and have ridden many bikes big and small and i found this bike quite acceptable off road. Better than i originally thought it would work due to how good it works on the street. I'm impressed. Not a 610/630 in the dirt but not as far off as you might think. In fact I envisioned a version of this bike stripped and with real suspension being a great bike for open off road like you would use a XR650 for. Guys, this bike is the goods. No BS, it is a GREAT road bike and good dirt bike. I think they absolutely hit the mark with this bike. I can't believe anyone could ride it and not think so. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict this bike gets rave reviews in the next few months and sells very well. I'm not generating hype, ride the bike and tell me I'm wrong. More tid bits / random observations... - The wheels are balanced stock and it has rubber inserts in the pegs. This makes the bike very smooth and full on street bike feeling on the road. Very nice. - Gets about 65 mpg so far. I think it holds 3 gallons but the book says 3.67 which would mean almost 240 miles per tank!!! - Odd filler neck works great, no spillage really possible. - Seat is good but not great. Seat Concepts is building one. I plan to put gobs of miles on this bike. - suspension is the weak link on this bike. It is OK but better suspension would make it nicer. - Needs a skid plate ASAP (we are already working on a VERY cool one) - Tires are excellent on the street and pretty good off road too. - Brakes are STRONG - Motor gets even better with every mile and is fast. Feels much more like a mid displacement V-twin than a single. - Stock gearing is to tall for me. I almost don't need 5th. Even on the highway 4th is better as it puts you in the nice range where there is power. On fast canyon roads I was actually using 3rd up to about 60 as it gives you more control and punch. I am going to go one down on the CS sprocket. This will still give me lots of top end and way better use of 1st off road and harder pulling everywhere. - 1st to 2nd jump in gearing is tall for off road. Hoping final gearing will help this some. - Clutch is very nice - EFI is awesome and near perfect. Did find it almost wanted to stall coming to a quick stop at an intersection and then jumping right back on the throttle. It runs on the lean side for sure. this is nit picking as it runs fantastic, better than i had hoped, right out of the box, no fiddling, no power up, nothing. - motor motor motor. This is one great lump - Exhaust is very tucked in and good looking. No hot spots to deal with or buy covers for. - Radiator needs protection bad - Dash is very good, EZ to read even in direct sunlight and has nice big indicator lights for a bunch of stuff. - Cable routing and single cable throttle make the bar area very clean / open - Torx wrench fits under the seat on the battery strap and with that one tool you could take a good part of the bike apart. - Bike starts great and exactly the same every time. Turns kinda slow for about 2 revolutions and purs to life. - Mirrors are huge and very usable / good. this thing is a winner.
Here is the odd filler that works great... Locking cap comes right off (nice fit and finish) As this is not really the tank but a tube going to it you simply put the end of the fuel filler in the hole, which holds it perfectly and pull the trigger till it pops off. Zero spilling / sloshing. Will not be as EZ with the gas can though.
It's fine, sounds like you'll need the first oil change this weekend anyway lol. You may have already told us but is it a low fuel light or a gauge?
- Air filter is a square cartridge type located in the right wing of the "tank" Three bolts and it is out. - manual says there is shock rebound adjustment, need to look into that. Mine needs less spring preload and more rebound. I think it accommodates this. - USB manual does not seem to have maintenance intervals. It does have a real nice video and history section. Goes through all the history of Husky, kinda cool.
Thank you Kelly for the reports and pics!!! Looks fantastic and a great replacement for my aging Dakar. Really like the looks of it and will match my TE450 in the garage ;-) If you have a chance, can you post a pic of the air filter and how much work is involved in getting to it/cleaning? On the "F" bikes, it is rediculous how much you have to do to get to the air filter. Hoping Husky solved that... I am glad the motor is so good. That is the one thing that has been so awesome on the F bikes is how capible are reliable the motor is. Will cruise at 90mph with no problem even geared down. Most of use have dropped a tooth on the cs as you mentioned with no ill effect on top end but a major boost on take off and low end usability. What is the stock gearing on the Husky? Thanks again. Matto
Stock final gearing is 16/47 Air filer is three very EZ to get to screws in the front right of the "tank" wing. Looks super EZ. Will pull and look at.
Great, thank you! Filter looks way easier to get to than the F's. Very nice. That gearing is the same as the F's. Most of use run a 15 if using off road. Does not seem to effect the high end any. Suspention wise, a YZ fork/triples is a popular "upgrade" on the F's. Bolt right up to the BMW frame. Do you know the diameter of the fork tubes on the Husky? A YZ or similar might just slip in the stock triples??? Many of us use an Olins, Hyperpro or Wilbers in the back. Heck, might be the same dimentions on both and be really easy to do. Have fun!
Another great report Motosportz! Can ypu tell me if the handlebars are aluminum? I've got an email to and a reply back from Hall's in Springfield, IL and a call into my not so local (250 miles away) Husky dealer. I've received a lower than MSRP price on one. Just going to go for the best price that can be had on one. Can't wait to purchase a Husky for myself. Been wanting one for a long time. Thanks again for the great report on the TR650. SamM
I believe the fork tube diameter is 46mm. I'm sure Ohlins will have something in the works before too long. I'll probably spring for something better. SamM
YZ forks on mine are 46's. Mount up really easy and you can use the YZ wheel/brake or there is a conversion kit to run the stock wheel which looks to be the same as the BMW hub. A good suspention shop can cut the travel down a bit and revalve/respring accordingly.
Think the bars are aluminum, not sure. Mine will get replaced soon with fatbars / mounts (we are making). As for good deals the one way BMW / husky got the price low is there is less markup so there is less room to move on these. I also feel once the word gets out these might be at a premiuem. The bike really is that good IMHO and for this segment i can't see anything coming close.
yeah rode my buddies F650 with $12000 kit on it and YZ forks with 11 inches of travel. I dont want it any higher / longer just better and adjustable. I have some ohlins forks here I have been looking for something to up them on. If they are close will have them shortened. here is the bike I road (which inspired me more to get the TR650)...
The chrome slider is indeed 46mm will be measuring the OD of my ohlins forks to see if they might fit. Also noted that the triple clamps look bored in such a way there is room to bore them out more so slightly larger OD forks and a good machinist and you might be in business.
My usual method is to buy an upper clamp from whatever bike I believe is similar in size. The clamp are then measured against the stock clamp. I did this with my KLR and realized that my KTM 950 48mm forks were a direct swap into the KX450F trees that I previously swapped over onto my KLR. Emig Racing makes a conversion stem for that swap. With the Emig stem, any KTM 48mm forks can be bolted right up to the KLR with no modifications. Anything from dual disc 950 forks to Supermoto forks will work. Not many people know that. I'm pretty sure that Ohlins makes 46mm replacement forks for the YZ450 MX bikes. It will be interesting to find out if these are a good swap for the TR650. A good shop like MX-Tech Inc. may even be able to rework the stock TR Sachs forks and shock. My KTM 950, KLR650 and my KLX250S are all currently for sale. I'll be parting the KLR out. SamM
