'09 TE must-do mods/farkle list?

[BentAero]

I've committed to buy an '09 TE310. That's the good news. The bad news is, I haven't kept up on what these bikes need since until Saturday night I had no intention of upgrading anytime soon.

Despite diligent searching I haven't been able to find a "bin-o-facts" or similar on what to do/not to do with the new (for the moment) generation bike. I've been riding a '07 TE250, so I'm used to that.

I've read Dean's entire DynoJet thread with great interest and that system looks promising. But what about the usual stuff, such as:

1. What brush guards fit?

2. Best mid-pipe guard?

3. Disc brake rotor guards?

4. Radiator guards?

5. Anything prone to falling off or breaking right away?

6. Anything every dealer misses in prep?

7. After EFI tuning, what gas mileage range is normal with the stock tank?

8. Anything special I should know?

9. What weight rider is the stock spring rates good for? 150lb or 200lb rider?

Sorry for the newbie questions guys, I'm trying to get up to speed.

 

[Phoenix]

5. Anything prone to falling off or breaking right away?

Zip-ty the battery down!! It just flops around in the airbox. What a terrible design.

There are a lot of aftermarket parts out there...there is a big list in one of the sections of this website.

 

[andyman]

Mine is a TXC, but many of the parts that protect mine, will protect yours as well. I did research on top of research to select my parts.... so for what it's worth... here's what I ended up with.

Hyde Racing Skidplate
G2 Bar End Inserts
Cycra CRM handguards
P3 Carbon Pipe Guard
OFG Racing Radiator cages


Every one of those is FANTASTIC. Top quality, great designs, and tough as nails.

 

[MChammer]

Oh boy...I have a a lot of thoughts - you can pick and choose from my list as it's taken me about a year to get my 08 TE 250/310 to where I'm at.

Cut off the kickstand nub that the spring winds around which makes it automatically retract.

Take off the compression release lever and cable - has a magic button and if needed, kicks easily. Saving cable space in an already cramped area behind headlight/gas tank helps and no lever to break off in a crash.

Take off gas tank charcoal canister and vent line and put a 1-way valve on gas cap.

There is a flat spot on the underside of the seat near the back that is supposed to rest on the silver flat portion of the frame when the seat's on...but it doesn't (look through the hand-hold openings under the seat when the seat is on and you'll see the gap). Your seat actually rests on the battery, which is a bad thing - especially if you do alot of jumps. I DF tapped and zip-tied a 1/2" x 2-1/2" x 3/16" thick piece of rubber on that frame crossover so the seat just barely touches the battery to keep it in place, but not risk cracking it. Maybe this mod isn't needed on the 09's but it was needed on 08's.

Make sure the dealer took the throttle stop out.

If legal, do the Power up, which includes taking out the O2 sensor and attaching the pigtail connector on the electrical plug, and adding the brass plug to the exhaust pipe where the O2 sensor was. Also take the catalytic convertor out of the pipe in front of the muffler (my 08 had it in the muffler).

Locktite the sprocket bolts - mine came loose.

Disasemble the lower rear shock linkage and grease all 3 pivots properly...seems most people found theirs were pretty dry coming from the factory - mine included.

Seems the rear shock it setup for approximatey 170 lbs....I weigh that, and after the shock was broke-in I checked the sag and it was real close to the 4" spec.

Put some sort of heat tape / shield between the pipe and the airbox..I didn't do it fast enough and melted a hole in mine (although the hole is outside the filter it still bothers me)

I also wrapped heat shield tape around the wires / hydraulic line that go up from the slave cylinder where they just barely touch the protrusion that covers the timing chain access on the back side of the motor. I figure that in addition to possibly melting wires, the heat that gets passed to the clutch fluid can't be good either - maybe causing some of the slave cylinder problems I've been reading about.

The general concensus is most everyone (me included) is having sporadic electrical issues with turn signals right after washing the bike until it dries back out, so we cover the clusters on each side of the bar with those ever-handy plastic shopping bags when washing...seems to eliminate that issue. Don't forget to run the bike after washing to dry everything out too.

I had an unusual (I'm told by the dealer) problem that took me forever to diagnos, so I'll pass it along. I kept blowing the 20 amp fuse under the right-hand side of the seat, which takes out the headlight, taillight, dash, turn signals, and horn. Sometimes it would take 15 minutes of riding, other times before I'd get the bike out of the driveway. I finally figured it out...the horn has power all the time and the switch on the instrument cluster grounds it when you push the button to make it work. Something came loose in my horn and was shorting it out to the frame. I took it off and it sounded like a baby rattle!!! I'll get a new one and put it back on for inspection only and then remove it...it too takes up valuable space behind the headlight and who really uses it anyway?

Motosportz and 7602 Racing make many top-quality protection pieces.

Moose Racing makes the handguards I'm using and fit nicely.

Lay your bike over on its left side and take the 6 - 8mm bolts off your clutch cover and remove 2 clutch springs (from opposing sides) - everyone seems to be doing it (me included) with no problems, and your clutch pull will be reduced by about 20%. Keep the springs in your fanny pack for trail insuranse - when you see how easy it is, you'll realize it can be reversed on the trail if needed in an emergency.

I too did the Dynojet thing, and while I understand not everyone is computer savy enough to handle it (it really isn't difficult, but some people are intimidated by anything computer-related) it made a huge difference in my bike - no surging because of a too-lean condition at lower RPMs, and none of that ugly backfiring on the decel (I'm 47 and not a big fan of attracting attention anymore)

K&N air filter - MUCH easier to put in (many people - me included seem to have problems getting the bolt threaded) and better air flow as attested by having to richen lower RPM areas of my fuel map with my Dynojet after installing the K&N)

That's it for now - if I think of others I'll post later.

Mike

 

[rancher1]

Go to motosportz.com they are a cafehusky sponsor and have a whole list of awesome parts for your husky. I have the rad guards, skid plate, rotor guards, exhaust heat shield, and axle nut. All of it is top notch !!!

 

[MChammer]

I thought of 3 other things....

Make sure you fill the coolant overflow bottle 1/2 full with coolant..it comes bone dry and needs fluid to keep the bottle from getting melted if the radiator spurts some hot coolant into it.

Put zip ties on the 2 clips that hold the brake pads in (front and rear) to keep them from getting pulled out by sticks. I read this in an article from Scott Summers and thought I'd do it, and found I was already missing one on the front brakes...if the 2nd had come out, I could have lost my brakes on the trail!

My kick starter rests against the breather hose that connects the valve cover to the airbox. I cut a 3" length of bicycle innertube, slit it and wrapped it around the tube where the kick starter touches and zip tied it for added protection. I didn't want dirt/water getting in if it wore through and I didn't notice it.

 

[JoiseyJanet]

Thanks for the extra tips about the loose sprocket bolts and brake pad clips, MChammer! Checked my bike last night, and all the sprocket bolts were spinning, plus one brake pad clip awol.

BentAero,
You will love the extra grunt for those NC hillclimbs.

I got my 310 over the winter, so we did most of Scott Summer's tips and a few other mods gleaned from this website and Rick Ramsey's excellent website: http://rickramsey.net/TE310mods.htm.

My dealer included the power-up set up, which has been fine. I just installed the switch for "select 2" wet conditions, but have not tried it out yet.

From front to back on my bike:
Motosportz axle nut, axle wrench, and sparkplug wrench; Renthal mini fat bar (narrower bar for tight woods, but with enough real estate for dualsport switches, etc.); cycra composite brush guards, G2 throttle cam; watchdog dualsport computer w/ thumbswitch (for adjustable trip to follow roll charts); Bullet proof designs radiator guards; cross-over hose replaced with fuel injection hose, radiator hoses replaced with C4 silicon hoses; wrapped some of them with thermo-tec sleeves; Y replaced with Uptite Y; radiator fluid replaced w/ high temp; radiator cap replaced w/ C4 one; airbox protected with adhesive heat shield; head vent hose mod from Rick Ramsey; pipes protected with P3 heat shields; brake pedal bolt shimmed with washer to keep from hanging up on frame protector (Rick Ramsey's idea); installed large piece of heavy-duty mechanical velcro to back of battery to fender connection which is working well; battery tender pigtail installed for constant battery maintenance in garage; Hyde Racing skid plate (OMG, this thing has done an unbelievable protection job/ you should see the scrapes on it, including around the oil sight glass); Motosportz disc protector.

Drew Smith of WER Suspension did my forks and rear shock for my weight, height and riding style. I am extremely pleased with his work. http://www.werproducts.net/

We replaced the stock rear tail light assembly with the Husky-supplied one and we replaced the rear turn signals with flush-mounted LED ones from DRC.
One thing to check regularly is for any rub marks on the bottom of the gas tank from radiator hose clamps, etc. Another problem some folks have is with fuel pump pick-up slipping from fuel pump. There is a mod. http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=784644.
Be careful of the brass threads on the fuel tank.

On a recent dual sport which included plenty of tight single track, rocks, two track and gravel roads (but not extreme hillclimbing), with stock gearing, I went 70 mi. on 1.63 gal. giving me about 43 mpg. The manual claims the stock tank at 1.9 gal (which I haven’t verified); if true, would give you about 80 mi. range.
I am amazed at how well the bike is holding up to my abusive biffs; dragging over rocks, slow-speed clutchwork in tight stuff.

 

[MChammer]

JoiseyJanet - sounds like you have your bike tricked out just right..including the suspension work I'd like to have done this winter. I cotacted Drew Smith about it...turns out we were riding on the same number in a PA enduro back in 1983 and I spent the whole day trying to keep up with him....killed my bike and me, and only saw him at the beginning and the gas stop....what an unbelivable athlete he is and if he does suspension work as good as he rides - wow. How do you like the work he did on your forks - do you get into tight rocks at all where you ride like we have here in PA?

 

[JoiseyJanet]

We met Drew at the world enduro round in Hancock in 2007 when we volunteered to help set up and marshall at the event. He is the most low-key, helpful individual; really listens to what you are looking for in your suspension, your riding style, etc.

We rode the Michaux PA dualsport recently; lots of tight rocks; and then the arrowed options got vandalized and what was supposed to be a C-level option, was like A+ with big rock drop offs .. . crazy. Other C-rated sections were single track in the trees but littered with sharp edged rocks. I really need to work on my confidence through those.

I used to ride a wr250f w/stock suspension. Before Drew worked the shocks, I would bounce all over the place, especially on rocky hillclimbs, losing traction and directional control. After he revalved and resprung it for my weight and riding style, it was a more relaxed affair all around, and especially getting up hills, with more feel for traction.

The best was he wanted to lower the bike with shorter spring, whatever, for me (29" inseam). I said, no problem, I trust your judgment. He said that he never had anyone come back and ask him to raise a bike back up, but if I wanted it back up, he would be happy to change it. It's really nice being able to dab every now and then, like other riders; and I've only bottomed out on big drop offs.

Drew is located just over the NJ/PA border and worth the ride there.

 

[JoiseyJanet]

Two other things we did on the 310:
turned the stock handlebar clamps 180-degrees to move the bars to a more forward riding position; and
took the gas tank vent hose out of the steering stem.

 

[MChammer]

I ran the Michaux Enduro a few time in the 80's when I competed (on a 1980 Maico 250 and 1982 Husky 430 WR) as well as all the other rocky PA enduros...that's exactly the type of riding I do all the time and precisely the reason I'm looking for Drew to work his magic...really looking forward to it this off-season.

 

[bm36]

Check that the hydraulic hose for the rear brake do not rub aginst the engine. Just loosen turn and tighten

 

[MChammer]

Good catch bm36...I had read a thread about doing that in early 08 and did it to mine, but not before it had already worn an indentation in my case from about 2 months of riding. I forgot that one

 

[Coffee]

Trim the 2 ridges on the mud flap that touches the swing arm, they will wear grooves in the swing arm - if you care about that.

 

[1kstep]

When yanking the canister, what should be done with the hose that came from the brass barb near the throttle body? Does this get plugged or left to be free n easy or does it vent through a tube like a regular dirtbike?

 

[robertaccio]

vacuum line? plug,,,,vent line to atmoshere or into filter assy.

 

[MChammer]

I forgot about that part of removing the canister....I plugged mine when I did it because I didn't want dirt or water getting in. Unless I'm mistaken, it was designed to burn any gas vapors that leave the tank instead of emitting them into the atmosphere.