2011 TE449 Owner Observations

[TE in RC]

I got a 60 mile ride in around Cuddeback dry lake and visited the Husky Memorial and inscription canyon here in SoCal! Gas mileage was not bad as I used a bit over 2 gallons. Once I got home I rode to the gas station and my orange reserve light came on, very cool to have that. Looks like 80 miles will be tops for the stock 2 piece tank.

 

[Huskynoobee]

OK, so I finally actually set the suspension up after just riding along. I used a combination of data provided by Gillies and Sam511 in conjunction with the manual. Looks like my fat butt is just about too heavy for the spring as the pre load is just about out of turns, but it really made the bike much easier to ride and more responsive. Before it would wallow into a turn (especially off camber) and now it tracks with authority and confidence.

If you haven't set up your boingers yet, I highly suggest you do so. It makes a great bike even better!

 

[TE in RC]

I too used the information I found here and preset my suspension. I did have a problem with the bottom adjusters on the forks, (does that rubber piece come out?) So I am not sure what they are set at.
I do not know a lot about compression and dampening or if I change my settings can I go straight through rock garden, instead of bouncing all over the place?

 

[Wallygator]

You have to make sure the replacement has enough illumination to match DOT Lights. Disclaimer... ... For Liability reasons to be 100% safe, make sure the LED meet DOT for your state. Many Vendors sell some really nice LED lights DOT and NONE DOT approved. I ride about 98% Dirt so my choice was to have something that worked, can been seen but small and tucked away. Do not need to get plowed over on the street someday! Ill take a Photo Tonight of the LED Upgrade on my 511 and photo the LED relay that is a drop in replacement.

http://motorcycle.chaparral-racing.com/search?w=LED Blinkers

Can you please do a write up on your install or do you have a more detailed link? Or best of all, some pics of your setup? Thanks.

 

[Desertyucca]

Can you please do a write up on your install or do you have a more detailed link? Or best of all, some pics of your setup? Thanks.

I started taking photo's of my 511 a few weeks ago. Note: The LED's and the LED relay flasher "plug and play" dropped the Current draw on the blinker relay power wire to under half of what the stock blinker system draws for current!

For kicks, i did a search to make sure i was not repeating something already done by others. I noticed if you search for "LED Blinker or LED" in the cafehusky search engine you can see scattered information about other upgrades done over the years to a few different bikes. I would be happy to send you photo of my LED upgrade. In a few weeks I will upgrade my wife TE310 to LED. I can document the test procedures and install for those interested.

 

[AZuwere]

I too used the information I found here and preset my suspension. I did have a problem with the bottom adjusters on the forks, (does that rubber piece come out?) So I am not sure what they are set at.
I do not know a lot about compression and dampening or if I change my settings can I go straight through rock garden, instead of bouncing all over the place?

Paul, the little rubber pieces just pry out to expose the adjuster.

 

[gillies]

OK, so I finally actually set the suspension up after just riding along. I used a combination of data provided by Gillies and Sam511 in conjunction with the manual. Looks like my fat butt is just about too heavy for the spring as the pre load is just about out of turns, but it really made the bike much easier to ride and more responsive. Before it would wallow into a turn (especially off camber) and now it tracks with authority and confidence.

If you haven't set up your boingers yet, I highly suggest you do so. It makes a great bike even better!

Glad to hear you had success with the suspension. Had my bike out last weekend with a few other guys and had a great, great ride! Tires and suspension setup - now the bike rides great. Loving it more all the time!

 

[gillies]

I too used the information I found here and preset my suspension. I did have a problem with the bottom adjusters on the forks, (does that rubber piece come out?) So I am not sure what they are set at.
I do not know a lot about compression and dampening or if I change my settings can I go straight through rock garden, instead of bouncing all over the place?

Hi Paul, yah, pull the little rubbers out and there is a screw head underneath. Replace the rubbers when your done adjusting. When you say, "bouncing all over the place" through rocks, I'm not entirely sure how to respond without knowing your taste, pace and riding style.

I ride with some friends who like a very casual pace. To them, my settings are far too hard. I also ride (or try to) with some guys who are pretty darn fast. With them, I need a very firm setup to "attack" the trail, as they put it. Me, I'm probably somewhere in between, maybe leaning toward the faster side? The point to my set up is that it keeps the bike on top of obstacles, so I can hit them hard and fast. Am I bouncing all over the place? I guess one could look at it that way but, for control when riding agressively, it's the only way to go IMO.

 

[McKay]

New 2011 TE449 here. Just measured shock heights and am a little confused. First here are the numbers;
Bike on stand 28.375
Bike on Ground 26.125
Difference of 2.250
I see in my book it says to set it up so I have between 1.57 and 1.77

My fat ass on bike 23.125
Difference of 5.250
Books says 3.93 to 4.13

Should I tighten it up?

Im a beginner riding forest and desert trails.

 

[SAM511]

New 2011 TE449 here. Just measured shock heights and am a little confused. First here are the numbers;
Bike on stand 28.375
Bike on Ground 26.125
Difference of 2.250
I see in my book it says to set it up so I have between 1.57 and 1.77

My fat ass on bike 23.125
Difference of 5.250
Books says 3.93 to 4.13

Should I tighten it up?

Im a beginner riding forest and desert trails.

IMO, and based on my experience with my bike I would suggest a rider sag of 4.75 inches (120 mm) for optimum operation of the CTS.
SAM511

 

[jon6.0]

I just picked up a used 2011 TE449 from Moto City yesterday. 1100 miles on it for $4900. Came with the Akro slip on and Acerbis hand guards. They are putting the bike on the race map and removing the O2 for me before I pick it up. I weigh 270lbs and know I need a respring. Before I respring it, where would be a good place to start for clicker settings? I'm more of a putt around kind of rider and don't charge the whoops that hard, but have been known to get a wild hair.

 

[Desertyucca]

I was unable to get my 511 dialed in for a good ride @ 230lbs. Had to ship in for Springs and Valving. Well worth the $600-800 investment. My Experience is, the suspension if set correctly will save you from a crash on the least expected errors, dips, bumps, ruts, rocks!

 

[Motosportz]

I just picked up a used 2011 TE449 from Moto City yesterday. 1100 miles on it for $4900. Came with the Akro slip on and Acerbis hand guards. They are putting the bike on the race map and removing the O2 for me before I pick it up. I weigh 270lbs and know I need a respring. Before I respring it, where would be a good place to start for clicker settings? I'm more of a putt around kind of rider and don't charge the whoops that hard, but have been known to get a wild hair.

My TE511 is sprung to light for my 195 pounds, no amount of clickers will fix it for you. You need springs ASAP.

 

[oregonsage]

This is a significant area of difference between the TE and the TXC.... my 250lbs on a TXC in high desert whoops works just fine.
If you dont need the lights and you are either big or fast then a TXC has advantages in this regard.

 

[jon6.0]

Hmm. Looks like I'll be looking up factory spring rates and see what's available from the aftermarket also.

 

[SAM511]

Hmm. Looks like I'll be looking up factory spring rates and see what's available from the aftermarket also.

Suspension on my 2011 TE511


Firstly, I will preface my comments by stating that I am a trailrider and with full riding kit on including Camelback and Bum Bag I would tip the scales at around 238 lbs.

FRONT FORKS
In the 2011 TE511 the standard fork rate is 0.46 Nm (also equates to 0.47 Kg).
I suggest that the valving is out rather than the spring. It is relatively harsh on the small trail debris at the very first part of the stroke, tends to blow through the mid stroke rather quickly and then hit a wall at the end that never seems close to bottoming out. Recently I had Racetech put a full Gold Valve package in, with all valving reviewed and amended. To say that it has been a revelation for me as to how good the new action is now, is an understatement. No spikes in any part of the stroke and now progressive through the mid stroke.

REAR SHOCK
The rear is the opposite story. The standard spring rate is 5.1 Kg and IMO is too soft, but the valving appears basically OK. So far clicker adjustments, a 4mm shock OAL reduction spacer from Racetech and a Racetech 5.4 Kg spring has done the trick.
I have tightened up the rebound to 13 clicks out from max to allow for the increased spring rate, left LS compression at 11 clicks out (default), but found that the HS compression was too tight on the Kayaba shock from the factory. I wound it back to 1.75 turns out from maximum and in conjunction with the tightened rebound it has stopped the kick in the backside on braking bumps and the like.

I have now found my perfect trail set up.

SAM511

 

[jon6.0]

Thanks for the info. I rode my Speed Triple 1050 from Arizona to Racetech in California to have them put Gold Valves in. I had it set up to handle fire roads and some dirt. It works great. The tech that worked on my bike was from Australia.

 

[jon6.0]

Just checked the Racetech site and it recommends .50kg front springs with a 6.0kg rear spring.

 

[SAM511]

Just checked the Racetech site and it recommends .50kg front springs with a 6.0kg rear spring.

Yes I am aware of that.

IMO Racetech have not factored in the CTS effect on suspension action at all.

In my experience (I have experimented with 3 rear spring rates) you can go 2 whole rates less than the Racetech recommendation in the rear of a CTS equiped bike because of this. Interestingly, if you select another manufacturer in their calculator that use Kayaba suspension ie Yamaha or Kawasaki you will find that the recommended spring rates are the same as for a TE449/511. This I believe is wrong and an assumption by Racetech. CTS does change everything and also the reason why these rear ends run more sag than normal.

However, the front fork spring rates appear OK as per their calculator.

For me the 5.4 Kg rear spring works fine, plus I did not want to again go down the path of revalving as I did on the front, especially because I am basically happy with the standard shock valving.
Great action.

If I went any higher in the spring rate I would probably need a revalve.

I am only a trail rider !

SAM511

 

[Desertyucca]

Yes I am aware of that.

IMO Racetech have not factored in the CTS effect on suspension action at all.

In my experience (I have experimented with 3 rear spring rates) you can go 2 whole rates less than the Racetech recommendation in the rear of a CTS equiped bike because of this. Interestingly, if you select another manufacturer in their calculator that use Kayaba suspension ie Yamaha or Kawasaki you will find that the recommended spring rates are the same as for a TE449/511. This I believe is wrong.

Front Fork rates are OK as per their calculator.

For me the 5.4 Kg rear spring works fine, plus I did not want to again go down the path of revalving as I did on the front, especially because I am basically happy with the standard shock valving. Great action.

If I went any higher in the spring rate I would probably need a revalve.

I am only a trail rider !

SAM511

SAM511 has good points about the spring and valving. I have questioned the suspension guys about the 449 and 511 if they have it right with the way the suspension is done differently on these bike over other manufactures.

Only my observations with my 511... I am no suspension expert. With the Stock rear shock with me @ 230Lbs with Gear the bike was plush, to plush. I would hit whoop road and get bucked around to much and slow motion playback of GOPRO recording's showed the rear was bottoming out to fast. We hit max Compression and Rebound even near maxed out the High speed in some test, same issue. Could not find the sweet spot with the stock rear.

So... I had my 511 re valved and sprung by a West Cost company for my weight to perform in GP/Desert Racing. I found I can adjust the rear shock to float over the 3 foot whoops at any good speed now. We found I had to drop the front forks 3/4 of an inch to stick the rutted corners after the re-valve and new springs! Then I go to a GP race and now we have jumps! I found that Desert settings cause me bottom out after 2-3 foot of air. Any more then 3 foot of air the bike will hit hard and bounce after bottoming out, No Fun. We fine tune the compression and Rebound problem solved the bottoming out problem. Unfortunately when we add more compression then I loose the Plush ride I like for desert riding! I am sure if spent more time fine tuning we would find the happy medium. While the upgrades are expensive, I am Glad I had the shocks done. In the trail riding, You never know what turn will surprise you with a Rut, rock or new formed set of whoops. Knowing the Bike will suck up an unexpected rock or rut will keep me riding another day!

Another Note, We had the same company lower a CRF250X by 2 inch for a lady friend of ours that will be riding the Dual sports soon with my wife and I. She only stand about 5 foot and weigh in about 110 lbs. After the suspension upgrades and New Springs setup for Desert my Son took the bike for a ride. We was amazed on how well the bike handled after being lowered internally.

When I can afford it I will have my Wife TE310 lowered now about 1 inch. New Springs and Valving setup for her. Need to keep her safe, someone need's to feed me

Jon6.0 you going to be at the Desert Daze this weekend?