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Hi everyone,
As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.
When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.
Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.
Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.
Thanks for your patience and support!
has anyone converted there 04 plastics to 06
- Thread starter adam
- Start date
7point62
Husqvarna
AA Class
Hey Adam. I've had my 450 for a few days short of a year now and (considering the state it was in when I got it and how much abuse it gets) it's been a great bike. I bought it from a neighbour after a ten year break from dirtbikes and I grin every time I start it up.There have of course been a few wrinkles:
1) The one way clutch on the crank that hooks up to the kicker and electric start wore out and started slipping. Just wear and tear, I think.
2) The hydraulic clutch can be troublesome. It doesn't like to be overfilled (keep it 6mm from the top, not the "no lower than 4mm" that the manual states). Pages have been written on the best oil to use. The standard Magura Blood is fine, as is any thin mineral oil (I'm using 3 in 1 cos it's cheap and comes in a can with a spout). The slave cylinder can wear, but Cafe Husky sponsor 7602 Racing manufactures an uprated slave piston that can reclaim a knackered slave unit (I have one and it's very nice). I now have neutral on demand.
3) The sidestand is pish. The bracket on mine was bent and loose and appears to have been made from recycled chewing gum. Don't put any weight on the bike with the sidestand down. The bolts that hold it on are weedy M7 size and if they get loose they will bend so Loctite is good here. You can spend all day hammering / welding / grinding a buggered bracket back into shape. If I had my life again I'd just buy a new one.
To be fair, the sidestand thing applies to a lot of enduro bikes and the other issues aren't specific to the '04 in particular.
Stuff to look out for on the '04:
The '04 was a new generation engine and had a problem with it's valves. They wore / stretched / recessed (not sure which) very quickly and needed to be replaced. I'm a little hazy on the details, but Husky provided uprated replacements for the ones that failed and changed the design.
Apparently (I can't confirm this) if your bike has the handlebar mounted manual decompressor lever (the one that looks a bit like a bmx bike brake lever) then it's an early model and would have needed the uprated valves. If it has the the decomp lever integrated with the clutch master cylinder lid then it's a later model and came uprated from the factory.
TBH I'd expect all except low hours bikes to have had the work done. Perhaps if you know the previous owner you can do some digging. I wonder if Husky would still honour a warranty claim? Keep an eye on the valve clearances in the meantime - especially the inlets - if they start closing up it means trouble.
Another issue with the '04 (for some) was the Mikuni carb. It's not a bad carb, it's just that almost every other dirtbike uses a Keihin FCR, so setup wisdom for the Mikuni is sparse and a lot of people apparently had a flat spot off idle that was hard to tune out. Mine runs OK, but as carburation can always be better I'm going to be trying some stuff when the bike is back together (currently tidying for the MOT, getting suspension done, etc).
Oh, the '04 is sprung softer than the later ones. Which is A Good Thing (unless youre a very big lad).
Other tweaks / reliability mods:
1) There's a plastic t-piece that divides coolant between the rads. It has been known to fail at high at high temperatures and at any rate it doesn't divide coolant flow evenly between the rads. A metal y-shaped part (called the Uptite Y) is available from Motosportz (near the bottom of the page). I imagine it would be possible to source a brass barb "y" from a plumbing supplier in the UK if you look really hard, but if you do the Motosportz thing you can get the short sidestand bolt that defeats the Self Retracting Sidestand Of Doom at the same time.
2) There's a skinny plastic pipe that links both rads and loops over the frame behind the headstock. It's name is Satan. It wants to burst when your engine gets hot. Replace it with 8mm (5/16") high pressure fuel hose. I found a pack containing a metre of hose and two clips in Halfords for £6 (so obviously you can get it way cheaper) but the important thing is that the hose is reinforced and is marked "14bar" giving a humungous safety margin. Which I like.
3) If you do venture into Halfords they stock the BA20d 35W headlight bulbs, but in a halogen package. They're mebbe 30% brighter than the normal jobs and a whiter light too. It's about the only thing you can do to the stock light without melting the lens...
I also bought an LED tail light from ebay to stop the headlight dimming when I hit the brakes...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WEISSES-LED-RUCKLICHT-HUSQVARNA-TE-TC-250-TE250-TC250-/390125301226?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motorrad_Kraftradteile&hash=item5ad547adea
It plugs straight in and is dimensionally identical to the original, it just needs a smear of silicone to keep the water out. It's coped with ten months of abuse so far...
(Ignore that bit if you're not bothered about lights.)
I know a lot of people squeal when the price of Husky parts is mentioned, but for the most part I've found them pretty reasonable in comparison to some - *cough, "Honda", cough*, and I've found Husky Sport to be very helpful and quick.
I'll try to dig out the web addresses where you can download Husky owners, workshop and parts manuals - the parts manual in particular is worth it's weight in unicorn dandruff as Husky are kind enough to list the bearing and seal sizes used, so you can order these items from somewhere like Simply Bearings and save some cash (don't tell Husky Sport!). You can also use the parts books to compare part numbers with more recent models to see if e.g. aftermarket part "X" will fit your bike - there is a fair amount of interchangeability with Huskies.
I'm sure that other members will fill in the gaps I've left behind too. They're a nice bunch here.
1) The one way clutch on the crank that hooks up to the kicker and electric start wore out and started slipping. Just wear and tear, I think.
2) The hydraulic clutch can be troublesome. It doesn't like to be overfilled (keep it 6mm from the top, not the "no lower than 4mm" that the manual states). Pages have been written on the best oil to use. The standard Magura Blood is fine, as is any thin mineral oil (I'm using 3 in 1 cos it's cheap and comes in a can with a spout). The slave cylinder can wear, but Cafe Husky sponsor 7602 Racing manufactures an uprated slave piston that can reclaim a knackered slave unit (I have one and it's very nice). I now have neutral on demand.
3) The sidestand is pish. The bracket on mine was bent and loose and appears to have been made from recycled chewing gum. Don't put any weight on the bike with the sidestand down. The bolts that hold it on are weedy M7 size and if they get loose they will bend so Loctite is good here. You can spend all day hammering / welding / grinding a buggered bracket back into shape. If I had my life again I'd just buy a new one.
To be fair, the sidestand thing applies to a lot of enduro bikes and the other issues aren't specific to the '04 in particular.
Stuff to look out for on the '04:
The '04 was a new generation engine and had a problem with it's valves. They wore / stretched / recessed (not sure which) very quickly and needed to be replaced. I'm a little hazy on the details, but Husky provided uprated replacements for the ones that failed and changed the design.
Apparently (I can't confirm this) if your bike has the handlebar mounted manual decompressor lever (the one that looks a bit like a bmx bike brake lever) then it's an early model and would have needed the uprated valves. If it has the the decomp lever integrated with the clutch master cylinder lid then it's a later model and came uprated from the factory.
TBH I'd expect all except low hours bikes to have had the work done. Perhaps if you know the previous owner you can do some digging. I wonder if Husky would still honour a warranty claim? Keep an eye on the valve clearances in the meantime - especially the inlets - if they start closing up it means trouble.
Another issue with the '04 (for some) was the Mikuni carb. It's not a bad carb, it's just that almost every other dirtbike uses a Keihin FCR, so setup wisdom for the Mikuni is sparse and a lot of people apparently had a flat spot off idle that was hard to tune out. Mine runs OK, but as carburation can always be better I'm going to be trying some stuff when the bike is back together (currently tidying for the MOT, getting suspension done, etc).
Oh, the '04 is sprung softer than the later ones. Which is A Good Thing (unless youre a very big lad).
Other tweaks / reliability mods:
1) There's a plastic t-piece that divides coolant between the rads. It has been known to fail at high at high temperatures and at any rate it doesn't divide coolant flow evenly between the rads. A metal y-shaped part (called the Uptite Y) is available from Motosportz (near the bottom of the page). I imagine it would be possible to source a brass barb "y" from a plumbing supplier in the UK if you look really hard, but if you do the Motosportz thing you can get the short sidestand bolt that defeats the Self Retracting Sidestand Of Doom at the same time.
2) There's a skinny plastic pipe that links both rads and loops over the frame behind the headstock. It's name is Satan. It wants to burst when your engine gets hot. Replace it with 8mm (5/16") high pressure fuel hose. I found a pack containing a metre of hose and two clips in Halfords for £6 (so obviously you can get it way cheaper) but the important thing is that the hose is reinforced and is marked "14bar" giving a humungous safety margin. Which I like.
3) If you do venture into Halfords they stock the BA20d 35W headlight bulbs, but in a halogen package. They're mebbe 30% brighter than the normal jobs and a whiter light too. It's about the only thing you can do to the stock light without melting the lens...
I also bought an LED tail light from ebay to stop the headlight dimming when I hit the brakes...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WEISSES-LED-RUCKLICHT-HUSQVARNA-TE-TC-250-TE250-TC250-/390125301226?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motorrad_Kraftradteile&hash=item5ad547adea
It plugs straight in and is dimensionally identical to the original, it just needs a smear of silicone to keep the water out. It's coped with ten months of abuse so far...
(Ignore that bit if you're not bothered about lights.)
I know a lot of people squeal when the price of Husky parts is mentioned, but for the most part I've found them pretty reasonable in comparison to some - *cough, "Honda", cough*, and I've found Husky Sport to be very helpful and quick.
I'll try to dig out the web addresses where you can download Husky owners, workshop and parts manuals - the parts manual in particular is worth it's weight in unicorn dandruff as Husky are kind enough to list the bearing and seal sizes used, so you can order these items from somewhere like Simply Bearings and save some cash (don't tell Husky Sport!). You can also use the parts books to compare part numbers with more recent models to see if e.g. aftermarket part "X" will fit your bike - there is a fair amount of interchangeability with Huskies.
I'm sure that other members will fill in the gaps I've left behind too. They're a nice bunch here.
P
-Pete89-
Guest
Sorry for lifting almost one year old thread up.. I was just wondering if anybody could tell part numbers for 06 tank and seat wich will fit 04 450. I have tried to find used parts from near by, but all used tanks here in Finland are from wr125, sms 125 etc.. Those have different part numbers and capacity compared 06 450 tank (9,5l when 450 have 10,5l) If anybody knows will those others fit, or do I have to by new one? Or is this 04->06 conversion even possible?
My english is a bit rusty, but I hope you understand..
My english is a bit rusty, but I hope you understand..
7point62
Husqvarna
AA Class
Hi Pete, I just had a look at the '06 tank that I bought to convert my '04 and the part number is 8000A4275. TE / TC / SMR tanks all share the same part number.
There's no part number marked on my '06 seat, but according to the '06 parts book:
TE (250 - 450, 510): 8000 A4306 (blue)
TC: 8E00 A4306 (black)
I *think* that all '05 - '07 250 - 510 tanks and seats will fit, but I'm not sure about the WR's and 125s. Sorry I can't be more help.
Hopefully you'll find something soon en ebay etc.
