Just over a year on a 2011 TE310, Quick review

[bmann]

So I am now just over one year riding on my 2011 te310. Writing this in case anyone is on the fence about picking one of these bikes up. I bought the bike used from a dealer, power up had already been done. Mods to the bike are as follows: Rad guards, rear disc protector, Tubliss system front and rear, bark busters, all street legal stuff gone (horn, signal lites, mirrors, etc...), seat shaved 3" (only 5'7). Regular oil and air maintenance, running 10w40 300v for oil. Ride at least once a week, and more often 2-3x. Very tight mountain single track is the normal terrain with mud, roots, and rocks (Alberta foothills). Only real mechanical issue has been a bad starter gear (big surprise Eh?), however dealer is replacing under warranty at end of this riding season. Thank God the stator magnet has been picking up the shavings, if your having a hot start issue pull your cover and see if your ring gear is getting shredded.

Pros: Awesome handling - Handles as well if not better then an orange 2st till its super tight, but more stable at speed. Forgiving and agile.
Great power band - Great low and mid end. Will out tractor any 2504st made, and holds its own with the group of 250 and 300 2st's I ride with. For where I ride I like it better than ktm 350.
Good lower speed suspension - In tight woods, plush and forgiving. Might be a handful on a track though.
Well appointed - Brakes, clutch, wheels, etc... All good stuff
EFI - Never mess with jetting again, one kick starts (very important on this bike for all the wrong reasons)
Negatives: This bike is tall! Even with the seat shaved, have had more than my fair share of low speed tip overs by not being able to get a foot down in time. I cross a lot of logs so have been holding off lowering so far, but may for next season.
Parts - This seems to finally be getting better in Canada now, but boy finding something that is not in stock can be a bit of an adventure. Ktm seems to be getting there act together and realizing keeping the Italian crowd happy gives a better chance of becoming future Austrian customers.
Weight - When I have pick it up, or am in super tight trees, I wish it had 2 less strokes to it.
Stupid oil change system - Zip ty has addressed this now, so not the end of the world.

Future upgrades - Zip ty oil system, Rekulse clutch and rear brake setup, Exhaust.

Overall I have been pretty damn happy with this bike. Add the fact that I can make it street legal in less than 10 minutes is incredible. I would buy again in a heartbeat considering that the ktm would cost a least $3500.00 more and I like the Husky's power spread better. Going to enjoy this one for at least one more season.

 

[bmann]

So of course after posting this, my stator harness shorts out on a ride, melts the connector and equals a tow home. Oh well, at least its an easy fix.

 

[SoCalHuskyRider]

What caused the short? Did it rub against something? Did it get crushed in a fall? Bad design issue? Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[bmann]

Oops sorry, haven't been on in a bit. It would seem two wires pulled away from the conector and shorted causing the whole plug to melt. Cut out the plug and switched everything to single conectors, everything is fine now. Maby something caught on the harness during a ride and tugged them loose.

 

[ghte]

Good balanced report. I have a,mate about your height. He has had an extra sole put on his riding shoes. Reckons it makes all the difference

 

[bmann]

I had thought about that, but wonder if it would throw off your shifting and braking feel. The more I think about it the more inclined I am to lower it an inch. If I hate it, although a bit annoying it is not to hard to bring it back to stock.

 

[2wheeler]

bmann I feel your pain! I am 3 inches shorter than you.

ghte do you think your mate could give us a review of his boot modification? How thick of a sole was added and how it affects braking/shifting?

 

[Meathound]

I have the Kooba link. Awesome buy.

 

[milno71]

Any comments on the fuel range? I've just bought a 2011 te310 and only get an hour of ride time out of her on a firm sand beach, approx 50km or 30 miles. I've seen a couple of comments on this site about the low fuel range due to tank size but wondered if you had any comment or suggestions if you have had a similar experience. My bike has only done 56hrs and 900km. Thanks

 

[LandofMotards]

Any comments on the fuel range? I've just bought a 2011 te310 and only get an hour of ride time out of her on a firm sand beach, approx 50km or 30 miles. I've seen a couple of comments on this site about the low fuel range due to tank size but wondered if you had any comment or suggestions if you have had a similar experience. My bike has only done 56hrs and 900km. Thanks

That can't be right. Is the valve open so it can get both sides of the tank?

 

[razzofcourse]

I got over 90 ks on one tank on 2012 310. reasonably hard riding, (slow so the twenty year olds tell me).

couldnt be more happy with mine till I see the new Husky's. no I wouldnt change mine, like to get some stegpegz's, fueling sorted, has power upgrade and somewhere to get replacement set cover, having hard time finding one in West Australia.

other than that, the only thing stopping me from riding the 310 to it's full potential is skill and ability

 

[Alberto]

talking about the fuel range, my te250 2011 made 160kms with one tank and one extra liter I had in my backpack.

 

[Lon]

I have the Kooba link. Awesome buy.

Had one on my TE450, best ever... so I could then touch the ground with my toes

 

[Trenchcoat85]

talking about the fuel range, my te250 2011 made 160kms with one tank and one extra liter I had in my backpack.

Alberto, didja ever get to try your range with both petcocks off?

 

[Alberto]

Alberto, didja ever get to try your range with both petcocks off?

Not yet, I've been doing some work(esthetic) to the bike, so, been out for the past month or so.. but i will do it and report.

 

[mnb]

Negatives: This bike is tall! Even with the seat shaved, have had more than my fair share of low speed tip overs by not being able to get a foot down in time. I cross a lot of logs so have been holding off lowering so far, but may for next season.
Parts - This seems to finally be getting better in Canada now, but boy finding something that is not in stock can be a bit of an adventure. Ktm seems to be getting there act together and realizing keeping the Italian crowd happy gives a better chance of becoming future Austrian customers.
Weight - When I have pick it up, or am in super tight trees, I wish it had 2 less strokes to it.
Stupid oil change system - Zip ty has addressed this now, so not the end of the world.

As a 2011 TE310 owner since early 2011, I have to comment on a few of your niggles.

1) The TE310 is the shortest 250-350 class bike made in its era and even among today's models.
2) It's one of, if not the lightest bikes in its class. No, it's not a 2 stroke. But it's very light. If the 310 is too heavy for you, you really need to learn the proper technique to pick up your bike.
3) Totally agree on the stupidity of the hose on the drain plug design. The hose cracked on me on a ride and when I pulled into camp, it was gushing oil big time. I thought I'd killed the bike good because before that loop, we held a Memorial Moment of Brap for a fallen rider and I bounced it off the rev limited but good. Twice. Hey, Mahito was a hell of a guy, he was worth it. I cut the hose and remounted it. Then I got the Zip Ty kit.

I wound up having mine lowered 2". They had to cut up some internals, so going back would be expensive. They sprang it and valved it for my weight and style and man, what a difference. It's nice not bottoming out on jumps. But braking bumps are a bit brutal now due to the much stiffer than stock spring that are necessary for fat boy riding. Still, overall, I'm pretty happy with the upgrade.

I love the handling of this bike. This bike is clearly vastly more capable than my riding skills (true for any dirt bike, really, I come from decades of street riding). But it's so easy to tip into a turn, rail a berm, it just goes. If you're in the right gear, using proper throttle and technique, this bike can do anything.

I added the Meo Replica exhaust (OEM, but made by Leo Vince), but I don't like it. It looks nice, but it lacks that bark the stock exhaust had. Plus, despite being a racing exhaust, it's quieter. And the bike doesn't feel any faster, either. The ECU, however, was good upgrade. The low RPM tendency to stall is gone. It's great right off idle now. I took out the JD Tuner and don't miss it.

I got a Seat Concepts seat for it. Big improvement.

I found risers were necessary or I was hunched over too much. I have bad knees, so I prefer to sit when I can and stand only when necessary, but without risers, standing wouldn't allow for comfortable operation of the vehicle.

I put some Pivot Pegz on it. I like the bigger pegs, but I don't notice any improvement from the minimal pivoting. I could have saved some cash and just got Fastway pegs.

Riding conditions here have sucked due to the dought. The one local area of any size is beat up and dusty. Or was until recent rains. It's raining so much that the clay sections haven't had time to dry out enough for the state to open them. The back section isn't clay and is open, but my favorite trails are in the clay areas, so I haven't ridden my baby since last April. Soon, though. Soon.

 

[Jimmy250]

So I am now just over one year riding on my 2011 te310. Writing this in case anyone is on the fence about picking one of these bikes up. I bought the bike used from a dealer, power up had already been done. Mods to the bike are as follows: Rad guards, rear disc protector, Tubliss system front and rear, bark busters, all street legal stuff gone (horn, signal lites, mirrors, etc...), seat shaved 3" (only 5'7). Regular oil and air maintenance, running 10w40 300v for oil. Ride at least once a week, and more often 2-3x. Very tight mountain single track is the normal terrain with mud, roots, and rocks (Alberta foothills). Only real mechanical issue has been a bad starter gear (big surprise Eh?), however dealer is replacing under warranty at end of this riding season. Thank God the stator magnet has been picking up the shavings, if your having a hot start issue pull your cover and see if your ring gear is getting shredded.

Pros: Awesome handling - Handles as well if not better then an orange 2st till its super tight, but more stable at speed. Forgiving and agile.
Great power band - Great low and mid end. Will out tractor any 2504st made, and holds its own with the group of 250 and 300 2st's I ride with. For where I ride I like it better than ktm 350.
Good lower speed suspension - In tight woods, plush and forgiving. Might be a handful on a track though.
Well appointed - Brakes, clutch, wheels, etc... All good stuff
EFI - Never mess with jetting again, one kick starts (very important on this bike for all the wrong reasons)
Negatives: This bike is tall! Even with the seat shaved, have had more than my fair share of low speed tip overs by not being able to get a foot down in time. I cross a lot of logs so have been holding off lowering so far, but may for next season.
Parts - This seems to finally be getting better in Canada now, but boy finding something that is not in stock can be a bit of an adventure. Ktm seems to be getting there act together and realizing keeping the Italian crowd happy gives a better chance of becoming future Austrian customers.
Weight - When I have pick it up, or am in super tight trees, I wish it had 2 less strokes to it.
Stupid oil change system - Zip ty has addressed this now, so not the end of the world.

Future upgrades - Zip ty oil system, Rekulse clutch and rear brake setup, Exhaust.

Overall I have been pretty damn happy with this bike. Add the fact that I can make it street legal in less than 10 minutes is incredible. I would buy again in a heartbeat considering that the ktm would cost a least $3500.00 more and I like the Husky's power spread better. Going to enjoy this one for at least one more season.

Good Write up, I have a 2010 te 250 I had it lowered internally by WER, if you search my threads you will see the write up I did. Best move I made as I am 5'4 5'5. Bike handles Awesome! Super Plush, I ride all rocks roots logs etc. Good Luck Enjoy the bike!

 

[bmann]

Wow, have not been around for awhile. Good to see people enjoyed the thread. The 310 was a great machine, but was sold last spring after around 100 good off days on it. Parts were getting harder to order thur the local shop, and I did not need the street legal capabilities anymore. So I bought a K*m 200xcw. Not cheap, but for me could be the best single track bike made. I am considerably faster on it then I was before, bike feels like it weighs 80lbs less, have more energy over the course of the ride, and with the power parts seat can just touch both feet to the ground. Got in around 60 days on it. Not without its own problems though, at 35hrs the stator shorted to ground and needed to be replaced, and lost a spoke on the rear. However, I was able to get my parts in two days. If I needed to be street legal I still liked the 310 over the early 350's. In a perfect world I would liked to been able to afford both!