TR650 Mods

[krussell]

I'm also thinking about having Woody lace up some Excel rims to replace what I assume are the stock Behr's.

Hmm, I'll bet you could find a Strada owner to buy the stock ones...

 

[DYNOBOB]

I have orderd a (gasp) IRC TR8 front for the Terra. It has good write ups and looks to have knobs a little closer than my favorite DS tire, D606. It also appears to have better knobs, deeper, than a TKC80 or Metz T63. I'll report when it gets tested. I'm going to hang with the Sahara rear for a while and see how it grips in the gravel at the speed I ride.

I'm also thinking about having Woody lace up some Excel rims to replace what I assume are the stock Behr's. They look too soft to take many hits. I'll have to talk to Woody and see if the appropriate size Takasago's are available, or if not, what he can offer. At first this sounds a bit extravagant, and maybe it is, but even an easy step section of trail can trash a soft rim. My front wasn't round from the factory, either. I had to tweak it at home to get it round and stop the vibration on the highway. Trueing doesn't have to be far off to cause a real problem.

Let us know what you think of the TR8...


.

 

[Kenneth Webb]

I found a source for Terra fork mods on another, un-named web site. Konflict Motorsports and Suspension, http://konflictmotorsports.com/ can do a Shiver conversion and provide adjustablity (damping and rebound) for us. I also suggested he sign up as a vendor over here. I will probably have them work on my forks but am waiting on details from them for now. I wonder if LTR will get on this too as I really like the service that Les provides.

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Hmm, I'll bet you could find a Strada owner to buy the stock ones...

Well, maybe, but once you pay to have the lacing done, it's just a little more to get really good, strong rims. I'm just a bit afraid of the soft Behr's. For the road, no problem at all, but on any kind of trail, another story. Woody has what I need in stock, in black, 1.85 front and 3.5 rear. The rear stock is 3", but 3.5" is the "standard" rim for a 140/80 18. Excel doesn't make a 3, so it will have to be the 3.5. Anyway, that's what the Heidi's and Mefo's are made for. I don't see me using a knobby rear on this bike, just on the front. I'm afraid this is turning into a money pit for me.....but I think the end result will be worth it.

 

[Leo Fisher]

Working on the best spot for my GPS. I normally go with a RAM clam on the left bar, but was standing in the garage and noticed that the Garmin bicycle mount fits really nice between the bar clamps. While this looks super clean, I don't think I'll like it on the road, off to test it soon. Once I figure out where I'll get a proper mount and wire it in. Looking forward to seeing how accurate the speedo is, I've heard it's not bad.

My speedo was radar tested and it's 3 MPH over what the radar gun says that it is after three passes.

 

[HARDER1]

What speed were you doing the tests at?

 

[Leo Fisher]

What speed were you doing the tests at?

My first pass was at 35 mph, the second at 45 mph and the third at 55 mph. I had limited space to run it up many faster but it was between 3-3.5 high on all three passes.

 

[krussell]

I'm afraid this is turning into a money pit for me.....but I think the end result will be worth it.

Like any good motorcycle.

 

[krussell]

My speedo was radar tested and it's 3 MPH over what the radar gun says that it is after three passes.

After some testing against the GPS, it was within 2MPH at all speeds below 60 mph. Best I've ever had. My bike is a Strada, the Terra may be a bit different.b

 

[scottinAZ]

Anyone else burning their left leg on the metal exhaust guard?? I'm hoping someone makes a plastic heat guard so I can scrap that stock metal one, I saw someplace a carbon fiber guard for the BMW which also protected the sensor but the mounting holes look farther apart.

 

[Xch]

I ceramic coated the header pipe and heat shield on my BMW which reduced the heat and any burning considerably.

 

[BILLF]

Curts new Strada with Terra front fender and white fork guards we sold today.

 

[Xcuvator]

[quote="Kenneth Webb, post: 266951,

I'm also thinking about having Woody lace up some Excel rims to replace what I assume are the stock Behr's. They look too soft to take many hits. I'll have to talk to Woody and see if the appropriate size Takasago's are available, or if not, what he can offer. [/quote]

Just curious, have you had or heard of problems with Behr wheels used on Huskys? Takasago (I have been told more than once) offers wheels of different grades and supposedly Husky bikes some with a better (best) grade Takasago wheels than even KTM. In around 2011 some TE models including 310s-450s etc came with Behr wheels and I have wondered how they compare, but never heard of any complaints.

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Well I'm no expert on the various rims out there, but I've seen a photo or two of bent Behr's. Zach at Woody's thought they were on the soft side too. I may be overdoing it here, but I know from first hand experience that the Takasagos are pretty strong since they are on my TE630. DID has some good stuff too, with less bling, but they don't make the size I need. Since I had a problem with my factory front (out of round) and had to tweak it, I don't have a lot of confidence in that one. With the new rims I'll be good to go where ever I want, and I'll be confident in having true rims all around. I can get the stock 1.85 rim in front, but the rear will have to be a 3.5, half an inch larger than the stock. That's OK though as 3.5 is the "standard" for the 140 section tire. It was either that or go to 2.5, as on the TE630. OK for dirt, but the Terra will see a lot of road miles as well as gravel, and the tire will have the optimal profile for that with the wider rim. Three inches is a nice compromise, but not available. I figure the heavier the bike the more hit the rims will take. I'm just buying a little insurance. I did pull back a little and will go with silver instead of black. Saves a few bucks.

 

[Xch]

I put two small dents in my front Behr rim on my XCH over 18,000 klms of 80% hard off road riding. One happened with very low pressure and one was a flat tyre hitting sharp edge rocks at high speed. I would use up the wheels it comes with and get new ones built up as you need them. Never needed to true either Behr rim and caused no damage doing tube changes either.

 

[FabOneUp]

I think Ken's mind is made on the rims. The Takasagos and his Motosportz skid plate are going to bring up the quality of the bike substantially. I would do it too, but have the money spent on other mod supplies and farkles. Here is an example; this is a pic of the carbon windscreen in progress. It has the first 2 layers of carbon fiber on it. It is still going well, but I need more free time to finish it.

 

[Terra Tom]

Curts new Strada with Terra front fender and white fork guards we sold today.View attachment 21682View attachment 21683View attachment 21684

Wow Bill that looks great! How hard was it to swap that front fender?

I really wanted the terra for looks, but given most of my riding is on road I was all but settled on the strada for the abs and this seals it! Strada it is, now to work out how to copy your mod on the cheap.

Any terra owners wanna swap?

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Behr evidently makes several different rims, and the good one according the Woody is the SAXESS. It's supposed to be stamped on the edge of the rim. I don't see that on mine. Woody also calls standard Behr rims "butterballs"! Kind of soft and can be pounded back into shape with a hammer fairly easily. Not so with the SAXESS. I honestly think I would probably be able to run the stock rims until the bike wears out and never have a problem, but I just got it into my head to relace so I will.

I'm working on getting a good chain guide for the Terra as I think one is needed. The BRP guide for the 610, which is good for the 630, is perfect for the Terra but is left hand instead of right hand. If I can get BRP to make a right hand version (just mirror image their CNC tooling) it will mount to the swing arm with a plate welded flat on the inside face. Really simple! If anyone else is interested, post up, and maybe if there is enough interest BRP will come thru. Meanwhile, I will contact them to see if they will do something custom for us.

 

[mario33]

Ken, I really like your efforts to make Terra one dirt bike, against all odds can you also make it alu in swingarm and subframe ? I really believe the weigth of this bike will kill you in dirt long before you would need those Takasagos... Ive seen it in my f800gs that albo got those 'soft' rims.

I'm not criticising you, in fact Im waiting impatiently for all your mods as all of them await myself sometime. Having said that, I really believe that cutting the weigth gets priority. One-can exhaust anyone ?

 

[Kenneth Webb]

Ken, I really like your efforts to make Terra one dirt bike

Naahh, not trying to make it a dirt bike; already have two of those. Nobody is going to cut 80 to 100 pounds from this one. I'm just trying to get the bits and pieces the way I want them. You are probably right on the rims too, but I want them round and strong enough to stay that way. I really couldn't understand why my front wasn't round from the factory, but after reading extensively, I found a number of posts where people complained about how hard the Behr's were to get true. In all honesty, some of those posts were a few years old, and I also read that Behr has made substantial improvements lately in rim quality/strength. So, who knows? I'll go to a Shorai sometime later but that's about it for weight saving. The side racks more than make up for several batteries though, and then there is the luggage, etc. This is my road bike! I just want the ability to poke around on forest roads and such, and I love the feel of the thumper on the road.