LawnDartMike
Husqvarna
AA Class
I started riding in the ‘70s at the start of when motocross began to take off in the US. Back then the cool bikes to me were CZ, Maico, Bultaco and of course Huskys. I have always wanted a Husky but never had a chance to get one. Due to a shoulder injury (and getting older) I decided to part ways with my beloved KX250 and snuggle up to a ’09 WR125. FINALLY I get to have a Husky.
Now I’m a tinkerer and can not leave anything “stock” for very long. So one day after work I went over to Bill’s and picked up the bike. By 9 PM the bike was in pieces all over the garage as I was greasing all the bearings on the bike. The wife couldn’t understand why this would “need” to be done to a new bike. Silly girl.
So I start making mental notes on what I need to do to have the bike ready to withstand all of my future crashes. Radiator guards, chain guide, shark fin, bark busters, pipe guard – that should get me started! Oh! And I had to put on the 144 kit when it came in. And then maybe replace the carb with a PWK that everyone was talking about on the forum. And get my GPR mounted up…..
Here is where the story starts: The trials and tribulations during the first month of owning my new WR125.
First thing was to mount the Cycra probend hand guards. I have used these on several bikes and know that you have to bend them to get them to fit. No drama and they were on the bike. I could now go ride without breaking my levers.
I decided I would give the TMX a try before spending the money on a PWK. So I threw in the 45 pilot and changed the clip to the fourth position to get close to what I’d seen posted. I also decided to change the power valve adjustment to the top if the slot like others had done that helped with the bog issue. When removing the power valve linkage cover the bottom of the three screws managed to come out with the threads from case. Hmmm. I hoped that this isn’t a sign of things to come. So I did the adjustment and re-tapped the now thread less 5mm hole out to 6mm and reinstalled the cover.
I put the bike through the needed heat cycles to get ready for it’s maiden voyage. I took it out and did an easy ride for 15 or so minutes and let it cool down completely – not too hard since it was 45 degrees out. It had a bit of a bog so I adjusted the air screw a bit. Warmed it up and went for a quick ride up the road to check the jetting. It seemed to be doing pretty good as I was going up through the gears. As I was paying more attention to how it was running instead of where I was going I came up on a 90 degree corner way too fast and ended up high siding the bike and rolling out through the trees. I ran back to the bike and thank God it only had a couple of scratches. The carb seemed to be working OK so it was time to get my son and take it out. The rest of the ride was fun and uneventful.
My 144 kit is in! I picked it up from Bill and three hours later it was purring like a kitten. The kit quality was good and the install was easy. The only issue was a needed pin that holds in the power valve shaft but Bill hooked me up with the pin.
I was looking at radiator guards and loved the looks of the red 7602 Racing guards. I gave them a call since they didn’t have anything listed for the ’09 WR125. After talking with Clay (really helpful guy!) he said he would send me a pair for the TC250 and we would see it they would work. He even dropped the shipping charges since this was “experimental.” They came in and it was quickly evident that the mounting was the same but the radiators were different then what the braces were designed for. After more conversations with Clay I came up with a plan to modify them to get them on the bike. After all the cutting, grinding and drilling was done they were on the bike and looked great! The only real issue I have is the OEM hose clamps on the top radiator hose – what is up with that piece of crap? They are now replaced with normal hose clamps. I took pictures of all the modifications and need to get them to Clay so he can maybe get some developed for our bikes.
Next on my list was the chain guard. I had TM Design Works guards in the past and they have one listed on their site for the WR. It came in the mail; I installed it, no drama. It fit and works as advertised.
I decided to hold off on a pipe guard until I decide if I need a FMF (bling!) pipe and I haven’t found a shark fin that I like so that leaves only the PWK and GPR.
I picked up the 36mm PWK Quad Vent yesterday and had it mounted by bed time. I probably shot myself in the foot but I had to trim the rubber boot coming from the air filter. The carb is at least 2/3” longer then the TMX and there was no way it would go in without the boot rubbing on the rear shock. I didn’t like the idea of the shock rubbing a hole in the boot and my nice 144 kit eating some dirt. It trimmed up nicely and doesn’t rub now but there is no way to go back to the TMX unless I buy a new boot.
Since I had a few extra minutes before “lights out” I decided to tackle the GPR mounting that I also picked up yesterday. I removed the top triple, put on the post and put the V4 mount and handlebars on. I adjusted the post height and mounted the stabilizer. Piece of cake! It went on easier then it did on the KX250. Last thing to do was mount the tank. CRAP! The stupid Husky symbol like protrusion on the front of the tank doesn’t clear the post. Now it looks like I need to find a way to heat the tank and make room for the post. So I emptied all the fuel out of the tank (slipped and filled up my right shoe with gas - grrr) so it could dry out over night and be ready to work on tomorrow.
At that point I decided to remove the shrouds to make the tank a little easier to play with. The three bolts and screw came out of the right shroud with no problems. On the left shroud two of the three bolts just spin and wouldn’t come out. So I surfed this great site after I went to bed last night and lo and behold it seems to be a common problem. I guess I’ll leave the shrouds on until a larger tank comes out and then deal with the spinning inserts. Hopefully the larger tanks being developed take steering stabilizers into account during their development.
So that’s the story of my first month with my new Husky. So far I have spent much more time working on it then riding but for me that is still fun and what makes the bike mine - I finally have MY Husky!
Now I’m a tinkerer and can not leave anything “stock” for very long. So one day after work I went over to Bill’s and picked up the bike. By 9 PM the bike was in pieces all over the garage as I was greasing all the bearings on the bike. The wife couldn’t understand why this would “need” to be done to a new bike. Silly girl.
So I start making mental notes on what I need to do to have the bike ready to withstand all of my future crashes. Radiator guards, chain guide, shark fin, bark busters, pipe guard – that should get me started! Oh! And I had to put on the 144 kit when it came in. And then maybe replace the carb with a PWK that everyone was talking about on the forum. And get my GPR mounted up…..
Here is where the story starts: The trials and tribulations during the first month of owning my new WR125.
First thing was to mount the Cycra probend hand guards. I have used these on several bikes and know that you have to bend them to get them to fit. No drama and they were on the bike. I could now go ride without breaking my levers.
I decided I would give the TMX a try before spending the money on a PWK. So I threw in the 45 pilot and changed the clip to the fourth position to get close to what I’d seen posted. I also decided to change the power valve adjustment to the top if the slot like others had done that helped with the bog issue. When removing the power valve linkage cover the bottom of the three screws managed to come out with the threads from case. Hmmm. I hoped that this isn’t a sign of things to come. So I did the adjustment and re-tapped the now thread less 5mm hole out to 6mm and reinstalled the cover.
I put the bike through the needed heat cycles to get ready for it’s maiden voyage. I took it out and did an easy ride for 15 or so minutes and let it cool down completely – not too hard since it was 45 degrees out. It had a bit of a bog so I adjusted the air screw a bit. Warmed it up and went for a quick ride up the road to check the jetting. It seemed to be doing pretty good as I was going up through the gears. As I was paying more attention to how it was running instead of where I was going I came up on a 90 degree corner way too fast and ended up high siding the bike and rolling out through the trees. I ran back to the bike and thank God it only had a couple of scratches. The carb seemed to be working OK so it was time to get my son and take it out. The rest of the ride was fun and uneventful.
My 144 kit is in! I picked it up from Bill and three hours later it was purring like a kitten. The kit quality was good and the install was easy. The only issue was a needed pin that holds in the power valve shaft but Bill hooked me up with the pin.
I was looking at radiator guards and loved the looks of the red 7602 Racing guards. I gave them a call since they didn’t have anything listed for the ’09 WR125. After talking with Clay (really helpful guy!) he said he would send me a pair for the TC250 and we would see it they would work. He even dropped the shipping charges since this was “experimental.” They came in and it was quickly evident that the mounting was the same but the radiators were different then what the braces were designed for. After more conversations with Clay I came up with a plan to modify them to get them on the bike. After all the cutting, grinding and drilling was done they were on the bike and looked great! The only real issue I have is the OEM hose clamps on the top radiator hose – what is up with that piece of crap? They are now replaced with normal hose clamps. I took pictures of all the modifications and need to get them to Clay so he can maybe get some developed for our bikes.
Next on my list was the chain guard. I had TM Design Works guards in the past and they have one listed on their site for the WR. It came in the mail; I installed it, no drama. It fit and works as advertised.
I decided to hold off on a pipe guard until I decide if I need a FMF (bling!) pipe and I haven’t found a shark fin that I like so that leaves only the PWK and GPR.
I picked up the 36mm PWK Quad Vent yesterday and had it mounted by bed time. I probably shot myself in the foot but I had to trim the rubber boot coming from the air filter. The carb is at least 2/3” longer then the TMX and there was no way it would go in without the boot rubbing on the rear shock. I didn’t like the idea of the shock rubbing a hole in the boot and my nice 144 kit eating some dirt. It trimmed up nicely and doesn’t rub now but there is no way to go back to the TMX unless I buy a new boot.
Since I had a few extra minutes before “lights out” I decided to tackle the GPR mounting that I also picked up yesterday. I removed the top triple, put on the post and put the V4 mount and handlebars on. I adjusted the post height and mounted the stabilizer. Piece of cake! It went on easier then it did on the KX250. Last thing to do was mount the tank. CRAP! The stupid Husky symbol like protrusion on the front of the tank doesn’t clear the post. Now it looks like I need to find a way to heat the tank and make room for the post. So I emptied all the fuel out of the tank (slipped and filled up my right shoe with gas - grrr) so it could dry out over night and be ready to work on tomorrow.
At that point I decided to remove the shrouds to make the tank a little easier to play with. The three bolts and screw came out of the right shroud with no problems. On the left shroud two of the three bolts just spin and wouldn’t come out. So I surfed this great site after I went to bed last night and lo and behold it seems to be a common problem. I guess I’ll leave the shrouds on until a larger tank comes out and then deal with the spinning inserts. Hopefully the larger tanks being developed take steering stabilizers into account during their development.
So that’s the story of my first month with my new Husky. So far I have spent much more time working on it then riding but for me that is still fun and what makes the bike mine - I finally have MY Husky!
I'm trying to a copy of the '08 manual, it should close for most of the bike.
