Tard Vision Quest... '09 Husqvarna SM 610 build (pic heavy)

[Virginian]

I found a 2009 SM 610 with 386 miles on the odometer up in Philadelphia at a very fair price. I immediately call the dude and spoke with him and said I'll take it. One problem though, just paid off the lien and was waiting on the title. So I sent a deposit and waited almost a month before the bank sent it to him.

Road trip to Philly from Northern Virginia... ugghhh... I thought about taking the train and riding it home. The dude said it had never been laid down and was good to go. In the back of my mind, I thought I better drive up and trailer it back home and go over it before I take an epic journey on it.

I drove up to north Philly and met the dude in a back ally in kind of skid row part of town.   The dude finally showed up 15 minutes late and I finally got to look the bike over. Two flat ties, a low speed lay down on the left side, but she fired right up and ran like a champ. The dude was straight up for the most part but this bike has never seen any maintenance since the day it was sold in '09. Sold!   Time to load her up and head home...

Loaded up in skid row, headed south!


Veteran's Stadium, home of the Eagles. From the DC area they freak'n hate the Redskins. They beat up a Redskin fan dressed up as Santa one December! lol This place has it's own jail.


Through the Baltimore tunnel.


A little history about myself:  I've been riding for 34 years and have logged just over 300,000 miles. Started off with a RD400, graduated to Ninjas, GSXRs, BMWs, Harleys, etc. Kind of tried them all over the years. When I look back, the RD 400 with inta-wheelie was probably the most fun out of the herd. I'm hoping the SM610 will fill that void in my life. So, I turned 50 this year and said, F it, time to find one and make it happen.

Here she is all cleaned up after years of grime, dust, spider turds, etc. all over her. Washing her today, three stickers came off. Damn... I'm not starting off very well.



(continued)

[Virginian]

The good, the bad and ugly...

Here's a pick of the shifter damaged.


M!@#$@R F*&^%3R! Everything I read on this possessed kickstand was correct. I barely bumped the bike and over she went breaking the clutch. Perfect... Bad situation #2. I'm posting this pic because I'm asking if the toe kick out is bent or not? I'm not sure how to remedy this?  Unacceptable to have a bike so prone to drop.


More evidence of a low speed lay down...


Stickers are pealing up. I really wanted the flat black or graphite version so I may switch out the plastics. THis set of plastics it pretty beat up from people scuffing them with their boots getting off and on it. I tried to clean up them but the scuffs are really bad and everywhere, seriously every piece of plastic.


Stock emissions. I have to do some research on the process for removing this. I have ridden her exactly 1 mile before the tip over and clutch lever break and the power was not there to to roost. Just as well, I would be too anxious to ride her and she needs all her fluids changed. Basically the first service.


I know she needs a can to breath better but I kind of like the muffler tip with the Husky logo! Gotta love the Italian flare here and there.


I was going to order a new clutch lever & I was kicking around the idea of Zeta Armor Handguards (in red) and the Zeta XC Hand Protectors w/ Flashers in black. Touratech has some interesting lever that are made out of plastic. Anyone try these? http://www.touratech-usa.com/Store/1041/PN-410-5646/Plastic-Enduro-Lever-Set-Gray-for-Brembo-Brake-Clutch Might be a good option to store under the seat in case of emergency?


Demon kickstand: I think I just grind off this tit kick out the spring at an angle? If I read correctly, this will make the kick stand act as a normal kickstand, except you have to remember to kick it up before riding?


Thanks for reading. I got a great deal on this bike and with a little TLC and some pimping, I'll get her standing tall and hope to post some ride reports.

Eric

[DogBoy]

Nice bike. Mookie has (had?) a 610 and may have plenty of info for you.


1) Buy and install handguards.
2) Don't worry about scratches on a supermoto.
3) Ride like an idiot. Have the kind of fun you can only have on a supermoto.

 

[Rincewind]

Great choice for a motard.  Enjoy!  

Thanks for pointing out the Husky symbol on the exhaust end.  

[Carbonero]

Vet's stadium was torn down in 2004.

[expatbrit]

'tards rule. That's all. When I bought the WR250X the dealer had Huskys and almost convinced me to spend the Much More Money on a discounted one over the used WR.

I bet it's an /absolute/ hoot to hoon.

[DogBoy]

Vet's stadium was torn down in 2004.

Apparently you don't know about supermotos and time travel.

[DNA]

Sigh - I sure miss my 'Tard even though it was about the stupidest bike ever made.

Have fun - I see a new one in my future again.  

Eventually.

Post up as you fix'er up and flog her hard.

[expatbrit]

Sigh - I sure miss my 'Tard even though it was about the stupidest bike ever made.

Have fun - I see a new one in my future again.  

Eventually.

Post up as you fix'er up and flog her hard.

I really, really, REALLY want a KTM690SM of some description. I keep stalking the local CL, praying one doesn't pop up.

[falconati]

Loving my Hyper - just kicking myself over not getting one sooner.

[Virginian]

Vet's stadium was torn down in 2004.

Sorry, didn't know that.   I thought it was against the law to tear down any veteran memorial. Much like soldier field in Chicago?

[Virginian]

Demonic kickback cut off till my new kickstand arrives.


Save the whale option package removed.


Hammerhead shifter fixed up the bent stock one. Love it!


I changed the oil filter and oil today. Here's what the magnetic drain plug looked like. There were definitely metal shards on it but no too bad.

 
The oil filter wasn't too bad, aside from just being dark/dirty.

 
I'm documenting all of this with many pics. If you guys see anything that I missed, please chime in. Placing another parts order this week. Next weekend, I hope to flush the radiator. I have to search around for what the best coolant would be for the flush. I read good things about Engine Ice. It's supposed to be biodegradable as well.

I took her out today for a 100 mile jaunt. So far so good, the power up kit enables power wheelies in 1st & 2nd. Hopefully a pipe is in the near future. Loving the tard so far!
 
Eric

[Virginian]

I made some more progress today.
 
Installed a Motion Pro clutch cable and a new lever to replace the one that broken. Really slick clutch cable that's nylon lined and smooths out the pull quite a bit.

 
Removed the Save the Whales option package.

 
Power up kit installed. I only got dowsed with gas a few times removing the tank.

 
The left overs...

[spd2918]

I like purchase adventures.  I bought a YZF600R from a moron in December in Minnesota.  It was a cold test ride.  He had cut off the exhaust and plastered it with stickers.  I had the stock exhaust welded back on (welds painted), pulled the stickers, changed the oil, and put on new skins.  $1,800 total.  I beat the hell out of it on the track all summer and just sold it for $2,800.  


I'd paint those case scratches to protect the metal.

[Virginian]

I like purchase adventures.  I bought a YZF600R from a moron in December in Minnesota.  It was a cold test ride.  He had cut off the exhaust and plastered it with stickers.  I had the stock exhaust welded back on (welds painted), pulled the stickers, changed the oil, and put on new skins.  $1,800 total.  I beat the hell out of it on the track all summer and just sold it for $2,800.  


I'd paint those case scratches to protect the metal.

Awesome! That's the reason I road tripped up to Philly for it. The price provided plenty of room to upgrade, which I was going to do anyway. I'll address the scratched on the case this winter. So far I love it!  

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Eric

[Virginian]

Put another 200 miles on her today. She's running really strong with no backfiring or popping. I am getting a little seepage of oil around the head and where the oil filter cap is. Other than that, good to go!

It's hard to beat a warm fall day in VA with canopy trees on a country road.

[fxrbill]

http://www.cafehusky.com/ for all your Husky questions.Just saw your post over there,but I'll leave this here in case somone needs the best Husky site available.

[DogBoy]

Great that you're out putting miles on and risking your license.  

Couldn't hurt to check the air filter. This is a dirt bike after all and it should be inspected more often than on a street bike.

[Mookie]

Great bike!  I never had a kickstand issue other than the fact that it's about 2 inches too short, so it's really easy to let it fall down if you don't get the parking angles lined up.  

There are a few things that seem to be endemic to this model, some have easy fixes or aren't really a big deal.

I've gone through 4 clutch cables - the bottom mounting bracket from the factory is at a slightly incorrect angle that eventually will wear out your cable.  You can either try and fab a new or buy it from somewhere (I don't know where).  I just check my cable frequently.  I should probably fix it since the part probably costs 5 bucks.

The cam chain tensioner goes bad eventually and needs to be replaced with a manual adjuster or you might lose the cam chain and the engine along with it.

My engine has always had a really slow oil weep from the front cylinder head bolts.  No biggie, it washes off.

Mine has never stranded me and gets used every day for city commuting and the occasional insanely inappropriate road trip.  Enjoy!

[Virginian]

 Update!

As some of you know I just bought this bike a little while ago and the stickers were pretty scabbed up. I did some research and found an outfit that would do what I was looking for. I was looking for something different than the usual lightning bolts, farts & darts. This is what I came up with and I really pleased with how it came out. They are super heavy duty!!!

I spoke with a real nice guy on the phone at Magik S.C. and he said no problem. They've never done a SM610 before so I mailed them all my plastic and he now has the pattern if you would like to do something custom a heck of a lot cheaper than replacing stock stickers that well... don't stick very well. Turn around time was a bout a week, and the price was cheap at half the price. I hope you like them! Here's Tyler's contact info if you have any interest:

Tyler Minor
tyler@magiksc.com
http://www.magiksc.com
951-654-5550

Thanks for looking,
Eric