3/19/08 - 90 miles

While I was doing some modification and setup work, I took the fuel tank off to insure that all the wiring and cables looked ok. The spark plug is not easily removed with the tank in place, so I took the opportunity to remove the plug and have a look. I had 90 miles on the odo, and the plug looks as good as new.

3/26/08 - 320 miles

I changed the oil and oil filter (earlier than the specified maintenance schedule change). I used Honda GN4 20W50 oil and a Hi-Flo filter. The used oil coming out did not look black at all, sorta dark green. Musta' been some expensive olive oil...

The magnetic drain plug had some black gooey stuff on it. When I wiped it off with a rag, it left a slightly metallic smear on the rag.

I don't have any case gaskets yet, so I did not clean the bag filters.

<-- gooey  
   clean -->

4/20/08 - 620 miles

I changed the oil and oil filter. I used Honda GN4 20W50 oil and a Hi-Flo filter. The used oil coming out did not look dark black, sorta light black.

The magnetic drain plug had less black gooey stuff on it than the previous oil change.

I don't have any case gaskets yet, so I did not clean the right side bag filter. But I did clean the left side bag filters. I tried brushing the debris off the filter using my fingers - OUCH! Several of the pieces were sharp metal! So I soaked the filters in solvent and brushed them clean.

5/16/08 - 1185 miles

This maintenance session is not called for in the Husky maintenance schedule, but I needed to catch up on items I had skipped in earlier sessions.

I had never cleaned the bag filter behind the right side engine case; I was waiting for a gasket. Someone advised that the gasket is reuseable. I got a new gasket and had a look; they were right, that gasket is thick. I needn't have waited for the new gasket.

I changed the oil and oil filter. I used Honda GN4 20W50 oil and a Hi-Flo filter. The used oil coming out did not look dark black, sorta light black, like last time.

The magnetic drain plug had more black gooey stuff on it than the previous oil change.

The left side bag filters had some debris, but less than the previous oil change. -->

I pulled the right side engine case off and removed the bag filter. It had no debris at all, so I cleaned it in solvent and put it back in (no picture).

Here's what the plug looked like; a bit white and the outside looks crusty. 'Could be runnin' lean; I'll be checking with the iBeat to see if anything looks suspicious.

5/16/08 - 1185 miles continued

After changing the oil and cleaning the filters, I decided to have a look at the CCT, the cam chain tensioner, and see how many 'clicks' I had used up. There is no guideline on how to count clicks, so I'm going to count how many v-grooves are exposed, including the half exposed one under the ratcheting tooth. I count six.

Click on the pictures to supersize and check my count...

Once I was finished counting, I tried to put the CCT back on the cylinder. Mounting the main block was easy, getting the spring back in was a nightmare. No matter how I tried, I couldn't hold the spring in place while I screwed the holding bolt in. What I needed was to constrain the spring while I seated and screwed in the bolt. There was no way to do this with the fingers of my two hands.

I began searching through my tools to see what would work and finally came up with this setup. The ratchet, long extension, and 10mm socket were pretty straightforward. The 18mm spark plug socket was the trick. I slid the spring into it's hole in the block as far as it would go, then slid the hollow holding bolt over the end. Then I put the 10mm socket on the head of the bolt and slid the spark plug socket over the whole assembly. Then I carefully seated the bolt. The spring was kept from shooting out the side by the spark plug socket and the bolt pushed the spring all the way in as I seated it. I then threaded the bolt in and torqued it appropriately. Next time I'm going to use a smaller diameter tube that has an i.d. slightly larger than the 10mm socket.

5/16/08 - 1185 miles continued

Having accomplished the CCT task, I decided it was time to check the valves, having previously avoided this task. The Owner's Manual was little help to me in deciding what to remove. I knew I did not want to take off both radiators; there was a semi-permanent hose clip or two that I did not want to deal with. I decided to start with the right radiator (fortunately) and went to work. First, I removed the fuel tank. Then I drained the engine block by removing the drain screw on the cylinder, then drained the radiators by removing the lower, outside hose on the right radiator. Fluid everywhere! But I had planned ahead and tubs caught most of the ejection (that's what it does when the radiator cap comes off). I removed the upper hose on the right radiator, then tipped the radiator up to hang by a bungie from the handlebar.

The next item to remove was the bolt and rubber tube holding the plastic catch tank in place. Then the small retaining bolt and lastly the catch tank itself. I had to tip the tank a bit to get around the frame obstructions. If I had started with the left radiator, I'd have never gotten the catch tank out.

As you may be able to tell from the pictures below, you can get to the valves quite easily once you remove the last few items. Note, I used the straw to find top dead center.

So, how did the valves measure?
  EX .003  .003    IN .003+ .003+
I set all four valves to .002 and buttoned everything back up. After flushing the radiators and engine with distilled water and vinegar, I filled the cooling system with Engine Ice. The TE ran fine the next day.

One thing disturbed me while doing this work. The ends of the quick-disconnect hoses were quite dirty. I realize that the dirty parts are external to the fuel carrying passages, but I was nevertheless annoyed by what I saw. I'd like to replace every qd hose with a good old fashioned hose held on by a barb and hose clamp.

5/16/08 - 1185 miles continued

I had read about the rear shock rebound adjuster being difficult to get to and one rider said to rotate the bottom mount (clevis?) so you could get a screw driver on the adjuster screw. I looked at the bottom of my shock, and sure enough, the adjuster screw was facing the chain side with very little room to get a screwdriver on it.

While some mechanics may find it difficult to get to screws placed like this, it's usually no problem for me when I get out my 'tight confines' tool box. Nevertheless, I decided to rotate the shock mount and make adjusting a bit easier. Thanks for the tip.

A rider posted info about the 510 having a throttle stop, so I was interested to see if my 610 had one also. I was rather hoping it didn't because if it has more throttle than I've been using for the last 1185 miles, then I'll never be able to ride it WFO. When I took the cover off the side of the throttle body, I did not see a throttle stop. Whew.

I spent about four hours adjusting and relocating the wiring, hoses, and cables around the engine, under the fuel tank, and behind the headlight. You can sure tell the bike is Italian made - there's spaghetti everywhere!