What is the difference between the 04' and 05'? I hear the front tire will hit the header on the 04' (that does not sound good), and that the 05' has some new upgraded seals in the motor. What else? Is the suspention the same?
I ride lots in the California desert. On this great web site I've read that another member had to revalve and respring his 04' legs, he weights about the same as me 184 lbs in street cloths. I was hoping to be able to purchase a top of the line machine and not have to spend the time or money revalving, changing header (those two things could cost $800 or so), and or other parts on the bike to make it right for my use. I do expect to have to purchase skid plate, hand guards, and front disc guard. Comments?[/quote]
Hi Phile,
I read your post and thought I'd give you some info that might help you out.
Regarding the tire hitting the header; Mine did when it was new, Husaberg sent the replacement header for nothing, and the dealer installed it for nothing. If you want to see if the Husaberg that you are thinking of buying has the updated header, here's how you can tell. The right side header (as you sit on the bike) is the one in question. If the right side header drops down to at or below the point at where the split cradle becomes a single down tube then it's the updated one. If it comes out almost straight and then swoops around, then it's probably going to hit. It's really too bad as this is allot better looking than the one that does fit, better lines don't you know.
The bike comes with hand guards, so unless you want to go with the Acerbis rallye guards like I have, you won't have to buy those.
I have put a front disc guard on my bike, that is the same one that the KTM's use. It's too bad that the Acerbis doesn't make the "Spider" disc guard for the 04's on up, as it covered the caliper as well. I also highly reccomend a rear disc guard from Scott's performance products. It's really beefy and will stand up to allot of abuse. I like it better than some of the others on the market as it replaces the whole rear caliper hanger, not just a bolt on.
As far as the suspension goes, well that's really up to you. Myself, I found it to be too soft so I had it re-sprung/valved. When I buy a new bike, I plan on that anyway. I personally don't know of any dirt bike that is made that has the suspension set up for so cal desert riding like you and I do. All I can tell you is it is the best money you can spend on your bike, you won't regret it as long as you are honest with the suspension tuner. I highly reccomend Clean Racing do your suspension. Steve Searcy is the owner, and is a desert racer from back in the day, and understands very well what it takes to make it work right. Steve had tuned many a suspension for top pro's like Dave Ondas. I went from finishing 12 out of 24 in my class to top 5, and even got a couple of 3'rds and seconds, and two 1st's. If you want contact info, drop me a pm. It will cost you about $600 for a re-spring/valve. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What ever you do, don't take it to Race Tech, that place is nothing but a bunch of hatchet weilding knuckle draggers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep in mind that the 2004 has the 3 bushing forks which I believe are better than the newer ones, which I believe went back to the 2 bushing fork.
Either bike will be a great choice, with the 2005 getting the nod for the more tucked in kick starter. But, for the cost savings of the 2004 you can easily afford putting the 2005 kick starter on it.
Enjoy!!
