'07 550

I have the chance to pick one of these up. How are they in tight woods. The motor sounds like its a monster, but is the power controllable when things get tight and muddy? Do they turn well? Thanks

I own a '05 FE550e and love it. I did put a different needle in the carb to smooth out the power right off ide which made it much easier to ride in technical sections. As far as the handling goes, I like it much better than the KTM 200XC-W I had and sold recently - better than any KTM I've owned. The bike responds and turns like it is connected to my brain where the KTMs all seemed to take more work to make things happen. In fact, when I would get on my KTM after riding the Husaberg, I would find myself constantly almost running off the trail in turns unless I really concentrated on what I was doing. BTW, I love the motor and the bike makes me grin every time I ride it.

i also have the 550 07 and its a machine i ride tight goat trails in high country victoria austraila and love it, feels lighter then my 99 rmx 250 2 stroke. Imy build is 5' 10" 82 kgs soaking wet, if i did not have this bike i would have the 570. more power is better then less, torque is where it is.

How tight is "tight"? Here in the midwest, tight woods means as tight as can be (and sometimes can't be) navigated on a motorcycle.

Was riding with others last Friday. A good friend who had followed me for awhile offered an observation; said I did great everywhere until we got into really tight stuff, then I was f***ed because "that bike is too long".

My wheelbase is 1490 mm; a TE300 wheelbase is 1475. Will 15mm really make a huge difference? I'm thinking no, but even a little extra edge would help. I'm not 100% sure he's right about that part.

What he is right about is the really tight stuff. I go wide for the first turn, swing out as much as I can for the second, but just can't make the third, I usually hit whatever's at the outside, and usually it's a tree. Stop, pull it backwards, wave others by, get it back onto the trail.

I'm not talking about going lock to lock, left, right, left on the forks -- I'm talking about swinging wide to the right for a left turn, then going to the left side lock to make the turn, etc.. It's a bit of extra work and it's just not possible to get through the really tight stuff that way.

Another friend at lunch yesterday suggested sliding the rear around. Rear brake works for the first one, but then you're too slow to do that for the next; a little throttle will put the rear around... unless it hooks up, then the front end comes up, you're headed into the nearest tree, river, or briars, way too fast to do anything about it.

I need to get good sag measurements front and rear. Maybe I'm still too low.

Bottom line: Those that see my struggles believe that the '07 FE650 will never be a "tight woods" bike. I'm nearly convinced. Most of the successful older guys that do enduros in this area ride KTM300's.

I just thought of something ... :idea:

When I first got the bike 2 years ago, I added radiator guards, then had to adjust out the turning stop bolts to keep the forks from hitting the radiator guards. So the bike can't turn nearly as sharp as when it came from the factory. Not nearly as sharp.

Duh.

Hey Guys, I had an 07 FE550 and I thought it was a brilliant bike. I only sold mine to replace it with a new 570. I still see the old girl around and it is still going as strong as ever. The only real problem I had with it was the water pump bearing gave me some hassles with the seals but once this was upgraded it never missed a beat. As for the handling, it really depends on your riding style. It took me a couple rides to adjust to the 570 after riding the 550 for a few years! I found that the 550 was good in the tight stuff if your not afraid to muscle the front into corners and ride out of them with the rear. I ride with my mate who has an 09 KTM 530 and we kept similar pace on our own bikes but he struggled to ride mine at pace and I found his really twitchy but still quick. The 550 is a solid turning bike that gives more confidence the more effort you put into your riding. That being said, the 570 out handles it in every way once you force yourself up onto the bars into corners. Sorry bout that but it really does come down to individual riding style. I would recommend the 07 550 as a great all round big bore machine.

akshun said:

Hey Guys, I had an 07 FE550 and I thought it was a brilliant bike. I only sold mine to replace it with a new 570. I still see the old girl around and it is still going as strong as ever. The only real problem I had with it was the water pump bearing gave me some hassles with the seals but once this was upgraded it never missed a beat. As for the handling, it really depends on your riding style. It took me a couple rides to adjust to the 570 after riding the 550 for a few years! I found that the 550 was good in the tight stuff if your not afraid to muscle the front into corners and ride out of them with the rear. I ride with my mate who has an 09 KTM 530 and we kept similar pace on our own bikes but he struggled to ride mine at pace and I found his really twitchy but still quick. The 550 is a solid turning bike that gives more confidence the more effort you put into your riding. That being said, the 570 out handles it in every way once you force yourself up onto the bars into corners. Sorry bout that but it really does come down to individual riding style. I would recommend the 07 550 as a great all round big bore machine.

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hit the nail right on the head with the 550 great description, i would like to ride the 570 of one of these days to see what they like,they sound like an awesome bike