- Joined
- May 4, 2005
- Messages
- 196
- Location
- Sacramento California
Here's another 'Berg I picked up under somewhat morbid circumstances. The original owner had taken the bike apart for a rebuild and then ended up losing his life in a work-related accident. The widow gave the bike to the deceased husband's best friend who kept it around for years, intending on reassembling it. Eventually realizing that he didn't have the knowledge to reassemble this bike, he contacted a friend of mine who operates a motorcycle repair business. Having no interest in working on old Husabergs, my friend reached out to me about the bike. I ended up buying it for only $300 with the promise that I would get it running and give it a good home in service to the memory of the original owner. It had a lot of good aftermarket parts (nice big platform pegs, the under-seat tank, and a complete dual sport kit) and, again, was converted to be California street legal back in 2003. Here's the reassembly underway.
I rode the bike until the reasons the original owner took it apart became evident - the bearings within the engine were groaning and howling so much that I didn't expect it last much longer. Having good experiences with Thumper Racing, I took the engine to them. They had a new liner made that would make use of the KTM 540 piston which, if memory serves, measures 97mm diameter for an actual displacement of 522cc. Since the achilles heel of the '01 engines was the counterbalancer bearing and the cam follower bearings, I had Thumper Racing remove the balancer and I gave them a set of the upgraded cam follower bearings that I found at a former Husaberg dealer. Here's the new liner (left) next to the original (right).
Here's the bike reassembled and with a Pro Moto Billet kickstand that I adapted to it. You can also see the custom Dave Clarke Racing shift lever that I found used on ebay for 20 bucks.
Since reassembly I've barely gotten it broken in before bearing howling started coming from the engine again. My guess is that Thumper Racing did not press the crank properly and the main bearings are already failing. To make matters worse, this was one of the last engines they worked on before Travis, the original owner, sold the business so it sits until I have the time to take it apart and fix whatever the issue is. In the meantime, I fondly remember how absolutely incredible this bike ran as a 522cc and with the obligatory Keihin FCR41.
I call this bike "Dollar Bill" because of how few dollars it took to buy it and because of how many it will cost me to enjoy it in the long run.
I rode the bike until the reasons the original owner took it apart became evident - the bearings within the engine were groaning and howling so much that I didn't expect it last much longer. Having good experiences with Thumper Racing, I took the engine to them. They had a new liner made that would make use of the KTM 540 piston which, if memory serves, measures 97mm diameter for an actual displacement of 522cc. Since the achilles heel of the '01 engines was the counterbalancer bearing and the cam follower bearings, I had Thumper Racing remove the balancer and I gave them a set of the upgraded cam follower bearings that I found at a former Husaberg dealer. Here's the new liner (left) next to the original (right).
Here's the bike reassembled and with a Pro Moto Billet kickstand that I adapted to it. You can also see the custom Dave Clarke Racing shift lever that I found used on ebay for 20 bucks.
Since reassembly I've barely gotten it broken in before bearing howling started coming from the engine again. My guess is that Thumper Racing did not press the crank properly and the main bearings are already failing. To make matters worse, this was one of the last engines they worked on before Travis, the original owner, sold the business so it sits until I have the time to take it apart and fix whatever the issue is. In the meantime, I fondly remember how absolutely incredible this bike ran as a 522cc and with the obligatory Keihin FCR41.
I call this bike "Dollar Bill" because of how few dollars it took to buy it and because of how many it will cost me to enjoy it in the long run.
