2002 Berg engine problems

Semtexsam · Nov 3, 2005

Hi

Not having any problems with my Husaberg except for my suspension BUT one of my mates who has a 2002 650 SM has had one or two problems.The bike has not done that much work and this year has spent more time in the garage than the track.On Tuesday past he had another engine problem and is now considering a new engine or updating his one to a 2003 spec or beyond,is this possible and what extra parts does he need.

I have an interest as well as i am looking to purchase a 650 after Xmas but was looking for a 2003 as the 2002 does not fill me full of confidence.Husaberg has also made improvements over the past few years and i myself am looking for a good season in 2006.

He is also considering a change to those orange bikes but every time the Berg is fixed he falls in love again,any help would be great.

Alan.

supertireguy · Nov 3, 2005

Can you be a little more specific about the problems?

sandskipper · Nov 3, 2005

Lower end bearings (counter balancer and crank), rocker assembly and bearings, SEM ignition are the three major problems on the '02 bikes. upgrading the first two should solve the majority of your problems. The SEM ignition is however one that you will most likely have to live with as there is no real upgrade beyond replacing and in some instances rewinding when said unit dies. Keep valves adjusted properly and change oil every 5hrs and the bike should run well for the most part. A few owners have changed the Dellorto over to a FCR but this is not going to make the bike more reliable. Also the cam has shown to be a little harsh so some users have opted to go with Dale Lineaweavers "X" cams to smooth out the stresses on the valves and springs. These are the major areas of reliability concerns and you as the owner will have to sort them as you see need. I'm sure others will come along to add or clarify more on these points. Hope this helps and post questions about them or research the archives more on each of these issues.

Regards,

Taffy · Nov 4, 2005

sandskipper has said it all technically.

the 650SM is a racer. it has nothing to do with the dirt except in that for 50 yards per lap you ride on the stuff. for the rest of the time it is a roadracer.

so your freind should ask himself this; does a roadracer expect to go 4 seasons without trouble?

the answer is 'no'!

would a roadracer keep a bike over 2 seasons and again the answer is 'no'!

i love the sound of tills chinging and money pouring into that blackhole!

good luck

Taffy

Supermoto_Husaberg · Nov 4, 2005

I have an uncorked 2002 650SM. I got over 170 trouble free hours out of the engine. I changed the oil with good fully synthetic every 5 hours or so and changed the cam followers for the 2003 assembly at the 60 hour point along with a new cam chain as it had stretched.

The bike was caned 40% of the time during the 170 hour use.

She finally let go at 170 hours with the bottom end on the conrod going and also the cam bearings (could be related with debris in the oil).

The conrod should of been changed at 100 hours.

Other than that she has been fine, you soon get used to doing the valve clearances.

Now after the rebuild she has been rebuilt using several special parts and is putting out 66rwhp with an FP exhaust.

The 2003 engine really is not that much better.

Simon · Nov 4, 2005

Alan,

I'm a tad biased because I own a wonderfully reliable 03 650 - has been solid as a rock. In my opinion, the 03s have been the best of the bunch so far.

The cost of upgrading an 02 engine to 03 spec is prohibitive as in addition to the points made above you would also need to update the clutch assembly and fit a longer conrod, you may also have to replace some of the gears due to different grinds. In my experience the 03 clutch is better than that of the 01 and 02 bikes and definitely handles the strains of sm better. My 01 clutch used to blue and wear out (including squeel a lot) very quickly compared to my 03 which I haven't had any issues with.

Looking at how cheaply you can get hold of a good condition 03 complete bike, you're probably better off buying a whole new one and selling the 02. The other upside to this is the suspension was also improved for sm in 03 giving much better feedback etc. (after resolving the out of factory rebound damping problems). The downside was a more flighty front end due to geometry changes but this is resolved easily with a 5" rear rim.

A complete 03 650 engine, in reasonable condition, on its own is likely to cost in the region of 1600 pounds (this was last I enquired with prices obviously going down all the time too) - not that bad compared to upgrading an 02 with all the necessary bits - so also worth considering.

Cheers,
Simon

PetesDragon · Nov 7, 2005

Hello,
I have just striped down my 02 fe501 after discovering metal strips in the sump. I have put approximate hours on the bike are 90hours of MX and 3 of DT and 1 of SAM on the bike since new. Thankfully no major damage to the engine; I was real lucky to have spotted the problem before it was a disaster. My initial thoughts were that the metal was a bearing cage- no, a thrust washer - no; it turned out to be the seals from the only sealed bearing in the motor. My roller bearings on the rocker arms are tired the reed valve bent but generally my bike has been great. I have had 2 auto decompressors and the hard facing keeps chipping off so this time around I am trying aluminium bronze welding wire to face it off as this will work harden. My bike also had horizontal makes in the bore which my mechanic said looked like corrosion marks. My bike has never stood still for very long and I'm very fussy about how I care for it. i love my bike and wouldn't swap it for anything else except antoher Berg

2002 Berg engine problems

Help Support Husaberg:

Semtexsam

supertireguy

sandskipper

Taffy

Supermoto_Husaberg

Simon

PetesDragon

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