2004 FE550E First Impressions

It's official.. I can now say that I'm apart of the Husaberg Family.
I picked up my new scoot yesterday. As a bonus.. it included a Husaberg backpack, tool kit (with the bottle opener), parts manual and users manual. Our shop in Reno went the extra effort as to richen her up a couple of points and changed the oil.
By the time I got home it was starting to get dark and it was probably in the high 20's temp wise. I have a fairly smooth track around 10 acres to get a small sense (5 minutes worth) of what it was going to be like.
My First impresion:
1. Engine sounds tight (no additional movement from the motor when the engine is killed, it just stops) but starts easily with the button
2. Smooth tracktable power - can't wait till she's broke in and get her out in the open to let her run.
3. Very light and short feeling - not in a wierd european way, but in a RM250 way. I can get used to that.
4. Computer is way cool.
5. Light is way cool.
6. I hope this thing holds up / I won't want another Jap bike.

My (115lb) 16 year old son's impression -
1. "I felt comfortable instantly"
2. "can I get one!" (thinking of an 02 400 for him now)

My Brother-in-laws impression- (he rides an 02 CR450F).
1. "Very nice" - can't wait till it's broke in.
2. "It has that on the front fender feeling" "probably feel fine at speed"

Over the next couple of days it'll be more broke in. Especially since I have about 10 more motorcycle family members here on Thanksgiving, that will want to "Help me break it in" It's all good..

BTW- mine had the new header pipe that swoops down on it. So, no tire rubbing action here.

Thanks to all the Husaberg.org members, this site, and a great established local shop Nevada Motorcycle Specialties for helping me make, what I now know, was the right decision. Believe me, I had people asking "Why a Husaberg?" If I let them ride it, they'll find out why..
:lol:

working Friday

will be breakin' her in tomorrow in preparation for your whoopin' on Saturday!
:lol:

27 Miles 1.2 hours into it.

Did a short 25 mile loop tonight. I haven't even touched the suspension. I figured I'd check it out tomorrow after it's been run in a bit more.
The front end sticks, and doesn't deflect. Even on loose football sized rocks it holds it's ground. In the whoops, it likes to be on the gas steady and fast. It can take it. I found it had a hard time accelerating smoothly if I rolled the steep whoops. I blame the tire at this point. It's my only complaint. On hard pack downhills I could hear the rear tire dragging while braking. And I missed a couple of corners because of it.

The motor hasn't missed a beat. The amount of compression braking is perfect in my opinion.

I'm guessing I should get about 75 miles per tank judging from what it used for the 25.

I finally figured out that I needed to read the manual for the computer. It will be a great training tool to get my 25 mile times down.

One more thing.. The kick starter did hang up on the foot peg as DaleO has mentioned.

Engine noise

70Marlin wrote: How about the engine noise “starter sprag and clutchâ€Â

Another 17 miles on the 550 - Picked up the 02 400

We went for a short 17 mile ride yesterday. Me and 6 others, including my son on his 02 FE400. It was rainy and cool so the traction was superb.
I was able to watch the rear of the pack for only about 5 miles, then I had to GO!. It wasn't but a couple minutes before I was waiting for everyone at the next corner. Even past 4 or 5 on a rutted, rocky single lane downhill. It does this effortlessly. Very confidence inspiring. It really wasn't working me too hard either.
This bike is Awsome!!

Another great deal - We picked up the 02 FE400 from a guy who used to sell Husaberg. You could tell it had been sitting for a while. It wouldn't start at first, I could tell the gas was going bad. When we turned on the fuel, both lines leaked badly. I did get it to start breifly and it sounded good, so we got it. You could also tell that it had been ridden by the condition of the front sprocket. The teeth were a bit pulled over, and the rear was a new renthol. Not sure how many hours it takes to wear out a front, If I knew that I'd probably know how many hours it had on it.
The guy gave us:
(2) new tires
(2) new tubes (heavy duty)
New battery
new rear fender
new front fender
Jersy
Sales Tax
All this for a mear $3000

The 400 was nice but a bit stiff on both ends for my son. He was seen bouncing from one rock to the next. But it did work well in the deep whoops. Maybe just a bit too much preload, I'm guessing. We really didn't have a bunch of time to go over the setup. By the time we got the 400 home we only had time to:
replace the fuel lines
drain the tank and carb
change the oil including replace the filter
Make sure everything worked and off we went.
We had a bit of a time starting her from time to time. But it did complete the 17 miles and my son is digging it..
We all made it back safely just in time for the Thanksgiving feast..

One more thing

Seeing the the two Father / Son Husabergs next to each other in the garage is..
Priceless!

How much does it weigh?

It's been a bit chilly here lately.. So, other than the occasional peek into the garage to see the gleaming beauty (it's still shiny and new ), the only thing I could think to do other than a couple of quick laps around the property, was to put this beast to the bathroom scale test.
I used a mechanical scale and weighed myself in between measurements just to keep it in the closest proximity. When I measured the front wheel it came up 130LB. When I measured the back wheel it came up 135Lb. In conclusion to this very technical experiment, it looks like it's about 265lb wet, with better than 3/4 fuel in the tank. So, minus fuel and wet I was thinking it was about 250LB.
With 2.1 hours on it I went ahead and did an oil change. Cleaned all of the screens of course. The filter looked dirty, and was replaced with the K&N paper. The screen had some metal flakes around the edges of the screen material. It wasn't covered by any means. And the magnetic drain plug had some metal spikes shooting off of the end. So, it did it's job too. Of course in hind site it would have been nice to show some pics of the metal so I would have a clue if it was less than, more than or just normal.
Maybe next change..

Valve Adjustment

At 3.6 hours I adjusted the valves. The exaust was a bit tight and the intake was even tighter. Everything went well otherwise.

The plug was white. There was little or no tan color to be found. It starts fine when cold. About 3 kicks (It's been in the 30's, so I've been kicking her instead of the button) with choke and a couple of twists of the throttle.
And it idles and runs fine when warm. So, it shouldn't be too far off.

I've been riding on a 1.4 mile (thanks computer!) snow covered track to rack up the breakin' miles. It's been challenging to keep it in the same tire width track, and good practice I think. My shoulders are hurting , so something must be happening. I've been averaging 22 miles an hour on it, so it's not too tough. And I've kept in on two wheels. We're at 4.6 hours now. Still going.. No leaks or any problems.
I do need to adjust the chain though.
Oh, and I'm starting to learn how to wheelie Wahoo!
This weekends weather is looking good for some serious trail blazin'
John

6.6 Hours and 158 miles.

What a great riding weekend. Made it out twice, once each day.
Hosed her off and changed the oil. It was a little dirty. There were less spiky things on the end of the magnetic drain and there was less that 10 tiny flakes on the screen. I didn't have a spare paper filter on hand this time around, so the one from 2.1 hours is still in there.

In an effort to meet AJT for a ride, I was runnig late.. I took the fast whoop roads. I had a couple of steering twitches that caused me to go be a bit more on my toes. Can you say steering damper? Speaking of that, what do you guys like? Scotts,WER.. I have never owned one.
I have always felt that if the bike is setup properly this shouldn't be much of an issue. I'm re-thinking this now.