Joined Aug 2004
71 Posts | 0+
Alberta, Canada
Hey All!
I want to run through a brief history of an FE650 I need to move to someone else to find out what the UHE populace thinks I should do as a next step.
I have an '04 FE650 that was purchased from the Corner Grass guys here in Alberta, Canada after they won the Endurance Ice Racing Championship the previous season in 2008 (then they changed up to the new Berg 570).
They had been re-building the bottom, end mid-season each winter, as the strain on the engine on the ice meant it would not run a full season without a re-build. Since we did not have the proper set-up to get a job like that done in a week between races, we did some research and sent the bottom end of the engine away to get the crank/bearing assembly improved to last a full season of racing.
Dale Lineaweaver line bored the cases to get everything straight, deleted the counter balancer, and fitted the bottom end with much more robust bearings sending back the whole thing assembled & tight ready to rip for a whole winter. We also got a cam from Dale (I think he called it Stage 1 or Level 1 or similar) and installed it on the re-assembly to make the top end more reliable as this cam has a more graceful ramp angle that the slam-open stock shaft and also gives a bit more lift which should make the beast even wilder once jetted.
I and a local shop Tech re-assembled the top end and we went racing. 1/3 of our first lap the engine locked up solid sending my riding partner on a long skid up over the snow banks & off the track. Since it was the first race of the season, we parked the bike, swapped tires & parts over to his KTM250 enduro and rode the rest of the year in the small bike class.
I kept the big Berg with full intentions to repair it and take it back to the ice races, however, I somehow picked up Lyme disease and got the next several years fully knocked off the rails. Somewhat back to the real world from the Lyme crap, things have moved along personally and I just clicked over the 65 yr mark myself as well.
The Berg is still sitting on the same stand I parked it on in my garage in 2010, in the same state of hurt it was in when I hauled it home from the ice. I know there is a lot of good motorcycle sitting there, but I also know I need to move it along to someone with the passion and energy to get it back into roaring condition. I have a gut feel that we messed up riveting the cam chain on re-assembly & it dropped down in the lower workings & locked things up. Don't know that for sure as we have not opened anything up, but highly suspect our inexperienced work as opposed to the build up that we got from Dale.
My question at this point is: What does the Berg world think I should do with this bike?
- I could try to sell it as-is (giant tank, modified spare shock or two, and anyything else that came or goes with it) & let the buyer noddle into it
- I could find a way & spend the cash, to get someone to rip it apart, to ID the actual failure, and then sell it that way...apart & with the problem known
- Or, I could pay to have the engine fully repaired & sell it as a running '04, 650 with a huge tank, spare modified shocks, and Lineaweaver bottom end & cam.
If I can find a place to fix it, not sure what that would cost, and what the $ difference would be between selling it as it, or after paying for repair & selling it running.
Just don't have the time/energy presently to shred the beast myself.
Thoughts?
I want to run through a brief history of an FE650 I need to move to someone else to find out what the UHE populace thinks I should do as a next step.
I have an '04 FE650 that was purchased from the Corner Grass guys here in Alberta, Canada after they won the Endurance Ice Racing Championship the previous season in 2008 (then they changed up to the new Berg 570).
They had been re-building the bottom, end mid-season each winter, as the strain on the engine on the ice meant it would not run a full season without a re-build. Since we did not have the proper set-up to get a job like that done in a week between races, we did some research and sent the bottom end of the engine away to get the crank/bearing assembly improved to last a full season of racing.
Dale Lineaweaver line bored the cases to get everything straight, deleted the counter balancer, and fitted the bottom end with much more robust bearings sending back the whole thing assembled & tight ready to rip for a whole winter. We also got a cam from Dale (I think he called it Stage 1 or Level 1 or similar) and installed it on the re-assembly to make the top end more reliable as this cam has a more graceful ramp angle that the slam-open stock shaft and also gives a bit more lift which should make the beast even wilder once jetted.
I and a local shop Tech re-assembled the top end and we went racing. 1/3 of our first lap the engine locked up solid sending my riding partner on a long skid up over the snow banks & off the track. Since it was the first race of the season, we parked the bike, swapped tires & parts over to his KTM250 enduro and rode the rest of the year in the small bike class.
I kept the big Berg with full intentions to repair it and take it back to the ice races, however, I somehow picked up Lyme disease and got the next several years fully knocked off the rails. Somewhat back to the real world from the Lyme crap, things have moved along personally and I just clicked over the 65 yr mark myself as well.
The Berg is still sitting on the same stand I parked it on in my garage in 2010, in the same state of hurt it was in when I hauled it home from the ice. I know there is a lot of good motorcycle sitting there, but I also know I need to move it along to someone with the passion and energy to get it back into roaring condition. I have a gut feel that we messed up riveting the cam chain on re-assembly & it dropped down in the lower workings & locked things up. Don't know that for sure as we have not opened anything up, but highly suspect our inexperienced work as opposed to the build up that we got from Dale.
My question at this point is: What does the Berg world think I should do with this bike?
- I could try to sell it as-is (giant tank, modified spare shock or two, and anyything else that came or goes with it) & let the buyer noddle into it
- I could find a way & spend the cash, to get someone to rip it apart, to ID the actual failure, and then sell it that way...apart & with the problem known
- Or, I could pay to have the engine fully repaired & sell it as a running '04, 650 with a huge tank, spare modified shocks, and Lineaweaver bottom end & cam.
If I can find a place to fix it, not sure what that would cost, and what the $ difference would be between selling it as it, or after paying for repair & selling it running.
Just don't have the time/energy presently to shred the beast myself.
Thoughts?
