2005 Husaberg FE550 problems or issues?

They are amazing. Quite different from the 650. They are said to be a little more fragile at the crank (heavy crank, narrow pin, revvy motor), and you'll basically have to get a custom Carillo conrod if you need to replace a rod. But then again, people have also driven 550s for a lonnnnnng time without failure (see HeimirBardason's posts about his '01 550. Basically hasn't skipped a beat.).

tl;dr: I want one so bad. Get it.

I have both. Coming fron riding a 650 for 10 years it was a nice change up. Both quite different. The 650 Linear, the 550 not.
The 550 coming on a little less until it becomes more with its higher reving motor. One thing that wasnt as enjoyable was the on/off switch feel in its hit of which I geared it a tooth taller than stock. But then again, if your not lazy and want to win the race thats what this bike is all about. Hitting hard in the middle. The lack of vibration and the feeling of turning a little bettee than the 650 is also welcomed.

pollo

I had an '08 550 and raced it in Vegas to Reno in 2011. As a tribute to how amazing the bike is, we ended up 8th overall that year! I also competed in that race in '06 and '07 on an XR650R and, hands down, the Husaberg was FAR superior! Makes me wonder how on Earth Honda was able to win so many Baja races on that pig. The Husaberg was superior in every way. It handled better, weighed less, made more power where it counted (the Honda has better bottom end but, really, that's the only place it outshined the Husaberg), and required less maintenance. On this last point - in '06, we had to change the air filter 3 times on the Honda. In '11, we finished the race on the same filter we started with.

How the 550 compares to the 650, I can't say as I've never ridden a 650. I have, however, finally gotten my 660 running and, for what it's worth, will say the following. My main goal when building the 660 was to have an engine with the same character as the 550 but with more power everywhere. My 660 is a highly modified early 600 engine that's been bored to fit a 100mm piston and I believe that I've achieved my goal. There's nowhere that this engine doesn't make power and I recall thinking the same about the 550.

As far as reliability goes, my 550 never missed a beat in the 50 hours that I put on it before selling (which I deeply regret but the money to remodel the bathroom at home had to come from somewhere). My brother has an '06 550 with closer to 100 hours on it and it has also not missed a beat.

Also, I no longer consider it a deal-breaker when replacement rods are unavailable. I had a custom Carillo made for my 660 and, although it was expensive, it's rebuildable and quite beefy. I doubt that I'll ever have a problem with it.

I'm sure you won't regret buying a 550. As a matter of fact, I feel that those '05 models were some of the best looking 'Bergs ever produced.

Also I refuse to ride my 650's when I am tired because I end up making mistakes which is never good on the 650 where I can ride a smaller bike all day even when tired.[/QUOTE]

The 550 may be smaller but it is not easier to ride. Especially off road. Even though the 650 has abundant incremental power it is Linear and smoother compared to the 550.
The 550 has a hit , is not Linear, and wears you out quicker. Definitely not a lazy mans bike.
As a supermoto of which both my 07 550 and 650 are currently it is a little different. The 550 hit out of the corners to me is more welcomed and fun.

pollo l

Interesting re. the 550 hit. I haven’t ridden them very much, but didn’t notice a hit at all. Just get on the throttle from slow coasting and WWWBAARP the front comes up (or you’re going really fast). Maybe it can be tuned out?

I agree with pollo.my 550 was faster than my 650,I did lighten crank clean up head and 3015 cam.but the 650 is way easier to ride,low down smooth predictable power.the 550 was brutal it was on or off.heaps of fun but slow wet roundabouts were interesting!