2010 or 2011 FE390?

Looking to buy my first Husaberg but I can't decide. I can pick up a 2010 with lots of parts, skids, map switch, dampener, rekluse, rad guards, suspension (matches my weight), etc. Its been well maintained by the dealer, but ridden hard for sure. Downside it does not have a street title and has a 145 hours on it. $2500usd.

Next is an excellent condition 2011 with 49 hours/700 miles. Only mods are handguards and skids. This one has a street title. $4000usd.

I'll have to put money at both and have a limited budget. I'm sure I can get the 2010 road legal, but I'm not racing l. Just weekend trail rides with a little bit of road riding getting to trailheads.

Any help would be appreciated.

I would personally pick the bike with less hours. dirtbikes do wear out with use and the fuse on the 2011 is a lot longer than the 2010. Especially if you know the 2010 was ridden hard.

You could buy the 2010 and budget money for bringing a lot of stuff back up to spec but there are certain things on a dirtbike that can't be made fresh again without spending huge money (frame paint, engine cases, etc.)

Get the 2011 and you have a fresh bike to start with!


Life is good!

Go with the 2011.

Thanks guys. Hoping to grab the 2011 this weekend or early next week if he'll hold it for me. Hoping he will.

GET BOTH!!!! A spare never hurts. Make one a Saturday and one a Sunday bike.

I wanted to...figured for the price of the 2010, I could have cleaned it up, replaced a few things and flipped it for a profit. Unfortunately, the funds I have available wasnt enough.

Sad news that 2011 is sold as well. Although I found another 2011 about an hour north of me. Price is a little high. Only has 54hrs on it.

I have a 2011 390 that i bought brand new last year (great deal on a old stock bike), and while I absolutely love it, I really do wish I had gotten a 450 (or even a 570!)

On the dirt, the 390 is more than enough for me, but w/ my street titled bike and a set of 17" supermoto wheels I really miss the power of my old 08 450.

just some food for thought

Thanks. No supermoto for me. My bike will be 85% dirt and 15% street. Really only need it plated to jump trail to trail.

While the 2010 has some hours in it, the OC fork on the 2010 is superior to the gas fork on the 2011.

These bikes go for roughly 500 hours with little maintenance.

Sounds like the 2010 was well maintained and comes with spares. For the type of riding you are talking about doing I would think the 2010 would be good.

Make sure it has the closed course map in the ECU. IF you want the rekluse then you are money ahead.

It's amazing what new levers and plastic can do for a bike that's been ridden.

DaleEO said:

While the 2010 has some hours in it, the OC fork on the 2010 is superior to the gas fork on the 2011.

Click to expand...

Can you please elaborate this? I have a 2010 FE390, and like the OC forks very much, but everywhere I read they say the 2011 CC forks are better - but maybe only for higher speed riding?

Hi Wall,

I suppose it depends on what you are reading, authored by whom, and, needs to be taken in the correct context.

The WP gas cartridge fork has an inherent design flaw that causes them to not function consistently. I have worked on quite a few sets of them that came defective from the factory as well.

If one was to compare the stock OC forks to the stock gas CC forks, one would think they are better. However, that is comparing apples to oranges.

The stock OC forks that were installed on all of the FE's up through 2010 came with .44Nm fork springs, and were under valved to boot. That left them under sprung and under valved causing them to hang down in the travel and produce bad handling traits.

The stock CC forks installed on the 2010 FX 450, and the 2011 FE models, came with .47Nm fork springs and were over valved.

So, in comparison to the stock OC forks, the stock CC forks came slightly over sprung for an average weight rider, and grossly over valved. Over valved so much that a lot of people thought their suspension was bottoming, when in fact it was not, it just stopped compressing.

So, with the closer to correct spring rate on the FE CC forks, the forks stayed up in the travel better. HOWEVER, due to the over valving, the CC forks worked poorly off road in terms of deflection and being able to remain compliant. In addition to deflecting off of square edges, roots, etc... the overall feel was harsh, and also contributed to lack of front end grip. This gets worse as the fork is used during any given day or riding session due to the aforementioned design flaw.

By comparison the OC forks with the proper spring rate for the riders' weight, and, valved correctly, provide superior off road performance to the gas CC forks. The properly set up OC forks stay consistent throughout the day or riding session. The OC forks absorb square edges, roots, etc... and provide better front end grip due to their consistent performance characteristics.

The new 4CS design is a much better design that addressed the design problems with the gas CC fork.

Thank you Dale!

You are Welcome,

I made a few minor edits to my last post.

Dale

Wow...heck of an explanation. Thanks Dale. Unfortunately that 2010 sold before I could nab it. I was a little bummed. But I ended up with a 2011. I don't know if my ability let's me exploit design flaws in certain shocks. Maybe after I get some seat time.

doolin64 said:

Wow...heck of an explanation. Thanks Dale. Unfortunately that 2010 sold before I could nab it. I was a little bummed. But I ended up with a 2011. I don't know if my ability let's me exploit design flaws in certain shocks. Maybe after I get some seat time.

Click to expand...

Hey Doolin,

First off want to make sure that I'm not bagging on your bike! The 2011 390 is a great dirt bike and I'm sure that you will really enjoy it!

Before I go any further, may I suggest that you purchase a drop in filter sock for your gas tank from cycle buy. Com. These are great products and will help keep your fuel system from having issues.
http://www.cyclebuy.com/shopping/splitstream/index.htm

Having a new bike is absolutely fantastic as you get to set it up the way you want!

As far as your suspension goes, anyone who rides, no matter their ability will benefit greatly from a properly set up bike. The 09-12 Husaberg's come with a suspension that is in need of a proper set up. So it's not just limited to your CC forks. The shock, is usually under sprung for most people, and is under valved.

The CC forks performance can be greatly improved for off road use with the proper spring rate and some pretty big valving changes to allow use of the full travel available. Otherwise, they are too stiff valving wise and most folks will always have a few inches of dirty fork tube at the bottom, meaning you are not taking advantage of all the travel that is available.

So that is way cool that you got a bike with 54 hours on it! Some of the 2011's came with a bad batch of fuel pumps, such a shame. That being said, your bike should have any issues sorted out, and is just now fully broken in! I would suggest that the suspension be at least serviced with that many hours.

Have fun on your new bike!!


Dale

No worries at all Dale. I understand you were explaining the merits between the different forks.

I've already ordered appropriate springs for my bike. Valving will have to wait (budget constraints).

One thing I'm working during about....how the heck do you adjust the shock for sag on the rear. I can't see how you can adjust it.

You have to pull the shock off to adjust pre load / rider sag. Takes about one minut to pull the shock.

Don't over tighten the pinch bolt on the locking ring or it will break.

Thank you. I see who the bottom of the shock unbolts. I haven't cracked the manual to see the top. I can't imagine it's to hard.

Now that I have the bike naked....yes...the rear shock will be very easy to remove!