501 97-99 pros & cons

Hi and be welcome here brakmaren,

if you ask me, I would prefer a 98 501.
In my opinion, I have made my own experiences with a 99 Husa,
the 98 had a bit less problems than the 99. I think you don´t
need the PDS damper, the old Husaberg rear suspension worked really
very good. Maybe, when you have some luck, you get a bike with Oehlins damper.
The engine got some changes in 99 and in first step it weren´t not the best changes for the engine. The engine got stronger valve springs but the valve seats were too weak. So many people had problems with their valves/valve clearance etc. I was one of them.
My first Husaberg was a 99 and not only because of the fact that is was a 99 model, but of less or none maintenance of the guy who had this bike formerly I had a very bad engine damage after 3 months of riding.
With the new ignition the bike theoretically runs a bit smoother and the rider should give more controlled power to the ground. It works quite good, but if you have a damaged ignition (stator) you won´t find one on the used spareparts market. The older ignitions were the same as you find at the KTM LC4. So its easier to find one of them. I think it´s an advantage.
If you´re thinking of buying one of these models I would recommend the 98 model. I think it´s a bit cheaper. You can also buy a 97, it´s nearly the same bike as the 98. Or you buy a 2000. But with the new design it will cost a bit more. 2000 they had nearly no probs.
I would also recommend a 501, because a bigger bike with 600ccm makes fun, no question, but riding off road, and maybe MX will become a fight with the bike after a few laps. Too much power that you have to get under control.

So, hope I could help you,
not that easy in english

greetings
hribman

ummm h rib man i think your getting a bit confused for a starters about the only differance between a 98 and a 99 is the 99 has conical valve springs (actually apply less pressure there fore req less freqent adjustment )and the ignition whitch has never failed me and the 2000 models had nothing but problems as it was a completely new motor chassis and so forth they only came good in about 03 and the 98 have bit of a problem with there gear selector forks wearing and jamming in gear aswell was fixed in the 99 hope this helps




cheers doug

Hej Anders,

I own a 99 FE 501. It has been very reliable. Even at valve adjustments I find them most time to be spot on. I think I have a stator problem creeping up on me, but it has been going on for over a year.

Personally if I had a choice to start over I would look for a 2000- Old engine design at its best production year with the new frame and design.

I think the 2000 and newer steers a bit quicker. The 99 I have would be awesome on a Swedish skogsvag and also has a very nice engine for trail riding. When I get in whoops and in MX track conditions I find myself falling more behind than I do on some other bikes.

I grew up in Sweden and I now mostly ride dessert and the local So. California mountains. The 501 would be insane in the wet forrests in Sweden. You will not be disapointed in the speed the bike is capable of.

I think you will be fine with either one of the models you are looking for. I just wanted to give you my 2 cents.

Lycka till,


Hakan

44014 said:

ummm h rib man i think your getting a bit confused for a starters about the only differance between a 98 and a 99 is the 99 has conical valve springs (actually apply less pressure there fore req less freqent adjustment )and the ignition whitch has never failed me and the 2000 models had nothing but problems as it was a completely new motor chassis and so forth they only came good in about 03 and the 98 have bit of a problem with there gear selector forks wearing and jamming in gear aswell was fixed in the 99 hope this helps

cheers doug

Click to expand...

The 2000 has the new style chassis/plastics with inverted forks and KTM wheels/brakes, but not a new motor. The new motor first came out in the 2001 models.

Welcome Anders!

Yes the 2000 model had the old style motor which was the last incarnation of it before the 01 motor was redesigned. If you get a 2000 you must replace that blue tank with a yellow one.

husabutt said:

Welcome Anders!

Yes the 2000 model had the old style motor which was the last incarnation of it before the 01 motor was redesigned. If you get a 2000 you must replace that blue tank with a yellow one.

Click to expand...

The blue tank doesn't look bad with black plastics.

I wouldn't be a good judge on this one as I also dislike black plastic! Sorry bout that. Have you ever had a black car? You can't keep it clean. Being in the Autobody industry we have done many a black vehicle and they are a pain. 5 minutes after completing the job and detailing it out it is dirty again. I am most definately a light color fan.

I has a '97 fc 600 and they had WP EXTREME forks in it and they were junk and way to heavy, but i don't know for the fe models. Personally i would stick with a 98 or later model.
grtz Sieb

there were a few differences between the 97 and 98 models as well as through the 97 production. There were two different sized waterpumps that changed somewhere along the line. Also the early 97 didn't have the small stop bolt in the cam sprocket for the decompressor but had larger heads on the cap screws holding the sprocket on, after braking two decompressors on my bike because of the capscrews not limiting the travel properly I left it out. The 97 also had the Ohlins rear while the 98 had the WP

The 2000 model did in fact come with a hydraulic clutch for the very first time. It says here in the brochure that it also had a new shift drum, bearings on the shiftforks, new crankcase due to the new clutch, new crankshaft, new decompression systems and more.

If it were me I would take a hard look at the 2000 model as it had the new generation frame, USD forks and very good motor. Just put a yellow tank and shrouds on it and you'll be good!

If I could find a FR600E in good shape I would buy it in a heartbeat. I don't know if they were imported in the U.S. but it was the only desert model offered that year ( FC's and FE's only no FX's for 2000).
It had a huge 19 litre tank plus the 5.5 litre side tank. Would be fantastic for all day desert rides.

In my opinion the pre 2000 frames were not very nimble in the tight stuff. They appear to have way too much steering rake, kind of chopperish. My 97 fx600 is quite stable at high speed but at low speed you must change your riding style to acommodate the beast. Instead of maneuvering neatly around obstacles or jumping over them you just bash or plow right through them. Whereas on my 01 470fx it is quite flickable and rides like a completely different bike. Much more fun. So needless to say I really like the new generation frames which were introduced on the 2000 model.

2000 models

I have a 2000 fc600 i love it.The only problems i've had with it was a leaking water pump seal,kick start lever,fork seals.But the water seal is the same one that is in the ktms of that year soo it was easy too fix.The fork seals are too be expected first time they where changed was this year but this is uncommon.As for the kick start lever its a big bore and no electric start (FC model) self explanatory.Oh yes it is the old engine design but new frame design.Still unsure about the pds rear shock but i'm still tuning on it it works ok.I bought it used but the guy did valve,oil and other mainteinece on time all the time.Just as i do.

I think it would be a good year too get.But if previos mainteniece was not done then any bike could be bad.Hope this helps.

Picked up my 2000 electric start fe 501 last week. Went over it with a fine toothed comb and found the following.
Throttle cable snaps off at the top of the carby and lets dirty air in. Removed the snapped curved metal pipey bit and replaced it with a bit if hose from a sprinkler system. Gives flexibility and adjustment and it seals.
Lower shocker bearing needs regular lovin'. Mine was almost seized. Pull out the swingarm bolt and grease it up heaps, mine was very difficult to remove.
The o ring on the ignition cover- when I do the bolts up tight the o ring pops out, if I leave the bolts loose they fall out and I break down in the forest. What do you do?
PDS rear end is lovely compared to the awesome ohlins rear end on my 96 400. the forks are bashing me up a bit at present but I've adjusted nothing yet. The 501 is bog stock standard with all exhaust restrictors in place still. The 400 is rather warmed motor and I must say I miss it's snap. the 501 with ELECTRIC START is so much less energy consuming to ride. I love it, I walk over, turn the key, hit the button and while the bike idles away happily I put my helmet on. Went to Tynong on Saturday and she handled the bush very sweetly. The best part was that in upgrading I didn't need to "Get used to it" as the 2000 is just a logical refinement of the 96. The hydraulic clutch is 2 finger smooth, the pds I don't notice, there is minimal vibration, I can't get the battery out, it seems quite economical, the switchgear is nice and I'm working on a circuit so when you turn off the kill switch it turns every thing off. I keep leaving the key on with the headlights going and have no battery.
Gotta Go
Ice.

Iceman,

The stock O-ring that came on my 2000 FE501E ignition cover fit perfectly, never popped out or let water in. I still have it after 4 1/2 years and nearly 10,000 miles. The curved metal tube on the top of the carb was threaded into the top of the carb cover, and never snapped out. I was concerned though about it vibrating loose and dabbed some shoe goop on it to seal it and keep it from moving.

Make sure you torque the swing arm bolt per the manual, very important!

Regards,

Joe

Hi there,

I want to interfere again:

@44014:
I know that since 99 the valve springs are conical.
The SEM ignition always sucked, it doesn´t matter if it was the old version (1989-1998) or the new version (1999-2003).
The stator often failed.
The shift drum changed in 2000, so it doesn´t matter if you have a transmission from 99 or 98.

The positive changes from 99 to 2000 were:
Nicer design, better front suspension (Upside down fork; the WP extreme fork was extremely lousy ), hydraulic clutch, and in detail improved engine.
The new designed engine (2001) had some problems, thats right. But an overhauled 2001 engine should be quite good.
But thats not our task in here. We´re talking about pre 2001 engines.
So finally I would recommend a model 2000. You should get a lot of fun with that. I had a lot of fun with my previous Husaberg.


greetings

hribman :rock: