A FE400E ?

fe400e · Mar 31, 2008

Hello to all berg riders out there!

In a few days I'm about to turn 16 and after riding a 2-stroke light enduro for a year now (Yamaha DT125) I've been looking at taking a more durable and serious bike now.
One reason I don't want to stick to a 125 is that in my country there really aren't that many good models being sold, at least in the enduro division, and I seriously don't find riding on the roads any fun at all therefore any kind of sporty lying-down stuff is not my thing.

Other than riding my DT125 I often ride on my dad's '05 FZ6 Fazer which I can handle
without a problem even though it has almost a 100 horsepower, and amongst other things
I've so far ridden a Suzuki DR650 and a couple other lighter enduros (Yamaha IT250)...
therefore I have an OK amount of experience with stronger bikes and offroad experience after being quite a few times on various trails with my DT as well.

I got my eye caught at first on a Husqvarna TE610ER (the dual-sport version) 2000. year which I could get fairly cheap, after I sell my DT, but due to the parts being fairly hard to get and after hearing it's quite hard to maintain (I can't really afford to change parts every couple hours) I'm not sure I should jump up to a 600 right away.

The local Husaberg dealer has a used 2002 FE400E, not sure about the condition but it's at least 500E more expensive than the Husqvarna - but what I really wanna know is how reliable were bergs before KTM bought them - precisely this year, 2002, and how does it go with maintenance, I know this is a hard-enduro but if I'm not going to ride it in a competition-way (which means really hard, like they ride it on the events) is it going to last
or am I going to have to shell out hundreds of dollars on parts every few weeks?

I'm ok with the regular oil changes and valve-adjusting but replacing the pistons, rings, and various other parts after a few working hours is not something I can pull through financially.

Thanks for the advice!

whosahberg · Mar 31, 2008

my friend 8) if you cant afford to maintain it ... dont get it ... yet

fe400e · Mar 31, 2008

I guess that depends on how costly and how often is the maintenance, that's what I'm asking.
I make about 150 km a month which I don't think is a whole lot really.

husabutt · Mar 31, 2008

Avoid the 2001 and 2002 models like the plague. Go directly to an 2004 or newer.

Taffy · Mar 31, 2008

sound advice. stay clear unless you can afford to spend on preventative maintenance!

regards

Taffy

fe400e · Mar 31, 2008

Thanks, I'll see If I can find a newer year...not likely to be cheap though.

But no one has managed to answer my question so far; how OFTEN, and how EXPENSIVE is maintenance?

Like every 30 hours oil change, rebuild after 200 hours or so?? I'm not sure how often you ride your bergs but
if it's only on weekends then that doesn't stack up so fast I guess. I'd be riding one every day approx. 1 kilometer to the train station and back,
and during the weekend (since I can't ride over the week due to school) I'd take it to the forest or some trails. That wouldn't be so bad right?
Equals to having to rebuild it approx. once a year or so.

husabutt · Mar 31, 2008

fe400e said:
Thanks, I'll see If I can find a newer year...not likely to be cheap though.

But no one has managed to answer my question so far; how OFTEN, and how EXPENSIVE is maintenance?

Like every 30 hours oil change, rebuild after 200 hours or so?? I'm not sure how often you ride your bergs but
if it's only on weekends then that doesn't stack up so fast I guess. I'd be riding one every day approx. 1 kilometer to the train station and back,
and during the weekend (since I can't ride over the week due to school) I'd take it to the forest or some trails. That wouldn't be so bad right?
Equals to having to rebuild it approx. once a year or so.

Preventitive maintenace on these models 01-02 take on a whole new meaning. Regular maintenence is not bad at all. Cleaning the airfilter and changing the oil every 10 hours or so should be fine and not very expensive.

The preventative maintence part is what will kill you. For instance:

The cases crack at the swingarm pivot
The rocker arms need to be updated
The cam chain tensioner barely works and needs updating
The aluminum cam chain sprocket needs the steel one
The stator will soon go out if it hasn't been replaced already
The counterbalancer needs the updated part
The electric starter will never work 100% unless even more money is invested.

All of this preventive catastropic failure updating should be done prior to 100 hours.

So you really are looking at some expensive updated parts that will need to be purchased along with regular rebuild parts much sooner than a standard 150-200 rebuild interval.

Unless you already own one of these or all of the updates have been done it is
generally not a good platform to start with as a used machine.

pineman · Mar 31, 2008

HI FE400E
For a older yr. bike I don't think you can go wrong with a 2000 400e, one of which I have, and I can tell you it has been bullet proof, I also have a 2004 450e, but back to the 2000 400e over 250 hrs. and the piston is still in speck the ring I changed, the sem ignition lasted 225 hrs. aprox. Keep the air filter clean and change the oil every 10 hrs. or so with good oil i.e. delo 400 not the LE version or Shell Rotella sinthetic 15/40 oh and the valve adjustment when needed, I will say mine seems to tick loudly and always has even when the lash is spot on, just part of the engine noise for this engine. Hope this helps.

Fred

Taffy · Mar 31, 2008

eric

you said:

The cases crack at the swingarm pivot
The rocker arms need to be updated
The cam chain tensioner barely works and needs updating
The aluminum cam chain sprocket needs the steel one
The stator will soon go out if it hasn't been replaced already
The counterbalancer needs the updated part
The electric starter will never work 100% unless even more money is invested.

well the cases aren't THAT bad eric???
rockers? - not if you decide to go to a better cam instead.
tensioner = totally agree
alloy camsprocket was just '01 with maybe a few residuals in oz for '02
stator = agreed and also same problem with the '03s don't forget!
counterbalancer - not true at all. fine on the 400
leccy boot - agreed and where do you start!

you might add that by this age there won't be an alloy sprocket on anything but at the same time the springs have had it(well over their reliability threshold).

regards

Taffy

loz16h · Apr 2, 2008

I've had a 2003 fe 400e since October. I've put about 50 hours on it riding local trails and a little highway. I absolutely love it. It's an awsome bike and a serious bike.

I've changed the oil every 10 - 15 hours with expensive synthetic. Ive adjusted the valves 3 times I've fiddled with the jetting, replaced chains and sprockets, cleaned the air filter, changed tires. All routine stuff for any high performance 4 stroke.

The reality is probably $500 - $1000 (including gas) and many hours of shed time over a 6 month period. I'm expecting to give the engine a rebuild by 200 hrs and don't know what that will cost. I'm at 120 hours now.

If you can do most of the work yourself then the maintenace might be manageable but shop rates would kill you. (I wonder how many folk on this site use a shop regularly?)

It's a Husaberg not a Honda. :lol:

chamber66 · Apr 4, 2008

I have an 03 FE400 i do the valves regularily, change the oil and clean the filter as well, but i don't know how many hours the bike has done. should the engine be needing further internal maintenance or should i wait for it to have a problem before i split the engine?

sorry if i have hyjacked someone elses post

Coastie · Apr 4, 2008

Hi fe400

It's a gamble to buy any 2nd hand dirt bike since there are many unknowns.
It's a 6 year old bike and who knows how it's been treated.
In a nutshell the biggest problem with these bikes was the top end and the ignition - rockers, cam sprocket and the SEM stator.
But they may have been changed out already.
A lot of guys have trouble with the e-start but I put this down to a worn decomp - if it's worn it won't e-start and this is from personal experience.
I change oil every 5-10 hrs and you must use a good quality oil.
Filter change every second oil change.
Clean air filter when needed.
I check valves when I get around to it or if it's hard to start etc - probably average every 25hrs or so.
Otherwise just listen for any noises other than the usual and check rocker bearings about every 25-50 hrs at a guess also.
Even the "good" rockers need checking for wear and should be changed around the 100 hr mark - again from personal experience.

Coops

chamber66 · Apr 4, 2008

Thanks Coastie, my maintenance schedule is pretty much the same as yours, and the bike runs well and starts onthe button,first time every time

and as there are no strange noises to be heard i suppose it's best to leave it alone then

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