Can you do reliable 700 from '03 Fe 650?

Hey guys! I have been looking high and low for a '07 Fe 650. None to be seen in Ontario since I have joined this forum. Now I see 2001 chassis with 2003 engine. It is Fe 650. I have read that they have weaker ignition/problematic? How about the carburetor, is it the same as '07? And most importantly is it good candidate for a big bore 700? Are cases strong enough for trail riding with improvement done to the main bearings? I would like to install spherical rollers. Any advice would be great.

Hi Polska,

I currently own both 2003 and 2005 FE650s and in my opinion the later is a far superior bike. I've had the 03 SEM stator rewound by Sparks, a forum member and with the valves set, it kicks first go. Starter is useless, forget about estart unless you do a lot of mods. Plenty of info on here about that. 03 has Dellorto carb, it's ok but it's no Keihin. Later cases look a quite a bit stronger to me. I have both my motors on the bench side by side atm. Spherical rollers seem like a good idea, however unless you know someone well with a machine shop for the boring of the cases (where the mains would sit) and sleeve to house them, it would be an expensive option. Again, have a look at bushmechanics write ups. He's done a lot in this area and it is highly credible info imo. Others also contribute well in these threads it must be said.....The 700 in this earlier version likely would expose the weaknesses. If it's not revved hard, it may just last?

Having said all this, my 03 has been fine. Owned it since 2006. It's had its problems but once sorted out a bit, it's churned up many a proper roost. But keep looking for the later version. Most would be much happier with 05 on.

Regards

Damo

The earlier cases of my 02 have more aluminium around the main bearings than my 08
IMHO the bigger engine is more reliable than the stock one

Spherical rollers are nice but I ran my 700 for many hundreds of hours with an ntn nj206 on one side and a 20mm wide nj2206 c4 bearing on the drive side

bushmechanic said:

The earlier cases of my 02 have more aluminium around the main bearings than my 08
IMHO the bigger engine is more reliable than the stock one

Spherical rollers are nice but I ran my 700 for many hundreds of hours with an ntn nj206 on one side and a 20mm wide nj2206 c4 bearing on the drive side

Click to expand...

Husaberg es650 blue plated dirt bike | other | Hamilton | Kijiji I know that you have extensive experience so if I may have your opinion about this one? It has slipping clutch but has original clutch in the box. How is kokusan carb better? And what's the deal with the ignition? Weak? Braking down? Now I really don't know what to think about the cases, I am reading everywhere that later years have stronger casts which I tend to agree. I am thankful for all advice.

I'm making a different kind of 700. it has a 102mm bore and 85mm stroke. new liner, longer rod. other stuff I shan't say but in all honesty a lack of time to do it.

we'll see!

I reckon that the later engine is far easier to do it with but if i were to use the earlier 650 engine it would have to be the 2003 cases and then at least you have the better clutch.

regards

Taffy

I think what he means is that if they indeed do have more aluminium around the mains, there is more there to support machining the bigger bearing bore, to then accept the steel sleeve and indeed the bearing inside that. I wouldn't worry about spherical rollers. I'd just go the NTN bearings or the NTN / Rollway bearing combo. Taffy recommends the ball rollers and I can see the merit in that also. Unless your going to race it under extreme conditions, it's mostly not necessary anyway. It should be noted that he is also talking about the wider roller bearing with the counter balancer removed. I suggest you just read those threads, it's all in there mate.
All I know is when I look at my cases, the 05 ones look much better around the countershaft outer bearing, and it's thicker around the outside, where the liner fits in. For 08, I don't know if they are slimmed down or whatever..... Sorry I'm on an iPhone and can't upload pics of mine for you to compare. As you may know, your biggest worry is the crank, the deflection and the lack of end float.

The biggest problem now it seems is getting hold of the 105mm piston and liner

I don't know what a ball roller is?

I only recommend the roller bearings for everything except the 400. I even retro fit the rollers to the 2001-2003 models and the 644s with their weaker cranks.

I just don't subscribe to NTNs being the only bearings. we still fit and sell SKFs to everything and never ever have one failure.

but let's not go there again. I can only speak as I find. the end.

Taffy

Taffy said:

I'm making a different kind of 700. it has a 102mm bore and 85mm stroke. new liner, longer rod. other stuff I shan't say but in all honesty a lack of time to do it.

we'll see!

I reckon that the later engine is far easier to do it with but if i were to use the earlier 650 engine it would have to be the 2003 cases and then at least you have the better clutch.

regards

Taffy

Click to expand...

Would you think there would be less vibration with 102 piston? Since it has to be lighter than 105? I don really care what bearings would be used as long as they last long time for trail/ road riding. Would be nice to get over 400 hours. With your different 700 you have longer stroke than stock? That would give you even more torque? Slightly lower rpm? I love torque and horsepower too. I also love engine that keeps running good for a long long time. Has anyone ever installed external spin-on oil filter yet?

I got the idea off a ScX'er. he explained that he could rev the 644 or slug it out but the 628 liked to be revved. so the ratio of 100 bore and 82 stroke seemed an obvious thing to keep. 2mm on the bore and 3mm on the stroke!

regards

Taffy

Haha sorry been out and obviously had a few too many. Ball rollers..... I'm a ****

Well the Cheapest way to do it is with only a liner and piston and keep the 80mm oem crank

That Crank is also stronger and lighter

When you go to the 700 that way it doesn't rev like a 628 but bigger stroke would be very intersting.

Kokusan ignition is better than sem, kehien carb better than sell Orto

The cases really don't matter imho except that you can't easily put a kokusan in a bike that has sem specific cases

That bike looks ok

Won't know until you open it up anyway so grab it

c337b said:

650 HUSABERG FE | dirt bikes, motocross | Penticton | Kijiji

Click to expand...

Yes I saw that one, it could be ok , but it's too far. Thanks anyways.

bushmechanic said:

Well the Cheapest way to do it is with only a liner and piston and keep the 80mm oem crank

That Crank is also stronger and lighter

When you go to the 700 that way it doesn't rev like a 628 but bigger stroke would be very intersting.

Kokusan ignition is better than sem, kehien carb better than sell Orto

The cases really don't matter imho except that you can't easily put a kokusan in a bike that has sem specific cases

Click to expand...

Could you please explain how kokusan is better than sem, and kaichin better than dellorto? Also how would I know if I have sem specific cases?

Kokusan is reliable compare to Sem.

Keihin carb is/was in almost all carburated bikes. Parts are available, a lot of manuals, tips. And one very important advantage is: it is possible to adjust this carb.

polska said:

Hey guys! I have been looking high and low for a '07 Fe 650. None to be seen in Ontario since I have joined this forum. Now I see 2001 chassis with 2003 engine. It is Fe 650. I have read that they have weaker ignition/problematic? How about the carburetor, is it the same as '07? And most importantly is it good candidate for a big bore 700? Are cases strong enough for trail riding with improvement done to the main bearings? I would like to install spherical rollers. Any advice would be great.

Click to expand...

That's my old bike I sold it and it appeared back for sale 2 weeks later.

Kayeffess said:

That's my old bike I sold it and it appeared back for sale 2 weeks later.

Click to expand...

Could you please tell me all you can about this bike? Here or pm?

The Keihin is basically a performance carb and if your contemplating the 700, your obviously looking for more. People talk of crisper throttle response and an increase in power in the top end. The trade off is they are reportedly more susceptible to atmosperic changes so at need of adjustments. I fitted a set to a 900SS Ducati years ago and it was a noticeable bolt on difference.

Some of Kokusan components (pick up) is mounted to the case itself, the SEM is wholly mounted to the stator cover

Damo

Damo W said:

The Keihin is basically a performance carb and if your contemplating the 700, your obviously looking for more. People talk of crisper throttle response and an increase in power in the top end. The trade off is they are reportedly more susceptible to atmosperic changes so at need of adjustments. I fitted a set to a 900SS Ducati years ago and it was a noticeable bolt on difference.

Some of Kokusan components (pick up) is mounted to the case itself, the SEM is wholly mounted to the stator cover

Damo

Click to expand...

Is sem problematic or some other weak points/hard to get parts? So I see kokusan is the way to go, better performance and parts availability means no brainer. But is this other carb reliable and starting motor good?