Front tire rubbing on header of my 2004 FE550

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DaleEO

Moderator
Husaberg Supporter
Joined
Oct 2, 2002
Messages
3,117
Location
Sunland, CA
Hi Jedi,

Hey thanks again for the 10% off on the 2004's. I took my 550 out to the desert this weekend for break-in. The bike performed great. Carburetion was spot on, and after riding it for 3 hours one could tell that motor had defifnitley loosened up a bit. The suspension was very plush, a litttle too plush in the front for desert riding, but it would be great at lower speeds.

The only problem I had was when the front suspension got compressed most of the way down I could hear the front tire rubbing a bit on the header. A closer examination after my ride showed a few marks on what would be the right hand header pipe. I have searched the threads on this site and found a post from another guy who bought an 04 550, and he stated in his post that there was some sort of problem with these pipes and that Husaberg had sent him a new set of headers/exhaust (?) very quickly at no charge.

So my questions to you are: #1 Have you heard about this problem before?, and #2 Should I just go to the dealer I bought it from and tell them about it and they will contact you?

I don't mean to be a pain but, I was just trying to speed up the process a little bit.

As I said earlier everything else is great!

Thanks in advance,
 
Well,

It's been a month, warranty now expired, and still have not heard back about the problem mentioned above.

Needless to say, I am a bit disapointed with the response. :p

Am I supposed to come up with my own solution out of my own pocket??
 
tire rubbing

Hi, DaleEO...
I sent you a pm, may point you to a source of help with the rubbing rubber!!
 
RE: frustration station

Hi Dale,

I hope you tried to contact BMG in a way other than this site. The distributor's participation here is very spotty to put it mildly, and I would never hinge my maintenance fulfillment on a response from them on this forum.

I'm sorry, if I had seen this post a month ago, I might have been able to save you the problems, but I am spotty as well :)

thanks,
json
 
Tire hitting pipe

Yes'
Contact your dealer and have him fill out a Warranty Claim this is the only way to replace the right side header pipe.
 
Thanks for your help,

I talked to my dealer not long after my original post about this issue, and he is still waiting to hear back from who ever it was that he talked to at Husaberg.

Json, I'll write to BMG off of their web site. I had noticed that Jedi was posting here a bit and thought he would see the post. I think he was out of town for a while, not sure. I'm just a little frustrated that they take so long to correct a problem sometimes.

Thanks again all, I'll give your suggestions a try. Thankfully, the tire rubbing does not keep me from riding the bike, it only makes contact on full compression. It's just something I'd like to get fixed asap.
 
DaleEO said:
Thanks for your help,

Thanks again all, I'll give your suggestions a try. Thankfully, the tire rubbing does not keep me from riding the bike, it only makes contact on full compression. It's just something I'd like to get fixed asap.
Click to expand...

Dale,

Does it just kiss the pipe at full compression, or come closer to locking up the wheel?

I was considering a left over 04 550 and don't want to have to hassle with a safety related warranty situation before I even ride it. I go through full compression on my 2000 FE all of the time in the desert. I would really not want to have the front tire start skidding in the whoops at speed.

Joe
 
JoeUSA said:
DaleEO said:
Thanks for your help,

Thanks again all, I'll give your suggestions a try. Thankfully, the tire rubbing does not keep me from riding the bike, it only makes contact on full compression. It's just something I'd like to get fixed asap.
Click to expand...

Dale,

Does it just kiss the pipe at full compression, or come closer to locking up the wheel?

I was considering a left over 04 550 and don't want to have to hassle with a safety related warranty situation before I even ride it. I go through full compression on my 2000 FE all of the time in the desert. I would really not want to have the front tire start skidding in the whoops at speed.

Joe
Click to expand...

Hi Joe,

The tire just kisses the header. It doesn't make the tire skid or anything like that. I too was worried about it stopping the front tire when I was riding, but, after several rubs, I found that it didn't apply any noticable braking effect.
 
PowerFiend said:
Please contact Brett Saunders (aka SuperMotoTeam) on this board via email if you are not getting satisfactory action through your Berg dealer. He is most helpful.

You can read this post for information:

http://www.husaberg.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=718&highlight=
Click to expand...

Hi Powerfiend,

Thanks for the help!!! FC501east pm'd me with basically the same info. I wrote to Brett last night, and when I got home and checked my email this afternoon there was a thoughtful and helpful reply from Brett. I answered his email, so now we'll see what happens next.
 
we at MotoXotica have not heard of any of the bikes we have sold doing this tire rubbing on the header.however, i have a thought regarding the tire.different tire brands have modestly different dimensions.i just went into our tire department and compared the actual height of 5 different brands of tires.they are all new and are not mounted and ofcourse are not inflated with air.the results of this indepth, scientific, study is the height of the shortest tire is 1.25 inches less than the tallest tire.this is a sizable difference and may be a way of solving an issue that a few have experienced.the only way to know for sure is to get the tire on the affected bike and put it to the test.the shortest tire that i measured was the michelin s-12.the michelin brand of tire was the oem tire on previous year model bergs.i am not saying this is the ultimate fix, just something to consider, especially if your berg is a strech for your short legs.just a side note here,the michelin s-12 rear tire is about an inch shorter than any rear tire i have compared it to .a little tip for the inseem challenged like myself. Joe,if your tire rubs i will give you a new michelin front tire for your evaluation on this 550 i have waiting for you.p.s. i recieved no compensation from michelin for this post.Dan. :idea:
 
Thank you Dale and Juergen,

Hi Dan, I have settled on Dunlop 739 80/100x21FA-J, and D742 80x100x21 front tires in my desert riding. I had trouble tearing the knobs off of the Michelin tires I've tried. The desert where I ride is mostly sand, with lots of rocky areas. The rocks do the damage. And I think you are right, the profile on the 739 may be larger in diameter than the Michelins (I don't have a Michelin to measure any more).

I got my 2000 501 running again, thanks to you and Brett. I'll send you a PM regarding the 04.

Joe
 
On my first run in winter time on my FC550-03 with spike tyre. The head pipe was completely "wasted". It was riped up by the spikes. The problem occurred after adjustment of the fork (softer comp.)
I contacted Husaberg, Sweden and they said it was a problem (also on 04) They had made some prototype and send it to Austria for production. They had on "left over" prototype, they send me the next day.

After this the problem was solved.
But I have noticed that different tyre have different profile. Even it's market with the same figures. My winter tyer have almost 10mm higher profile than my friends tyre. But is marked with the same profile.
Have not seen the problem with "summer" tyre. But after a "hard" landing in muddy conditions. I can see the mudd is "scratched" from the head pipe, but no damage is done.
So the problem exist, but probably not in a dealers world....

Henrik
 
Hi All,

Just heard back from Brett Saunders again today, with excellent news!!

He gave me a part number for a warranty replacement header from Husaberg. The part number is 150251-S. He told me to have my dealer order it from Roy Thomas at BMG. :D :D

Thanks to FC501east for the pm, and Powerfiend with Brett's addy.

Thanks to Backmouse for his post as I had told Brett about this.

Thanks to Dan at Motoexotica for the tire comparisons, great info.

Thanks to JoeUsa for his post as well.

I personally prefer the Pirrelli MT18 heavy duty front and rear tires for my desert riding/racing. I used to run the 739FAJ that Joe talks about, but didn't like the fact that the side knobs would tear after a couple of rides. The pirrelli's will get some stress cracking on the side knobs, but do not tear. The other advantage I see with the MT18's is that even when they start to wear, they still work pretty good. In my experience the Dunlops, once slightly worn, really fall off on performance. The MT18's have a very stiff side wall, much like that of the dearly departed K-139 Dunlop's. They are a bit harder to mount, but are incredibly resistant to pinch flats out in Lucerne Valleys' rock garden, and when flat stay on the rim.

Thanks to all who posted here with comments on my problem, it's much appreciated.
 
Hi All,

Just heard back from Brett Saunders again today, with excellent news!!

He gave me a part number for a warranty replacement header from Husaberg. The part number is 150251-S. He told me to have my dealer order it from Roy Thomas at BMG, which I did this afternoon. :D :D

Thanks to FC501east for the pm, and Powerfiend with Brett's addy.

Thanks to Backmouse for his post as I had told Brett about this.

Thanks to Dan at Motoexotica for the tire comparisons, great info. And with the info that there is a fix that will be available in a few days.

Thanks to JoeUsa for his post as well.

I personally prefer the Pirrelli MT18 heavy duty front and rear tires for my desert riding/racing. I used to run the 739FAJ that Joe talks about, but didn't like the fact that the side knobs would tear after a couple of rides. The pirrelli's will get some stress cracking on the side knobs, but do not tear. The other advantage I see with the MT18's is that even when they start to wear, they still work pretty good. In my experience the Dunlops, once slightly worn, really fall off on performance. The MT18's have a very stiff side wall, much like that of the dearly departed K-139 Dunlop's. They are a bit harder to mount, but are incredibly resistant to pinch flats out in Lucerne Valleys' rock garden, and when flat stay on the rim.

Thanks to all who posted here with comments on my problem, it's much appreciated.
 
Don't forget that the MT 18's also work way better in loose sand than the Dunlop 739 AT. Anyone out there that likes the AT's will love the MT's. That's my .02$
 
HI Taffy,

Well your well tuned powers of clarevoiance are unmatched!! There is a story here, probably way less than anyone thinks.............

I noticed that how much was left to go for the month, so that's what I paid. :D :D
 

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