FS650 for trip from Vancour, B. C., to San Diego, to Florida

Hello,

Informed opinions would be appreciated and explanations.

I am contemplating taking a trip at the worst time of the year, mid December, starting in the north west and doing the whole coast down to the boarder with off shoots to interesting places. From there I plan on working my way east along the border.

The reason for it is opportunity. I have been sizing up super motards and the Husaberg seems to be top dog for the money.

I can get a good deal on a mint one in B.C. and visit family, that will think I'm nuts. I need to be in Florida by the seventh of January so I thought I could make an adventure out of it.

Yes, it has a high maintenance schedule so every 500 miles the oil needs to be changed, so almost daily. The valves will have to be checked regularly also that is a given. It is a high performance machine so such things are expected. Motul 15/50 full synthetic is the oil intended to be used.

The good thing is that there is a line of dealers all along the route up to Alabama. There are also a few on the way back to Chicago.

I live in the city and believe this would be an incredible bike for the environment. Yes, it is a bit of overkill but so are most of the finer machinery in a 55- 70 mph limited environment. One of the benefits of city commuting is the lack of enforcement of menial, revenue producing laws. They get you to pay the tax in other ways.

Yes, I could have it shipped but there is no fun in that. I did it with an incredible sports car and was not satisfied with my decision.

Yes, I could make a bee line straight east for 2100 miles but I think I would be missing some incredible roads that this bike seems to be made to eat up.

The plan would be to avoid all highways unless absolutely necessary. After all, this is not what this beast was made to conquer.

Yes, gas tank could be an issue considering it would take me 90 - 100 miles. Have thought of picking up 4 gallon tank but it would only be used for this trip and then shelved so it doesn't sound feasible, though it would fit the theme of this trip.

It would be a 5500 mile trip or so in about 3 weeks.

The plan is for her to be a city bike for all seasons. If snow and ice than knobbies or possibly rain tires for the track since they are so soft.

It is not for transportation but for fun transportation. We only live once and it is always nice when the few mile ride to the office is a blast. I have snow tires for my Porsche and it eats up everything in the slop.

Questions:

What is the likely hood of the 2006 engine( less than 5 hours of use) making it?
Will the engine need a rebuild when I finally get it home?
How do the Bergs handle cold weather since I want to use it during the Chicago winter?
Yes, the designers are Swedes but the bikes are Austrian made.

Thanks for your time and opinions.

Absolutely good on you K2berg,

I think it is an excellent plan of action.

Back in the late 80s I rode from the middle of England to Sweden and then spent about 8 weeks in Sweden on a Husky 250wr two-stroke. I only had to rebuild the top end by replacing the piston and rings twice. It was a fantastic experience and everybody thought I was completely mad too!

So, yes, I think you are completely mad with your plan, but only for one reason. The saddle is far far too hard and narrow to sit down for 500 miles. You'll end up with a seriously sore bum and piles to go with it!

So first plan of action would be to sort out the seat.

The second plan of action would be to look at your schedule. According to your current plan you're looking at just over 260 miles per. I've done some long trips through Europe and doing that kind of mileage day after day get tiring so make sure you have some r & r days in their just to chill out and have a beer or two and take in some local fare

As for the 650, you might want to get the larger tank. That would help, I think.

The only bit I would have any concerns about regarding you journey would be the counter-balancer bearing and I would suggest you take that out as a precaution.

I know there are lots of scare stories and I'm sure there will be posts about how fragile and problematic these things can be, but by and large, in my experience, they are fairly capable and reliable engines. As long as you're not intending to cane the thing at max revs day in day out, I think your chances are pretty good that you'll have a good journey.

I would recommend a rebuild after your trip but that would not involve a complete replacement of everything, just a freshen up of some items.

Cold weather for these is no problem at all. I have personally raced in a winter supermoto series and races in temperatures of as little as -6 C although you might be experiencing colder......

All the best,
Simon

Thank you for sharing your experience and you recommendations.

In regards to the counter balancer bearing:

Do you mean to remove it or to replace it with an updated version?

Pardon my ignorance.


Yes, having to rebuild the thing half way through would put a damper on things. I would like to have $4k to spend on the trip but would hate to use a good chunk on a rebuild.

My butt I'm not too worried about since I've done 500 plus mile days on my Ducati 996 (stock seat) with friends on their Beemers. They thought I deserved a medal but if it's what you love it's only an inconvenience....and a pleasant one at that.

I will keep that in mind and have a plan A and B.

The temperature could easily be - 18C.

The bike will be under warranty so I have a little security.

The refresh would probably intertwined with another short adventure since three Husaberg dealers are 300 plus miles away. I guess the key would be to use the one with the best engine experience and reputation.

A friend wants me to meet one of his friends in the LA area that is a big biker. He has both sizes of GS's and puts about 40k miles a year on them. This bike should rip through the mountains

I have family, friends, and acquaintances close to my planned route so I can always make a little detour. If I need a familiar face.

Its my personality to get along where ever I go so taking days to just do a little maintenance and find a local watering hole wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again for confirming my lunacy. My adventure would obviously be much easier than yours since the language is basically the same :wink:

It won't be as enriching compared to all the different cultures you encountered. The weather of the north west in December I'm sure will teach me a lesson about cold weather riding but living it Chicago may have already done that.

Cheers!

With regular oil changes along the way I would not worry about the motor.

Stock gas tank range is limited to 2.2 gallons. Consider the 4 gallon aftermarket tank.

I would seriously worry about your *** crack. You might need reconstructive surgery down there after long hours in the stock Husaberg saddle. Arrange for a custom well padded seat modification or something.

Enjoy.

Hmm? That's two for the seat upgrade.

Supertireguy's description indicates more than a mild discomfort.

Point taken.

Supertireguy,

I assume you may have minimal experience with snow and motorcycles being in northern Cali but since the mountains aren't too far you just may.

If you do, what do you think would work better in snow and ice:
soft knobbies or rain tires?

I would think soft rubber is one key and the other is a wide enough thread.

Ice is always a toss up and I know nothing beats metal spikes but since our city streets are usually pretty clear spikes are not feasible.

I did think about putting them off the center strip to help get grip if either tire starts to slide out. Opinion?

Thanks.

K2Berg said:

Thank you for sharing your experience and you recommendations.

In regards to the counter balancer bearing:

Do you mean to remove it or to replace it with an updated version?

Pardon my ignorance.

Click to expand...

You're very welcome.

No ignorance at all - I mean to remove it entirely. I have a phobia of the things personally and a few engines have too.....

Now, as for -18C, I think you're pushing the envelope, not for the bike, for you

Some type of knobbly tires are going to function better in the snow as you need to reduce the contact area as much as possible. The rain tires will simply fill up the grooves with snow. Just my couple of pennies worth.

Really, really sort the seat!

All the best,
Simon

k2

You should call BOSS, as he just finished a long, long road trip on a 650. He will have insight on how to set the bike up and your reliability questions. Also, Alternate Cycle in Kamloops BC, used an Fs 650 for a demo, and had some extensive road trips with it as well. Talking to Ken would also give you setup insight and since their bike was an 06, direct feedback about realibility would be had.

sounds like fun

cheers

fry

k2, cool plan! Thank's for the mention Fry!! K2 I will use this thread to only plug

the bottom issue. aka ***. Without getting a seat from renazco racing you will be

verry uncomfortable & i mean verry! contact James he has the real answer for seat's!!!

If you care to since the list is long, call me i would love to give some idea's to assist you

for your exciting trip!

I don`t wont to be a wet blanket but for that sort of trip get yourself something like a kl650r I did a 15000km trip of which 3000km was on outback roads. Mine had a 23litre tank so could go 450km on a tank, and have enough to drain about .5 of a litre to wash the air filter with and clean the chain each day while on the dusty stuff. The bike never missed a beat and is still running today, 12 years later.
Save the FS for short blasts on your favorite road.
That is my advice.

Cheers spanner.

Thanks guys. I was out of town all weekend standing up in a wedding so I haven't had a chance to check the replys until now.

Thanks again Simon for clarifying. Dealing with weather is all about having the right attitude and proper gear. I use to go for runs in temps around zero F on the lake....just because. The main thing is keeping the wind off the skin. The issue with the tires is that the city does a pretty good job of cleaning the snow off the streets. Come the end of January and February there may be some packed snow. This is where my dilemma lies. The intelligent thing to do, if there is one, is to go the knobby way first since they are so inexpensive. I prefer the best way but only experimenting will give me the answer.

Fryguy thank you for pointing me in some good directions for answers.

Boss, thank you for the recommendations. I was planning on stopping by since you are on the trip and seem to be highly thought of in the Husaberg world. I have covered your site thoroughly in my search for equipment and gear.

Spanner, it is obvious that there are better bikes for the trip. I am buying the bike for a city commuter/thrasher. The one I sized up is on the other side of the country and I thought of making an adventure out of it instead of just shipping it or hightailing direct back home. The maintenance issues can and will add more adventure to the trip...hopefully only good.

I would like to pick up a KTM 950 SE with extra large tank for long trips. If things go well I'll get one next summer and do a run to Alaska, if not it'll have to wait a year. It will occur it is just when. I need to balance when it is feasible for it puts forth other opportunities to see many thins on the way up and back.

If it isn't obvious from the bikes I am sizing up I am more interested in athletic ability than comfort and overall practicality.

Life is too short to not enjoy your daily drive or ride. Suffering is part of dealing with the things you love. My two Italian bikes and my love for them displays this. I can't see myself buying Japanese again. Yes, they are incredible pieces of machinery but that is exactly what they feel like, machinery.

I actually was sizing up a Ducati Multistrada to take to Alaska but I am worried about it's handling on the expected gravel on the Alaskan highway.

A friend had the same reply as spanner when I mentioned the plan, which I expected.

Again, it is about opportunity. Exploiting the opportunities that fall before us, in my opinion, is the key to getting ahead and enjoying life. First we have to recognize them and then the rest is up to us.

If things go as planned I will commit on the bike next month and then on the trip in November. Hopefully this tight economy works in my favor.

Thanks to all. More opinions are of course welcome. I will keep you updated.

Some of the places we went to meant reliability was of high importance as we didn`t see anyone for up to a week.1000s of km for the nearest towns Had to carry everything with us. food, water, even had fishing gear.
I remember to make a dash to the nearest town a one part of the journey as we were getting real hungry and thirsty for a beer!!
The klr has a heavy frame, I would not like to put all that on the Berg it would have snapped for sure.
If I was to go again I would consider a BMW Dacha but would not at all be happy with all the extra weight, the weight was critical to control as some of the roads? were real rough.
But it was the most fun I have ever had!!
Long trips on a bike are great if you plan them well and are well prepared.
Good luck with your ride, keep us informed.

Cheers spanner

I know one of the things Boss did on his FS650 was to raise the gearing so the engine can run primarily in it's sweet spot at 4200 rpm @ 73mph. At this speed the engine has minimal vibs and runs like a generator. If you can get the jetting sorted beforehand, it will save you $ in gas. Boss got an average of 53 mpg. I get a consistent 60-65 mpg on my FE550e dual sport with stock gearing by keeping the rpm under 5000.

Since I am staying in the continental US if I breakdown I'm a phone call away from a tow and a hotel. The greatest dangers for me are people and the cold.


Reliability is of course important since I would hate to breakdown and spend my trip figuring out the logistics of getting the bike fixed and to Chicago and me to Florida, etc. Plus if it does happen I'll never hear the end of the ribbing from the conservatives/naysayers.

But it is more interesting when the outcome could easily be something less desirable.

If I was to do the trip on a BMW RT, GS, a Honda Goldwing, or any such piece of machinery the trip would not be much of an adventure. It would just be a trip.

With the FS the key is packing light so only the essentials.

My daily driver isn't a Cadillac, Benz, or Beemer so comfort isn't a priority while pleasure is.

Highway droning will be torture so the twistiest roads are mandatory. The southwestern states worry me, especially Texas, but with google maps using old Russian satellites I should find what I desire.

In regards to fuel economy, I am factoring in 30 mpg but would think 50 will be likely from all that I have read.

Is the jetting that finicky? I hope to stop by Boss as I head for warmer weather. Getting a bit of tutorial from him at the beginning of the trip can prove to be highly useful if an issue comes up in the desert between Arizona and Texas and Husaberg dealers.

Hopefully I can have a couple dealers show me the best way to check the valves so I can replicate with no issues. "Give a man a fish......, Teach a man to fish...."

I am getting anxious to lock up the bike and start acquiring all essentials. I've been doing enough research and think I have narrowed it down to what will be best. Lean is obviously a major objective.