Maybe my 08 450 is too big & I have to get a "girls" bike

Hi Colleen

you sound just like a newb and not like a newb girl to me. we all went through that. you may lack some strength but you are a good height. the secret in the end will be that you will ride better and better, you'll save the situation more often and even when it goes wrong you'll get your backside over to the edge of the seat in no time and plant a foot down.

so I would say stick with it and keep learning. hopefully if riding with others you'll see how they do things (if they are better riders) so I think the longer you ride the husaberg the better you're going to get. if it's a case of too much power - well that's another thing and if it scares you well again time to go.

otherwise i'd take the bull by the horns.

regards

Taffy

have it lowered a little, there tall bikes.

Colleen, might be an idea to try those techniques the others are doing in a flat open area first then once you've got the hang of it try it out in the tight stuff or ruts.
As long as you learn from each fall your going in the right direction though. Sounds like you'd get bored of a girls bike in no time.

Stick with it and good luck

when i got my '04 450 that replaced a 400, i wasn't thrilled with the gearing, went one tooth smaller on the front and found it was easier to ride in the nastys because 2nd was more accessible. do you have the stock gearing?

Not sure you want to go to the 13 tooth. No KTM front sprocket will not work either, the countershaft sprocket is Berg specific. Have you dropped the forks in the clamps and cheated the rear sag yet?

Try to ride with your feet on the pegs at all times. It will make you a better rider and saves ACL's. Everyone dabs on occassion, the idea is to dab as little as possible.

The gearing sounds fine to me, and 13 tooth sprockets are hard on the chain. In tight slow, technical going you should be using the clutch at least as much as the throttle to control drive. Its far easier to modulate the clutch (and rear brake) to control drive than the throttle in lower gears. Its why we have wet clutches. My 650 is almost impossible to ride any other way in tight going.

Keep your head up, look where you want to be, because where you look is where you go, and its mostly defined by where your chin points. Its easy to look down in slow going, or any going for that matter, and guess where you go, and if in doubt, power out. Flex the hips, push the bike down in slow going, and what Berger says, keep the feet up most of the time. New ACLs are expensive and disruptive. Throwing a leg out can also upset you balance, lots of body weight there.

Get some skills training and do some drills in easy terrain. A couple of really easy ones are a cone weave/slalom on flat ground and a couple of planks to simulate ruts.

Steve

Colleen,
If you have room for another bike, a trials bike is AWESOME for learning balance. They are even quiet enough to ride around the back yard in the city.
Arkansaw Wisconsin has some really good practice areas. They have a well maintained track and a harescamble loop. They also have some nice open fields for laying out some cones, or rocks, or something to turn around..... It is lacking ANY kind of singletrack however, but that is what Nemadji is for.

http://www.arkansawmx.com/

The guy that runs it is really a good guy.

How much lower do think you need it? Sealsaver make a Xbolt for it I think. You could got to a smaller (less side wall )back tire,I think a Dunlop has tire short side walls. Your first ride of the season on the trails you think you need a new bike you just need some more riding time.

you can also get a stepped seat which has foam cut out to give give it a lower seat height, i have this on mine and it helps loads.

and its actually comfier than the factory seat

Hi LadyBerg
being a women you are going to be at a disatvantage physicly compared to a man, technics that men employ
may not work for a women, women can have better finess than a man use that to your advantage
I am not saying this loosely i have a female friend that by gender ride way better than I ever will
I can take her anywhere and she will follow in short order
she ride a KTM 250XCW so she has less weight to deal with but you have smoother/useble power use it to your advantage keep in mind that practice makes perfection and what wont kill you would make stronger

later VIKING

well i run 14 51 and i would have thought colleen that you have fallen into the trap of thinking; 'i mustn't stall. i mustn't stall'. it can have the effect of making you rush on at things. with low gearing the engine will be comfortable. you'll come up to tricky stuff at 3mph and not 4mph and have more time to look and appraise things.

I had a customer about to sell his 450. "too much bike" he said. so i put my foot right in it and said that if he got a jetting kit off me the bike would be sharper, crisper but also more precise and controllable in delicate situations. anyway, he's keeping it now. loves the bike.

regards

Taffy

Not sure you want to go to the 13 tooth

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don't listen to that hack 8) or the naysayers that think it's bad for your chain. riding it is bad for your chain.
if you find that the speed you have to carry you through the terrain you ride makes you uncomfortable, then do it. made a lot of difference on mine (13-48).
as for the height, try not to worry about it. too many people freak about whether or not they can flatfoot it, but as jeff ward (or lizardkiller or the elf) could tell you, flatfooting is overrated. i'm living with a 29" inseam and i'd be willing to bet you're not far off that mark. the only time it comes into play is when you're stopped.
c'mon colleen: MAN UP! :rock:

Hi LadyBerg,
I have been riding trails for about 3 years. 5' 8" and a late starter at age 47. I tip over a lot especially towards the end of the day when I am tired. So you are not the only one out there tipping over. I learnt early in the piece don't fight it when it tips just jump off, dust yourself off, have a good laugh, look around to see which of your mates saw you fall, and get back on. I take plenty of water and a Gatorade too.

I do find I am slowly getting better. Seems the more you try the easier it seems to be the next time you ride. I also get nervous when I can't reach the ground. I forget to look where I want to go and I incorrectly look straight down.
I do try and study the paths and techniques my mates ride up the hills before I go up last. I find that helps too.

Hopefully the people you ride with tell you lots of tricks. I know I have learnt a couple of new ones reading this post myself.

I also sometimes yell out, "Free beer for anyone who rides my bike up this hill". That seems to magically get the bike up the top of the badest tracks.

I loved riding my mates 08 FE450 before I brought my berg. I just know I personally wouldn't sell a Husaberg 08 FE450 for something else. They seem light and have good low down power.

I went with the biggest rear/smallest front sprocket I could get on my first bike (TT250) but have left my 570 Husaberg standard so far. I am always tempted to put the smaller sprocket on the front.

I also bite the bullet and change my rear tyre maybe a little too early, as I need any advantage I can get over my mates.

My mates call my bike the Pussaberg

So I'm gonna "man up" and keep the riding GIRLYBerg

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:cheers: