New FE550 owner in Bellingham, WA

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Yamaberg

Joined
Feb 25, 2022
Messages
9
Location
United States
Hi team!

New member here- I picked up a non-running '08 FE550 with 220hrs on her. She's running mostly great now and I'm excited meet more of you.

I just setup some SUMO wheels and plan to use her 75% for hooliganisms and 25% on dirt when my primary bike is being used as a buddy bike.

Thanks for having me :D
 
Figured I should clarify what I meant by "mostly great". She's got a notable tick that has me worried.

Here's a brief video of the engine sound:



Any thoughts, wisdom, or knowledge is greatly appreciated from you experts. Obviously YouTube debugging is challenging, but I'm keen to prevent a casualty :)
 
Note sure what that is? If I guesssed I'd say starter gears chattering. you could remove them and then kickstart it as a test?

check that you have cam chain adjustment left by removing the spring preload first and then carefully remove the unit to measure the clicks left.

check the primary gear nut is VERY tight. 80LB plus.

Taffy
 
Hey Taffy- thanks for giving that a listen!

I'm in 12 clicks (of 14) on the CCT- I didn't see any signs of contact on the guide or walls when I was in the top. Timing looked spot on across the timing marks on the cam chain gear with the flywheel tab at the 9 o' clock position. Hard to tell much about chain stretch on SOHC engines though... on DOHC I've seen retarded timing at the exhaust cam with a stretched chain.

Primary Gear Nut I just put up to 100LB. Felt crazy high :shrug:

I'll investigate the starter gears - I hadn't thought of that one!
 
yeh the needle bearings just get so loose in the end and because they are in blind holes, nobody wants to replace them but if you do, you need to buy the alloy bushes they sit in and in order to get the old ones out, you drill the **** out of the alloy bushes so that the blind bearings fall out. 3 needle bearings therefore need 3 alloy bushes. you get the picture.

Taffy
 
Hello fellow hamster! Excellent purchase on the 550 you won't regret it! I have three Bergs and always looking for somebody ride with. Heading to Saxon this weekend Saturday 10:00 if you'd like to join give a jingle my name is Dan 360-410-0545
 
Taffy said:
Note sure what that is? If I guesssed I'd say starter gears chattering. you could remove them and then kickstart it as a test?

check that you have cam chain adjustment left by removing the spring preload first and then carefully remove the unit to measure the clicks left.

check the primary gear nut is VERY tight. 80LB plus.

Taffy
Click to expand...
Whelp- ruled out the starter gears (as Taffy suggested). Engine makes the same sound with the starter gears removed :(

Heres a video of the sound w/o the starter gears.

I had to rip open the clutch side cover twice, first time to do the job of removing the gears and a second time to get the kicker spinning freely (It slid out a mm on re-assembly and locked up the pawl/ sledge.) I also had to open the valve cover because I foolishly removed the cam-chain tensioner and the cam chain slipped a tooth when I removed the clutch basket and gears advanced. It's a slight PITA you have to drain coolant and remove exhaust to get that side cover off :(

Anyone else got ideas on the sound? Trying to prevent a casualty and everything looked good when I was in there. Bike runs great but has an awful sound. No shavings in the oil but a very distinct metal clack-clack when running. Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Sounds like clutch rattle to me- pretty normal- does it sound any better with the clutch pulled in?
 
rikschipp said:
Sounds like clutch rattle to me- pretty normal- does it sound any better with the clutch pulled in?
Click to expand...

Thanks for giving that a listen! Unfortunately it doesn't sound any different with the clutch pulled in or out.

BUT- I pulled her apart again this evening to throw the starter gears BACK IN and started her up with the magic button. Amazingly- the knock was gone! I warmed up the bike and went to take a test spin but my clutch lever was fully stuck, no play. I ripped open the clutch cover and found the first friction plate/steel plate were misaligned so the clutch sleeves were not fully seated. This is why the clutch pressure cap was stuck. I quickly fixed my mistake and re-assembled but unfortunately the bike is back to knocking and I'm out of ideas.

I think you're on to something with clutch rattle but my friction plates and springs are in spec, I just rebuilt my clutch master, and I torqued the primary clutch nut to 120ft/lb. What am I missing?
 
So did you torque the primary gear nut on the crank, too, like Taffy said? They were a real problem on KTMs of the era, caused guys to rebuild motors for no reason!
Also the clutch basket could be worn- normally that is what makes the noise but it gets better when you pull the clutch, but if it's bad, i.e. clearance between the basket fingers and the projections on the friction plates is more than 1 mm- sorry- 1/16" in American- and looks "saw toothed" along the basket fingers- it will make a noise, more so at idle, which is of no consequence. Does the noise seem better when you raise the revs a bit?
 
rikschipp said:
So did you torque the primary gear nut on the crank, too, like Taffy said? They were a real problem on KTMs of the era, caused guys to rebuild motors for no reason!
Also the clutch basket could be worn- normally that is what makes the noise but it gets better when you pull the clutch, but if it's bad, i.e. clearance between the basket fingers and the projections on the friction plates is more than 1 mm- sorry- 1/16" in American- and looks "saw toothed" along the basket fingers- it will make a noise, more so at idle, which is of no consequence. Does the noise seem better when you raise the revs a bit?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the wisdom- much appreciated. Hard to tell if the noise is better at idle or just harder to hear. I start the bike with choke on and usually cringe when I take choke off at the metallic clanking sound. Makes me think it is slightly better at rpm's.

As for the primary nut- I believe I tightened it- are we talking the primary pinion nut right in front of the clutch basket? I assumed (perhaps incorrect) that's what people mean by primary gear nut? Anyone have a good way of tightening it without a gear segment- I'll spare you from hearing how I tightened it pneumatically.

Friction plate projections and clutch basket definitely fit snug... glad I checked tho.

Starting to sound like http://husaberg.org/mechanical/11535-new-rattle-primary-gear-nut.html
 
Yes, nut on the end of the crankshaft, that gear meshing with the clutch. Jam a bit of soft scrap aluminium- sorry, aluminum in american- between the gears when tightening.
If it sounds bad at idle after you push in the choke, maybe it's idling too low? Big singles with compression need to idle a little higher, it's not some old farm implement, or a Harley (same thing in my opinion) - wind the idle up until it sounds smooth. Also pilot screw adjustment can make big difference in how they sound at idle, if they're a bit lean they stutter and rattle more. Does it sound OK when you hold it just above idle?
 
I have an old 17mm bolt that i chopped to about 10mm U.T.H. It goes between the primary and the front wall of the cases. It doesn't resemble a bolt anymore!

I keep chucking money at this job....its gotta stop!

Taffy
 
I have 98 400 Elduro that has made that same noise since I got it 3 yrs ago. I rebuilt the engine trying to fix the noise thinking that would do it, All new bearings and every thing if it was even questionable. Found nothing wrong with anything, put it back together and guess what? same exact noise. So I just ride it and after 900m it still runs great and still rattles,
There is play at the clutch and crank gear, you can jiggle them by hand and I beleive that is what's causing the rattle. I had no metal or anything in the oil and still don't. Just ride and enjoy it, I figured if something was bad it would get worse but it hasn't it's gotten to the point I don't even notice it anymore.
 
Come on Taffy, you know you love it......where else would you get to interact with such a diverse bunch of lunatics?!
I always told myself the REALLY wierd ones were there to make me feel better about myself............but I have owned Ducatis and Husabergs................
 
Thanks all for the wisdom! At this point I'll follow Danner's advice- I've split my berg open 3x and spent a pretty penny on parts (all of which I probably didn't need). Idle sounds damn near perfect, no difference in the noise at different idle speeds. Clutch in, out, or in-between sounds the same.

I've got 10.5hrs on the motor since I've owned it and no shavings in 3x oil changes. I'm probably paranoid.

Took her for a 2hr jaunt yesterday (stupid fun) but she pulls pretty hard even with the oil hot and clutch in. I bled the clutch again and know its engaging well but something must still be wonky. Measured tolerances of springs, plates, and spacers and everything seems fine. Just ride faster I guess!?!
 
The old Husaberg clutch drag. They need more throw or travel in the hydraulics to fully disengage the clutch, so adjust clutch lever so it's as far out as possible, I even went to the extreme of bending the lever out so it pulled further.
They also seem to be different with various oils. That also changes the engine sound and shift quality. I'm now using Mobil 1 5w 50 seems good, and it's cheaper than others.
 
Fascinating. I'll give 5w 50 a try- I do have both levers adjusted fully out on the throw and both pull back to the bar :(

I put 4.5hrs on the motor this weekend and nothing catastrophic. :shrug: I hate the sound but so far she pulls amazing. Been messing with 16x47T gearing w/ SUMO wheels on the road and 14x50T off road. Impressive machine.
 
they suffer from warped steels. if the steels are flat and it is post 2002 then they are usually OK - until the next time they warp.

Taffy
 

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