ORANGEBERG online mechanical advice

Hey Berg Owners, I want to help with tips online for your Berg 2001 to 2008, i once got heaps of calls asking for help to keep these sometimes troublesome motors going when i was an active dealer and ive noticed lately that the calls for help has died off since i ceased as a dealer in 2008. Even Husaberg Australia dont ring anymore to find out whats wrong, Oh thats right they made a new bike !!!
What about the riders with the old bikes, who are they you ask,,, very good people i say.
I still ride the old bike because nothing i repeat NOTHING loudly with go near it, thats why i have 3 of them just encase the first was a freak,,, i was wrong they are all good.
If you have a problem email me [email protected] if you live in Australia call me 02 63658519
Im not available 24hrs 7 days but i will get back to you. Leave a message.
Did i mention that i still rebuild them in my workshop at home in Orange NSW. Not to go faster just longer.
I cant fix everything down a phoneline but i may save you valuable riding time and Maintenance $$$.
Stock engine advice only im not into hot ups as most people cant handle the original package as its so good.
John ORANGEBERG.

sickd said:

hey i thanks for the this offer i will be getting in contact in the next couple of months, i have a 07 550 coming up to 70 hrs, only a couple of small flakes every now and then, but could be a little noisier than it use to be, so i be up for for famous rebuild and special bearings, i will be in contact soon thanks.

oh i have just done dvsk, new cam chain, new valves, new cam bearings, and new cam followers, so the focus would be on the main case,
cheers mike.

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60 to 70 hrs is the crunch time for a 550 they either **** the mains now or they keep going and surprise you, most ive done are in the 60 to 70 time zone, those flakes are not what you want to see and its usually accompanied by the noise which turns to a loud rumble quickly, the problem is if you are not qiuck to stop the engine you will send the flakes into the bore and that means a new sleeve and piston and it adds over a 1000 bucks to the repair bill.
The trap is your usaully hooking into a bit of good riding racing your mates and you dont hear the death noise until you stop at the end of the trail and then you have to ride back out in limp mode and even at low speed the flakes are in the engine.
I recommend a counter balancer bearing replacement as ive had a noisy few of them.
Ive had engines make lots o metal and ive split them and found nothing.
The rumble noise is the sign that things are not good so keep alert, your mates will notice the extra noise before you probably as they will wait to pay out on you.

contact me whenever you want John ORANGEBERG

sickd said:

ORANGEBERG said:

sickd said:

hey i thanks for the this offer i will be getting in contact in the next couple of months, i have a 07 550 coming up to 70 hrs, only a couple of small flakes every now and then, but could be a little noisier than it use to be, so i be up for for famous rebuild and special bearings, i will be in contact soon thanks.

oh i have just done dvsk, new cam chain, new valves, new cam bearings, and new cam followers, so the focus would be on the main case,
cheers mike.

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60 to 70 hrs is the crunch time for a 550 they either stuff the mains now or they keep going and surprise you, most ive done are in the 60 to 70 time zone, those flakes are not what you want to see and its usually accompanied by the noise which turns to a loud rumble quickly, the problem is if you are not qiuck to stop the engine you will send the flakes into the bore and that means a new sleeve and piston and it adds over a 1000 bucks to the repair bill.
The trap is your usaully hooking into a bit of good riding racing your mates and you dont hear the death noise until you stop at the end of the trail and then you have to ride back out in limp mode and even at low speed the flakes are in the engine.
I recommend a counter balancer bearing replacement as ive had a noisy few of them.
Ive had engines make lots o metal and ive split them and found nothing.
The rumble noise is the sign that things are not good so keep alert, your mates will notice the extra noise before you probably as they will wait to pay out on you.

contact me whenever you want John ORANGEBERG

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thanks heaps for the heads up yeah i might not ride it anymore till i get it rebuild by you then, i just have to save up the coin,

yeah i left the oil in for 3 rides and i had about 4 shiny flakes smaller than a mm square which were magnetic, and the last ride i put new oil and had no flakes??? but i do think it is noisier so its the start as you say.


also what oil do you run in the rebuild motors, whats your recomendation?

and lucky last what is a rough estimate on price for new mains, counter balancer bearing (is that a double row cb bearing?) and anything else you think should be changed ?

have you got an idea on how the new bearings last too?

sorry for million questions its good to speak to the mechanic himself!!!

thanks again john.
cheers mike

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dont think im trying to scare you into a rebuild so i can make some money im not like that, but i cannot hear the noise. the flakes completely cover the magnet when they are gone but its a fine line between that and when they enter the bore, i run Motorex cross power 10/60 but any oil is good Motul 300v even the Delo seems to work, i think all oils are good if you change it i actually like the full syn Mobil but its not seen on the shelf in most shops and its priced right, im always pushing the limits on my bike as i forget when i done it last and i have never ran the speedo at least with full syn you can go over a bit and have protection, i dont believe in changing oil every ride i think your just wasting it, if you want to do it every ride run delo its abbout $5.50 a change compared to $35 for full syn.
My main bearings are $110 each, on most engines i do the output shaft $85 and the other three ball bearings are about $20 each, the counter balancer bearing is $70 and it a Berg part as i cant get a C3 in that dimension from my supplier cheaper. With 70 hrs you could skip replacing the gearbox bearings if you want.
I have not had a main bearing of mine fail yet well nobdy has called to complain in the 6 years ive used them, but i had the original fail again in 50hr after ive done a warranty claim and they seem to find your phone number real quick when they go again.
Give it another ride and see what happens.

John

Davo said:

ORANGEBERG said:

What about the riders with the old bikes, who are they you ask,,, very good people i say.

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There are a few good blokes on the new LDC bikes too :wink:
But brace yourself for the flood of new UHE 2Stroke Husaberg riders 8O

ORANGEBERG said:

I still ride the old bike because nothing i repeat NOTHING loudly with go near it, thats why i have 3 of them just encase the first was a freak,,, i was wrong they are all good.

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So ORANGEBERG two questions:
If you were trolling Ebay for an ol skool Husaberg to do up as a pride of place in the garage type bike, what year models would you stay away from or what year model would you buy?
What engine size would you go for?

I would like an ol skool 450 as a project one day.

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Sorry about the late reply ive been flat out at work, i would go for a 2005 onwards to 2008, i like the 650 but im a power hungry insane idiot, the 450 was good but some people found them not as exciting to ride as a 550, depends on your ability and thats what you should base your decision on.
Things to look for on 05 models is crank endfloat as a heap snuck through the engine production line with zero tolerance thanks to a drunk crank assembly man and we had to check every bike when we uncrated them back then, every 450 or 550 endfloat needs to be checked regardless of year model, then you have the original main bearings which are crap, a qiuck overhaul by me on any motor and it can be made reliable.
Ive had a 450 with the uneven machined piston and just touched the head on one side but it ran fine we just machined a bit of and used it again.
If you do a ground up restore on a 04 or 05 do yourself a favour and get rid of the blue frame black is better.
Get the motor checked and replace the mains maybe the rings and a counter balancer bearing, get the head serviced you may need 2 inlet valves but maybe not if they are not too far gone, maybe a cam chain, valve springs need checking as they do break if you ride hard.
A rebuild with all the above parts is about $2500 inc freight and parts. maybe cheaper if its not worn out ( not inc new piston )
The bikes are getting cheaper and represent good value if you spend some on them. Im looking for blown up ones now to rebuild and then sell.

Thanks John ORANGEBERG