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Past or Present FE390 owners please chime in.

Joined Jun 2015
6 Posts | 2+
Western NC
Greetings,

I have the opportunity to purchase a 2010 FE390 with 160hrs. I test rode the bike and fell in love but I am now concerned with the number of hours on the motor. I noticed that the owner's manual states main bearings and pistons to be replaced at 90hrs. I have no idea what the maintenance history is as the seller is probably the 3rd owner but the current owner has maintained it well. I mainly would like to know if there are other FE390s out there with the same number or more hours. Most of the posts about reliability and longevity I have found are dated 2012 or earlier and those bikes all had less than 100 hrs.

I currently ride a '90 DR350 and this would be my first modern, high performance Enduro bike. I would be mostly dual sport riding so I won't be flogging it too hard. I just don't want to be spending all of my time and money tearing into the motor every year or so. So what is the verdict on this motor? Will it still be around 10 years from now? I would appreciate any advice you all could give. Thanks!
 
Fortunately the service intervals in the manuals are mostly complete nonsense! "Fortunately" is maybe not the best word as it causes a lot of confusion ... I believe they print these artificially short intervals to cover their *** in some respect. Or to sell more parts? Nobody knows :/ It's an unfortunate artifact of the market and legal environment. But these bikes Do. Not. Need. Bearing. Replacements. every 90 hours. They simply don't.

It seems that all enduro bike motors have some weaknesses. However, the 70-degree motor from 2009-2012 is widely considered to have exceptional reliability. Theories I've heard as to why that is is that the motor cases are stiff, crankshaft and rod are stout and well designed, there is plenty of oil, valves are rock solid and don't move for tens of thousands of kilometers (in part I believe due to the fuel injection system which is less penetrable for dirt than a carburator intake system ...) ... In other words, it's slightly "overbuilt" and downtuned compared to a stripped racebike motor. They did that and then attempted to place the slight added weight intelligently. I like the overall result :)

Here's some info: myth of the light weight adventure bike for dirt and adv riding? - ADVrider (The 570 is mentioned there - what goes for the 570 is true for the 390 as well ... incidentally I'd think the 390 was more reliable than the 570 as components are lighter and less stressed - the smaller-stroke engine of a 390 is likely to be spun faster than a 570 over its lifetime but the valve train is so solid that the 390 ought to come out ahead.)

Here are some more good threads for dualsport/light-adventure-bike use of the 70-degrees:

The Husaberg 70º FE Adventure Traveler Thread - ADVrider

Husaberg 70 Degree Owners Thread! - ADVrider

Known issues, problems, commons mods Husaberg FE390 FE450 FE570 70 degrees - ADVrider

I'd say yes, that motor will still be in your bike in 10 years. It might have been rebuilt in that time - not necessarily! - but parts will be available to do it.
 
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I'm on board with tourist. I owned an FE570 in the past, and I have an FE390 now. These bikes are rock solid. I know of a couple of local FExxx owners who have multiple hundreds of hours on their bikes with nothing more than regular maintenance.

The key question is - did the previous owner actually DO the maintenance? If he did, you should be fine. 160 hours is nothing if it's had regular oil & filter changes, valves checked & adjusted, etc.
 
Tourist and Hooter,

Thank you for the quick reply as my query is obviously time sensitive. I suspected the maintenance schedule in the owners manual was overstated. It is good to know that the motor is solid and reliable with care. I will call the seller and try to glean some more info about maintenance history but I am confident it is good to go. It started up and ran smoothly. I had him ride it first so I could watch for little puffs of smoke or excessive engine noise. All was good. When I rode it, I found it pulled twice as strong as my DR350 and that throttle was oh so responsive. The transmission was also very smooth. Like I said, I fell in love. I just didn't want it to become a love hate relationship. thanks again!
 
yupppp!!! just wait until you've set it up 100% for you (cockpit ergos, suspension settings) ...!!!
 
My 2010 390 is pretty stock and has done about 350 hours, all on the original crank, clutch & piston. I recently checked the valve clearances after 164 hours, they were still in spec. I only ride the trails, I change the oil every 25-30 hours, the bike's still going strong.
 
I have 36.5 hours on mine and it has never failed me always started but then again its low hors and well maintained ..it would have more hours if i didn't have 2 other bergs, but always loved that bike you going to love it !!
 
i have close to 110 hours on my 390 and no issues at all so far...

I do oil/filter/air filter changes frequently - once a month maybe on avg - checked the valves once with no change and about to do so again now.

Amazing bike, i love it!

I do wish it had a little more power though when on the wide open stuff - and on the road or in supermoto trim :)
 
I made a deal with the seller and will take possession in about 2 weeks. (We're both really busy guys) I can't wait. Thanks for the updates to my question.

I do wish it had a little more power though when on the wide open stuff - and on the road or in supermoto trim
Compared to my 25 year old DR350, the 390 is a beast. I'm really excited about the EFI and hydraulic clutch not to mention the E-start. :bounce:
 
forever?

my 2011 390 has over 300hrs on her. Mostly hard miles. Change oil every 15-20hrs. Only needed fuel pump replacement at about 150hrs. Original battery is still going strong. Haven't checked the valves since 150hrs ago or so.
Just recently blew some air(low pressure) into the oil plug hole while changing oil. Lot more metal flake came out by doing this, but fine pieces.
I'm wondering about the timing chain and how long it will last.
 
my 2011 390 has over 300hrs on her. Mostly hard miles. Change oil every 15-20hrs. Only needed fuel pump replacement at about 150hrs. Original battery is still going strong. Haven't checked the valves since 150hrs ago or so.
Just recently blew some air(low pressure) into the oil plug hole while changing oil. Lot more metal flake came out by doing this, but fine pieces.
I'm wondering about the timing chain and how long it will last.

Interesting, I never thought of that. I will have to try it.

About 120 hours on my 2011 570 here. Only issue was the dang fuel pump.
 
I remember a post some while back where a trail riding company in Spain I think stripped an engine on a 390 with 450 hours on it. Said it was a waste of time as immaculate and put it back together!
 
My 390 has about 350 hours on it, checked the valves at 304 hours, hadn't moved since I checked prior to that at 140 hours.

Doesn't burn oil, I don't race it, only ride trails but at a reasonable pace though.
 
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Mines done 157 hours , i do tge odd hare and hound 2 hour Enduro had the bike since 90 hours and its a 2010.
Best bike ive owned, had issues with fuel pump thats it ( my hard lesson was dont buy aftermarket ebay pump)
[emoji109][emoji110]enjoy
 
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Crashingchris I see you got a go-pro. I like seeing you guys riding maybe you can post some of your rides ? Thanks
 
09 570

I had problems with head gasket got it sorted then had decomp valve with camshaft some of the 09s did cam warranty exchange to late for mine just so I just close the specs clearance no problems 127 hrs 6800ks all dirt trails fast and tight best bike ive owned
 

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