Playful? (390 vs 450 question)

The 390 is plenty of bike for a new rider. Some say its actually better in more technical terrain than the 450.
But it sounds like you really want a lighter two stroke machine.

I bought a 390 and it was wonderful in technical gnarly terrain, but way to weak when it opened up imho. I sold it quickly and bought a 570. Wonderful bike. Just as flickable but all the power you need in any situation. Like a 450 but more torque and bottom grunt, making it in some ways easier to handle. Put in a recluse and it's very timid and managable and enough power to solve any problems in a heartbeat if need to. Still the same weight and balance as the 390.

I will never, ever, sell it.

that's a difficult question to answer. once you get the technique right it's easy to pop plenty of bikes up in the first three years whether they are an FE390, FE570, DR650 or a DRZ400. but if you haven't nailed the technique then definitely having more power will help.

i concur with jon that the 570 is heaps of fun and easily thrown around... same weight as the 390 but the rekluse clutch tames it down plenty. i added a G2 throttle tamer as well which makes it very smooth and controllable at lower revs too.

Bystickel

I quick pop of the clutch in 2nd standing will get you over sized logs and river crossings, third gear sit down pops will get you onto a nice controlled wheelie without bouncing/changing body weight, bouncing in 4th will get a nice stand up wheelie, I came off a 450 Husky in terms off flat out balls the 450 will give you the thrill factor but a don't miss it, this bike is so smooth that the tech stuff is a breeze, plenty powerful enough if you ring its neck, and as you say there is more technical stuff your side than open flat out area, save the grand you will not be disappointed. :rock:

Just remembered this vid - can't say the 390 is too lazy lazy to stand up!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=YDwMWJBHPDg

Congrats on the new wheels! Be sure to let us know what you think of your first ride

Posted via Tapatalk while doing 60 in my car and staring at my phone.

The 390 has plenty of power. If it doesn't have one already get a map switch. She's a kitten on the 1st setting but very, very peppy on the 3rd.

Enjoy. I love mine.

i haven't thoroughly tested this, but on other bikes with mapping switches riders generally seem to report that they get the best fuel economy on the aggressive setting, but assuming you aren't caning the bike compared to when on the milder settings.

so quite a few say they just leave it on that setting unless its ultra slippery and they need extra traction. even in mud i haven't touched the switch as yet. and the economy has been good, stretched an FE570 tank out to 205km or 127 miles once on an easy ride. just started coughing as a pulled in to the service station.

Congratulations!!

bystickel said:

... it sure seems thirsty.

And a tiny hesitation every so often at steady cruising.

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Reading this - thirstiness and a slight hesitation - gives me a hunch that you could have some luck if you were to give some attention to the ECU mapping, air intake, or exhaust. There are a few posts here and there on husaberg.org about thirsty 70-degrees. There are posts on throttle position sensors being off and causing the bike to waste fuel, things like this. Check your air filter whether it needs cleaning, and check if there's a restrictor in the exhaust. In some cases it seems like the restrictor doesn't really quiet the bike down by that much, but has a noticeable effect on running.

bystickel said:

Weighting the pegs has a much greater effect on turning than I was expecting, and I was anticipating a lighter feel at the bars. I never got to high speeds, but the bike felt very stable and it tended to 'fall' into corners, indicating that I wasn't going fast enough.

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Heavyish feel at the bars and "falling" into corners are things you can change by adjusting the suspension. At least, you want to set it back to the stock settings and set sag for your weight. In the manual for the bike, the recommended rider weight for the stock springs is listed. Handling is greatly affected by rear sag and how far up in the yoke the forks are clamped - and often exactly the aspects of handling that feel like heavy bars / falling into corners. Especially the "falling into corners" thing feel makes me think you can easily extract something you like out of the suspension and geometry setup. Falling into corners is what my DR-Z felt like when it was high in the rear and low in the front - I've never rode a 'Berg that felt like it did that, so I'm pretty sure you can get rid of that feeling at any speed - if you want. (One man's floppiness is another man's agility after all )

(I'm looking to obtain a 70-degree so I've tried to read a lot about them but I don't have one, so please take my statements with a grain of salt, and verify before you change anything.)

I read somewhere about a guy that drilled holes in the seats plastics over the intake, exposing the seats foam. He claimed it made it more silent. I haven't done it as I forget it all the time...

jon andersson said:

I read somewhere about a guy that drilled holes in the seats plastics over the intake, exposing the seats foam. He claimed it made it more silent. I haven't done it as I forget it all the time...

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That was me

Don't expect miracles, but it does seem to muffle it a little.

bkowal said:

jon andersson said:

I read somewhere about a guy that drilled holes in the seats plastics over the intake, exposing the seats foam. He claimed it made it more silent. I haven't done it as I forget it all the time...

Click to expand...

That was me

Don't expect miracles, but it does seem to muffle it a little.

Click to expand...

Good I didn't claim the idea then

What hole size did you drill? I been thinking of cutting away relatively big holes leaving a mesh to hold the foam back.