Possible new to me 08' FE450 owner

I think you'll struggle to find all the parts you need! I've probably got every thing you need but would be reluctant to sell because of the increasing rarity of the parts.
Ride what you've got until you find all the parts you need? You might have along wait!
Good luck.

I've been browsing ebay and the entire U.S. for some time now for 550/650 bikes or parts. Mostly out of curiosity as I have them both in good running condition 06 and 07. But I may buy something if a good deal on a bike or engine shows up that needs a little work.
But it is rare. If you want to get together a good running 650 motor to swap in your bike you will need to look daily at all locations. And no guarantees on how long it will take.

pollo

I am also sitting on a heap of spares which I have been collecting over the years, same as Canolman, and I am also reluctant to sell any of it for the same reasons. I am not sure what costs you would be looking at if you would import an engine from somewhere else, like South Africa for instance, you do get one going for sale every now and then, and at least you would have a complete bike with all electrics, whether its the les preferebable SEM system or not, but then again, theres lots of people still riding riding around with their SEM equipped bikes, and there are people who can repair these stators and CDI systems. Having a SEM equipped 650 is better than having no 650 at all. There is a 650 for sale here now, 2001 model, converts to about $2000 US.

https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-motorcy...f-road-priced-to-go/1002207479400910042593309

There was a 2008 FE650 with genuine 1.5hr on the clock for sale a couple weeks ago, if I had the cash I would have bought that one for sure.

proflow said:

These engines might be factory rare, however, metal is metal. Just saying !

Just a thought or two ! Feel free to slap me if Im wrong

Proflow

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I for one, really apriciate you sharing this. I watched the ATK message board die a slow death, and it’s great to see such enthusiasm for an orphaned brand, especially from a rider new to Berg community.

I agree that your objective is totally doable, it’s only a dirt bike, not the freakin space shuttle!

There is a complete running 02 650. Maybe an fx, not sure here in Ca for $1500 on CL. For someone willing to do all the upgrades it doesn't seem like a bad deal considering the value of all the parts in a part out used to upgrade the motor. Although I hate to part out a good running bike. But in this case of it being an 02 it could be rewarding.

pollo

pollo said:

There is a complete running 02 650. Maybe an fx, not sure here in Ca for $1500 on CL. For someone willing to do all the upgrades it doesn't seem like a bad deal considering the value of all the parts in a part out used to upgrade the motor. Although I hate to part out a good running bike. But in this case of it being an 02 it could be rewarding.

pollo

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That would seem more cost effective. I’d wait for a clean ‘05-‘08 650 to come come available, and swap engines.

If you are not going to use the 380 jug and piston, I'd be interested if it's in usable condition and we could work out a price.

If u can do mashing/cutting cases then it would be really worth it to upgrade your mains on both side to spherical rollers. This is tha best remedy for a weak spot. Then at that time you also can get rid of the seal and do wet ignition and get almost 1 more liter of engine oil. Another remedy for their weak spot. Bushmecanic here done both these updates.

You are absolutely right, metal is metal and you can absolutely modify the hell out of it. As for using the 450 crank, I'm not sure how much more stroke you are gonna get from it, but it would be nice to see someone try it. I'm guessing not much more than 2-3mm from the crank itself, and maybe another mm or two with a sroker pin. You are gonna need a very long conrod to make up the difference to get to the top of the 650 cases, but I cant see why it wont work. This is just guessing on my part, looking at how much meat is left from the top of the pin to the top of the crank web. I will see if I can measure for you my 470 crank web to give you an idea. The 450(380 in your case) has a stroke of 58mm(470 has a stroke of about 60mm), while the 644 has a stroke of 84mm, quite a big difference(501 and 550 have a stroke of about 70mm). You could probably make a billet crank, though I guess that will be very expensive.

Im looking forward to see what you are going to come up with. I am at the moment having cast iron liners made for myself, but still having some issues to sort out. I also modify whatever I need to, to get things to work as living in the southern tip of africa is not ideal for importing parts and such, unless one has lots of money to throw around for importing parts etc.

Anyway, good luck with your mods!

Also, check Bushmechanics 'Mongrel 628' thread, and 'The adventures of DR.C' thread, there are others, 'KTM hybrid' I think, and of course some more that I cant remember, but these are all heavily modified parts and things and whathaveyou, which just proves your point, modify what you cant buy...

Cheers

proflow said:

This I want to know more of for sure. Wet etc... Tell me more


If building a powerplant, Its gonna be tits

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Bushmecanic here has nice thread of build. Well documented. I think he might be the only one with wet ignition. Like Ktm rfs motors. He's running fine without any problems.

westwood liners in the UK have the dimensional details

if you use LA sleeve make sure to insist on 1 thou per inch of bore diam as a minimum piston to liner clearance maybe a tad more

id even go so far as to have the piston made after you get the sleeve in your hands and measure it.

The engineering company quoted me around $250 (converted to USD) to make a liner. Having some issues to get it 100%, still having some liner to case clearance issues, but hopefully I can go and spend a day there next week to try and get it sorted. He might charge me more for the next one though, as he quoted me first without seeing exactly what it was that I needed done. But when I get it sorted and working, I will let you know.