Pre-09 vs 70* offroad

I briefly rode a 570 back to back with my Frankenstein bike which, at the time, was an '03 chassis with Dick's Racing suspension set up for me and a '96 vintage FC600 engine. The 570 was set up for a guy similar in size to me (6' and 250 lbs with gear on). I could tell that the 570 wanted to turn better but, for me, the feeling was more like the bike was "nervous" instead of purely better turning. The 600 engine was definitely stronger than the 570 but the advantage was mostly in the bottom end and mid range. At higher rpm, the engines were pretty close.

I've also spent a lot of time on an '08 FE550 which was really the best Husaberg I've owned or ridden. I would say that it turned on par with the 570 once the suspension was set up. It sipped the fuel and ran almost flawlessly everywhere I rode it (sea level to almost 12K feet). It was also much more stable and confidence inspiring at speed than the 570 and, since I purchased it specifically for the 2011 Vegas To Reno race, this was of utmost importance. I miss that bike so much that I will be building the engine currently in my Frankenstein bike into a 550 (from a '95 vintage 501 non-electric start wide ratio engine) while the FC600 engine that was in it now resides in a '96 vintage chassis I picked up a few years ago.

In the meantime, for me, the holy grail remains the 2000 FC600. In my opinion, the only thing that bike needed was the steeper steering head angle that came along in the later years (2005?).

I rode a 70* 450 and it handled great. Point and shoot. But not for me, I like my 07 650. Simple, stable and a motor that will tractor up or through anything.

Part of the handling difference is the front wheel trail. The 70-degrees ride with a little less trail. Trail makes the bike want to ride straight. The wheel pivots around the front point of trail, but the forward motion straightens out the rear point of trail. So more trail gives the ground a stronger lever to straighten the front wheel out. It's very simple - I didn't understand it for a long time

Actual trail under riding conditions is a complex thing, but it can be said to have two reasons:
- Triple clamp offset. The newer bikes have more offset I believe, which would reduce trail.
- Chassis and suspension setup. I think the newer bikes tend to sit with the forks at a steeper angle. The chassis and suspension geometry and attachment are all different, weight distribution is different, and springs are relatively different given the different setup. If it is true that the front forks sit "straighter" this also reduces trail.

This creates more agile steering, but it loses a bit of that magic stability in the pre-70-degrees.

It's not so terrible to to try taking a 70-degree and dropping the rear and raising the front - by changing rear preload and clamping the yoke on the fork higher up. This should feel more like the old bikes. This of course changes weight distribution - and the rear suspension dynamics a bit as well, perhaps negatively (I don't fully comprehend how yet).

If that feels good, then different offset clamps can bring even more stability, and/or be used to tune the F/R weight distribution and overall "tilt" of the bike, both of which affect handling. Not necessarily for better or worse, just to different tastes.

And then suspension valving is also a part of the equation Tuning suspension and handling is A LOT of fun.

Yeah if I had the smarts I try it. Would be interesting.

That's exactly one of the things that Dr_C did!

AFAIK it's discussed in here: http://husaberg.org/marketplace/11326-billet-cylinder-head.html