Which bike is for me FE450 or FE570

I am not a good rider but I love my FE570. I find it OK in the tight stuff. The power is very controllable, not wild. Now, on the open track where the dirt road is smooth the feel of the 570 spinning the wheel at 110kmh is just amazing. I swapped bikes with my mate today and rode his WR450 and the power difference is just amazing, the FE570 just spins the back wheel at any rev range, the WR only had power up in the high rev range. Get the FE570 you will be very impressed

I haven't ridden the 450, but I have talked to people who have ridden both the 450 and the 570 (some, all three bikes) and they preferred the 570.

The 570 power is very tractable. With the Rekluse the bike just finds traction almost everywhere and is very tame when you want it to be, and has plenty of power when you need it. I have a 12 tooth front sprocket and I have to be a little careful because the bike will just keep climbing because it finds traction and has the power, so I have more than once looped the bike when climbing over an obstacle at slow speed - the rear tire just keeps grabbing traction and then will lift the front wheel if the bike is at a very steep angle. Not surprising, but a lot of other bikes would stall or spin out, so...

Plus I am putting a trials tire on the rear for traction over roots, rocks, trees and such where the knobby doesn't work as well.

I think where the stock 570 leaves a little bit to be desired is if you want the kind of top end power you would expect from a 650 in the open. I rode an Aprilia RXV 550 and it definitely had more top end than my bike. There are a few things you can do to get more top end though as there is room for some simple mods. Personally, for trail riding, which is what I bought it for, I don't need more power. I would only consider wanting more power for something like sand dunes or a snowbike, both of which suck up the power.

Ride all three and see which one you like for the kind of riding you do.

I would say 570, I've ridden both and just don't see any advantage that the 450 has over the 570. To me they both handled the same but the 570 just had way more usable power on tap, plus the extra torque just allowed you to lug the bike more and get better traction.
If I was looking at a new Berg again it's either the 390 for lighter handling and a little less power or the 570. I love my 570 and now have decided to sell me KTM 250XCW that I was using as my bike for tight technical riding. I find the ktm just sits in the garage now.

The 450 is a very happy medium.
Mike Lafferty rides a FE450 with closed cartridge front forks and is winning so far.
In tight conditions the smaller displacement is easier to handle!
Depending on your weight and strenght. and where you will be riding will determine the displacement.
I had KTM 525 and it was a handful in the tight trails here on the wet coast, so I am happy to have a FE450 now.

LOL....Mike Lafferty could win on an XR250. IMHO I just never felt there was a handling difference between the 570 and the 450. The 390 is a different story though for handling. I guess I choose the 570 over the 450 because you need to make the engine work harder on the 450 to keep the same pace, so I figured if the motor isn't working as hard in the long run it's better for the motor.
Really at the end of the day it's best if you ride both and decide for yourself. Just don't be intimated of the 570, it was my first big bore 4 stroke and I've only really ridden 250 strokes. And the 570 is very easy to ride.

Mike used to ride a KTM 400 and switched to the FE390, but now he is on a FE450.
If the 570 was better and faster to ride he would be riding it!
Like I say it all depends on the terrain and if you are a big guy more displacement is the way to go.
Most people ride over powered bikes and hardly can use the power.
The 570 handles extremely well, but the 450 and 390 handle better in tight terrain.
Ride them all and be happy with your decision!

Mike also rode a KTM 450 too, I have an article where he talks about switching back and forth between the 400 and 450.
Truthfully I would have bought a 390 but I intended on dual sporting the berg so I didn't feel the 390 would be as good.
Go out and just ride them and I'm sure you'll be happy with what ever you get.

I have ridden both the 450 and the 570. For me, the 570 is the way to go. Can I use all of it's power all the time, LOL, no way! However, the low end torque of the 570 makes it work great in tight, slow conditions. Climbing mountains, ridges, etc.. if you bobble a little you can just back off the throttle and roll it back on as there is plenty of power on tap.

The 570's motor is mellow on the bottom but has a great top end hook on it. So once you leave the confines of the tight technical trails, the 570 will really move out when revved up. Be sure you have it pointed in the right direction before you pull the trigger.

The 450 runs great, and to me handles the same as the 570. The 450 just feels a bit soft by comparison when it comes to out right top end power and torque.

It's really hard to compare the WR that you are riding now to the new Husaberg's, they handle so different. And for that matter, they handle a lot different from that 08 that you rode.

I have a 2004 FE550, and I always found that bike to work great where ever I rode it, and it worked especially good in the tight stuff. That generation of motor is similar to the new motors in that they are mellow on the bottom but have a good top end hit to them. However, if you were riding a bike that was not jetted or geared correctly, I can see where it might be rather "abrupt" when you opened the throttle.

Remember too that there is a map switch available for all of the new model Husaberg's and it does make a difference. When I'm riding really technical slippery stuff, the soft map works really good. It still makes all the torque, but, just doesn't spin up like it will in the standard or aggressive setting. Then if you are out riding in the open with lot's of sand whoops, the aggressive setting is great as it makes it easy to keep the front end up.

Another big difference between your WR and the new Husaberg is weight. The WR is heavier overall to begin with, and the new berg feels heavy when pushing it around, or loading it in the truck. However, as soon as you roll away under power on the berg, you will feel like you are on a 250F, it's very flickable, but, at the same time it's not unstable.

I rode 250 2Ts for years and years, and once I got on an open bike I swore I would never go back and I still feel that way. How much power the bike puts out is up to you and your right wrist.

My mate was very happy riding his WR450 till he had a ride of my FE570. Now he is talking Husabergs a lot to me, I think he is keen. He is a good judge, I never see him baulk at any tight stuff and he is just amazing on the open stuff, sensational rider, so he is a good judge.

The only thing wrong with the FE570 is it has a real bad habit of destroying back tires

How are the new bikes for overheating. I picked up an 04 FE450 Get's hot on single track so I picked up a 09 GasGasEC250 for tight tight single track

I moved from an '04 WR 450. I test rode a 450 but it didn't feel as fast or entertaining (power wise) as the heavily modified WR 450. Doesn't mean it wasn't, just felt different.
I bought the 570. Raced my 1st Hare Scramble yesterday... Had lots of fun, climbs like a scared cat! I made up a few places on the back straight on some of the other guys bikes. This baby will stretch your arms! Plenty of fun.

I sold the WR to a guy that works for me. Wait a few weeks and we'll drag race them and I'll report back to you.

The 570 is super smooth, lugs like a tractor and screams on the top end. I'm a happy kid!

c337b said:

How are the new bikes for overheating. I picked up an 04 FE450 Get's hot on single track so I picked up a 09 GasGasEC250 for tight tight single track

Click to expand...

If you put a fan kit on it you'll never have a worry.

I fell off 3 times on Saturday on a real hard track. The air temp was about 23 ºC = 73 ºF maybe a tad hotter.
I was tired from trying to keep up with 2 other riders for about an 1hr. I had to slow down, I just chugged up the hard rocky stuff in first gear.
I checked the EFFEX Stick on temperature sticker on the radiator each time I fell, it never went over 95 ºC = 203 ºF
I even listened for the boiling fuel problem but could not hear any signs of it, I even took the petrol cap off and all looked well.

I agree with Dale, there are no signs of overheating with the Factory Fan kit. I was chugging away and getting caught up on rocks for a good 5~10 minutes.

The track is in this unmarked area around Wisemans Ferry NSW Australia. You can hardly even see the track in Google Maps, it is so rough.
-33.369926 150.83632 to -33.366019 150.838637

The ride to the track is open dirt road which I enjoy. River Road (Sealed) Webbs Creek Ferry to Chaseling Road (Dirt), Bicententenary Road, Greens Road, Unmarked Track, then Left Arm Trail. Great ride and not too long. Made it right out to a lookout at Lookout -33.320846 150.886059

Yes it is truley amazing the 570. It can crawl slowly up a tight knarly hill and freaken go like a cut snake on the open dirt. It even looks the ducks guts on the trailer when you're towing it home. The more you ride it the more you like it. It seems so easy to steer.

I had the same problem when selecting mine, i was concerned the 570 was going to be to much bike for me.
I got to ride the 390 and it handled awesomely but was not powerful enough.
The 450's nowdays, including the KTM, are said to be very close to their motorcross variant from the year before.
I ride on a fair bit of pea gravel and hill climbs and by all accounts the 450's were more likely to break loose than dig in.

So the 570 is was and i've never looked back.
I climbed off a 450 EXC and am not that good a rider, jealous mates said "i couldn't even ride the 450 EXC properly so why the 570" I told themn they'd get over it.
The bike is so easy to ride it has made me a far better rider, thats what people just don't understand about these bikes.
My word of warning to people is this, if you don't want one then don't ride one because once you do you'll never be happy on anything else.