Which Husaberg to Battle Dakar?

Hey guys,

Dakar has come and gone with all the excitement from highs and lows.

What came to mind was which Husaberg would be the best weapon to bring to battle?

Please give rational reasons why.

I've come to the opinion that an '06 to '08 FE 450 would be best.

Reasoning:
- availibility of spare engines.
- known short comings.
- Kickstarter.

I understand the '09 + are revolutionary with incredible handling, fuel injection, and creative spare tank in rear subframe.

My main worries are:
- unknown shortcomings.
- no kickstarter.
- cost and availibility of spare engines.

I know there are a number of very well informed people on this site... besides the normal B. S. ers :wink:

I hope this is educational.

Wow! I didn't even think of mixing and matching, a hybrid... one that I may actually like.

My main worry with that would be electrical bugs but since it's carburetated those should be easily rectified.

I wonder if putting the old engine in the new frame would nullify the improvement in handling. The old engine I don't believe could be installed at the same angle because of its design; oiling etc.

Still interesting.

Thanks

Thanks for the info Gazza. Informed opinions like yours is what I am fishing for.

I am going to infer that not having a kickstarter is of no concern? My worry would be an unknown electrical drain killing the battery. Obviously with the fuel injection no power means no fuel.

That is another concern: Carbs vs FI.

Yes, I was thinking the 650 would be good but the elimination of CC's took that out of the equation.

This bothered and bothers me because I believe it makes it more difficult for a privateer to complete the rally. My belief is that with a bigger motor you will be less likely to stress it therefore the need of extra engines is less necessary.

Thank you for your informed opinion.

Thank you again for sharing your wisdom and enlightening me.

I obviously thought the 690's had a kickstarter.

If I had $100k to burn on this I would shoot for 2011 and inundate myself with rallys, fitness, and an update on new nutrition findings.

2012 would be the soonest I could make the attempt but I have to test my self to make sure I truly love ripping through woods, mud, and sand (local), then head out West for the real sand(which obviously doesn't compare to what you experienced).

Roadracing was great but a bit monatonous because you are limited to approximately 10 turns and attempting to hit them perfectly, continuously.

Rallying/enduros I think would feed my natural desire for ever changing conditions, making seat of the pants decisions, and dealing with where that puts you.

Urban adventures allows for improving technique because of tight conditions hopping numerous sets of railroad tracks to drp off the other side into a secluded area for single track. Industrial areas are great when snow accumulates to rip through at night doing laps and sliding through turns besides having the rear end dance all over the place. Chicago cops tend to be cool and they actually have no authority in private lots unless they are called.

I picked up my '08 650 for winter city riding and urban adventures and have been riding it in snow, ice, and rain. Next month I want to pick up a 450 for purely offroad and take it on a trip out to Moab in March.

My natural weight is around 210 whether I work out a lot or minimally and gets up to 220 when I take in more then I burn for an extended period of time, ahem. This made me wary of smaller bikes.

Since small bikes teach you more by requiring better technique to be fast I know a 450 is best for me. Plus I believe in the old adage, " If you're good, you're fast on anything."

I have a friend that has been competing offroad for a while and has been doing urban adventures for a fifteen years. He is happy I finally became interested in offroad(I started in off road when I was 12.) but is upset it took me ten years(how long I've known him).

I almost did a poker run with him the weekend after getting home from flying out and picking up my Berg in Boise, ID, and riding it in a round about 2600 mile ride back to Chicago. It included about 400 miles of offroad. Nothing complicated besides the miles of mud I rode through after crossing a small mountain. It was the end of October so I did ride through snow, thick fog, and found out coming out of Yellowstone that the headlight was almost completely useless. All I could see was the snow on the mountain to my left and the snow highlighting the railing on my right that was to keep from going off the mountain, into the river 100's of feet done. Good thing I was alone or I would have had to stop.

It rained cats and dogs so my friend decided against the Poker run.

This year I hope to do a scramble a month if not more. If business is good and I feel I'm picking up everything quick Baja in November would be the goal.

You don't know until you try... and you better try because we only go around once.

We'll see what life brings this year. It's always interesting.

Cheers!

Kosta