Husaberg Rallye bikes

[SafariBerg]

Originally Posted by Cummo

FYI....had heard at the UAE Desert Challenge from KTM that there is a possibility that the rally department will develop a full rally kit for the 570 Husaberg.

Just a rumour, but where there is smoke...

thanks for that, that's important news to follow up on

Congrats on your rallye, great ride, it sounds like a great event

Any chance we could tempt you Down Under next year for the Safari ?

[Cummo]

Thanks for the well wishes.


I am keen to do the safari and would love to come home for awhile also, its just a bit of an issue with time. Lets see how it goes.

[canadaler]

OK...here's my '08 FE550 just before it went in the crate yesterday bound for Spain and the Tuareg Rallye.

[twotyred]

Nice looking bike!!

Best wishes on finishing the event - hope you have a great time.

[SafariBerg]

Originally Posted by canadaler

OK...here's my '08 FE550 just before it went in the crate yesterday bound for Spain and the Tuareg Rallye.

Great

Whats the fairing / headlight ?

Also the tank graphic, any chance of a better side on photo ? is it perforated ?

I noticed you extended the water pump guard, good move, also keep an eye on the bashplate front mount bracket as the alloy tends to fatigue and crack there.

What sort of cockpit / roadbook mounting frame / bracket have you used ?? be keen to some some photos of the cockpit set up

Good luck and have fun on the rallye, it will be a blast !

[canadaler]

Here's a couple more pics.

Yes the grapics have hundreds of tiny slots for perforations to assist in "de-gassing" the tank. No guarantee that bubbles won't still form....it's the nature of stickers on a plastic tank. You can see them in this pic in the upper right hand area of the graphic. They were custom made by Ride Industries in Canada. I gave him some intial ideas on the design and after two or three go rounds we came up with this joint effort. Great guy to work with and quality is top notch.



Here's a shot of the skid plate extension I made up. You can't see it on this photo but there is a large rubber bumper pad glued on the bacl of it between the plate and water pump. In case of a really big hit I wanted some cushion between the two. The plate itself is made of 3/16" T6061. There is a slight depression ground into the inside surface to insure the water hose doesn't rub on it.

I also modified the underside of the skid plate to allow for easy oil changes. As is was, changing oil meant that it drooled and spilled all through the bottom of the plate. It was impossible to get any sort of funnel or...anything...to direct oil from the drain hole over the bottom frame rail. So I just moved the right rear skid plate clamp further back and cut a triangular opening which meets up with the existing slot in the plate for the diagonal frame rail.



I moved my ignition module to the side from under the seat and built myself a 'storage trunk' there. Then used the side of it to make up a bracket for carrying my tire irons. The exhaust heat shield is backed with high temp fiberglass packing. I guess I'll find out if it works if that sticker holds up!



The nav gear mount is a self-designed...and re-designed....and re-designed... made out of 3/8" aluminum plate and 1-1/2" aluminum square tubing for the upright. There is also a 12 gauge aluminum plate cut and bent and contorted to mount the ODO, GPS and road book. I was using the square tubing to keep the gear as close to the handlebars as possible. I also wanted room in front and underneath it to mount a tool bag. This carries light items, primarily my first aid kit gear. I made up an aluminum bracket to replace the plastic front fender bracket. This made for a better base to mount the bag.

These are earlier construction photos. I modified it somewhat after these were taken, lowering it 1-1/2" and tilting the top part forward more to clear the bars. Fairing brackets aren't on here yet either.





I wouldn't do it exactly the same again. Primarily I would change the cantelevered design of the heavy plate mount which only comes off one side of the frame head stock. This was a bit of a design exercise for me...I have a habit of trying to do things a little differently...sometimes it even works. This design puts too much stress on the top bolt that goes into the head stay. It's fine for normal use, but if I go down hard and put side load on it I think that bolt might shear. I'll take a Grade 5 bolt with me and probably swap it out in Spain before the start.

Oh...after it was on and I mounted the fairing I decided to put an aluminum "windscreen extension" up the front to cover nav gear. This has a 90 degree bend in it about 1" wide to sit over top of the ODO and GPS to protect them. This is the part that the "Husaberg" sticker in on over top of the windshield in the first picture.

The fairing is a discontinued model (don't know the manufacturer) I picked up off a clearance sale on e-bay. I think it's one of those love-hate things. I love the way it looks, kind of modernized the old style Berg...some people think it looks gay. I've got the bulbs hooked up to run independently via switches.

Here's a pic of my road book switch, which I think might be unique. You use your left index finger to operate it, like a tiny clutch lever. I find it's much easier to use than my thumb since you never lose your grip on the bars. But what do I know...having never operated a road book before? Maybe other guys use this same set up but I hadn't seen it anywhere.

[TheDog]

Hi guys, nice thread with tons of rally info. Here is some short words about my FE 650 that have served well in UEA DC and Pharaons:
BOSS main tank, Husa 5.5 liter side tank, 2.8 liter under seat tank, Meca nav gear holder (small modifications, but just bolted on two mounts that´s welded on the frame), Meca fairing, Meca lights, MD roadbook holder, ICO trip, Husa triple clamp, handlebar raised 40mm (Note, extend hydralic clutch hose!!!), Ohlin steering damper, KTM cooler fan, rear fog light, Ackra slip on, expansion chamber for cooling (from some yamaha street bike, i think...) and a high seat.
I used to have the "Olle Ohlsson / Andrew Coaker" alu tanks. The where great taking 26 liters of fuel, but made the bike very wide and tricky to handle (my experience).

[SafariBerg]

The aussie Husaberg Rallye Racing team competed at the Condo 750 Rallye NSW Australia 11-12 April 2009 http://www.condo750.com.au/

The team had 4 FE570's and 2 FE650's














Foggy start to Day 2


Loading the roadbook

[canadaler]

So....can the new 570 hold its own against the "old school" 650?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Actually there was one '09 FE450 at the Tuareg but the rider (from Germany) broke his collarbone the first day in the dunes.

[LavaBull]

Great action shots and terrific pics... my kinda of bike riding...awesome...



..... ....

[SafariBerg]

Originally Posted by canadaler

So....can the new 570 hold its own against the "old school" 650?

Inquiring minds want to know.

.

well its Yes and No !

The 570 is a fantastic bike, it is so easy to ride, effortless in fact, the steering is amazing and its ablity to turn in is like nothing else, nothing can out turn it, it will go under anything else out there I reckon, the motor is real smooth and the EFI is great

BUT..........it lacks hp and torque

The 650 will pull a good 10kph more on top and get there quicker, also it will work all day on a rallye at lower revs, hence the motor is less stressed, you just short shift it all day and use the grunt. I am sure that is part of its great reliability, you just dont have to work the motor hard.

However the 570 is a real rider saver, it makes you last longer and fatigue much less, you just don't have to muscle the bike around, it handles so easy. The now cliche of it feeling like a 250 to ride is so true.

It's a tough call, I love the 650, such a great motor, I love the grunt, its so much fun to ride...............BUT the 570 makes me a much better rider and makes me able to ride my best for much longer.

The other thing is the 650 is now proven, I KNOW it will do a 7-9 day rallye on the same motor no probs, I'd even take one to Dakar and swap in a new motor on the rest day and smile all the way to the finish.

The 570 however is unproven.........its based on the 530 which has known issues. The 570 already has a couple of teething issues, the 530 style hydraulic cam chain tensioner, an injector failed on one of our 570's at Condo 750, and also fuel pump's have failed so I hear. How well their big ends, main bearings etc hold up we have to see, but again they are 530 derived and 530's have issues at times. But it also has some great improvements over the 530 like 1.5L oil capacity.

Before Condo I was not sure which I would use at say Dakar, the 650 power & top speed, grunt in the sand & dunes etc or the 570.

Now I know for sure if the engine mechanicals are shown to be ok I would with out doubt use the 570, forgo the extra grunt and top speed (160kph vs 170kph) because the 570 will look after me the best by a long way. I am the weak link in the equation, rider fatigue causes as many if not more dnf's at Dakar than mechanical failure. I would again change the motor out at the halfway rest day and have a sweet easy ride for the whole event.

So I guess the bottom line is I want a 2009 Berg sloper with 650cc

[KTRMN8R]

Welcome to the assylum ,... check yer PM's Bro!

Originally Posted by TheDog

Hi guys, nice thread with tons of rally info. Here is some short words about my FE 650 that have served well in UEA DC and Pharaons:
BOSS main tank, Husa 5.5 liter side tank, 2.8 liter under seat tank, Meca nav gear holder (small modifications, but just bolted on two mounts that´s welded on the frame), Meca fairing, Meca lights, MD roadbook holder, ICO trip, Husa triple clamp, handlebar raised 40mm (Note, extend hydralic clutch hose!!!), Ohlin steering damper, KTM cooler fan, rear fog light, Ackra slip on, expansion chamber for cooling (from some yamaha street bike, i think...) and a high seat.
I used to have the "Olle Ohlsson / Andrew Coaker" alu tanks. The where great taking 26 liters of fuel, but made the bike very wide and tricky to handle (my experience).

[canadaler]

At the request of Safariberg...posting some of my Tuareg Rallye pic's here.

Sorry...I don't have any of me in action on the bike...









The ride report on the rallye itself can be found here.

[SafariBerg]

got a Berg Safari rallye bike build thread going on over in Oz forum

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=416713

[M.R.]

For those that weren't there, this "Jump" is actually a triple caution!!!! Mad bergers Notice the sign to the right in front of the root ball from the fallen tree.











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