Musings on the Whooo-sa-berg FE570

[Mr. Fisherman]

More please....

[CodeMonkee]

A little more on gearing. With the stock sprockets, 13/52, 1st gear is good to well over 20MPH, 3rd gear well in into the thirties, 4th gear up to about 50MPH, 5th gear can take you up to 75MPH and I don't shift into 6th until I am in the sixties, often feeling it is lugging when I let it drop down to about 60MPH if I am under any load (even flat road, but not when coasting).

I've only ever had it up to 80 MPH so far. The bike isn't broken in yet so I haven't applied full power or tried to find the redline. As I said before, the bike feels busy at those speeds.

I am fairly certain I want to get the suspension tuned/setup/modified for me - it just doesn't feel right. I am sure I am about 80 pounds over the target weight (I weigh 250#), so while I like the suspension, I am sure it can do a lot better with the right mods - probably heavier springs and certainly correct settings.

I am getting better and more confident at going over significant obstacles like fallen trees over one foot in diameter, although I do stop - I don't wheelie and ride over them. WHile the bike seems to have plenty of traction when I am moving, I can see where that Christini mod would help - especially when it gets wet. I only found one place that had a small patch of mud and I had not problem with it - from the looks of it I don't think anybody had been back there in quite a while.

Gotta get ready for work. I am looking at buying a more compact camera to take with me so I can take better pics. I would have stopped and taken a pic of when I blew off into the weeds, but as you can see my cell doesn't take very good pics.

[CodeMonkee]

I got 32 MPG again. Half street riding, half trail riding.

The balance of the bike is worth noting. At slow speeds you feel you can almost come to a stop and hold it, before having to put your foot down.

[CodeMonkee]

I also noticed the chain seems to have stretched a bit already. I need to check that before I go riding again.

I am definitely going to get a different seat. I'll keep the one I have, but being an old geezer I sit down a lot and the seat I have is less than half the width of my wide ass. I'll get another seat pan/base and have Rich's make something up for me.

[(sp?)]

Originally Posted by CodeMonkee

I've only ever had it up to 80 MPH so far. The bike isn't broken in yet so I haven't applied full power or tried to find the redline. As I said before, the bike feels busy at those speeds.

mine did also before the Ohlins damper - the major reason I got the damper.

Originally Posted by CodeMonkee

I am fairly certain I want to get the suspension tuned/setup/modified for me - it just doesn't feel right. I am sure I am about 80 pounds over the target weight (I weigh 250#), so while I like the suspension, I am sure it can do a lot better with the right mods - probably heavier springs and certainly correct settings.

I'm planning on spending a lot of time this weekend riding the bike (camping Thur - Sun in Eastern WA). I'll be with a couple of older fellas, one of whom is a former desert racer. I hope to get some good feedback on the bike.

[CodeMonkee]

The other thing I forgot to mention is that I am now sure that the bike does hunt a little under very light loads in low gears at steady light and low throttle. It is just enough to be noticeable, but not annoying, and I am so rarely running it in these conditions that I don't experience it much.

Maybe after it is broken in and I switch mappings it will change.

[CodeMonkee]

Originally Posted by (sp?)

mine did also before the Ohlins damper - the major reason I got the damper.

I was thinking about that. If I decide to run street/SM tires/wheels on it I may go for a damper, but I rarely get over 70 MPH off the pavement and I don't run over 75 MPH much on the pavement, so right now it isn't a big deal.

I assume the damper helped?

I think the first major mod I am going to make to the bike will be either the suspension and/or a Rekluse.

I'm planning on spending a lot of time this weekend riding the bike (camping Thur - Sun in Eastern WA). I'll be with a couple of older fellas, one of whom is a former desert racer. I hope to get some good feedback on the bike.

Have fun - take notes/pics.

I want to get a helmet cam so I can share how bad I ride with the world.

[dirtyoffroad]

good info here,thanks

[(sp?)]

Originally Posted by CodeMonkee

I was thinking about that. If I decide to run street/SM tires/wheels on it I may go for a damper, but I rarely get over 70 MPH off the pavement and I don't run over 75 MPH much on the pavement, so right now it isn't a big deal.

I assume the damper helped?

I think the first major mod I am going to make to the bike will be either the suspension and/or a Rekluse.


Have fun - take notes/pics.

I want to get a helmet cam so I can share how bad I ride with the world.

the Rekluse was on the list. not so sure now after doing the Pivot Pegz. they allow quite a bit of flexibililty in terms of getting your toe on the rear brake. we'll see.

the damper all but eliminated the twitchiness. doing the forks made it go away completely.

[(sp?)]

Originally Posted by dirtyoffroad

good info here,thanks

you should also monitor www.husaberg.org for some good tips. CodeMonkee and I both hang out there too.

[(sp?)]

Did a bit over 300 miles on the 'berg this weekend. I went to Winthrop, WA with 15 or so friends to ride, camp, drink and party. Spent many hours getting more intimately acquainted with bike.

Highlights

Power
I didn't have the opportunity to switch the maps until this weekend. Map #1 is powerful and linear - there's really nothing to complain about. I switched to map #2 about 40 miles into the ride. It has a big hit, the magnitude of which is directly proportional to how fast you twist. Very controllable. Did some amazing power slides on the gravel roads. I could "scallop" the arc by gently twisting the throttle back and forth. I can't wait to try map #3.

Suspension
Les Tinius (LT Racing) did everything I asked. The bike handled superbly. Conditions ranged from tarmac, packed gravel, loose gravel, rocks, ruts, silt and the front end remained planted the entire time. I only had the front push once. One of the roads was very washboarded but I was able to stand and ride side-by-side with my buddy Gary on his well-sorted XR6560R and we roosted up some gnarly roads. It was like dancing as we would slide the bike through the corners together.

Motor
The motor now has a bit over 17 hours on it. It keeps getting smoother by the tick. I bounced it off the limiter a couple of times during long uphill roosts. I will change the oil and filter this week, but I did the last 9-10 hours on a single change. It didn't use any.

Pegs/Shifter/Brake
This was the first time I'd ridden the bike with motocross boots. I've been riding it with Combat Touring boots. The Pivot Pegs allowed me to actuate the rear brake with ease. The Hammerhead Designs shifter put the tip of the shift lever in an optimal spot for my foot.

Low lights (not really low, but less than optimal)

Exhaust
I lost my second exhaust arrestor screen on this trip. I even used red loctite and thought I had really tightened it down - apparently not enough. Because it's not a USFS approved arrestor I don't think I'll try to get another. Instead I will look either to a Leo Vince system or the Pro Moto Billet endcap. Both are approved. I really like the quiet of the factory system.

Bash plate
It's held on by a single bolt and some fingers which capture a lower frame cross member. It came out and mine came bounding out. A car saw it happen and flagged down another member of our group. I'll likely drill a couple of holes on each side in front and use nylon ties to help it out. Maybe a star washer and some blue loctite on the retaining bolt.

Range
I repeatedly got 90 miles per tank. I ran out of gas 4 times. Fortunately I carried a liter of fuel in Stigg-type aluminum camping bottle. I also carried the siphon pump from Aerostich. Works well to have a KLR or F650 sweep bike (tanker).

Seat
The stock seat was formerly a section of balance beam from the Olympics - hard and narrow. I would go to Renazco for a seat re-shape if the wait wasn't so long. I may just get another pan and do what RadioMan did on his Husky TE610. I'll raise it and widen it too.

Bar height
Because I'm 6'6", the bike fits a bit differently than most. Though I've got the bars up with the TrailTech risers, it's not really enough and I'm not comfortable standing. The bars need to come up a bit more and go forward. I will try rotating the bars first to see if that helps.

The group should have some pics up in a few days. I tried a Go camera but ran out of batteries at just over 400 pics. I'll go through those to see what looks good.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Originally Posted by (sp?)

Did a bit over 300 miles on the 'berg this weekend. I went to Winthrop, WA with 15 or so friends to ride, camp, drink and party. Spent many hours getting more intimately acquainted with bike.

Highlights

Power
I didn't have the opportunity to switch the maps until this weekend. Map #1 is powerful and linear - there's really nothing to complain about. I switched to map #2 about 40 miles into the ride. It has a big hit, the magnitude of which is directly proportional to how fast you twist. Very controllable. Did some amazing power slides on the gravel roads. I could "scallop" the arc by gently twisting the throttle back and forth. I can't wait to try map #3.
.....

Curse you......


Looking forward to the pics... and to hitting the lottery...

[CodeMonkee]

Originally Posted by (sp?)

Exhaust
I lost my second exhaust arrestor screen on this trip. I even used red loctite and thought I had really tightened it down - apparently not enough. Because it's not a USFS approved arrestor I don't think I'll try to get another. Instead I will look either to a Leo Vince system or the Pro Moto Billet endcap. Both are approved. I really like the quiet of the factory system.

I've heard varying things on this. Some say the arrestor has to be marked, but none of the ones I saw in a store yesterday (including Pro Moto IIRC) explicitly said 'USFS Approved' although one said it was a spark arrestor or something on it, another had some kind of sticker. I've also heard some people say the forest rangers test for the spark arrestor by sticking a probe down the pipe and if they don't encounter an obstruction then you fail. Obviously the stock screen would stop the probe I heard about.

Last weekend I tightened the stock screen three times. I didn't put any loctite on it yet - I think safety wiring would be better.

[(sp?)]

Originally Posted by CodeMonkee

I've heard varying things on this. Some say the arrestor has to be marked, but none of the ones I saw in a store yesterday (including Pro Moto IIRC) explicitly said 'USFS Approved' although one said it was a spark arrestor or something on it, another had some kind of sticker. I've also heard some people say the forest rangers test for the spark arrestor by sticking a probe down the pipe and if they don't encounter an obstruction then you fail. Obviously the stock screen would stop the probe I heard about.

Last weekend I tightened the stock screen three times. I didn't put any loctite on it yet - I think safety wiring would be better.

As you say, it could well be at the whim of which ranger you run into. I'd like to remove whim from that equation by having an arrestor with "USFS approved" stamped on it. Ask about "Plastic Tank Larry" over in the PNWet forum sometime - a ranger in the Entiat area who had a hard-on for dirtbikes. It was reported that he would stop and ticket any bike he found with a plastic tank claiming it was "against the law".

I looked at the safety wire route. There's not really anything to fasten the wire to. I really don't want to drill the exhaust.

[banana]

hey i rode the 570 at taskys demo day. great bike. what do you think about making into an adventure touring bike? compared to say lets say the husky 610