FE/FC looking at FE501 transition from TE610- info please!

[octagon pilot]

So I made the mistake of going into a dealer and seeing a 500EXC in person, and preferring Husky I'm now considering a FE501s. I was looking over the maintenance schedule and noticed there is a recommended crank rebuild at 135 hours (or 70 hrs for racing). Whats the deal on this? Seems like a short time for a crank rebuild...is there some issue with the big end bearing or what?

The rest seems pretty standard, but another question I have is, roughly what does the 15 hrs for oil changes etc translate into for miles, and is that what guys are using? I haven't run a bike with an hour meter, but Ive tried to estimate lately on a couple of rides and I seem to average about 30mph on mixed trails with some blacktop. I'm sure theres a pretty big variation depending on the riding but any info would be much appreciated

I'm currently riding a 2009 TE610. B class MXer in younger days, like 25 years ago. Live in northern Utah. Mostly ride from my house to trails, maybe 10-15 miles of pavement, then single track off road stuff. Load up and head to the desert some in the winter. Any general info comparing a TE610 to a FE501 (if its even possible to compare the two) would be much appreciated.

Thanks to all...

 

[Fast1]

I've got 2200 miles on my 501 and so far no problems what so ever. Changed a pair of tires and the gearing slightly.. that is it. Oil volume is 1.6 quarts which wasn't that much less than my 630. Airbox and air filter design are an improvement for frequent changes and air filtering quality. Stock exhaust on the FE works very well and is not that noisy. Friend has the same mileage on his KTM 500 exc and it is also problem free. We ride 200 + mile day rides in MN and WI. Larger volume fuel tanks for the FE are much cheaper.. I picked up a 4.2 gl Acerbis for $220.

The lighter weight bike improves riding in mud, sand and single track over the 630 and the suspension is an improvement for soaking up the rough stuff at speed. Braking is improved over the 630 also. I change the oil every 600 to 800 miles. I also changed the oil on my 630 every 1000 or so miles. Just my feeling that a performance bike used used offroad should have frequent oil changes. From everything I've read on KTM sites and ADV there are no problems with the cranks and many have well over 300 hours on their 2012/13 KTM 500s. At this point they appear very bullet proof. Be aware that the FE501 has a composite sub frame so any luggage you attach would have to be without racks aka.. Giant Loop Coyote, Altrider hemisphere or Mosko Reckless. The 500 will cruise very easily at relatively low rpm for 65 mph highway use. Very smooth motor and with balanced wheels felt as good as or better than my 630. Fuel economy is much better on the 501 than the 630 also. This is probably obvious but the 501 has more snort when you twist the throttle especially when over 65 mph to top speed.

 

[reveille]

I agree with what fast says. 80 hours and 1600 miles on mine. Awesome bike with lots of smooth power.

 

[octagon pilot]

hey guys!
thanks for the replies. i am aware of the subframe, and I'm a soft luggage guy, so not an issue for me on that. tend to bend up the hard stuff and don't carry luggage much anyway.

do either of you plan or anticipate needing to be in the bottom end of your engine on a preventive basis? If so, when are you predicting/planning?
I don't think ill be splitting cases on my TE unless it grenades something, which i don't really anticipate.

Im kinda hung on the purchase price, and to me the only justification could be performance, so I'm really wondering, how much more "snort" would you guys guess a 501 would have than my te610 (which is running with the power up kit and a LV slip on). It runs good, but not brutal by any means, with that slow revving style of power that is great in a lot of situations.

I know the lighter weight would be a big improvement, and I hope the suspension would be a pretty big step up as well...

One other thing, is the street legal version the same other that the street stuff? tranny and other mech stuff is all the same I believe?

thanks again for the info,

 

[reveille]

I don't plan to split my case to inspect the crank. I have no idea what emissions crap the S model will come with but I'd bet you'll need to dump a good amount of $ in it to get it uncorked and running correctly if it's anything like the KTM EXC's. I lucked out and got my(2014 FE501) plated from the dealer so I dodged the EPA clusterf*#K uncorking debockle.

 

[PC.]

I just did a 150 miler with a buddy on a 610. While I enjoyed riding his 610 I couldn't see myself owning one unless I was doing more 'adventure' type riding (aka big miles on the slab). Between the weight and lack of suspension I had to back my pace way down on the trail. I really liked the motor though.... low end and mid were very mild, but that thing pulled like a freight train up top.

The new 510cc motors are proving reliable with multiple users racking up 300+ hrs without a rebuild. They're so torquey that I usually can chug along at 500rpm's all day and never strain the motor. The emissions stuff took me 30 minutes to remove and cost less than $5 for 2 plugs from Ace hardware. I am running the stock exhaust with the baffle removed (free) and a JD Tuner to fix the lean condition. If I were to do it all over I would skip the JD tuner and get the ECU re-flashed for $75. One less thing to worry about breaking in the woods.....

As much as everyone wants to talk about the motor it's the handling of the bike I'm most impressed with. I remember the ol' 525 era bikes feeling like fat pigs, but these new ones are slim, turn great and don't feel heavy while riding. And the (ktm) suspension is the best I've ever felt on a stock bike. Perfectly balanced and just absorbs everything.

I opted for the KTM over the Husky for 2 reasons....
-There were no street legal Husky's available when I was shopping last July
-I actually wanted the PDS shock and open chambered forks.
Actually, make that 3 reasons....
-I saved about $2k buying out east and having it shipped. Dealers out west think these bikes are made of solid gold.

It's pricey, but I have no regrets. It's a race bike with a license plate that gets 50mpg, which is exactly what I wanted.

 

[PC.]

Here's the 610 and 500 in their natural habitat near Mt. Hood.

Having the plate ROCKS!
Although I still get nervous as hell when I see Johnny Law... old habits die hard

 

[Fast1]

The 610/630 is a fantastic bike but for a slightly different purpose. More dirt road and pavement adventure riding with side racks doing exploring and long distance week at a time rides. I still have a SM630 and really enjoy the bike for back roads or hard pack graded dirt roads but I wanted to gain more off road performance and decided to move to the FE501. I am not disappointed in the FE501 at all. It is an exceptional bike in tough terrain and still very road worthy.

For the "snort" question.

Stock KTM 500 EXC's come with 15/45 gearing (way over geared) FE501S will most likely be similar.

Stock FE501 comes with a 13/50 gear set.. perfect for single track and rough terrain, explosive acceleration with this gear set. 5th gear wheelies, with a slight bump.. no problem..

I've run the 13/50, 14/50, 15/50 and now use a 14/48 for mixed terrain. I use a 15/48 for dual sport where I'll spend allot of time over 70 mph.

My TE630 had a 15/45 gear set with a full leo Vince system and was well dialed in beyond just power up kit.

We ran a drag on pavement with three bikes.. rolling start.
One KTM 500 had 13/45 gearing while the other had factory 15/45

I could barely stay with the 15/45 geared KTM up to 55 mph and then he started pulling.
The other KTM with 13/45 gear set was 10 bike lengths ahead by 75/80 on my GPS.
He hit over a 100 on his speedometer. I quit at 90 mph but was WAY back. I was not even in the same league of the KTM 500 with the 13/45 gearing.

If you can plate a 500 XCW or the FE501 I would recommend that bike instead of the EXC or S version

Differences on the 2014 FE vs XCW/EXC, slightly larger tank on FE, rear subframe, linkage rear suspension, forks, triple clamps, headlight, front fender, wheels, saddle, airbox-filter attachment retainer, swing-arm, engine side case covers, no kick start on FE, display is nicer on FE..


Three of my friends have KTM 500s. Two have EXCs while one scored a XCW on rebate for $7999 before tax/license (dealer here may still have more avaialble or even discounted FE501). Those that have the 500 EXC wish they would have went the XCW route. Gearing/chain, exhaust baffle, pollution junk and left hand switch gear will require change. Plus they have changed blinkers and tail light assemblies on the back fender. Tires on the EXC were street legal Maxis while the FE and XCW have more offroad oriented non-DOT tires.


IMO the suspension is night and day different for offroad and the lighter weight is a huge asset in sand or mud over the 610/630. We were on sandy quad trails one day running some speed and my 630 was really a challenge. After 5 mins of test ride on the KTM 500 I had made my decision to sell my 630. There was really no comparison.

My TE510 had similar maintenance requirements as the FE501. When I sold the TE51o I had 8000 miles on it and had yet to adjust the valve lash. The bike still ran perfect. Now if you continually have the throttle at WOT no matter what you do then yes you may need more frequent maintenance. BUT, I'd like to watch someone try to do that with the FE501 and not kill themselves. I could see the excessive maintenance requirement if you spent every ride minute at the 1/4 mile drag strip pinned.

One advantage that you may have coming from a 610 is that you have developed some good skills to cope with a heavier bike with less efficient suspension so when you get on a light weight 501 with excellent suspension you will feel like a pro.. At times I feel like I have a cheater bike in comparison to anything other than the new 500/501.

A few more photo compares

After this 270 mile day ride and swapping bikes I was convinced to move to the FE501 for my ride environment






and after the sale of my TE630

We run this two track at 50+ mph







how my FE501 has evolved

 

[octagon pilot]

Hey PC,
Tell me about the shipping from back east...how much $, was the bike still crated or assembled?
Thanks

 

[octagon pilot]

dang, the huskys sure look sweet. thanks for the info guys

 

[reveille]

My 501 has been great all season and the last 3 weekends I have been thrashing it but good in tight single track. It's been cool here (45 f) during the day so the excess engine heat a 500 puts out was nullified nicely. I still can't believe how easy this big bore is to ride in the tight woods. For me, it's every bit as easy as my 2012 310 was if not easier due to the grunt on tap. The bike feels every bit as light as my 310 did. Log crossings are stupid easy on this bike. She's been very good to me this season. 1800 plus miles and around 70 hours on the clock.

 

[Wadzy]

Just found this thread. Even thou its old it was really helpful. I pick up my FE501 in exactly 13 days. LOL I've researching all the soft Giant Loop soft saddlebags and tank bags that I want to attach for 1-4 day trips. I started to think that maybe I possibly made the wrong decision going to the FE501 and maybe should of look at slightly larger bikes to do small trips, camping and single track. I was thinking that a lot of people were going to say that this bike is way too small for doing any road slab time and I should of chosen the KTM 590 or larger bike. I think now that even thou this bike isn't perfect for lot of road miles I think its given and take and I think I'll be fine. My true goal is to tear up the single track but still be able to log some minor slab miles. Thx guys!

 

[reveille]

Congrats you'll love it.

 

[EB1156]

Just found this thread. Even thou its old it was really helpful. I pick up my FE501 in exactly 13 days. LOL I've researching all the soft Giant Loop soft saddlebags and tank bags that I want to attach for 1-4 day trips. I started to think that maybe I possibly made the wrong decision going to the FE501 and maybe should of look at slightly larger bikes to do small trips, camping and single track. I was thinking that a lot of people were going to say that this bike is way too small for doing any road slab time and I should of chosen the KTM 590 or larger bike. I think now that even thou this bike isn't perfect for lot of road miles I think its given and take and I think I'll be fine. My true goal is to tear up the single track but still be able to log some minor slab miles. Thx guys!

You'll need to true the wheels and balance them if doing any road work. After that, you'll love the bike. It is a single so you'll feel some vibrations from the engine, but depending what bike you're coming from, it shouldn't be a problem. I found the tires being out-of-balance to be the major downer on distance pavement rides. BTW, I had a 2015 FE 501 S. I moved to a Husky 701 for my type of riding. Not because the 501 was bad (it rocked and I miss it), but because I needed a longer distance ride for my ADV trips.

Congrats, though!

 

[Fast1]

I've switched to lighter rim locks, balanced the tires and when geared appropriately knock off 50 miles of freeway at 75 to 80 mph without issue just as easy as the TE630 I owned. Half the battle is appropriately prepping the bike to run smooth on the tarmac.

There is a rear tail rack and also side racks out now..
http://www.rovinamotorsport.com/shop/rack
http://www.nomadic-racks.com/index....S-FE501-S-RACK-KIT/p/50374224/category=976078

 

[Wadzy]

This rack doesn't work for 2017. Does anyone have any rack suggestions for 17? Also. Do you guys prefer the Enduristan Blizzard saddlebags vs the Giant Loop Coyotes? I know the GL have more storage buto they remind me of a sleeping bag tossed over a donkey or horse! Lol. Was thinking I could add to the Enduristan blizzard with a tail top bag to am keeping up the storage difference to enable me to camp ride on 3 day trips? I ride mostly fire roads, some light technical so want a tight to frame solution that does bounce around.

 

[Wadzy]

Doesn't bounce around.

 

[reveille]

Mosco Moto makes an extremely slick setup imo, superior to wolfman and giant loops versions.

 

[Guoseph]

+1 Mosko Moto stuff is the bomb

Had 630 (piggier version of the 610), now 501S.

The 501S so much lighter and more suited for off road work. Gearing spread on the 501 almost as wide as the 610/630 but nothing beats the 610 gearbox for versatility. Just took the 501 with MX tires onto the highway for some squirmy almost tank slapping fun. I bet with the right tires and maybe an extra tooth on the CS it will become a great dual sport bike.