ScottyR
Husqvarna
AA Class
Hello again, been a long time since I have posted here but I have been an occasional lurker for the past couple of years.
I picked up a new 2015 FE350S in the early spring and have been fiddling with it for the last couple of months. It has around 20hrs on it now and I think I am done messing with it.
Here are some of the mods I have done.
De-smog (obviously)
Gearing change to 13/52. I am still bouncing around back and forth from 13/50 to 13/52. Not sure what one I like better. 1st gear is basically useless with 13/52. If the trails are a little faster the 13/50 is better for sure.
FE350 (off road) muffler end cap. Yes, you can remove the screen or buy the BDS end cap but the stock off road cap was the most convenient and cost effective route for me.
Removed all turn signals and stock rear tail-light assy. I really have no intentions of riding this bike on the road other than to connect trail so the stock FE350 tail-light went on. I did leave the horn on. I find the horn really handy in an enduro. A friendly "beep beep" is a lot nicer than someone screaming behind you to move over. People always get out of the way when they hear my horn as well.
DOT knobbies - gone. I have a nice tupperware tub with all the stock parts when I decide to sell it that I will put back on. I actually dont mind running FIM tires but I figured I would just save them for the next guy. I wanted to put in some HD tubes anyhow.
Guards - I like the stock plastic skid plate. It works well and is easy to remove for oil changes. I did add some EE handguards, rad braces and a rr disc guard. I also put on an EE seat pouch. It is handy to put your registration papers and a $20 bill in when you are out on the trails. I also added the Hard Parts CF pipe guard.
Mapping. I road it for a while with the stock "street legal" map and it was OK but the popping on decel bugged me and the bike would flame out occasionally. I turned the TPS up a bit but for some reason wasnt comfortable jacking with it too much. I just loaded the AUS map and rode the bike yesterday. It worked great. No popping and no more flame outs. I do think the fan runs more than it should though even with the new map. More research to do on that.
Suspension. I had Enduro Engineering revalve my shock and put in a 5.8 spring and I have zero issues. I had EE revalve my forks and they seemed to be good but EE is still testing their 4CS fork set ups and was looking for another set of forks to work on so I temporarily have swapped them for a set of revalved OC forks while they work on the 4CS a bit more. I talked to Alan Randt on Friday and he says they have made huge strides with my 4CS forks lately. I am looking forward to trying them but in no real rush as the revalved OC forks they gave me work fantastic.
I know a lot of guys will ask why didnt I just get the FE350 off road model? Reason is simple. I wanted a LEGIT plate. It is getting harder and harder to licence a bike in Ontario and the resale is so good on the S models compared to the off road versions. I know it will cost me less to ride this bike for 2 years than the off road model will.
I really like this bike. It is a fantastic trail bike. I will keep my 14 KTM 250SX for National Enduros and XC races but when I am going trail riding up north the 350 will be going in my truck. It gives phenomenal gas mileage and I have no worries if I have to run down some highway to get gas or lunch.
This is a great bike. I wish I had more time to ride it.
I picked up a new 2015 FE350S in the early spring and have been fiddling with it for the last couple of months. It has around 20hrs on it now and I think I am done messing with it.
Here are some of the mods I have done.
De-smog (obviously)
Gearing change to 13/52. I am still bouncing around back and forth from 13/50 to 13/52. Not sure what one I like better. 1st gear is basically useless with 13/52. If the trails are a little faster the 13/50 is better for sure.
FE350 (off road) muffler end cap. Yes, you can remove the screen or buy the BDS end cap but the stock off road cap was the most convenient and cost effective route for me.
Removed all turn signals and stock rear tail-light assy. I really have no intentions of riding this bike on the road other than to connect trail so the stock FE350 tail-light went on. I did leave the horn on. I find the horn really handy in an enduro. A friendly "beep beep" is a lot nicer than someone screaming behind you to move over. People always get out of the way when they hear my horn as well.
DOT knobbies - gone. I have a nice tupperware tub with all the stock parts when I decide to sell it that I will put back on. I actually dont mind running FIM tires but I figured I would just save them for the next guy. I wanted to put in some HD tubes anyhow.
Guards - I like the stock plastic skid plate. It works well and is easy to remove for oil changes. I did add some EE handguards, rad braces and a rr disc guard. I also put on an EE seat pouch. It is handy to put your registration papers and a $20 bill in when you are out on the trails. I also added the Hard Parts CF pipe guard.
Mapping. I road it for a while with the stock "street legal" map and it was OK but the popping on decel bugged me and the bike would flame out occasionally. I turned the TPS up a bit but for some reason wasnt comfortable jacking with it too much. I just loaded the AUS map and rode the bike yesterday. It worked great. No popping and no more flame outs. I do think the fan runs more than it should though even with the new map. More research to do on that.
Suspension. I had Enduro Engineering revalve my shock and put in a 5.8 spring and I have zero issues. I had EE revalve my forks and they seemed to be good but EE is still testing their 4CS fork set ups and was looking for another set of forks to work on so I temporarily have swapped them for a set of revalved OC forks while they work on the 4CS a bit more. I talked to Alan Randt on Friday and he says they have made huge strides with my 4CS forks lately. I am looking forward to trying them but in no real rush as the revalved OC forks they gave me work fantastic.
I know a lot of guys will ask why didnt I just get the FE350 off road model? Reason is simple. I wanted a LEGIT plate. It is getting harder and harder to licence a bike in Ontario and the resale is so good on the S models compared to the off road versions. I know it will cost me less to ride this bike for 2 years than the off road model will.
I really like this bike. It is a fantastic trail bike. I will keep my 14 KTM 250SX for National Enduros and XC races but when I am going trail riding up north the 350 will be going in my truck. It gives phenomenal gas mileage and I have no worries if I have to run down some highway to get gas or lunch.
This is a great bike. I wish I had more time to ride it.
