FE/FC Thank you KTM for buying Husky!!!

[Norman Foley]

I'll admit and have before.... The '12 Husaberg was a bit of a learning curve, handling wise with PDS and all; but my '15 TE125 runs and handles every bit as well as my '09 WR125, possibly better. Only thing the TE125 lacks, is the ability to simply over bore, to 144 and 165. Any warts I'll admit freely. I have about 150 miles of serious riding now and haven't found fault yet, except my push button gas cap has gotten stiffer. I'm waiting to see if the forks start to be a problem. I've been told that oil migrating from the closed chamber where it should be, to where it shouldn't be could become a problem.

 

[LandofMotards]

I'm so still very skeptical and have something top secret in the works and very interesting. Even to me.....and it is not Austrian . I'll leave it at that and we will see......

It's a beta? TM? Back to an Italian Husky? Did you finally accept you're old enough for estart and order a Sherco?

Quit worrying about that damn bike...actually, it's a POS and you sell it to me cheap lol

 

[Norman Foley]

Yeah Fletch... You never explained what happened to, the great TM romance?

 

[letitsnow]

I'll admit and have before.... The '12 Husaberg was a bit of a learning curve, handling wise with PDS and all; but my '15 TE125 runs and handles every bit as well as my '09 WR125, possibly better. Only thing the TE125 lacks, is the ability to simply over bore, to 144 and 165. Any warts I'll admit freely. I have about 150 miles of serious riding now and haven't found fault yet, except my push button gas cap has gotten stiffer. I'm waiting to see if the forks start to be a problem. I've been told that oil migrating from the closed chamber where it should be, to where it shouldn't be could become a problem.

I have never had a PDS bike and have no idea what that is like. The 4CS forks are a mystery too...

With the '14 FC250, I may have just lucked into a bike that fits me well - Having the WP CC forks, linkage rear suspension, and a very quick revving efi 250f motor.

 

[Norman Foley]

I have never had a PDS bike and have no idea what that is like. The 4CS forks are a mystery too...

With the '14 FC250, I may have just lucked into a bike that fits me well - Having the WP CC forks, linkage rear suspension, and a very quick revving efi 250f motor.

You have a good combo... The '12 Husaberg WP CC forks, with slight revalving, are the best forks that I've ever ridden. I imagine, they are still excellent on your FC. PDS has some advantages, but you have to be spot on, with your static and race sag or they handle like crap. I could of picked up a '14 FC250 at great prices, but I'm really a 2T guy. Maybe at some point the Husaberg TE250, will be replaced by a FE or FC250.... Riding a 125 2T and 250 4T, might just go together!

 

[fletchman45]

I can't help but ask - why spend so much money on stuff before even riding it? Maybe it didn't need a re-valve and damper??

Ha ha pretty simple it is a moto bike! I've never in my life rode a moto bike that works in the woods! Tm was fair but beat you upbin akeley. Lots of accessories on my bike including a Te tank etc... Dampener is easy. In husky land jay hall is the man and has helped me since 1993 or so. It s nice to pick your bike up with everything done including your front and rear revalve! I had the steering dampner just had to buy the Scotts rubber sub mount. By all accounts the chassis is a lot more nervous then its laid back bullet proof Italian marque. I don't like nervous. And most fast guys (which I feel I am) run a dampner but more so because he riders and jay says that chapter 3,chassis can benifit. I have to sell myself on this whole mess and if the bike don't work for me I'll ditch it at a 2k loss. And chalk it up as oh well I tried. My thoughts are it will all work out I'll stay with the marque and eventually with time they will separate......its all good!!!PS all my bikes get the same mods halls just looks at my old invoice and goes from there. I have certain grips (oury pyramid) handguards with spoilers (enduro engineering) change gearing add and o ring chain a flywheel weight on moto bikes valving pipe guard (carbon fiber) larger tank etc.... On any bike. Personalization is how you become connected with your bike and help make it more bullet proof to avoid dnfs after driving five hours one way! And it is fun! Seat covers going next I don't like the feel of it and neither do the magazines... I don't run factory sintered pads either....at my best a 12th and 13th overall don't come easy and having a nicely prepped bike sure does help.....lol

 

[Norman Foley]

Fast guys I actually ride with (or actually behind, well behind) don't run dampers. Rich Lafferty is big on, running your head bearings tightened, just enough that your forks won't flop, when on the stand.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXZINKSSgOs

 

[fletchman45]

I know c riders with them all rider preference. Head bearings tight. That's great reminds me of the primative h2 Kawasaki triple I had back in the day... All mods rider preference. I had the dampner and wanted to try the rubber sub Mount. I go by what halls says. All the guys on this forum seem to want to change the carb on he 144 Italian husky. Halls don't and I never felt the need to. Again all rider preference and Scotts doesn't have half page adds in magazines because no one uses them or there product doesn't work...hec my 02 125 has the mount welded on to the frame by previous owner....again not saying mandatory just rider preference. My 144 Italian husky I ran one just becase it was so light and deflected hat was the only reason.....if jay says the chassis is nervous then it is.....

 

[Norman Foley]

I was always taught, that except maybe pinned across the desert, a damper is just a bandaid for poor suspension and bike setup. But, that's just my rider preference!

 

[letitsnow]

Ha ha pretty simple it is a moto bike! I've never in my life rode a moto bike that works in the woods! Tm was fair but beat you upbin akeley. Lots of accessories on my bike including a Te tank etc... Dampener is easy. In husky land jay hall is the man and has helped me since 1993 or so. It s nice to pick your bike up with everything done including your front and rear revalve! I had the steering dampner just had to buy the Scotts rubber sub mount. By all accounts the chassis is a lot more nervous then its laid back bullet proof Italian marque. I don't like nervous. And most fast guys (which I feel I am) run a dampner but more so because he riders and jay says that chapter 3,chassis can benifit. I have to sell myself on this whole mess and if the bike don't work for me I'll ditch it at a 2k loss. And chalk it up as oh well I tried. My thoughts are it will all work out I'll stay with the marque and eventually with time they will separate......its all good!!!PS all my bikes get the same mods halls just looks at my old invoice and goes from there. I have certain grips (oury pyramid) handguards with spoilers (enduro engineering) change gearing add and o ring chain a flywheel weight on moto bikes valving pipe guard (carbon fiber) larger tank etc.... On any bike. Personalization is how you become connected with your bike and help make it more bullet proof to avoid dnfs after driving five hours one way! And it is fun! Seat covers going next I don't like the feel of it and neither do the magazines... I don't run factory sintered pads either....at my best a 12th and 13th overall don't come easy and having a nicely prepped bike sure does help.....lol

Thanks for explaining all of that. I've never ridden a bike in the woods that felt as good (to me) as an mx bike. To each their own...

 

[fletchman45]

That is awesome! It really all is rider preferance and truth be told I can probably ride my old 99 RM 250 just as fast I just may not look so flashy......lol

 

[robertaccio]

Fletch,
You got it perfectly stated---personal preference style and feel.
Just for info, nothing more- I did put my GPR on the TE300 for a few rides than I pulled it again. I liked it on my TXC450 big time (always at super low settings), but on my 310s I did not like the damper (such a great chassis-125/250/310 semi perimeter chassis).
The Kato based TR300 2T is abit twitchy and Im still getting dialed in to feel the 2T, but I it just seemed to kill the light feel of the bike. However as we all know from experience chassis adjustments can really make big time changes. I have my steering head bearings like Norm/Rich said and from what I understand that's what many of the Euro enduro guys do- run tight bearings. As well as 1 ring projected forks and short rear sag to weight the front more---I know that's little twitchy, but Ive got her balanced for big me, as I tend to not crowd the tank and sit back more. So whats my point? personal preference set up for ride position feel and control. And our ammie level racer results show we are doing the correct things for us as individuals.
PS like you I have my ritual- Flag type handguards (OEM type in this case), Answer/Pro Taper pillow top grips, mousses, maybe Flexxbars again, I like stock 2014 seat, EE Rad guards (always drilled). sharpened footpegs, brake snake, Plastic (flexible) skid plate, spin balance fr and rear wheels, Tires....I always used FIM type enduro tires but I am slowly changing that ritual (will try an AT81 in the rear with my fat GT216AA up front).
PS Also for personal feel, the fat 216AA does settle the front more as well and with that mousse dead hit feel the front is consistent and feels fairly well planted.

 

[Kevin_TE250]

Fletch,
You got it perfectly stated---personal preference style and feel.
Just for info, nothing more- I did put my GPR on the TE300 for a few rides than I pulled it again. I liked it on my TXC450 big time (always at super low settings), but on my 310s I did not like the damper (such a great chassis-125/250/310 semi perimeter chassis).
The Kato based TR300 2T is abit twitchy and Im still getting dialed in to feel the 2T, but I it just seemed to kill the light feel of the bike. However as we all know from experience chassis adjustments can really make big time changes. I have my steering head bearings like Norm/Rich said and from what I understand that's what many of the Euro enduro guys do- run tight bearings. As well as 1 ring projected forks and short rear sag to weight the front more---I know that's little twitchy, but Ive got her balanced for big me, as I tend to not crowd the tank and sit back more. So whats my point? personal preference set up for ride position feel and control. And our ammie level racer results show we are doing the correct things for us as individuals.
PS like you I have my ritual- Flag type handguards (OEM type in this case), Answer/Pro Taper pillow top grips, mousses, maybe Flexxbars again, I like stock 2014 seat, EE Rad guards (always drilled). sharpened footpegs, brake snake, Plastic (flexible) skid plate, spin balance fr and rear wheels, Tires....I always used FIM type enduro tires but I am slowly changing that ritual (will try an AT81 in the rear with my fat GT216AA up front).
PS Also for personal feel, the fat 216AA does settle the front more as well and with that mousse dead hit feel the front is consistent and feels fairly well planted.

I'm with you on everything... just not sure about the GT216AA... I would think it would affect handling / turning ?

 

[Huskynoobee]

Nope, in fact I can drive it harder in turns while running over rocks, hit a soft sandy spot on the exit, then slam into big round boulders picking my exact preferred line on rocky climbs in a span of less than 100 feet at what I call my race pace and feel total confidence and control with my 216 fatty.

 

[fletchman45]

I was always taught, that except maybe pinned across the desert, a damper is just a bandaid for poor suspension and bike setup. But, that's just my rider preference!

I hear ya.some guys may say that just because they don't want to pop the $$$ never ran one till my 144 (cause of the $$$$) lol. But really did feel like it helped some with deflection. But I guess its cheaper to run tight steering stem bearings. But would rather have adjustment... Again all rider preference.

 

[fletchman45]

Can you tell the difference in a good way with that tire setup (front)?????

 

[robertaccio]

remember the short lived 20in front tire thing??? Its sort of like that that thing just rides on top of stuff, I figure because of its width and contact patch weight load distribution over a larger patch. In rocks the big fat carcass absorbs sharp hits well and in sand it rides up and resists knifing in. Its a great all around tire, and the dang thing is lasting really too.

 

[fletchman45]

remember the short lived 20in front tire thing??? Its sort of like that that thing just rides on top of stuff, I figure because of its width and contact patch weight load distribution over a larger patch. In rocks the big fat carcass absorbs sharp hits well and in sand it rides up and resists knifing in. Its a great all around tire, and the dang thing is lasting really too.

is steering just as precise or does it slide more instead if digging in and carving a line? What are you running for rear sag? Are you loading the front to compensate for the wider tire?? Seems to work anyways for you.

 

[Motosportz]

Steering dampers do a lot more than calm a nervous bike like KTMs with their nervous geometry. They can really help with fatigue over a long race day as you no longer need to death grip the bars. They are fantastic in loose rock and sand. They allow you to hold a line better at the end of the race when you are tired. They should not be used to be a suspension bandage but the fact that they can says a lot for what they do for you. Like autoclutches some people don't like them some people will not ride without them.

 

[letitsnow]

This bike works so well that I've decided to start doing Enduro again. I stopped back in 2011, after struggling with my Cagiva's (Italian Husky) and my CR250R.

I worry about not having a true spark arrester (for enduro) and ordered an FMF Q4 silencer for the FC250. Hopefully it doesn't choke it out too much. Yesterday I flipped over backwards in 3rd gear from grabbing too much throttle - I liked that, and don't want that to change.

Well, I tried the FMF Q4 and don't like it. It takes away too much low end power and moves it up to a midrange/top end hit. That might be good for a faster guy, but I like the bottom end for riding in the woods. Stock silencer is back on. I'm a bit bummed that the Q4 doesn't work for me, but oh well. Sometimes it's best to leave the machine alone and just ride it.

If anybody wants that Q4, pm me. I'd sell it for 1/2 of the $342 that I paid for it. It looks like it would fit the husky/husaberg 250 and 350's. It might be a performance upgrade over the TE silencer, but I don't consider it an upgrade over the FC stock silencer.