While not the most obvious choice for a rallye bike platform Husabergs have been used as rallye bikes now for the last 10 years by a small group of riders scattered over the globe.............all of which have been attracted to the brand by the light weight, excellent handling and great power the Bergs have always produced. What has held the brand back from becoming more prominent in rallyes has been the reliablity issues experienced and dubious quality control at the factory in the past. That said, since the takeover by KTM and with the gradual development of the basic design platform, the current model Husabergs are now as reliable, if not more so, as any comparable enduro based machine and certainly make an excllent basis for use as a rallye bike. I thought I would share you some photos of the various bikes that I have been able to find and some of the results they have obtained hence this thread.
"The race is the last round of the World Championship for International Cross Country Rallies. I hadn't competed in enough races to be a contender for the championship, but I did finish 7th Outright (out of 116 starters). I also finished 2nd in the Production Class.<BIG></BIG><BIG></BIG> I had some problems with fuel during the race which cost me some time, but the biggest disadvantage was the lack of top speed compared to the factory BMW bikes (Twin cyclinder's capabale of over 200km/hr) I was riding a 600cc Husaberg, which is a fantastic bike but the top speed in the sand is more like 160km/hr so I had my work cut out trying to stay anywhere near the factory guys."<BIG></BIG> These shots of Coake really show the Berg advantages of light weight, power and handling [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Andrew Coaker beginning his racing career in Australia, competing in local and national endurance and motorcross events from the age of 12, in 2001 was considered one of the brightest rising stars on the International Rally scene. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Coaker began his rallying career in 1996 when he remodelled his Endurance style motorbike himself and set off to compete in the Australian Safari. Being the youngest entrant at only 23, he came through to finish the race, with virtually no assistance, and impressive 8th outright. He was first in his class and winning 2 special stages during the event. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After his triumph in this event, Coaker decided to tackle the international rally scene. In January of 1997, he moved to the UK to be closer to the action. Since then he has participated in 15 international rallies and numerous national events. His rapid progress led Coaker to enter the prestigious Paris-Dakar Rally in 1998. From the 187 bikes that entered the event, only 55 passed the finish line (29% of the starting line up). Coaker was amongst this 29%, crossing an impressive 23rd, and first privateer. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]His success in "The World's Toughest Motorsport Event", inspired Swedish motorcycle firm "HUSABERG" to offer the young Australian a 3 year factory sponsored deal. His inaugural season with Husaberg was one of frustration and celebration. His riding ability proved to be amongst the best and despite posting many top 10 stage times, Coaker was hampered by mechanical problems during Husabergs development year. These early problems have since been resolved, and Coakers latest results have once again confirmed his status as a World Class Rally rider. [/FONT]
Servicing by Olle Ohlsson Team Manager for the Husaberg rallye team. Andrew with Christos Tassoulis the other team rider.
I finished the year 2003 with the championship title "International rallye amateur". This success surely was essentially affected by my 2003 HUSABERG FE501e. Stage to stage I rode with a nearly complete standard equipment without any problems. An enormous advantage in the Sahara dunes is definately the small weight as well as the perfectly balanced power development of the HUSABERG. Especially in complicated and heavy to ride dune stages it´s miles away from the fat parts of other manufacturers. In the hardest Sahara dune stages of the last "ElChott", with more than 40° C, the "BERG" ran like hell! Even after several loops (Don´t jump over dunes, if you´re not sure what is waiting behind .!) every part on the bike was OK. Daily change of airfilter, fresh oil after 3 days that´s it!
Vincente rode a 2006 Husaberg 550 in the 2007 Rallye dos Sertoes, he was running strongly in the upper mid-field until a crash and injury on Day 5 put him out.
I like Husabergs but the small number of dealers and lack of knowledge about them has generaly kept them off my list. I do realize that many KTM dealers sell them and they have the KTM association now. Still not sure if I would buy one though I'd love to have one.
What is this screen/number plate mount? This should work on my SXC, which appears to have the same headlight mask.
Are the 2008 models (550, 650) going to come equipped with the rally style wind deflector that is shown in the (blue plastique) above pictures?
who makes the rear tank on that husaberg, it´s a stunning looking machine, and I would like one of these rear tanks. thanx jan
Brandon Kienhuis has just taken out 3rd position in his class and 8th outright in the Australian Safari. The Safari, covering a massive 5,500km over 9 days, started on the 24th of August in Kunnunurra and finished in Perth on 1st September. Kienhuis backed by Valley Force Husaberg completed the journey on a brand new stock FE650. "Apart from the map reader and some additional fuel tanks the bike was straight off the shelf. We didn’t even have time to run the bike in as we only picked it up a week prior to the race" Keinhuis explained. Brandon started the race in 60th position and worked his way through the field over the first couple of days getting as high as 20th. "I had a small issue on the third day where I misread the map. It cost me around 15 minutes and pushed me back a few positions. That’s what this race is about reading the map and being consistent" Brandon fought back and worked his way in to a podium finish in his class and top ten outright. His training over the past 12 months has included Condobolin and the Hattah desert race where he took out his class win in the over 500cc. Brandon will continue to train and with growing support from Valley Force is looking forward to competing in the 2008 Finke Desert Race. "I am keen to get on the new 2008 model and start training for the Finke. Its going to be a tough race but these bikes a proven and it will all come down to my fitness and me being able to get the bike across the line" Brandon is the rider on the right.
The rear tanks are made in Australia, that one is 5.8 L, they have anumber of different models see www.nomadtanks.com.au Pretty sure you can get them in the USA.
I recently bought an 04 FE650 with very low hours. Bergs are great bikes and I wanted to own one of the 650s before they went away. I pick it up next week. I have a few questions for you. In one of your posts you stated that you were running for 3 days for changing the oil. Do have exapnded capacity? I think that stock is about a liter of oil. And how may hours do you think that you are putting on before an oil change? How may hours should the average trail rider run between changes? And what type of oil are you using? Great thread. It's about time that someone did this.
Oil = use Motul 300V Factoryline double ester fully synthetic oil every time, I use the 15W50, it is by far the best for the Bergs' and copes very well for rallye use. I would change the oil every 500-700km depending on your use. In a rallye, usually about 600-800km per day, I change the oil & filter each day. Standard oil capacity is 1 L.
