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"6 Months with the 2011 HUSABERG FE570!" "I took delivery of the big 570 Berg in Mid January this year and first impressions were how good looking and how well made the bike looked. First ride out on the bike was a wintery trail ride from our WOR HQ base in Corwen, North Wales, Taking in about 50 miles of icy and slippy trails that would have been unfair to gauge any bike on, never mind one with so much power and get up and go. The bike performed superbly with no scary moments or runaway power stories to report back from the big 570 single. You would have expected the bike to be a proper handful (especially in the winter/icy conditions) but it wasn't, It was the opposite in fact, Smooth, totally useable grunty power that makes you want to ride it again and again. Next ride out on the bike was at one of our WOR meetings in Staffordshire, this course again was subject to wintery conditions but the nature of the flowing track mixed with woodlands and some bomb holes and gulley's set the scene to give the Husaberg a proper workout. Now my days of giving a bike a "proper" workout have long gone but I can still feel if a machine is working well or not and also if the bike is nice to ride. I felt like the Berg and I just floated around the terrain at the track and with a gentle throttle/ hand/wrist combo I could simply steer my way through the gloop and pin point the bike through the tight trees like she were a small bore 4t never mind the big bore sibling. As an expert level Hare and Hounds enduro rider and regular trail rider mixed in with running my WOR Events training days and off road school sessions, coupled with hours of marshalling duties has let me fully test the depth of this bike and it's capabilities. I have had sole use of the machine in 2011 and have completed 950 miles on her and around 50 hrs. In those hours is as mentioned all those riding activities and I entered a couple of races too…
The Husaberg will pull any gear round most terrain, think 3rd or 4th around tight technical forest going!, Think 4th or 5th around slippy grass fields, all with a front end that feels planted to the ground with super glue. It turns so much quicker than you would expect a big capacity thumper could and it offers nimble, direct feedback that simply equates to, Confidence! The bike came with 13/52 gearing which is certainly "competition" gearing, I have indeed played with a 48 and a 50 tooth rear sprocket on her and find that for trail riding/ marshalling that the 50t option is best. However for "lets get at it action" the 52t certainly makes the bike feel very lively indeed, again though in a very tame and confidence inspiring way. The seamless delivery of the fuel injection system is a big player in the fact that you really feel as though your right wrist equates to exactly what is happening at the back wheel. Plush suspension on the front and rear means that the bike is compliant in nearly all given terrains and course conditions. Only when we ran our Hawkstone Park for Heroes event did the bike feel funny to me, I am not a sand rider and any bike to me would feel strange in that deep sand, but the answer was simple, firm up both ends and twist the throttle a bit more!! Problem sorted!
Onto build quality and quality is the right word, 50hrs, 1000 miles, some
tough going and blasting about (setting up the Tough One etc!!) And the bike
looks so so fresh still. The forks have not once leaked oil, the bearings are all still 100% all around the machine and the speedo still works!!!. This is all great stuff! In one race I entered I was having a ball and was in 4th place feeling like a whipper snapper….I broke the seat off…my fault totally for the DNF but still I was quite pee'd off at the fact that the seat had broke…..not much to moan about though hey? Making sure the fuel is filtered on a fuel injection bike is massively important as any little bits of debris that get in can cause problems, by ensuring this bike has had clean fuel at all times has made sure that the thought of a fuelling / injection problem was simply that…A thought! I have always had a long affinity with the brand Husaberg and in fact did all my best hare and hound riding in the late 90's and early to mid noughties on the yellow machines. The old 501 was my favourite all time bike and I won many a H&H on those machines, they were however plagued with a reputation of unreliability and quirkiness, The KTM input and production of these new generation HUSABERG's is simply awesome and the new model has become a firm favourite of mine. If you are in the market for a 4t enduro bike that can do almost anything
that you throw at it and also a machine that can withstand the elements and
pressures of modern day Hare and Hound / XC / Enduro courses along with green
laning and general playing about then please do give the HUSABERG range a look….You
will not be disappointed!! Thanks For reading ….see you out there… I would like to say a massive thank you to all the sponsors and supporters that help WOR and myself …KTM UK for the bike, MRS for the GAERNE boots and NAU helmets, WULFSPORT INTERNATIONAL for the riding gear and of course MICHELIN and MOTUL for the continued support in Tyres and Oils and branding respectively. I am truly working with the best products available thanks to these great brands and marques. Ps…any one that wants to try my bike at one of WOR Events RED's… please feel free to get in touch steve@worevents.com For all WOR EVENTS latest offerings in the race and riding dirt bikes world visit www.worevents.com |
As the weather improved in the year, riding the bike became easier and even
more enjoyable with the terrain being drier and offering more grip as we moved
around the country with our events, so the bike became exciting to ride as you
could exploit the massive power and torque offered by the Austrian Beauty.
I have let lots of riders and customers have a go on the Bike, ranging from
Novices through to Hardened experts (Hardened Experts = Opinionated and set in
their ways!), Literally no body has got off the bike without saying
"wow" or "that's bloody good!, or "that is so easy to
ride" or "I didn't expect a big un to ride that smooth and easy"…The
list goes on! I genuinely think this bike has shocked a few people this year
when they have had a go on it, So much so some of my customers have gone
straight out and bought one, albeit a 450 or 390 because they simply did not
want the massive power option but still just loved the characteristics of the
bikes engineering and handling prowess.