MBR: (Motor Bike Related)

the 390s were street legal from factory. I know a guy who bought one new

Definitely not entirely true. Some may have been, some definitely were not. I also know a guy who bought one new, his came with no signal lights or mirrors from the factory, quite sure that would not be street legal in BC, regardless if you "know a guy" who can get you papers from ICBC.

This is how the man holds you down.

working on photos, few more days! just spent a couple hrs twidling clickers and suspension/chassis baselining according to the manual. an excellently refreshing owners manual, filled with detail. clearly, other than major mechanical, they expect someone who buys a bike like this will set it up and do the basic work themselves.

it's my understanding (having spoken to the dealership it originally came from- International Motorsports) and an awesome dealer in Sooke called Kenco who seems to know all things Husaberg, said no 390's came into Canada street legal. i just registered and plated mine today after exhaustive conversations with ICBC back office and there is less grey area than you think. the bike checks out as 'normal' and 'street legal', registered and plated from the original owner in 2011. there are no restrictions as to where i can ride it back and forth to work, wherever. it is not considered a RUM. (it may be in reality, but ICBC does not consider it this way)

now, having said that- there is no question about it- this bike is pure off road, competition bike. it says that all over the frame. 'close course use only', blah blah. but it's too late, the bike made it in under the wire with functioning lights and blinkers and it's a done deal. all these guys (bike shops, dealerships) told me they can take that away. so i researched it exhaustively: ICBC registration dept told me in no uncertain terms they CANNOT reverse the plating. a cop can pull you over and question you, and even make you go for an inspection. so you loose it then right? i called the only motorcycle inspection facility in the region. he said a) he has never seen a plated dirt bike called in by the police b) if it so all he would look for is lights, horn, mirrors and DOT tires. if it doesn't have, must get, then free to go. i heard endless baloney about how they can interpret the law and it's hyperbole. if you check it all out, it's a done deal.

having said that, i want my bike to be more ergonomic and user friendly (and secure) and the switch gear that's on the bike is horrible. maybe fine for a pure dirt bike, but very user unfriendly. i just ordered a key ignition, a replacement left hand signal/lights/horn module and an EFI mapping switch from the curiously named 'Sicass' racing. they seem to have all kinds of unique parts and electronics and switches for high end obscure bikes. great guys, very helpful. anyhow, i want the bike to have a similar set up to the KTM/Husqvarna dual sports. the upside is that mine will never had those massive and hideous rear fenders that are required on those bikes.

anyhow, the bike is crazy cool and a bit intimidating. i want to change oil and establish a baseline of maintenance before i take it for an off road spin. it has 90 hrs on it and i think it's lived fairly hard. the manual leaves me confused about the valve schedule. how often do you guys do it? every 15hrs? kinda terrifies me!

If you're riding on a motocross track at a high level one would likely want to follow the guide line on checking the valve set. Riding on the highway with it pinned all the time, follow the guide line. Riding like average joe….I would go way longer, likely double or triple. Oil is cheap so I would change it as recommended.

Ktmtalk has a good forum and I'm pretty sure they have a husaberg section there. I'd go see what the owners have to say.

Also, go check out whiskey creek. I had the chance to go ride there a little while ago and it was awesome. Fun stuff, nothing too challenging and nothing too fast. All 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear flow. Good times.

working on photos, few more days! just spent a couple hrs twidling clickers and suspension/chassis baselining according to the manual. an excellently refreshing owners manual, filled with detail. clearly, other than major mechanical, they expect someone who buys a bike like this will set it up and do the basic work themselves.

it's my understanding (having spoken to the dealership it originally came from- International Motorsports) and an awesome dealer in Sooke called Kenco who seems to know all things Husaberg, said no 390's came into Canada street legal. i just registered and plated mine today after exhaustive conversations with ICBC back office and there is less grey area than you think. the bike checks out as 'normal' and 'street legal', registered and plated from the original owner in 2011. there are no restrictions as to where i can ride it back and forth to work, wherever. it is not considered a RUM. (it may be in reality, but ICBC does not consider it this way)

now, having said that- there is no question about it- this bike is pure off road, competition bike. it says that all over the frame. 'close course use only', blah blah. but it's too late, the bike made it in under the wire with functioning lights and blinkers and it's a done deal. all these guys (bike shops, dealerships) told me they can take that away. so i researched it exhaustively: ICBC registration dept told me in no uncertain terms they CANNOT reverse the plating. a cop can pull you over and question you, and even make you go for an inspection. so you loose it then right? i called the only motorcycle inspection facility in the region. he said a) he has never seen a plated dirt bike called in by the police b) if it so all he would look for is lights, horn, mirrors and DOT tires. if it doesn't have, must get, then free to go. i heard endless baloney about how they can interpret the law and it's hyperbole. if you check it all out, it's a done deal.

having said that, i want my bike to be more ergonomic and user friendly (and secure) and the switch gear that's on the bike is horrible. maybe fine for a pure dirt bike, but very user unfriendly. i just ordered a key ignition, a replacement left hand signal/lights/horn module and an EFI mapping switch from the curiously named 'Sicass' racing. they seem to have all kinds of unique parts and electronics and switches for high end obscure bikes. great guys, very helpful. anyhow, i want the bike to have a similar set up to the KTM/Husqvarna dual sports. the upside is that mine will never had those massive and hideous rear fenders that are required on those bikes.

anyhow, the bike is crazy cool and a bit intimidating. i want to change oil and establish a baseline of maintenance before i take it for an off road spin. it has 90 hrs on it and i think it's lived fairly hard. the manual leaves me confused about the valve schedule. how often do you guys do it? every 15hrs? kinda terrifies me!

My 390 has the full sicAss lighting kit, they make great products for sure. I also just installed enduro engineering bar risers this weekend and got out for a ride (25mm rise) and wow I can't believe how much better it is! Grip Heaters on my bench, hope to get them installed asap!

I change oil between 10-15 hours and always do the oil filter @ the same time. I put in fresh air filters every second oil change or sooner depending on the riding i've been doing.

Valve checks every 40 hours or so for me, but for you i'd be wanting to do it ASAP as it's a bit of an unknown. It's not that difficult, just a little time consuming and it'll help you get to know the bike :)

www.husaberg.org is going to be your best friend, it's a really great site that's been around for ages and has tons of info.

I also have a bunch of pdf's / documents on the bike if you wanna PM me your email I can send .

Not so great pic from my weekend ride. -2, but nothing some warm gear couldn't keep @ bay (those damn grip heaters would of been nice though!)

great tips thanks guys. i have registered at Husaberg.org waiting for approval. i'll check out those links and Whiskey Creek. i hadn't heard of it. just read about it, sounds awesome. i would take any information i can get. i'm at the 90hr mark and the manual calls for a major overhaul, super intimidating. sounds like a couple grand worth of work. change the piston, change engine bearings, oh my! not sure if i'll go that far…

If it aint broke…..

First thing learn how to check the valves and do it asap on any new, used bike that you may not be familiar with.
Check the plug and gap it. Oil change and filter. Take a good look and the filter and screens for metal. Make sure the air filter is in good shape and sealed tight with rim grease

If it aint broke…..

First thing learn how to check the valves and do it asap on any new, used bike that you may not be familiar with.
Check the plug and gap it. Oil change and filter. Take a good look and the filter and screens for metal. Make sure the air filter is in good shape and sealed tight with rim grease

Solid
The sooner you demystify the mechanics of your new rig the better….it helps you be as one.
It also adds another dimension the sport…enter the Matrix

great tips thanks guys. i have registered at Husaberg.org waiting for approval. i'll check out those links and Whiskey Creek. i hadn't heard of it. just read about it, sounds awesome. i would take any information i can get. i'm at the 90hr mark and the manual calls for a major overhaul, super intimidating. sounds like a couple grand worth of work. change the piston, change engine bearings, oh my! not sure if i'll go that far…

These things are often if you are racing the bike, not saying don't do it, but The Janitor, here had 350 hours on his ktm 200 before he did the top end and it looked new. The second one was done at 580 hours and bike was sold in awesome shape with 690 hours on it…kims ktm 200 has 200 hours on it and it is perfect with no engine stuff…what really knock valves out is banging off the limiter on starts in races. Trail riding is quite easy on bikes, don't open it up unless you need to as i bet the piston looks new, check valves every once and a while. Changing your oil and filter and having spare air filters and changing them often is a good practise. I don't use the grease, the oil from no toil provides adequate seal.

here she is:

Husaberg shop (Kenco) in Sooke agrees- valve check yes, air and oil filter, but never mind piston/engine bearings until you hear bad sounds. much later usually. given the bike came with 3 seats and full spare plastics i do wonder if it was bought as a race bike by a sponsored rider at the outset. the guy i bought it from seemed to know/say little.

there is a disconcerting mechanical clatter from the left side. all research indicates that it is a well known KTM timing chain tensioner flaw. a KTM engine guru has a couple of videos about it and makes a manual tensioner. i spoke with him on the phone and he thinks that's what i'm hearing and i've ordered the part. waiting on that, my mirror mounts and new air filter in the mail. waiting waiting waiting……

what kind of coolant do you guys run? these are bikes with heat issues, and there seems to be a lot of opinions and ideas about coolants…..

These things are often if you are racing the bike, not saying don't do it, but The Janitor, here had 350 hours on his ktm 200 before he did the top end and it looked new. The second one was done at 580 hours and bike was sold in awesome shape with 690 hours on it…kims ktm 200 has 200 hours on it and it is perfect with no engine stuff…what really knock valves out is banging off the limiter on starts in races. Trail riding is quite easy on bikes, don't open it up unless you need to as i bet the piston looks new, check valves every once and a while. Changing your oil and filter and having spare air filters and changing them often is a good practise. I don't use the grease, the oil from no toil provides adequate seal.

Are you talking about the power valves on the 200'??? Im pretty sure that they are talking about head valves on thumpers. No toil has their own grease they recomend. i would not go with out a grease coat interfacing the filter and the housing. But thats just my opinion. i dont see why you would skip the grease.

that deserves a visual. Holy shit how tall are you?

I have been using Cool Aide
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/12486/i/maxima-cool-aide-coolant
Which seems to work well.

what kind of coolant do you guys run? these are bikes with heat issues, and there seems to be a lot of opinions and ideas about coolants…..

On my exc I use water wetter, and added 3 computer fans, higher bar rad cap and a remote overflow reservoir.
Other ways to lower the temps are more pricy like carb jets (for my exc) or motor rebuild

Oh…sweet scoot

No toil has their own grease they recomend. i would not go with out a grease coat interfacing the filter and the housing. But thats just my opinion. i dont see why you would skip the grease.

I ran NoToil for 5 years all through out the Kamloops summer. Sometimes so dusty that you can't be within a couple hundred meters of another person because you can't see! I have been in races that were so dusty that you had to follow the dude with the tail light and trust his lines. Complete whiteout (beige-out?). You finish the race and your filter looks like a block of dark chocolate.

I have never used grease on my filter with NoToil. Never a spec of dust past my filter. This silt has such fine particulate too.

It doesn't hurt to use grease, but you don't need to. NoToil is the best stuff and its vegetable based, non toxic.