FE/FC 2014 FE250 Ride Report

Picked up a left over 2014 a couple of days ago. Took it to one of our local riding areas to break it in and put 40 miles on it. The area is a mix of woods with a few open areas, and plenty of rocks at times. Not very many steep hills in this area.

A few thoughts:

Motor, clutch, and trans: Nice smooth motor, a little soft on the bottom with a nice long smooth pull through a good midrange to the top. I found myself using third gear a lot and abusing the clutch in the tight stuff, while revving it out when it opened up a little. The clutch is light and awesome! Transmission ratios seem well spaced and final gearing was good as well. Shifting without the clutch was excellent, even on the new motor.

Chassis: Although not busy and 'hinged in the middle' like some of the KTM's, especially PDS bikes, the handling was quick and precise with a very light feel through the bar. I am going to put a stabilizer on it so I can relax a little and be less fatigued at the end of the day. I did notice that the harder and more aggressively I rode the bike, the better it worked.

Suspension: This bike has a ways to go before it can match my revalved '04 165. That is crap if you ask me. C'mon KTM/Husky, let's get suspension figured out- especially the forks. The rear end wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Much of the problem may be (is) the springs as I am 186 without clothes. My sag numbers are not right and this is definitely causing issues. New springs are on the way. Even with the correct springs, I don't thingk the fork will work though. It seems harsh in the top part of the travel, on rocks and sharp edges, but yet will sometimes blow almost completely through the stroke- making for some interesting moments.... I am going to work on this.

The rest of the bike is awesome!! Fit, finish, details, etc., are superb. I can't wait to put some more time on this bike and get it dialed in.

Sweet! I keep wondering, if a FE or FC250, would make a good stablemate to the TE125?

The forks on my FE 501 are doing the same thing. The first inch or so of travel was a bit stiff but that will loosen up, Mine did already. Then any more riders travel after that, blows through the stroke at times and into a harsh feeling again. It doesn't really feel like it bottoms out though ever on the front end. Its Strange, even with the correct sag settings and springs.

It is kind of harsh at the first part of the stroke I noticed unless I got up and was standing, I have a BRP rubber Submount riser and stabilizer on its way. That will help a little with the standing part. As I'm bent to far over, it feels like the bars need to be higher for me and I'm only 5"11".

The forks need to be done right at the factory level I think too and should be sorted out for free for this kind of money.

Not have to modified by specialists back to an old style configuration.

It's kind of like shelling out to find a specialist for having your accidental born "siamese twins" separated at birth. So they can grow up and live separate but productive lives and they turned out to be identical twins later on.

But in the end there is still something missing. Like a scar or something that will always be there. Some you don't deserve and will always be picked at. Because its different then intended.

They are pretty sad stock. But having the adjusters like they are stock would be great if they would work right. Make the adjuster knobs bigger and taller too though.

I keep adding more turns from what was at first just a few clicks, to the Compression side and it seems to do nothing?

Rebound isn't too bad though and any adjustments can be felt. Especially if you want to deliberately weight the bike and spring it over a ditch or object, something like a doing a bunny hop.

Even though Mine is a 501, Its incredibly nimble and flickable for a big over powered bike.

I know, right? Word is it will take about six weeks for the salvage team to bring it up from the ocean floor and get it to
Port.

Am I dyslexic or lysdexic ???

Nice bike Hoov.. you will love this new one. I must have double vision, nice bike Hoov..

I like how on the 14s the front brake line is behind the number plate / headlight housing.

My front brake line and speedo cables run across the front of the headlight/number plate and are scuffing the hell out of the plate near the top clutch side. Had to put a sacrificial sticker there too, as the AZ. pinstripes are easy enough to get on the rest of the bike. I don't need that leaving a black scuff behind the cables from the forks blowing through there stroke.

Kind of like that set up better on the 14's. I looked at mine to see if I could tuck mine behind like that but the loop guide is too far forward on the left fork leg side to allow it to go behind on my 15' and have it slide freely. So meanwhile the engineers decided it was better to be scuffing away at the plastic panel. Man, Look what these companies will do to sell more parts!

Double vision- kinda like that old Foreigner song....

You guys ride cleaner than I do if your headlights don't get smashed by trees...

I'm sure the ajp with 27,horsepower and 250 pounds or so just wouldn't work for me at all... And you know how it is. What works of feels good to one guy may seem like a pile to the next....

True story. WP needs to get their **** together. Pretty amazing when a small manufacturer like AJP can get the suspension spot on out of the box and Mr. Pierer's mega corporation fails time after time, year after year. Same old story...

I am split on the handling. I like both bikes handling for different reasons. The AJP is right on out of the box though.

Why didn't you buy an AJP?

I didn't want to wait. As of this moment it is about six weeks to get one. I like the Husky very much, with the exception of the suspension- and that is fixable.

You should try the AJP of you get a chance. It is not a powerhouse, but you would be amazed how fast you can go on it.....with VERY LITTLE Effort.

The 4CS forks can be done, prices for this will go down, and everybody likes more horsepower. It rules and you know it.

I could always pull the open cartridge 4860s off my G450X and still ride the FE 501 while the 4CS legs are getting the treatment.

Not a problem the G450X is just sitting there anyway.

If you want to do a tire torture test here. Ride on the black slag tailings from the Old Phelps Dodge Copper mine in the second picture. This stuff is like lava and broken glass chips all loose at the same time. You can see where it ends and the dirt begins. This is just a few feet away from my favorite drug smugglers ditch trails. It gets pretty thick in some places, These pictures are from the easy spots to ride in. Enough to let the sunlight in so I could take these photos.

Most of this bad part of the ditch is covered in Salt Cedar trees and the stuff is like sandpaper. You have to get off the bike and break branches out of the way all over the place. The wild Javelina's ( Peccaries) will attack you if you come up on a group of them and they feel cornered. You are done. could be the same with the back packing smugglers too.

"The 4CS forks can be done, prices for this will go down, and everybody likes more horsepower. It rules and you know it."

Regarding the horsepower comment, this is absolutely not true in the areas where I ride. Two guys, one on a 501 and the other on a 125-200 (or an AJP PR5)- the guy with the 501 will get his ass handed to him in a big way. I am sure Kelly will chime in here and support this...... If I wanted to be slower I would have bought a big bore.

All things being equal, less is more in the woods. That being said, Kelly could probably beat you riding a washing machine through the woods.