FE/FC Hello & couple newbie questions

Hi guys (& gals)
new here & I have (& will have) a bunch of newbie questions about the bike as I learn & grow into the sport.

So first off, hi, kids & wife love riding around my area on ATV's (I live in central Oregon), lots of dirt roads & trails here. So I thought, why get myself an ATV when I can get a bike to tag along with. The reason for buying a husky is I'm Swedish, born & raised, and although I know KTM makes them in Austria, I am still very sentimental to the brand (love & use my husky chainsaw too!).

I used to ride street bikes (r6 & r1) back when I was younger & I also raced cars (road course/time attack) for 15 years plus, so speed, motors & wheels are not foreign to me, BUT dirt sure is, short of taking my dads moped out in the woods as a kid I am a complete newbie to dirt.

First question.
Does lowering the bike hurt the suspension geometry dramatically?

Im about 5' 8" and with shoes almost at 5-9... and still 'one-cheeking' it & tip-toeing around. As of now, I am not going to use the full suspension travel or the ground clearance the bike has, Im too new to it, need to grow into the bike & learn how to ride proper. I figure lowering the bike a lil bit will help with confidence, balance & just general mobility. Later on remove the lowering kit & go back to normal.

If lowering an endurance bike isn't sacrilege, what are some recommended kits/ways of doing it?

Short of that & a dead battery upon delivery, I love the bike, the only mod I'm thinking about right away is installing the start-kicker kit.




Mods, feel free to move this post if you feel it should be somewhere else, but I will most likely have FE questions in the future & will post them in this thread.

found this link from searching here on this forum
http://www.koubalink.com/Husqvarna 2014 Install. (KTM Style).html

anyone have real world experience with this?

tia.

So while this thread was waiting on moderation I talked to local riders & they all said the Kouba link should be good for my needs, so I ordered the 1.25" drop link and might also order the Husky Low Seat. Will probably get some better hand guards while at it & some smaller foldable mirrors too.

Fastway makes an awesome adjustable link that will lower the bike. You can raise the forks a tad as well. Wont help the suspension/geometry but depending how fast/hard you ride, it wont be that bad. Koubalink ok, but non adjustable. Make sure you set the sag before you do anything as that will affect seat height as well. I believe 105-110mm is ideal

May want to change the rear sprocket to a 48 or a 50. Front to a 13 tooth. If your tooling around with the kids. I run 13/48 and the bike will still do over 100mph on the dirt roads. The S model is geared way taller for a bit more highway use.

I have the complete kicker kit also for mine in the box. It was about $290 shipped to my door. I don't have any plan to install it until I have the engine side case off for other reasons though. The electric starter works fine. Even with the stock battery since April I haven't had a single issue.

The Fastway/Stillwell linkage guard is the way to go if you want to slightly lower the bike, it has adjustable bushings that can be placed to lower the back just a bit. Set it at a mid point and always set it back to the stock height. It does change the leverage of the shock linkage in the (other than stock height settings). But it protects the shocks vulnerable linkage which can be very expensive to repair if damaged. I run a Slaven's racing Linkage guard and have a complete new spare in a box for less then the cost of one of the Fastway guards. Which cost about 2.5 times as much.

The Kouba link dropping it 1.25 inches. Will really throw the geometry off and changes the shocks leverage ratio a great deal. For your height I don't think you need to go that low.

I'm 5'-10" have a 32" inseam and run my front forks up into the trees at the second line on the tube just showing. 108mm sag in the rear. I ride mostly tight single track though.

Get the correct springs if needed for your weight if you fall outside of those proper sag settings. Before you do much of anything. Regardless of whether you intend to run the bike hard and plan on using the full amount of available suspension. The proper spring rates and sag settings are very important to get both ends of the suspension to work together and be balanced.

Welcome aboard! You sure jumped right I'm with both feet with the mighty 501. She's a beast with nearly 60hp but the power is surprisingly smooth. Enjoy and take it easy until you feel confident.

thx! Better to have more than less, i can control myself 'till the skill & confidence is there!... and yes, I was pleasantly surprised how buttery smooth the power was.

Husqrc - thank you, already pulled the trigger on the kouba before i got your guys advice but being the gear-head I am, I will check out the Fastway too..

Big T - thank you for the input, i can tell there is ALOT to learn here, I have a taller upper body & my legs got the short end of it, but I will measure my own inseam. Also research the gears, set the sag (didn't even know, ha).

I assume the linkage guard is something to use on top of a lowering link?

Another quick question, if the back is lowered, I need to lower the front too, right? Not a lot of room between the top off the shocks & the handle bars. Would handlebar risers be something to consider there?

Edit on that Big T, I saw photos of the linkage guards & they look like beefed up complete replacement links... BTW, I am still getting used to this forum & having every single post being moderated & not editable, I will have to learn to slow things down a bit for this place. I tend to just fire away posts then edit them later.

FYI - I have a 30" inseam when wearing boots that give me about an .5" lift... and i weigh 195lbs (not fat, just dense & go to gym everyday)

I'm 5'9" with a 29 inch inseam. I first changed to a Seat Concepts seat, then installed a Fastway/Stillwell linkage guard, and was still uncomfortable when I had to paddle. I hooked up with our local suspension guy, who dropped the rear and front shocks 1½ inches, installed the Racetech gold valve mod with compression on the bottom and rebound on the top, and the difference was huge!! I finally felt comfortable riding the bike. The guy I used has been in the suspension business for 20 plus years, so I highly recommend you have someone lower both the rear shock and front shock if you go that route.

daloof,
cool bike! i have one myself, and I'm shorter than you by an inch or so.

I personally advise against lowering the bike. You're plenty tall enough, have plenty of leg reach. face and embrace the challenge of learning to ride with out developing the crutch of dabbing (or having the feeling that you can).

these bikes are actually relatively compact as far as frame dimensions and when you get your rear sag set you will not need lowering. learn to keep your feet off the ground, and not walk through obstacles. learn it sooner rather than later and your riding skills will develop quicker and in a better way....my friendly advice.

Ok, well it's about to get real cold here plus some snow in the forecast, so I have some time to sort these things out.

Maybe the 1.25" kouba link is an over-reaction & too big of an suspension adjustment. Maybe the way to go for me is the fastway linkage guard & possibly the husky low seat.

As an FYI to you guys, my biggest issue with bike being tall is not when I'm riding, it's when I have to stop, at a light or in my shop, wherever... I have to lean it over so far that the weight really shifts over too much.

As far as sag, yes I will do that but is it even worth setting with only 1.5 hours on the bike? And I weigh 195lbs, is the sag really going to lower ride height or will it raise?

Either way, I appreciate all the advice & I'm listening.

Incase someone hasn't answered this already, yes lower the front if you lower the rear. Slip the forks up as much as possible to start or you will have a chopper effect with slow turn initiation but the bike will be stable at speed.

I wouldn't ride the bike at all without setting the sag. Its part of the bikes pre-prep..
The Fastway link is beefed up and is it's own skid for the linkage and has a replaceable plastic skid pad on the new ones. The plastic piece can be worn out and replaced.

I personally like the Slaven's linkage guard. It completely surrounds the link itself and can be replaced piece by piece and is very reasonable. Offering unrivaled linkage protection. I have heard stories of the Fastway/Stillwells linkage bushings, on the end of the dogbone wearing out and getting sloppy in there pocketed recess but haven't actually seen an example of this in person. I imagine anything is possible in the right circumstance.. It's just a good investment. Ask any Suspension guy how many times he has replaced a shock shaft from having the bottom clevis end of the shock snapped off or bent. From not using a linkage guard. For 90.00 its a sound expenditure.

Set the sag and ride it. 3mm is about 1/8" inch. The fork tube grooves at the top of the outer legs are about 1/8" apart. I run mine where I can barely see the second groove. So it's only dropped in the trees maybe 6mm to 8MM. I run my sag in the rear at 109 to 110mm. Last time I checked. With a 6.4 KG spring rate. Some go as much as 112mm some as little as 105mm. That's 7mm right there. So definitely if the rear is dropped at the lower amount of recommended sag settings, the front should be done an equal amount to balance it out.

I'm 5'10" and weigh 235, I didn't even start the bike after pulling it out of the crate it went directly on my bike lift after the front wheel was mounted and the handlebars. Didn't take it off the lift until the front and rear springs were changed. Rider sag set, radiator guards installed, full exhaust, changed the seat, pegs, pedals, I run a seat concepts 7" sport foam and cover now but I have the Husky power parts catalog ribbed gripper seat which has a softer foam. I also have the Husaberg Gripper Black /Gray catalog seat. I've ran all three and go back to the Seat Concepts every time.

I ride feet up about 90% of the time through the rock filled ditches here and seldom dab a foot, even out on the trails turning into corners. I tend to back it in and steer with the rear tire and throttle, pick up the next gear and try to keep traction under control and apply tractable power to the ground with the rear tire.

I raised the handlebars 60mm or so by going to a BRP Submount with rubber bar mounts for a "Scotts steering damper" It works great. Got it from Slaven's Racing too. It's much better now when I'm standing.

Thx guys, appreciate the inputs & perspectives, I'll set the sag first & go from there.
Coming from cars, its so easy to work on these bikes I will most likely experiment around with different options till I find something that works right for both bike & I.

Hey Big T, I hear you on throttle steering out of a corner or turn... now imagine doing that in a 1500b car doing about 120... so much fun.

Here is some general info I found out there on the Kouba, which makes sense:

'I've used 2 different lengths of Kouba links on my DRZ and there is a big difference between how they mess with your suspension. The #1 is about 3/4" lower and doesn't mess things up too much if you aren't a really hard / fast rider in real rough terrain. The suspension is softened because of the change of lever arm length in the middle of a balanced system, so you will bottom out more if you ride hard. The #2 gives you about 1 1/4" lowering but it crushes your rear spring on even medium hits. You can't add preload to compensate, it doesn't work that way: It doesn't make your spring stronger throughout the full range of travel, but the link applies more force to your spring the further it compresses it. I went from the stock 5.4 kg to a 5.7 kg RaceTech spring and it wasn't enough. I weigh 170 lbs and was still bottoming hard.

You also have to raise your forks in the triple clamps an equal amount or the bike won't steer correctly. You can easily raise them the 3/4", I added bar risers. The 1 1/4" is more difficult and you are getting awfully close to bottoming your front tire into your fender. '

'Kouba #1 is generally considered acceptable for a rider up to 150 pounds. #2 only works if you weigh 110 pounds. The #3 is good for the 60 pound riders. If you weigh more and need the lowering action, get the correct spring fo your weight and have a shop shorten the shock and forks. '

I wonder what the odds are of Norm taking a return on that 1.25" link i bought from him, starting to sound like a bad idea.

If you don't mind sharing, what was the cost for the drop & everything that came with it?

Just for dropping it cost around $350.00, then five months later I decided to get the Racetech Gold Valve mod which cost right at $500.00.

Hey daloof. The first picture is the Slaven's Linkage guard.


I'm more of a straight line guy when it comes to cars. Although they can get sideways too but you try not to.
That all Aluminum 572" 900 HP, Indy Maxx Hemi was in my '70 Challenger drag car. It ran 8.40s at 166mph.


I've since sold it after 28 years and Built a street legal '66 Chromoly Plymouth Belvedere. It's a street only car 543" Pump gas Stroker Wedge with Indy Cylinder heads. It makes about 680 HP.