FE/FC Looking for some FE501 Feedback

10W50 is a no-no in the new 450 and 501 engines. We have received several calls from people crushing the paper and stainless steel filters while using 10W50/60. Husqvarna knows about the issue and when they asked me about it, I recommended a stainless steel filter and 0W40 oil. I know of at least one total loss from filter implosion at KTM racing services.

The manual for the FE501 specifically specs the following standards/requirements on page #24

JASO T903 MA

You guys keep using your 0-40 Mobil 1. It does not meet any of the minimum spec requirements nor is it wet clutch designed.

Read all about it: http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil_1_0W-40.aspx

The only engine oil Mobil 1 produces that is motorcycle specific and meets JASO MA1 is the 10w-40 Mobil 1 racing 4T and is designed for wet clutches. I use this oil in my Yamaha FJR. They also produce 20W/50 for V-twin bikes and is wet clutch safe however it does not meet JASO MA requirements.

Have an engine failure with that 0/40 oil during the warranty period or smoke your clutch plate fibers and I wish you luck.

I've got several friends and dealer sponsored Husqvarna motoX racers that have NOT experienced any oil filter crushing unless the service techs monkey wrenched the filter cap down on it.

Have a look at what Motorex meets for requirements here:
http://www.motorex.com/index.cfm?oid=1147&lang=en&webtoolDbTemp=eintragDetail&eintragId=148

The important spec of JASO T903 MA is met.


End of discussion from me.. Please keep the oil discussion in another thread.

My whopping 30 day warranty has come and gone. It's all my problem now.

hopefully you don't have any problems.

Worked really good in the last bike. The Rekluse really liked it too so it definitely works well in clutches. I had extremely little wear on my clutch fibers after 80 hours.

JASO MA is over rated, in fact these days it's more of a tool for oil companies to justify higher price tags on their oils. Truth is that most modern synthetic oils do not contain friction modifiers which harm wet clutches. As for Motorex, they are so far out of spec on their oils, you never know what you are getting in their bottles. They have some fifty weight rated oils with sixty weight viscosity. It's cool that your friends, uncle's brother's nephew's friend's mom races with whatever or have never experienced failure. My information came directly from KTM. On top of that, we race these engines, often times to the extremes and beyond. I am only here to offer advice and you can choose to ignore it if you wish. This is a forum where we help each other.

I am pretty sure the australian manual says use 10w-50 or alternatively 10w-60 the mechanic where I bought the bike from said use the 10w-60. But yeh my 2 cents, out of curiosity reveille are you a pro rider?

Haha, no not these days. I'm pushing 50 and my crazy fast days are behind me with lot's of scars to show for it.

So I bolted on a 15/50 gear set and with balanced wheels pegged it down the freeway for a 80 mph ride. Nice and smooth. The 15 T brings the R's down nicely for spirited riding. Will see how it handles the sand at that speed.

I'm anxious to try a different front tire. Does anyone have any suggestions for the 501? I feel like the stock OEM rubber is intended for lower speed woods enduros? Anyone else concur? There was a pack of guys running both the front and back at the Milliville motocross track (District 23) on the 17th. Evidently there work well on that track.

Tinken.. no need to take shots and make smart assed comments about my sources. Just run your 0-40 Mobile 1 and be happy you know what your doing. My friends, uncle's brother's nephew's friend's mom is sponsored by those nameless KTM guys that you talked to.. hehe

Better yet why don't you educate us all about the TPS setting you use on your 501s and what torque/hp change you found on a dyno? Stock is .578 right? What TPS setting range can be used? How does the setting impact fuel metering and timing advance? Show us some knowledge that those KTM guys told you besides which oil to use because everyone knows oil threads go no where quick.

GT 216AA fat tire, got them in stock.

Those look nice.. what is the compound like and how much wider is the section width? Are they a sand tire that would also work well in soft sand at Glamis?

No price on your website and says "coming soon"??

http://www.ziptyracing.com/tires/

There are subtle differences moving between between hard pack and soft with this tire. On a 1.6 front rim, they are about 0.25" wider, but they are also much taller than a normal 90/100. I run mine on a 1.85 rim which gives me 0.5" over a regular 90/100. This allows me to travel at high speed in the sand, even through the silt beds without diving into them. The tire will work under all conditions, especially useful for climbing out of ruts. It is also DOT legal and wears really well on the pavement. We will be racing with this tire for Vegas to Reno this year, as well as the Baja 1000.

We have them in stock, but were waiting for custom shipping boxes which we had made to lower shipping expenses. They are $120.

The FE501 I own came with Dunlop Gemomax mx51 which is not really a sand tire at all per the Dunlop website. More of a intermdeiate
terrain MX tire.. Might be what is creating the twitchyness at speed that some have reported.

http://www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/tire-catalog/off-road-adventure/mxsx-off-road-geomax-series/mx51/


One of the KTM 500s will be trying out a set of Michelin S12XC this weekend. Will be interesting to see how they perform.

I have really bad luck with the MX51 up front, especially in the sand. They work great on the track in dirt though.

Not a MX51 fan. The rear 110/100 would break traction way too easy. I switched to a 130/90 Motoz rear and so far it's an improvement. I also am running a GT 216 front and it's better than that goofy MX51 for sure. The central ADV rally starts next weekend and runs for 8 days of on off road riding so this combo will be put to the test. I'll circle back after and give an update on them.

The KTM500 got a Pirelli Scorpion Pro spooned on and I put a Michelin Enduro Competition IV for testing.

I took the time a little while back to talk to Castrol Aus (my own prefered brand) about the use of their automotive oils in motorcycle engines.
I was looking to reduce the costs fo my own oil changes by using the cheaper auto synthetic oil instead of the bike specific synthetic.
The tech said they run 'low amounts' of friction modifiers in the different oils I asked about (5w.....), as in lower than the mineral range.
While they wouldn't recommend using their oils in bikes as he couldn't discount problems, he felt comfortable in saying it would 'probably' be ok.

For myself, the $19 difference in the two products wasn't worth the possible clutch issues.
I'm staying with the Power 1 synthetic.