Classic Dirt Bike TV "1989 Husaberg 501"

Another fantastic old dirt bike from the fantastic Rob Hughes classic collection and this is Rob's 1989 Swedish Husaberg 501. Back in the day these Husaberg's never enjoyed a great reputation for their reliability but they were very quick and handled well.

[@joenoneofyourbusiness6487]

I had a '89 and a '95 fc501. they both had ohlins shocks stock. The clutch in '89 was cable operated. They also had the low slung fuel tank on the right side. A vacuum powered fuel pump would pump fuel to the other side where it gravity fed the carburetor. It kept the bike thin in the middle and lowered the center of gravity a little. Mine were perfectly reliable. That splash/oil vapor oil system was not an issue as far as my bikes were concerned. They had the same lubrication system as the old husqvarna 510's, where they just basically used a two-stroke bottom end and put a small reed valve in the lower case to vent crankcase pressure. A few interesting ways in which they reduced engine weight was to make the shift drum out of aluminum, hollowed out and anodized for hardness. They would also hollow out rocker shafts. Nyloc nuts were used throughout, but almost no washers, presumably to save weight. The acerbis plastic was ill fitting, especially the tank. No fancy plastic cable routing mounts, just zip ties. I heard that some of the engine reliability problems might have been caused by left over sand in the engine castings. They presumably held up better after the first rebuild. I rode mine in southern california and never has the stator problems people complain about. It's a shame how ktm destroyed this brand.

[@henriput854]

Thanks Chris , great video . I love this bike , Joel Smets was world champion 500 cc on husaberg , fan Henri put belgium 🇧🇪

[@monticlassictv]

Hi Henri and thanks once more for your dedication to my channel.

[@fc1133]

Great video. Thanks.

[@59plexi]

ahead of its time

[@jamesking7287]

Thankyou for mentioning us and our little fabrication shop in Somerset JEK fabrications. A lovely bike that!! The exhaust headers are stainless and the silencer is titanium.

[@monticlassictv]

Hi James thanks for clearing that up with regards the exhaust tailpipe, at the time I filmed the bike I was never really told if the tailpipe was stainless or not so I just went with my own judgement on that particular point at the time.

[@joegilly1523]

Nice bike never seen one here in the states,would love to ride it. I like your intro a warm welcome, it was -17 Fahrenheit at my house this morning or -27.2 Celsius . I wonder if this beast would start up here. Probably not, my truck did not like it either . Thanks for the upload Chris.

[@jpmorgen5726]

I rode a friend's a few years ago, loved it, great sound, now have enough bits to put together one for myself, just need the time. They come up for sale often for not much money here in the US. You might look for a mid to late 90's model.

[@monticlassictv]

Hi Joe .. hello again to you over there in the ice box and to think we think it’s cold over here in Scotland when we get -3 or 4 degrees in winter but most of the time it’s cold and damp here in the winter. Anyhow with regards these big Husabergs they were pretty awesome bikes and damn quick although many riders didn’t like them because they were hard to start and as I said had reliability issues on the early bikes because they never had an oil pump. But nice to hear from you again and all the best to yourself and everybody over there in the states.

[@johan4591]

Its from sweden it start in coold

[@martiniv8924]

I bought a new 501FE back in around 98’-99’, as I was a big Joel Smets ‘The Flemish Lion’ fan , I used it in the 🇦🇪 Desert, I did convert it to 600cc and fitted a ‘Big Gun’ exhaust system that would make your ears bleed, but converting it was a mistake. it’s WP suspension was pretty good for its time, front forks were RWU not upside downers , and the ‘PDS’ shock was ok, but could getting lively on square edges , twin air filters in the frame was a neat idea, and they sold a rear side panel tank that gave extra range, very simple and robust, except for the ignition system, I classed it as pretty much junk compared to anything Japanese , I think Joel Smets bike packed in on one or maybe more GP’s and he had to pis* on the ignition cover to cool it down at the side of the track 🙈 electric starter sprags were another weak link, but I did have great fun on mine, and this one looks a beauty, thanks for posting the video Chris 👌🏻😎

[@monticlassictv]

Hi Martini V8 Thanks for your personal views on your own Husaberg and I do agree with your comments they were great bikes but not perfect by any means but there are a hard core of owners out there who still love these bikes and they tend to be more popular as Supermoto race bikes rather than motocross machines, but again thanks for your comments and for taking the time to watch my content.

[@borehole8631]

Mine never ran. Always broke something. Was so great when it worked. I remember always stator problems. Mine backfired so bad one time it blew the carb off.

[@tomhorgan6719]

Chris, just FYI, that rear swingarm is likely the original unit. I have 5 Husabergs ranging from '94 to '02. That swingarm design was, I believe, used from the start in '88 thru to the 2000 model. Then they went to a cast design in 2001. This is a fantastic example of those bikes and if JEK Fabrications were to produce more examples of that exhaust, I might be first in line to get a copy. Beautiful work! One of my '94 bikes has a 660cc race engine in it and that exhaust would really set the bike off nicely.

[@monticlassictv]

Hi Tom Could have done with that piece of background before putting the video together but no worries and thanks for clearing that up as that was one of the parts I never got any background on the day I shot the pictures and video clips. And again your right that JEK pipe is pretty slick. All the best and thanks for your help and for watching my channel.

[@Berg501]

My '99 FE has a similar looking swingarm but is PDS, they lost the linkage for a few years.

[@richardfireone]

Outstanding beast could easily be King

[@MrCyphermonkey]

Met Roland once. Nice chap

[@thomasfiedler5176]

Look on the video at the time stamp of 10:10 in the video when he talks about the wheels. I see a loose nut on the valve stem which may be problematic at somepoint left loose. But always great videos. Thanks for the awesome video bro an keep up the good work. Thanks Chris an stay safe out there during this difficult time we living in with this covid running rampant around the globe

[@monticlassictv]

Hi Thomas To tell you the truth I actually noticed that myself although I expect the bike will be given a full going over before Joel slings his leg over it for his first race of 2022. But thanks again for watching my content and all the best to yourself and the family for 2022.

[@joenoneofyourbusiness6487]

I've always left the nut loose and tightened it up against the cap. That way the tube can move a little rather than rip right off if the tire gets loose of the rim.

[@robertandersson2523]

My frame number was ...0013. A lot of personalty 😂

[@TobiasDeutschl]

Hi Chris, Thank you very much for the great video. I am restoring a Husaberg MC 501 from 1991, would you may have some info where I can get parts? Best regards Tobias

[@jodyharris4317]

👍👍👊

[@TS50ER]

Were the air-filter boxes inside the top of the frame on these bikes?

[@robertandersson2523]

It was on mine. Sucking the air though the frame.

[@user-wl4yd6oh3c]

Machine is very strong istc 510

[@mickob8160]

I find it funny how people like to think that Yamaha revolutionised motocross with the yzf400 but yet husaberg and husqvarna had been kicking ass against 500cc 2 strokes for many years before the yzf came along

[@posniknelb6114]

Yes, but yamaha revolutionised it for the masses. The Husaberg etc were niche machines