Fettling a Husaberg for rallye raids

This Article is created by Vicente De Benedictis from Brazil. Vicente did the 2007 Rally dos Sertões 2007 - Brazil. After many months fettling his beautiful machine he was having a great ride but was alas forced out through injury. Below he tells us how he prepared his machine ready for the Rallye.

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Benedictis' 2006 Husaberg FE550 Rally Prepared (Vbenedic)

Vicente De Benedictis during the Rally dos Sertoes 2007 (Vbenedic)

Fuel tank

When you build a Rally Bike, the first thing you make sure is the fuel capacity. Is it enough for the race?

You have many options for Husaberg:

• Omero 18 litres Alum Tank
• BOSS 15 litres Plastic Tank
• Husaberg Stock Tank 9 litres

Omero 18 litres Aluminium Tank Vbenedic)

BOSS 15 litres Plastic Tank (Vbenedic)

In my view, the best option for a main tank is the BOSS 15 litre one because it is slimmer than Omero´s and is plastic. I had some issues in the past with aluminium gas tanks, it normally leaks at the welds, is hard to fix and weighs a lot.

Then, you have to pick the best combo of auxillary tanks to make up your fuel requirements.

• OEM Husaberg side tank: 5 liters
• OEM Husaberg underseat tank: 2 liters
• Acerbis rear fender tank: 6 liters
• Bikebox Aluminium under seat tank: 4 liters
• KTM 690 Rally side tanks - under project for fitment.

OEM Husaberg underseat tank (Vbenedic)

OEM Husaberg side tank (Vbenedic)

Bikebox Aluminium under seat tank (Vbenedic)

Acerbis rear fender tank (Vbenedic)

Now the gravity problems begin, the tank petcock must be above the carburettor for free flow otherwise, you are going to need to install a fuel pump (mechanical or electric). The best option for a mechanical pump is a Mikuni from Yamaha XT600 or KTM660 Rally, the best electric pump is from a Honda CBR600.

Navigation

Navigation is mandatory in rally racing, so you can't get anything wrong. I use a custom made navigation bracket fixed to the motorcycle frame which leaves lighter and easier to steer and ride the motorcycle. KTM offers a Roadbook carrier to be fixed at triple clamp, but it turn the motorcycle thought to ride.

The best roadbook in the market is MD which costs around 450,- €. I use a MD Replica Roadbook and works fine. The point you must pay attention when buying one is electric motor endurance and how the bearings work with vibration and dust.

ICO Silver stand out as the best and most reliable odometer in the market, you should use two of them in your navigation bracket. Forget the ICO Red, it´s not good at all. Also, there are other options, but remember you need two reliable and easy to use odometers.

In Brazil Garmin GPS is a standard in off road racing. I like the GPS V or III plus because it is small, easy to use and very reliable. You need an external power supply because it turns off with vibration. Fitting a duct tape around the batteries works well too. An external GPS antenna is a must! Some racers tried GPS Garmim 276, Legend and Zumo but not successfully. Check out this UHE thread how to fit a GPS.

KTM roadbook carrier and custom made navigation bracket (Vbenedic)