Fe501 rally build

[member]

So I've been trying to get the wiring all sorted.
It seems like my FE does not have the indicator wiring..
So I had to improvise a bit by adding an led indicator unit etc.
Also, the main harness seemed a bit too short, so I ended up splitting it in to parts and running both sections up both sides of the frame.

Once I got some extra precious cm's extra, I had enough to group everything nicely behind the provided cover.

Must say, it's a nice touch to have that included in the kit.

Check it out:













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[member]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing!

[member]

Aargh!

I ran into some difficulties last night.
1 - the bottom spotlight won't fit properly, as the tower's inside bottom corner is too narrow.
- to 'remedy' this, I removed some material from the spotlight's heatsync. Still have to remove more.

2 - the supplied screen and side covers don't match
The mounting holes don't line up and the front fender hits the side panel when turning the handlebars.

Since 2017, Radegarage went to a new screen design. One which reflects less light and looks better in my opinion.

So they sent me the new screen and old side panels.
It might be possible to fit the 2020 side panels to my bike, but who knows.

The last picture shows the difference between 2017 a d 2020

Now that I uploaded both years pictures, the 2017 actually looks better to me.

[member]

Radegarage is currently out of stock on the 2017 and 2020 kits, but when they have stock again, I will attempt to have them send me a 2017 screen and 2020 side panels.

I will see what works/looks best and send back what I won't use.

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[member]

Nice build! I've shopped at Rade garage this year and in my experience they do give a very deticated support and answer questions quickly.


Please keep sharing pictures and experiences. I'm very curious how this screen affects the handling and feel of ypur bike as I'm still in doubt to build a comparable screen on my Husaberg fe 570, in weight a quite similar bike.

[member]

Cool, will do!
570.. That thing is a beast.

So seeing as I now have unused holes in the screen, I might as well put them to use.

The kit comes with meh looking led blinkers, so I made up a couple brackets to mount them.

Doesn't match my ultimate intentions but OK for now





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[member]

So this kit also includes a GPS bracket of sorts.

Im happy with how it's mounting my gpsmap. Nice line of sight and feels sturdy.

I will be mounting my phone in the space below - so that I can charge it off the bike.

I covered the crossbar with some fabric tape, used for harnesses. It works well as it provides good grip for the GPS mounting too

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[member]

Of course there were no indicator switch or rear indicators either.

I bought some led switcher off Amazon, and mounted it under the seat.

I prefer the DRC flush mount indicators but I can't find them in the EU.




So I had to settle for this:



LED relay:



Switchgear:

[member]

Isn't that 3" GPS screen a bit too small? I wanted to go for 5" but decided my Montana's 4" is just good enough. 3 inch... man!

[member]

Personal preference I guess

Im a fan of them, especially the 64s

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[member]

I've been battling with the electrics. 


After connecting everything up, the head + tail lights would not work.. at all.
At first, I did not notice that the back also did not work, so initially I investigated the bunch of wires below the dash, as thats where I made the most recent changes.


The lights only switch on when the bike starts.. so each time, I had to:
1 fit tank onto frame
2 reconnect the tank
3 start the bike
4 Check if lights work


At some point, I noticed the tail lights are also not working so I checked fuse #2, but that was still fine.
After going through the wiring harness (as I also made some change there), I still found no obvious issue.


This then directed my attention to the relays in the airbox.
I removed all of them, tested each one.
Each relay also functioning as expected 


At least by this time I realized that I could bridge the relay output to avoid having to start the bike each time and by doing so, I managed to get the lights to function. -so it's either a faulty relay or the input to the relay.




I did notice minor damage to the one wire which is supposed to activate the relay for the lights, but thats only to the insulation.



At this point I was out of ideas and the only thing still left to do was to open up the entire wiring harness, but before doing so, I decided to just swap the relays around and ta-da! it works.

Buttoned it all back up:














I'm still confused as to why/how it stopped working.

Post Merge: 21-12-2020, 22:28
ff een update vanaf Radegarage:


RG: " truth is that some customers have contacted us recently with similar difficulties during the installation.

The main reason is, that the shape of side panels has ben designed for bikes with 15lt. tank. Nevertheless, the side panel should be slightly trimmed where it obstructs the front fender in full lock (see the picture),  and same with the boreholes dislocation. Please, set the basic alignment with one or two holes and the rest needs to drilled. 

Surely, we are prepare to compensate your inconvenience with the installation. Please let me know, what amount we should sent you as the partial refund."

wolfSkaap: "...I am wondering if it won't be easier for me to make the 2020 side cover fit the 2017 tank, than reshaping the 2017 side covers with 2020 screen?
How about rather than a partial refund, you send me the 2020 side covers (of course, once you have stock)?"

RG: "Yes, we can try it this way. 2020 side covers are in stock, we will send them to your address. For sure, they will nicely fit to the windshield, however not so nicely to the tank. But let’s have a try.

My colleague Monika will send you side panels for FE 2020."


Vond ik heel aardig van Radegarage 

[member]

Ik ben deze build aan het bloggen geweest op mijn ZA forum.
Dus ff een paar updates:



Took the scoot for a 1st 10km ride.


Of course i'm not able to ride it back-to-back with a 990 but at 110km/h the wind protection from the screen does not feel much different to the 990
That is awesome for a 450 class bike!


Although I have to adjust the angles of the lights a bit, they sure are powerful

At this point (I know its early days), I feel like I should have done this long ago already, instead of throwing money at the 990


Post Merge: 26-01-2021, 14:14
Received the 2020 side covers 


They definitely fit better.
Will keep them in storage until I have a bigger tank but will most likely need to reshape them a bit.







Needs quite a bigger tank for this:

Post Merge: 26-01-2021, 14:17The sidestand's spring was gone, so I ordered a super cheap Aliexpress replacement.
Ben benieuwd hoe lank die gaat houden

[member]

It looks great.

I just don't understand why you would save yourself 10 Euro for that spring when you spend so much money on other stuff. It's so annoying when that spring breaks.

[member]

Erm dat is een goede vraag.
Lol

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Post Merge: 26-01-2021, 15:35
True to EU form, December brings fireplaces and snow, not exactly biking weather.
But then I got me some sun for Christmas!   


Photo taken outside my village, on my way to the East of NL, to ride a small part of the TET:




I installed a set of heated grips the day before..
I know that sounds wrong on a 450 class bike, but they worked great and it doesn't look too bad.


The map switch had to be removed as I ran out of space on the bars- not an issue really as I don't ever see myself engaging traction control
The day varied a lot; from tar sections to open dirt, thick sand, single track and some mud sections.











Was a great day!
Its been a while since I've ridden a smaller bike as I sold my 350SXF a while ago already


The 500 has so much grunt off the bottom, it made me giggle in my helmet as it pulled a power wheelie, coming out of a turn in 5th gear (14/48 gearing)
Perhaps I should have done this ride before mounting the rally tower but I honestly did not notice any weight difference/imbalance, compared to what I'm used to.


The wind protection is very nice and a bigger tank will round things off nicely.
Post Merge: 26-01-2021, 15:39Given the weather, I've been looking for things that needs fixing.



Bike has been reluctant to start when cold, so of course, I suspected valve clearances.
I've forgotten how easy it is on enduro bikes      ,especially after doing this job recently on my 990 (pain in the ass is an understatement)


Turns out the valves are in spec so I decided to replace the battery with a " bigger" one. Kinda funny how the bigger version weighs less


Granted its cold in NL at the moment but it does start easier than before. It needs about a minute to warm the battery up, before it manages to unleash all its potential.









Post Merge: 26-01-2021, 15:44
The speedo decided 2020 was its last year of operation.
It errors out with some unexplained code??


It still works at times, when rotating the front wheel, but I need the thing for other specs, like distance travelled, hours FI error LED, Reserve LED, Dim/Bright




As can be seen, the speedo also had a non-standard connector..




There are cheaper and probably better options but I really wanted to keep this part stock so I burned through some more cash on this damn thing.
While I was at it, I also decided to keep the connectors stock, so that meant JSR connectors needed to be used.


They are freeking tiny 




After attempt one, I felt proud of my soldering work!
..Only to realize that they wont fit into their housing




You need to crimp these little bastards, else they wont fit.
Attempt 2 looks rather nasty but did the trick at least

[member]

Teazer of the current state of the build: