The great FE501 conversion

[AndyB_11]

I’m not even collecting the bike until tomorrow but the first stages of converting it to a lightweight adventure bike are in place.

I’m off to the NL on it next Thursday evening to deliver it no Nomad ADV where I’ll go through what I’d like to be done then abandon it there for a few weeks. I’ve been a busy little contractor since January and I’m booked up solid with work until early next year so I can afford to go a bit mad and just hose money at it

I’ll take a few photos when I pick it up tomorrow then once I’ve seen what Nomad can do I’ll list what’s happening and just wait until it’s back when there’ll obviously be a few post completion photos added. The biggest individual hit will be a second set of wheels that will take what are best described as 50/50 type tyres so I don’t shred off road tyres getting across Europe and don’t have to sacrifice too much grip once I’m on trails and the added bonus will be that I just change the wheels at home when I’m riding the local trails.

It seems a bit odd buying a brand new bike then basically ripping it apart but nobody makes the bike that I actually want so I’m taking a giant leap into the unknown that will either give me a bike that does exactly what I want or I’ll be selling it to buy another behemoth this time next year

 

[g00ner]

Interested in this one, wanted to do something similar a long while.

 

[AndyB_11]

I went half arsed at it when I modified my old 660 Yamaha but no matter what I did that was still a big heavy lump compared to an FE501 so I made it even more of a lump by putting a chair on it then leaving it to rot in the garage because it was crap on tarmac and scared me on dirt

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Sounds good, a detailed build thread will be fab

 

[tPIC]

A friend of mine has a nomad rally fairing on his fe350. Looks really good. I’m tempted by their rear reinforcement that would allow for some luggage.

Looking forward to seeing what your bike turns into.

 

[AndyB_11]

A friend of mine has a nomad rally fairing on his fe350. Looks really good. I’m tempted by their rear reinforcement that would allow for some luggage.

Looking forward to seeing what your bike turns into.

I’m hoping that the latest version of the luggage plate/side carriers is up to the job of keeping a pair of Wolfman panniers from slapping about plus hold a rollbag with a tent and sleeping bag otherwise I’m back to square one on that front.

A few people over on the ADV forum have complained about slow delivery on parts going to the US but given that I’ll be throwing a lot of cash in their direction of which a fair part will be going towards bought in parts they shouldn’t be too slack when it comes to completing the task. The first planned run out for the bike is up to Denmark for a rally in January and while I can use my 1150 if I need to I’d sooner be using the 501 if only because it’s the new toy.

They need the bike for at least 4 weeks because they’ve not built a tower for the MY20 bike yet and they’re expecting to need to make a few changes to the profile of the fixing plates for the fairing then they’ve got to get them anodised but there shouldn’t be any other changes necessary. I’ve ordered a 17l fuel tank from them to give me at least another 75 miles worth of range and though I thought there were changes to the tank on this years bike they seem to think there’s nothing that will take a long time to sort out. Only time will tell on that one.

One thing they claim which I’m a bit wary of is that because they’re changing it to use LED lights I can run heated grips and a heated jacket but even though I always turn off heated gear at least 30 minutes before stopping for the day I think I’ll fit a voltmeter or similar so I can keep an eye on the battery status.

 

[AndyB_11]

I’d forgotten how horrible off-road tyres are in the wet until the 40 mile ride home today. I’d also forgotten how worrying it is not to have indicators or mirrors when you’re riding a bike that’s completely new to you in pouring rain

I’ll take a couple of photos later but for now the bike is safely tucked away in my garage and I politely told the 16 year old next door that no, even though he takes his 50cc Derbi off road he’s not having a go on the Husky

 

[Andi_archer]

Sounds good Andy it will be nice to see the bike evolve.

 

[AndyB_11]

First snag...

I thought it might be a good idea to fit the indicators if only for the trip to Holland when I’ll be riding on roads I don’t know, in the dark. Not a problem because I’ve got all the parts so I set to it and removed all the necessary parts at the back of the bike, put the indicators on the different number plate holder and had the sudden brainwave that making sure I’d got the indicators on the correct sides would be good so I should try them before re-assembling everything.

The block connector is different

Maybe there’s a make up piece that goes between the two halves but if there is I don’t have one so it’s now back together without indicators which isn’t a big deal really.

I’ve put the mounts on so I can quickly fit or remove the mirrors which will almost certainly be crap and vibrate so much they’re near enough unusable but they might help in heavy traffic.

I was going to connect my satnav but I was pissed off because of wasting my time on the indicators and forgot to do it when everything was exposed to daylight and it would have been a 5 minute job. That’s a job for tomorrow then.

 

[Owen Snell]

Are the OEM mirrors a bit crap? I have these pivoting mirrors on both Huskies - they are stable and pivot out of the way when the bike has a lie down.

https://www.wemoto.com/parts/picture/vm-e-366

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

First snag...

I thought it might be a good idea to fit the indicators if only for the trip to Holland when I’ll be riding on roads I don’t know, in the dark. Not a problem because I’ve got all the parts so I set to it and removed all the necessary parts at the back of the bike, put the indicators on the different number plate holder and had the sudden brainwave that making sure I’d got the indicators on the correct sides would be good so I should try them before re-assembling everything.

The block connector is different

Maybe there’s a make up piece that goes between the two halves but if there is I don’t have one so it’s now back together without indicators which isn’t a big deal really.

I’ve put the mounts on so I can quickly fit or remove the mirrors which will almost certainly be crap and vibrate so much they’re near enough unusable but they might help in heavy traffic.

I was going to connect my satnav but I was pissed off because of wasting my time on the indicators and forgot to do it when everything was exposed to daylight and it would have been a 5 minute job. That’s a job for tomorrow then.

I wouldn't ride a dirt/trail bike without indicators nowadays

Too much traffic and fuckwits who have never seen hand signals & only recognise an orange glow as a direction change

Riding to Holland without indicators - fuck that

Mirrors too

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Are the OEM mirrors a bit crap? I have these pivoting mirrors on both Huskies - they are stable and pivot out of the way when the bike has a lie down.

https://www.wemoto.com/parts/picture/vm-e-366

I have them

Fab and fitted straight onto my KTM 530 I had

 

[Andi_archer]

You should get some of those plug in ones

 

[AndyB_11]

The click and ride indicators look like a good idea but I’d still need to wire them into the existing harness which will mean sorting out the incompatible block connectors. Certainly one for the future though

 

[Tarka]

The click and ride indicators look like a good idea but I’d still need to wire them into the existing harness which will mean sorting out the incompatible block connectors. Certainly one for the future though

Chop the blocks off and use some that do connect together, or even male/female bullets.

 

[Andi_archer]

Solder seals are the go to

 

[AndyB_11]

Chop the blocks off and use some that do connect together, or even male/female bullets.

That’s almost certainly what I’ll be doing but time is the enemy this week due to me leaving home tomorrow lunchtime, getting back Thursday lunchtime then having to be away on the bike by about 18:30 the same evening.

It’s not as if there’s any of that dodgy canbus rubbish to deal with, just fit the mini wiring looms supplied with the bike, join the cables and it’s job done. I should have done it today but it was getting late and the fact that it didn’t just plug in pissed me off a bit so I boxed it up again.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

That’s almost certainly what I’ll be doing but time is the enemy this week due to me leaving home tomorrow lunchtime, getting back Thursday lunchtime then having to be away on the bike by about 18:30 the same evening.

It’s not as if there’s any of that dodgy canbus rubbish to deal with, just fit the mini wiring looms supplied with the bike, join the cables and it’s job done. I should have done it today but it was getting late and the fact that it didn’t just plug in pissed me off a bit so I boxed it up again.

Perhaps the dealer left the connector out of your spares box

 

[Toddmeister]

Interested in how you get on with this Andy. I was contemplating going down the same route but bailed out and took the somewhat easier option of a 690! So far I've not regretted that decision, but I do think a really good 501 set up would make an excellent off road travel bike.

Looking forward to the build report and pics

 

[AndyB_11]

Perhaps the dealer left the connector out of your spares box

I don’t think so, the extra wiring looms are there and you’d expect them to just plug straight in but even though they’re the same size block one has round pins and the other one has flat holes. I’m more inclined to think that they’ve sent a loom for a different bike as in maybe US or Australian spec.

I’d always thought they arrived fully road legal but apparently they leave the factory in race trim and it’s up to the customer to put the road parts on. If I’d realised I’d have asked the dealer to do it but I didn’t ask the question so it’s my fault entirely.

I don’t think the front indicators will fit with the Nomad tower on the bike but I’m pretty sure they’ll put some mini indicators on if I’m willing to pay (which I am) but if not then I’ll just sort something out for myself. I’ve bought it to use as a travel bike that’s got good off road capability so there’ll be other little bits and pieces that I need to tweek as I get used to the bike and realise what additional items I want.