DR350 Thread

Please don't take this statement the wrong way but, I doubt the fender sub assy weighs more than 5-7lbs. And it's there for a reason. I don't much care for having gravel, stones, mud etc: slung in my face from the rider in front of me because he decided to lose a few pounds or because he thinks it looks cool without it.
If I want stones in my face I'll go to a track.

I have a TT Vapor on my Honda XL only because I bought it with no Gauges and the Vapor seemed the easiest route for me at the time but I would never trade the highly visible, extremely easy to read stock DR250S/DR350S analog gauges for the tiny Vapor.
I can not confirm this but I doubt the stock gauges weigh more than 2 pounds or so.

The DR250 is not a very popular bike for a reason and since they're identical to the very popular DR350 (except for the power), I'm guessing that's why Suzuki canned the DR250 after 1995.

I'll agree with Bob that the stock gauges are better than a little digital setup.... but how heavy are the turn signals that youd want aftermarket ones for weight savings? They seem fine to me...

+1 to Rockt. We get it Bob. You had trouble tuning your 250 so you don't like 250's. No matter how you slice it a 250 will do everything the 350 will. Its the rider not the bike. There is only a few hp difference between them. The 250 gets its power at a higher RPM than the 350, but it does get it. Why doesn't 100cc equal more than a few HP? Well maybe because they are different engines. There is more at play here than just a bigger bore size. Different heads, different stroke, different gears, cams etc. The 250 produces more power per cc than the 350.

Bob you've been called on this before. Every time someone new askes if they should get a 250 or a 350, you bad mouth the 250. We get it you dont like 250's. Number have been provided for you. All you do is drop names . You provide no data. Its on you and has been on you to prove otherwise. The answer to the question is get whatever bike is in better condition, they are close enough it doesnt matter. For the money either one will do the same jobs. For the most part in the same way.

Not sure about a new rider, but I had my share of under powered 250's.
Maybe modern ones are much better, but I always wanted more power, and I suppose the better suspension these days does not help wanting more power.

I was lusting after a dr350, I read everything here, and the thread about rebuilding a bunch of dr250's and 350's, and thought the 350 would be just the thing, enough power, 6 speed, lighter then the big sleds.

They seem rare around here, one for sale in the last 2 months and it was sold by the time I called.
I got a great deal on a dr650, so that is what I have.
Its a handful in the sand with the street tires on it, but I do enjoy the power.

A well running 350 to 450 seems like the perfect size for me, and I would grab one if I had the chance to.

Brett

Yes, the dr250 did have a supertrap pipe. It was loud. Not a big fan of that. The current owner also said the previous owner rejetted it. To me it seemed off for a 250 but I only have the comparison of the xt for that. I imagine it being a "peaky" motor similar to my ex500s. Kinda weak below say 6k rpms but then would pull stong till redline. It seemed ok from like 7-9k rpms but below and above it felt dead. I'd want to convert it back to stock anyways but I'm not sure it would be worth the money. I'd imagine a new pipe is a couple hundred and new jets would maybe push $50. I'd have a hard time believing I could do this for under $200. That put's me off a little but I'm sure it still wouldn't be bad.

The 350 I want to look at is newer and from what I can tell it has stock pipe/carb but has small blinkers and an led tail and that kind of stuff. The 250 does already have a bashplate and smaller acerbis hand/brush guards which saves a little bit of money. It's the only bike in state which prevents me having to get it inspected. Also it's the closest. The 350 is going to be a 5+ hour round trip. Thats a long way if I decide not to buy it. At least the xt is only a 3 hour round trip. I'm sure I could just get the 250 and be happy with it since I know it's going to get destroyed being my intro to offroading bike. I'm sure I'll be able to get the 250 the cheapest as well. The guy already said he's not pushing the bike but he could use the money to buy a rock for his girl. Not sure that was the best thing to tell me. Listed at $1600....Maybe I could get it for 1k cash.

It's not that I don't like the 250, it's just that the 350 is superior in the guts department and I'm simply trying to be helpful to any potential DR buyers.

If you're talking about the Suzuki brochure HP/TQ numbers... thats nothing more than wishful thinking.

If the DR350 brochure numbers were accurate then the much lighter 350 would kill a DR650 which makes an actual 37 HP or so as proven time and again by dyno testing.

Either show me the real numbers or stop talking nonsense.

I'll sell you my stock '90 (except for a larger capacity IMS fuel tank, and Acerbis bark busters) DR250S with 7K miles for $900

Bike runs excellent... needs nothing.

Gotta be honest though, In my opinion the DR350 is a much more powerful bike. But it's for sale if you're interested.

North east.

Take this to PM guys.

Update and thanks for the advice: I ended up getting the '92 DR350S model. Turned out to be a White Brothers exhaust, and the bike is in super clean shape, fresh valve adjust, carb clean and oil change, Raptor petcock, kickstarts easily even for my girlfriend and I, who have never owned a kickstart bike. It's saucy!

Ordered a new battery and some Tusk high-bend bars and handguards for it, and peeled off the awful pink/purple decals (except for the tank). I'm thinking that a Clarke tank would be another good addition.

Of course, as soon as I got it home, both left blinkers (the rears are LEDs) and the brake light lamp went out. Changed the bulb, and while it still functions as a running light, neither brake lever actuates it. I've printed out a wiring diagram...any ideas on where to start to try to isolate the issue? I'm inexperienced in matters electrical.

Yes, or better yet, let's shrug this off as an internet communication issue and move on. We're passionate about our bikes, so we defend their honour, but enough's been said about all this. Some need the 350's extra power and torque, some don't. Neither is a bad bike. Actually they're both GREAT bikes. And if you think about it, that's why we're out here. We're all motorcyclcists, we're all into DR's, in the real world we'd be fast friends.

So, sorry if I offended anyone. Hopefully we can continue to share knowledge, experience and yes, opinions about these great bikes. I know I'll likely need help at some point. Hope I can still count on it.

I bought a 98 350 dirt about 2 months ago and have been a lurker reading
all I could about it. I know these bikes have their shortcomings, and we all
have our opinions. We are in this because we enjoy these bikes and want to continue to enjoy them. I have learned a great deal by watching and reading and look forward to continuing this. Going back to the guy who is debating between the 250 and 350, if you can make the trip, try and get there. If not, continue to search. I have owned a limited number of bikes,
this 350 is the largest thumper that I have owned, and I really enjoy the "tractoring" that I can do with it. I have to get up and go to work tomorrow so speed is not necessarily what I am looking for. I am not 18 anymore.....

Btw, Bob, I see you located in Oxford, I am just up the road in Woodbury.
Perhaps we can connect some time.

OBR

Ok Bob we get it. You had issues with your 250. Now you take every opportunity to say how crappy they are. Links have been provided for you. No sales brochure here. Your response to proof was, "That BS, I wouldn't trust those numbers" "Show me the dyno sheet!". Which you just repeated above. But the onus of proof is on you now. I provided a source, you dicounted it, now its time for you to prove it. SHOW US THE DYNO MAN! You own both bikes, whats holding you back? You just started crap with rockt because he likes his 250. Then you attempted to place the blame on him for starting it. When it was obviosly you. He backed off. I've seen this pattern from you before. Its getting annoying. A 250 will do anything a 350 will. Sorry about your luck with yours. Mine is great, Rockt sounds like he enjoys his as well. The bottom line for prospective buyers is buy the bike thats in better condition. They are close enough to equal it does not matter. For the record my 250 hits 75mph quick and tops out the stock 14/42 gears at 88mph. Cruises 75 no problem. All day long.

I've got to say I own both a Dr250 and Dr350 and in the dirt there is no comparison in power, the 350 just pulls, on the 250 I'm rowing the gears all day to stay in the narrow power band.

On the streat there isn't a lot of difference once over about 35-40 mph but low speed the 350 torque wins hands down.

Wayn National Forest. Hanging Rock trail. I have no issues off road. But thats more about the Racetech gold valved shock and the kenda 760's.

Funny how the 250 and 350 are so close we don't have a seperate thread for the 250.

It took a little convincing, but I think I am going to move from the DR650 thread to the DR350 thread.

I'm looking for something a little more trail-worthy that fits my nooB skills better.

So I'm looking at a '97 on Craiglist and I don't think it has a stock muffler. Here is a picture (crappy one) of the bike.



That doesn't look like the stock muffler. Any thoughts on what it is? Any other observations on the bike are welcome too. I'm looking at it on Saturday.

Not to interrupt the arguing, but since I replaced the headlight on my 350S with an Acerbis, I've got a stock headlight and fairing I'd love to unload... I've got too much shit in my garage already. Do I hear $40 shipped? I'll throw in a NEW UNOPENED fancy bulb. The light already has a good bulb in it, both brights and lows working.

bulb - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150483228464&viewitem=

One mar on the fairing, I can PM pics if need be. Any takers?

I never had "issues" with my 250. I did want to get a little more snap out of it so I tried a TM33 pumper carb (stock is a TM31 and theyre almost impossible to find) The TM33 was simply too big and therefore had a rich low end bog that we could not get rid of.

I put the stock CV carb back on and it runs like a clock.

You want to pay for the dyno time? I'd be more than happy to run them both.

Hey Bob Onit
Your 250 makes as much power and torque as the Queen Mary and your 350 puts the Star Trek Enterprise to shame, or whatever, can we talk about something else, please? Pretty please? Lighten up man, they're brilliant bikes and we all love riding them, thats what counts surely? Even with a sick engine mine still pulls like a train and punches well above its weight.

I spent the evening trying to remove the engine from the frame of my 350 because it is using too much oil and found that the rear engine bolt, the one through the bottom of the gearbox was seized in place because of corrosion. :huh I spent hours on my back carefully drilling it flush with the gearbox so I could lift it clear before spending more time drilling it completely out of the gearbox. I bought a Clymer manual to help identify the heavy oil use problem and so far have only removed the rocker cover. The cams look perfect and not worn but I need to check them with a micrometer to make sure. Next the head and then the cylinder. I'm guessing by the state of the bike that it has not been particularly well looked after and the engine probably hasn't been taken out before.

Would overheating and higher compression caused by carbon build up result in excessive oil use?

Is it worth it to anyone that I put pictures up or has everyone been there done that? I'm not joking when I view this site as mainly contributed to by the knowledgeable and don't want to get under anyones feet with irrelevance.

I'm new to the DR350 engine and no accomplished mechanic but everything looks pretty straightforward in the manual.