The 650 Dakar Thread

I have a k60 140-80 on mine but I think a 150 would rub the chain guard

A guy I respect quite well advised me that sometimes if you put a tyre too large on the back, it makes the bike harder to turn. He put a larger tyre on his Tenere 660(?) and went back to the smaller stock size tyre. His other bike is a KTM400 I think. But he can ride...really ride....makes me look like I'm stuck in first gear.

Having said that I have run a K60 and a E09Dakar in 140 on my F650, and I think it's fine...but I probably wouldn't really know until I tried a smaller tyre again.

Thanks all. Appreciate the tire viewpoints.

Going to be doing fork seals tomorrow. Last time i did them, I used the F650.com FAQ, disassembling them completely and cleaning them out.

Does anyone know if I can do a quick one by just ramming a screwdriver thru the seal and ripping it out?? Or is that bushing in the way??

Ive done a lot of seals on engines and transmissions that way, just dont know if the bushing sits too close behind the seal to let that work...



While Im at it...on my KLR, which has a schraeder valve in the fork cap, I changed seals by airing them up until the seals blew out. Was thinking of having valves put in the caps on my Dakar for that, and tuning, reasons. Any thoughts on whether or not that would work?? Seems to me that the forks on the two bikes are similar enough that it should.

Thanks.

I'd say that you'd be running a huge risk of scratching or damaging the fork tubes by doing it that way. I'd suggest doing it the "right way" and disassembling the forks.

I concur... it's not a biggy to strip them. On one particullar effort I happened to be on a mission ( to make a ride start time)and stripped and rebuilt both legs in 35min in a workshop environment... normal time is usually around one hour not including slipping them off the bike.

They were not this dirty though

180??!!! Can you tell me how? I have a bunch of sport bike tires I would love to use as commuters. Is this an easy Job? I am guessing you changed out the swing arm? Can you post a link to your a write up or something.
thanks

Glad you managed to get back on dry land

this is a lot of work but i squeezed a 180-80-14 tw200 wheel in the stock swingarm.

i have a whole writeup on my dakar putting the 180 on the rear and 4.60x18 front tire in this section under kubiaks tw650 build.

bike looks awesome. How is the paint job holding up?

I'm sure you've posted the info before but what's the front fender and the rear fender? Did the rear require much alteration?

thanks for the compliment Kainic! the paint is holding up great but im thinking of another paint job already. maybe repaint next week.

the front fender is off a ktm950sm which came black or orange but i painted it white. i just redrilled the fender to go on the yamaha forks. the rear fender is for a 05 honda crf450. i cut half the fender off and just used the last foot of it. i had to drill and make a few mounts to fit it but nothing big. a few pieces of flat metal i bent up to fit it on the dakar.

Thank you. Much appreciated.

Bloody hell RC - Swimming in biker gear doesn't sound like fun! Glad your ok.

Sorry to hear that the bike won't survive - yours was one of the well sorted ones - Such a waste to crush it. Presumably you can get some bits and pieces off it like the sump guard etc?

Which flood was it that got you?

Why is there such a category? Doesn't make too much sense to me...

Couldn't you just buy it back, I mean, if it's running...

Has anyone seen an '05 Dakar that looks like this coming of the showroom floor? I am considering buying it, but I think it might have been dropped and the plastic replaced? Thanks -

SFAIK, there are no such thing as aftermarket plastics for the F650GS/Dakar. Those plastics do look to be repainted.

I think it's a given, buying a used Dakar, that it's been dropped at least once. So long as there isn't any serious structural damage, and the front fork lowers aren't cracked, you should be okay.

Thanks, I'll be taking it in for a safety inspection Friday. Maybe I can knock off a few more bucks!