the DR650 thread

+1 Its a fair deal, take it!

Ask for the stock exhaust if you're getting this DR. The FMF is MUCH louder than stock on the slab, especially if you don't re-pack it religiously. Pipes that need re-packing just don't make sense for a bike that racks up mileage. They're better left to dirtbikes, that measure their wear in HOURS.

anyone ever noticed the grease seal on the inside of the speedo hub mount? suzuki doesnt list it as a separate part so i was wondering if anyone has found where you can buy one aftermarket. after 111 000km i think it only right by my girl that i replace for her.

I pulled the trigger :)

I wouldn't do that trade. Honestly, DR650s aren't hard bikes to find, and they're definitely not hard to find on the cheap. At any given time there's two or three of them in good condition in my area just on Craigslist. If it were me and I had to do it all over again, I would have kept my street bike, gotten a night job at McDonalds or something, and just worked the couple months it'd take to save up for the second bike. If having two bikes is, for whatever reason, completely impossible/impractical for your situation, then sell your bike first to get every penny of what it's worth. If you're dead set on doing a straight trade...come on down to Albuquerque and we'll swap.

Thanks for the follow-up, I wondered where you ended up on this.

Take a look at your photo. I'm thinking: Yes, use all the seals you can fit in there.

Yep, I'd guess you were.

72k miles This came up some time ago, I never saw an answer. I'd like to replace mine too.

Congrats! I agree with others here. $2K for a solid bike is a place a lot of folks would like to be.

Haha, this is too funny!!!

OK, another update here.

I was trying to avoid just straight up removing them, but I figured it was worth a shot. So today I had a free hour and decided to pull out the Intiminators to see how the fork action is. I did not bother to add more oil (as the oil height dropped), add preload (to keep the same preload I should add around 3/4" extra in PVC pipe, or bump the oil viscosity up (with the Intiminators removed I should go back up to around 10 wt, as Ricor recommended a lower 5 wt). I will do these things later.

The fork action has pretty much returned to normal, in regards to no more excessive binding, easier to compress, and it rebounds back to normal ride height without me having to "pull" it up. There is still a slight amount of stiction, more then my F800GS or WR250R, but hey, it's a low tech DS bike without nice USD forks, so it feels pretty damn good now for what it is.

It looks like the bottom edge could have been scrapping the inside of the fork tubes a bit too much.


For now I will just return to a higher viscosity oil and leave the Intiminators out, more or less a stock fork setup.

Thanks, new to dual sport. a lot to learn. first to get proper boots. I don't think my racing boots work for this application.

Which boots are those? They'll probably do just fine for the time being. You may need to raise the shift lever a little so you can get your toe under it.

I started out with a pair of Alpinestars Tech 2's. I still wear them strictly for dirt riding on my KLX250S, until I can get something taller. I just wasn't comfortable in full-height boots at the time. But just recently, I got a killer deal on some Sidi Adventure Rain boots. I don't think they're armored quite enough for true offroading, but for adventure riding, they ROCK. VERY comfortable. I swapped out the stock insoles with some SuperFeet insoles (the green ones). At first, I had to raise the shifter a notch, but now that they've broken in, I was able to put it back down. The only downside is these boots squeak like mad. I've read you can oil them, but I haven't tried yet.

Rob

Rob,

I have A* smx plus racing boots. The sole is quite thin on those boots. Been reading reviews on merchants sites. sidi sure makes nice boots. but also $$$.

I currently have REVIT! textile jacket and Pants.

Thanks for the tip

Yeah Sidis are expensive... hence why I jumped on the ones I found (barely used).

REVIT is NICE stuff, really nice stuff.

Rob

http://www.atomic-moto.com/boots.html

I usually give Brian at Atomic Moto a look for boots. Some stuff you don't see everywhere. I went with the Gaerne SG-10's for my more adventurous rides and the Gaerne G-Adventure for most of my stuff. I also picked up a brand new pair of A-star "no stop" trials boots from CL at a "I don't really need 'em but I can't pass 'em up" price.

Brian is a vendor on ADV and has outstanding customer service.

I do all my DS and ADV riding in Side Flex Force boots, which are quite hefty.



Yes they are big and clunky, but I have gone on 3 week rides (the Continental Divide Ride) in them without any issues. I just bring a pair of flip flops with me, so at lunch breaks I can air my feet out. Makes a huge difference.

I've rotated the fuel tube on three BST carbs, no issues at all. Two were my Carbs, one on a friends bike.

It's technique, not technical.
I did this Carb on bike. Tank off and out of way. I used big Channel Lock pliers, a BIG Crescent wrench can work also. I placed a piece of inner tube on the fuel tube to protect. Grab the entire length of tube with pliers, applying even pressure.

I rotated to 9 O'clock position (some go to 3 O'clock position). Steady, firm pressure (NO HEAT) and she moved smooth and easy on all three carbs.

Access is important to apply even pressure along the length of the tube. So use the right tool or remove Carb.

The result added "about" 20 miles more range on my IMS fuel tank.

Does the Safari have dual petcocks? (right and left). I recall some mention of that. If not, maybe add another petcock?

Good luck.

Could be a good deal if that mileage is true. So easy to disconnect ODO.
Sadly, many fudge ODO readings.

Try to find a good mechanic to come with you to check bike out. Have a close listen and nice test ride. Sound can tell you a lot on a DR650. Listen for changes from Cold to Hot. Look at oil, shift through gear box.
Check underside for off road damage (linkage, case, bash plate, underside of swing arm, fork ends ... all can show damage from off road use/abuse)

chances are good its a great deal. Best!

I have the AXO Boxer boots that Atomic sells and I couldn't believe what a nice boot it was for the money.

Hey Isaac!

I love how my intiminators work, so I'm hoping to help you fix yours and experience the goodness!

Because I am a nerd, I did a bunch of research on your intiminator fork clunking. I am pretty positive I know what's causing that clunk, and probably the lack of rebound. Essentially, the intiminator is floating off its seat on top of the damper rod due to pressure overwhelming the spring during the compression stroke and when the downward movement of the fork tube stops, the intiminator gets pushed down by the spring against the damping force until it contacts its seat. Hopefully, that makes sense.

So, how can you correct it?

There are 3 possibilities:

First, and most lame is defective valving inside the intiminator. We'll skip that for now because a replacement is the only solution. I think this is also unlikely.

Second is spring rate. I'm not sure which springs you are using - whether stock or aftermarket, but since the spring rate is sort of being overpowered by the damping rate, it's possible that using stiffer springs might help. Adding more preload to your springs also might help. However, the intiminators are designed to be used with the stock springs I'm pretty sure, so the spring rate should not be the issue. I wouldn't swap springs just as an experiment...

Now for the most likely culprit. I've heard that these intiminators are pretty sensitive to oil viscosity, and they are designed and tuned at the factory using Amsoil 5WT fork fluid. When I installed my intiminators, I was very careful to find the best alternative to the amsoil. WT has almost nothing to do with viscosity.

Oil........................Viscosity @ 40degC................Viscosity @ 100degC............Viscosity Index
Amsoil #5..................5.7...........................................4.4.............................................210
Maxima 5wt..............15.9.........................................3.5.............................................150

Your fork oil will typically be nearer to the 40degC mark, so that is the main number to look at. Your viscosity (resistance to flow) is triple the design viscosity and likely the reason the intiminators are having problems flowing the oil fast enough. Amsoil has an unusually low viscosity somehow.

You can select a better oil from the chart at the bottom of this page:
http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/lowspeed.htm

FWIW, I used Torco RFF 5 with a 40degC viscosity of 10.75 which works well. I bought it because of price/availability, but the damping at high speed is a bit harsh. It's still much better than stock, but the Amsoil #5 would almost certainly be the best.

thanks for the tip. I already bought it. My uncle picked it up. uncle said the bike looks excellent. The seller was very nice as well. I won't be able to see it until the weekend.

Here's the picture.