THIS. No more street plated dirt bikes in CA since '04. If you did happen to get one through, you are on borrowed time.
If your DR is a California model and has a CV carb look on the right side (clutch side) of the carburetor. You will see two ports that have to be plugged. One is ported vacuum and the other has vacuum all the time. If these are not plugged your bike will run like crap just as you describe. I'm not sure if the non California bikes had these ports or not. Good Luck, SP
I'm impressed! Just to confirm, your heated grips and vapor speedometer operate on A/C power (*not* converted to D/C). Correct? Regards, Gregory Bender
Wolfman bags are mounted on a TCI Denali Rack. This rack has proven to be much stronger than it looks - very durable. It's kind of a big rack so if you like to run without bags sometimes it may not be a good option. It doesn't really seem to weigh much, it just sticks out more than you might like without bags on. I leave bags on my bike all the time so it works for me. A great rack for dual sport touring on the DR350 imo, but they aren't cheap! The windshield is a Slip Stream S06 Spitfire. It works well for me. I like that it can be removed/reinstalled in about a minute. I take it off in the summer unless I'm going any distance at speeds over 50 mph. Below 50 mph the wind doesn't seem bad on the DR350, but much over 50 mph and it's horrible - I feel like a human parachute. The windshield makes a huge difference. They're relatively inexpensive - about $75 or less. No heated grips - Powerlet outlet to run heated gloves. Gerbing G3 gloves and Vapor speedo both running on A/C - not converted to D/C. I've put about 15k miles on the bike since I got it a few years ago. The Vapor has been on it for about 10k miles, and I wired the Powerlet outlet in a couple years ago.
There is an oil galley in there that takes an o-ring, I recently read about a guy who forgot to put the o-ring in and it filled the cylinder with oil. Are you sure its not the oil line fitting? It would seem a more likely culprit. If it does require removing the cam, head, and cylinder, would that be within your capabilities? It shouldn't take more than 8 hours if you've done it before, provided you have all the new gaskets you'll need and don't run into problems. do you think it might go away by removing the cam cover and retorquing the head? The clymer manual recommends doing this pretty frequently.
i was all excited to get my exhaust back from getting modified at Kientech until i saw UPS had a go at it too
There are no O-rings between the block/cylinder/head unless somebody did some aftermarket machining for super high compression. I just tore my entire motor apart and put it back together, as well as I just checked the parts manual and there are no mystery o-ring's on the engine itself or in the parts manual anywhere between the cylinder and block or between the head and cylinder. Maybe, you're thinking of the steel inserts that are referred to as "PIN" in the parts manual because they do act as oil galleries between the block/cylinder/head around the bolts for pressurized oil to go from the pump up to the head to lubricate the camshaft area. If those "PINs" aren't installed a "LOT" of high pressure oil will be going places it shouldn't be.
joined the club. Picked this up yesterday. 1990 350s with 4600 miles. Needs some TLC but for the price I couldn't pass it up.
That sucks. But I am sure it will bend right back into shape with a crecent wrench. Fill a claim, bend the lip back, get the cash, enjoy the exhaust. Hope jetting isn't too much of a bear. This might be true, but not worth buying the bike to only find out more is involved.
Does anyone know of a write up for converting the RMZ250 forks to a DR350? I know several people have done it. I just picked up the forks, triple, brakes, and wheels from an RMZ250. I believe the donor bike was an '04... I think I need new bearings and an axle. I'll get pics up when I can.
If it is anything like the Rm, then you will need to press out your steering stem and press it in the lower triple of the rmx one.
The top triple and the stem. Some get a spacer custom machined. I used a 3/4" plumbing coupler and some beer can shims. I also relived a little material from the top triple as the Rm triples are thicker. The hardest part is pressing out the Dr stem. Need a big hydraulic press
Just a heads up that my '96 DR350SE with some nice mods will be hitting the FM and Craigslist soon. I shared a good bit about it in this post in the Weekly Rides near Charleston, SC thread. I'm located about 1.5 hours northwest of Charleston & 45 minutes south of Columbia. Thanks, Laura
If you use a late 90's Suzuki RMX forks nothing needs to be done except a new upper bearing and turn the top nut down by .125". My DR has a set of forks from a 96 RMX250. I had the tabs that hold the odometer welded to the stock RMX upper clamp, looks all factory. You will need the RMX wheel and brake caliper also. SP
