DR350 supermoto project on a KLR budget

[dbarale]

So I’ve had motard envy for a while now, going on 15 years. The fact that the roads around here are perfect for them and that a bunch of local inmates ride them didn’t help a bit…
But I’m also broke so buying one was not an option. I thought about converting my little XR250R but I like it too much the way it is.
A friend of mine offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse on his old DR350S. So I ended up with this, meet Number 6:





The good: it has some aftermarket goodies like Vortex airbox, FMF exhaust, zombie proof skidplate, and the suspension feels like it has been reworked at some point and the stickers on the fork are not just there for show.










The bad: the bike is an absolute bitch to start and it has been thoroughly abused by a gang of drunken rednecks. It looks like hell, the wiring is a mess, etc. Also the top end is making lots of scary noises (like marbles in a tin can).
So the plan is to turn this into a low cost supermotard using a lot of elbow grease and not a lot of $$$$$. I first intended to lace another 18” rim on the front hub and run 18” street tires front and rear but I found out that Katana/GS500 rims will be cheaper and allow me to run 17” rubber and a bigger front brake. So that’s the new plan but we’re not there yet…
First I wanted to check the engine and make sure that the project was viable. Step one was checking the cam chain tensioner. Sure enough it was completely extended, so the chain is stretched and needs to be replaced. I’m actually quite happy about that as it could be the reason for the top end noise and partially responsible for the hard starting.







Step two: off with the valve cover to take a look at the cam and journals. I was really scared at this point because a trashed head would mean the end of the project. Let’s see…




Well, looks great!









So the rockers are a little marked, probably form the valves being overly tight at some point. But it doesn’t look too bad. It will have to do. So now the plan for the engine is: valve lap, valve stem seals, take a peak at the bore and maybe a light hone and rings if needed (best case scenario). Next step will be to take the clutch cover off to look at the other side of the timing chain, clutch basket and shift fork bolt…
I had a few hours left so I started the disassembly:










Bike in a box and end of day one.

Feedback, comments, and "WTF are you doing" are welcomed...

[Lambo]

This is gong to be interesting, good on ya.

[tim007]

nice find .. im going to be doing the same to mine soon so i will be watching this thread like a hawk.......... sweet vortex airbox i want one so bad

[dbarale]

Shopping list so far (no doubt that it will grow).

Needed:
- full gasket set
- timing chain
- GS500 wheels and appropriate tires
- mirror

Wanted:
- XR style tailight
- SM front fender
- factory clutch perch and lever (the ratio on this one seems to be all wrong)
- maybe a lighter skidplate (any suggestions?)
- SS front brake line
- fork brace

[Honkylicious]

Wanted:
- XR style tailight
- SM front fender
- factory clutch perch and lever (the ratio on this one seems to be all wrong)
- maybe a lighter skidplate (any suggestions?) ***
- SS front brake line
- fork brace[/QUOTE]

Maybe a plastic skidplate from an 08+ KLR650? Got one laying around, just let me know.

[dbarale]

Originally Posted by KLickeR

Wanted:
- XR style tailight
- SM front fender
- factory clutch perch and lever (the ratio on this one seems to be all wrong)
- maybe a lighter skidplate (any suggestions?) ***
- SS front brake line
- fork brace

Maybe a plastic skidplate from an 08+ KLR650? Got one laying around, just let me know.[/QUOTE]

Klicker, thanks for the offer. A plastic one is actually a good idea but I just swapped my skidplate for a factory one which should be a good bit lighter and fits right in...

[dbarale]

So, one step forward....

.... 29 steps back.

I took the engine to get measured. As I feared the cylinder is out of spec. The exhaust valves are also badly hammered.
I thought about slapping in some new rings and calling it good but in the end I decided to do it right:
- Wiseco piston and rings (+ 0.5 mm)
- New exhaust valves
- Re-bore
- $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.........

So I was a little down after that one, thankfuly a big package was waiting for me at the house:



Decent shape, no major issues. For $25 I was happy!
So I knocked out the (brand new) wheel bearings and slapped in a couple 6204's that I had leftover from something and fitted the DR axle.

I cleaned and taped the swingarm and marked some reference points with the stock wheel fitted:



Then I finally was able to see for myself how well the GS wheel fits the DR swingarm... To sum it up: it ain't fuckin' happenin'!





The wheel is offset about 13mm to the right, not great but not too bad. I could live with that.



The sprocket side is also pretty good. I would need to run a sealed bearing and grind about 5mm of the lip to gain some clearance but nothing complicated and the chain would line up perfectly:



The brake side is the problem. I read some writeups about using the GS wheel in a DR650 and I thought it would work for me since both bikes use the same rear wheel but the 650 swingarm must be wider than the 350's. The other issue is that it looks my wheel doesn't have enought meat on the rotor side to machine it. Suzuki might have lightened the wheel at some point, lucky me I got a later wheel...



So even if I wanted to use the GS caliper and hanger I would have to grind the swingarm to make room for the rotor. Even then I'm not sure there is enough room between the hub and the swingarm to clear the hanger. Here's an example on an XR250 (maybe from OtherBart?):




So back to square one. Unless I'm missing something really obvious I don't think this wheel is going to work. I may go the DR650 wheel way. I don't know. Need a drink...

[TheOtherBart]

Originally Posted by dbarale

So even if I wanted to use the GS caliper and hanger I would have to grind the swingarm to make room for the rotor. Even then I'm not sure there is enough room between the hub and the swingarm to clear the hanger. Here's an example on an XR250 (maybe from OtherBart?):




So back to square one. Unless I'm missing something really obvious I don't think this wheel is going to work. I may go the DR650 wheel way. I don't know. Need a drink...

That's not mine, but I can take pics if it would help. When I made a left side spacer that positioned the wheel such that the sprocket lined up then all I needed on the right was the caliper bracket and a washer (maybe 1/8" thick?). I don't think my wheel had that huge space from the rim edge to the sprocket like yours does there.

[MrPulldown]

Originally Posted by dbarale

Maybe a plastic skidplate from an 08+ KLR650? Got one laying around, just let me know.

Klicker, thanks for the offer. A plastic one is actually a good idea but I just swapped my skidplate for a factory one which should be a good bit lighter and fits right in...[/QUOTE]

The skid plate you had on the bike was a very coveted one. It is the lightest of the aftermarket plates and had the rear mounting tabs at the factory location. Hope you didn't swap directly for a stock plate as those are a dime a dozen. E-bay for less than 20. You could probably get close to 100 bucks for that skid. I was about to offer you my extra stocker for the cost of shipping.

My buddy has one, and I ogoggle over it all the time.

[dbarale]

Originally Posted by papalobster

Road America Briggs and Stratton Motorplex.

Perfect venue for farm equipment like the ole DR...

Originally Posted by MrPulldown

The skid plate you had on the bike was a very coveted one. It is the lightest of the aftermarket plates and had the rear mounting tabs at the factory location. Hope you didn't swap directly for a stock plate as those are a dime a dozen. E-bay for less than 20. You could probably get close to 100 bucks for that skid. I was about to offer you my extra stocker for the cost of shipping.

My buddy has one, and I ogoggle over it all the time.

I didn't get quite $100 for it but I got a fair deal. Thanks Rubberband!

[PineyMountainRacing]

Bike looks familiar, was it Allen's?

Can't beat a DR350 or a DRZ as a 'tard
Good luck, I'll be watching the conversion.

PMR

[dbarale]

Originally Posted by PineyMountainRacing

Bike looks familiar, was it Allen's?
PMR

Technicaly, it still is... I hope he doesn't change his mind as it would suck to have to put it all back together.

Originally Posted by rockjunkie

"WTF are you doing!?"

Obviously I have no clue, otherwise I wouldn't have started this project.

[rubberband]

nice project... clutch pull on my bike is super light. I have one of these http://kientech.com/Billetaluminumclutcharm.htm

[rockjunkie]

"WTF are you doing!?"

[dbarale]

I only had a couple of hours to work on the bike today so I didn't get much done. I drained the oil, removed the in-frame oil screen and took out the clutch cover. I thought it would be easier to break the clutch basket nut loose with the engine in the frame. Turns out I didn't need to worry as the nut was only finger tight and the only thing holding it was the bent lockwasher...

The shifter fork bolt had not backed out but was definitely not torqued to spec. It will be done later with Loctite and a torque wrench.

The cam chain is even worse than I thought. In the following pic the tensioner is back in and fully extended. The chain is completely slack!




I need to push the guide at least another 1/4" to get the chain to tighten up.



And in this one you can see what appears to be the only damage, a little rubb spot where the botom of the guide has been rattling against the case.




Could someone tell me if the kickstart spring look OK? It looks weird to me but I do not know what it's supposed to look like.




And then I did a little more disassembly. Next step, carb and head come off...