Any rejetted DR650 that is only getting 36 mpg is not set up correctly. When jetted right the fuel economy won't take more than a 2-3 mpg hit.
I upped my dirt tracking corner speed so much with a MT43 it was borderline dangerous,stop quicker coming in,hook up harder coming out of the corner with no rear end waggling all over the place. The scary thing is I could have gone faster. This on my DRZe,its been an over sliding sort of bike no matter what back tire I put on it,not anymore. Ive only ran it down to 13 lbs so far,friends get away with 11,Im a little paranoid about flats still,they sure smooth the ride out though.
I left a ride report about my trip in the Colorado mountains on my DR650... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17026939#post17026939
Thank you much, i think that way the last bit i needed to be pushed to the sargent. Its cheaper and just as wide. My problem is that i ride 2 up, and i dont want to be uncomfortable on the front of the seat. I see the corbin is wider near the front, is the sargent just as good?
There are some good pics of both the Corbin and Sargent on this thread. Here is an above shot of my Corbin. The Corbin takes ages to break in and get comfortable. At least 2 or 3000 miles of seat time. Mine is now up to 40,000 ... the Corbin is not bad for multiple 400 mile days if you're head is in it. You may see Corbins for sale used from time to time ... Sargent's too.
I've owned Corbin's on BMW's, TravelCade's on the Gold Wing, and I have a Sargeant on the DR. Anything is better than the stock pine rail ... uh, saddle that comes on the DR650. FWIW, to my thinking the average rider who just needs a bit more comfort for all-day rides or longer tours would find comfort a toss-up between Corbin and Sargeant. The primary tipping point for me on buying the Sargeant for the DR was because it will fit any aftermarket tank.
Don't spend money you don't have to. A carb-tuning kit might be perfectly fine for you until you have other areas of the bike set up for you and you still have some money to burn. THEN get a flatslide pumper carb...and a 780 kit with a cam. IMO, if you're near sea-level, you NEED to richen the carbing to get it running right. Forget Dynojet and the other kits that just have jets. Get the Procycle kit with the main jets, the adjustable needle, the extended mixture screw, the slide-drilling drillbit, and instructions/support. While a pumper carb would be awesome, you can get the DR running pretty nicely with a properly-tuned stock carb. I have stock sprockets and mine gets around 50MPG. Throttle response is ridiculous compared to stock now. It pulls the front wheel with just a blip of the throttle in 1st. 2nd takes a purposeful decel-blip at some revs, but it still comes up without me pulling or clutching. A 14T CS would be silly. I also have an FMF Q2 muffler and a Uni filter, but I haven't ground the header weld yet. It hauls us 2-up with luggage down the slab faster than any legal speed limit in this country, and it pulls higher gears at lower speeds smoothly now. I can shift to 5th at 45MPH (indicated), and it'll still pull it. It also runs cooler, starts easier, and comes off choke quicker. If you're not getting close to 45-55MPG (hwy), riding somewhat sedately with a DR650SE, something isn't adjusted right. Common tune culprits are the needle position, the mixture screw adjustment, the pilot jet, and the main jet. If the main jet is the recommended one and it test-rides well per Procycle's instructions, I'd start with going leaner on the needle and then adjusting the mixture screw per instructions. If there isn't enough adjustment in the needle and the mixture screw, try a 1-size smaller pilot jet and start testing needle/screw settings again. You don't even really have to remove the carb to do the Procycle kit. Just drain the bowl into a paper cup and pour that back into the tank, pull the lines and cables, remove the plastics, seat, and tank, then loosen the carb boot clamps, and rotate the carb to access the top or bottom. Use a good #2 Phillips bit, and a cordless drill with the clutch set fairly soft (I used "5" on my drill), to break the OEM screws loose. I had to go up one slot leaner on the needle from Procycle's instructions though, as my idle mix was too rich to adjust with the range the mixture screw affords. The kit is do-able with a stock exhaust too, so you don't have to spend your money there just yet. I WOULD recommend getting a filter better than the OEM or a K&N. Uni or Twinair come to mind. - Get a decent service manual. - Get a flat-repair kit and the tools to do it (BeadBuddy, EnduroStar trail-stand, combo 24mm/19mm/12-13mm wrench/levers for axle nuts, spokes and tire beads). Get the tools to check your intake/exhaust valves too. - Get a skid and case protection if you're riding any dirt...or carry a lot of Quiksteel and spare quarts of oil. Armor is more responsible though. - Do the DR fixes. Swap the upper chain-roller for a Loc-tited setscrew ($0.90 @ Ace Hardware), Loc-tite and torque the NSU screws and the primary nut, grease the steering and swingarm bearings, and torque all reachable fasteners to spec. - A lot of people like to get oil filter magnets and magnetic crankcase plugs. - Loosen the barclamps on your clutch and front brake levers slightly, so they can rotate if hit. Drill the levers near the balls. Tusk handguards are also super affordable and pretty strong. - ATV Logic tank panniers and tankbag are extremely inexpensive and fit stock or aftermarket DR tanks with just a different adjustable rear strap for the tankbag. Some people also stitch straps to the bottom front of the tank panniers for better retention than the supplied velcro provides. The bags give you a place to carry your registration, maps, GPS, beverages, extra layers, etc., and they weigh almost nothing...for a fraction of the cost of something like Wolfman or Giant Loop tank luggage. - Set up the suspension for your weight with cargo. You'll likely need heavier springs, fork oil, and shock oil...minimum. - Ride the snot out of it and decide what else you want to do. Your butt may toughen up enough for the stock seat to be a non-issue. You may prefer no windscreen. You may want even more power.
I've jetted my carb with a DJ Kit, cut my air box open, put on a twin air filter, and a GSXR exhaust and on the open road I can get 53 or better MPG! I did 160 miles of paved and FS roads and trails last weekend with a 14T sprocket and got almost 50 MPG!
+1 on that sentiment - if i had a bone stock dr650 and could do only one mod, it would be the seat. because the bike is absolutely not ride-able w/the stock seat, imo. mine would never get ridden w/the stock seat, so other mods would be a waste. doug s.
i'll just paste this post from earlier in the DR650 thread. we're all here to learn, but please if you dont know what you're talking about please keep your ignorance to yourself and try to learn from the cumulative knowledge of others. thanks. i think it's funny that it's almost the same exact ignorant argument as before. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12889426&postcount=34842 the factory service manual i have lists the following jet needles: 6F19-3rd, 6F21-4th and mine 6F23 6F23 - is the single position jet needle and according to the manual is for E-03 (USA) and E-33 (California, USA) locations only. you must have either the 6F19 or 6F21 jet needle in your carb, non-US model. or someone has monkey'd with your carburator.
Porter Bros in England were getting nearly 80BHP out of Rotax motors,but that was including fuel injection,and the "CC's" were away up.Been trying without success to talk to them for over the last year-they may have folded in the recession.If anyone in England know,let me know! My mate had Carl Fogertys ex-CCM,Rotax'd one,not a Suzuki,and it was mid 60's.
As you say, a stock '06 US model including California has a non adjustable 6F23 needle in it (in fact '96 -'11 models do). You may want to re-read what I wrote, as I never claimed otherwise. However, the parts diagram I provided is for a US model including California, which means that the order of parts from top to bottom is in fact: diaphragm cover, spring, spring seat, needle clip, shim washer (if you use one), plastic ring, slide. Regards, Derek
I like Factory Pro kits because if dyno testing shows that the needle shape is less than ideal for a given combination of parts, they will generally provide me with alternate profiles. Regards, Derek
I think you hit the nail on the head there. I noticed very little increase in fuel consumption after fitting the Dyno-jet kit. Even that was probably due to being a bit more heavy handed