the DR650 thread

[Paddle007]

Originally Posted by NC Rick

If anyone has a nice condition set of stock DR650 forks available, we would really like to have a set. Cash or trade for suspension work...

Rick
Cogent Dynamics Inc
(828) 628 9025
raceparts (at) motocd (dot) com

Email sent

[ER70S-2]

Originally Posted by isaac004

So yesterday I got around to making the modification described above. After draining some oil and pulling the spring out, I had to compress the fork while it was upside down in a oil pan, and slowly compress the fork to get the Intiminators out. Well not once but TWICE did I end up spraying oil all over the floor as it shot down with force into the oil pan. I should have built a little cardboard wall/fort around the pan so I did not have to spent half a hour wiping off of everything.

This takes me back many years. Short story: I had a 65 pound black standard poodle, he was my best bud (got me thru my divorce). One day I had to do an oil change and I used an 18" diameter open top drain pan with 4" sides. So I got the oil drained and wondered "Where do I put this where I won't trip over it?" Aha, I'll just slide it under the boat trailer tongue (in the garage). Bear was allowed to wander the house and yard thru his dog door. I went in to watch football. During half time, I went to check on him and wandered into the garage. There must have been 1000 dog prints on the concrete floor. How my best buddy managed to get both his front feet into that oil pan is beyond me. Spent an hour with toxic chemicals cleaning the garage floor. At least he didn't come in the house.
No, he did not get yelled at, nor blamed.

Originally Posted by isaac004

I removed about 1mm from each oil ring, and as I put everything back together it was MUCH easier to slide the Intiminators back in the forks. Now I had hopes. After finishing off the re-assembly with Maxima 5wt oil, I bolted everything back together. Time for the moment of truth...

..and no dice. It feels and sounds exactly the same as before.

Not sure what to do at this point. Might be a good time to upgrade to Gold Valves for slightly better off road performance!

Crap. I was tempted to try the Intiminators, just 'cause. Now, not so much. I do like my emulators.

[planemanx15]

Originally Posted by isaac004

THIS! This is exactly the weird thing I think I am chasing down.



I just got off the phone with Ricor and explained my problem, and what they told me was the first round of Ricor's (mine were probably installed by the original owner around 2007-2009) had a slight issue with the seal ring being slightly too large. This is also exasperated by the fact that once it soaks and swells slightly from the fork oil, it becomes even bigger (Pro Tip: Belray sends to cause more swelling, even in regular fork seals). This makes sense with what I saw last year when I "rebuilt" the forks with new oil and new seals....it took a bit of force to get the Intiminator's out, as in I had to turn the fork leg upside down and compress it until the Intiminator shot out with force into my plastic oil collection pan. Likewise during installation, I simply could not just "drop them in"...I had to use the fork spring to help them slide in the fork.

So the guy from Ricor confirmed that I will need to trim down this seal ring. I just pop it off the Intiminator like a piston ring, remove some material either by filing or cutting with diagonal cutters, and reinstall. Once that ring is back on the body of the Intiminator, it should drop right down the fork tube with no resistance. Ricor confirmed that it is OK if it's slightly loose, the effects are not very noticeable.

Hopefully I will get to this in the next half week or so...I will post my results. Thanks everyone for contributing ideas and thoughts.

ER70S-2, thanks for mentioning this crucial bit of info!

planemanx15, this may fix your problem!

Probably not intimidators, I don't have them and I'm still having this issue.

[ER70S-2]

Originally Posted by planemanx15

When I start to brake for a light, my forks move quickly through the first 2 inches, then slow. When I stop, they don't spring back until I start to throttle up and take off. Strange issue, not sure where to start so I'm just "observing" for now lol

Originally Posted by planemanx15

Probably not intimidators, I don't have them and I'm still having this issue.

Stock springs? If so, what do you weigh? I'm about 205 ready to ride (boots, coat, pants, etc). I shimmed my fork preload; started with 1/2", which was too much. So I tried 1/4", but it wasn't enough. I would have been happy at 3/8" but decided to go with Eibach .45 springs and RT emulators. Adding preload is free.

[Feelers]

Originally Posted by isaac004

So yesterday I got around to making the modification described above. After draining some oil and pulling the spring out, I had to compress the fork while it was upside down in a oil pan, and slowly compress the fork to get the Intiminators out. Well not once but TWICE did I end up spraying oil all over the floor as it shot down with force into the oil pan. I should have built a little cardboard wall/fort around the pan so I did not have to spent half a hour wiping off of everything.



I removed about 1mm from each oil ring, and as I put everything back together it was MUCH easier to slide the Intiminators back in the forks. Now I had hopes. After finishing off the re-assembly with Maxima 5wt oil, I bolted everything back together. Time for the moment of truth...

..and no dice. It feels and sounds exactly the same as before.

Not sure what to do at this point. Might be a good time to upgrade to Gold Valves for slightly better off road performance!

Did you fill the forks with fork oil to above the damping rods and cycle the shock several times before dropping in the intiminators and completing the filling?
Did you fill while the forks were fully compressed?
Are your caliper bolts tight?
Is your steering head nut torqued to spec?
If you are sure you installed everything right, I'd experiment with these suggestions:
First, open the caps , take out the spacers, put in new spaces 2x the length of the old ones, screw the caps on and try the bounce test.
If no difference, open the caps, and add some extra oil, screw the caps down and give it the bounce test.
If no difference, open the caps and remove the oil you just poured in and remove some additional oil - a turkey baster might work great if it's long enough. Give it the bounce test again.

Let us know the results.

[ER70S-2]

Originally Posted by eakins

What oil height have people settled on?

I was happy with the stock oil volume (19.1 oz). I believe that's 6.5". That was with .45 Eibach's + emulators. But when I installed Procycle's Magic, way more stronger 320mm rotor, the fork dive was almost as bad as the stock springs.

I've never been happy with having to measure fork oil height with the springs out; what a PITA. Clear back when I had my DT-1B air forks were being experimented with. It was one of the mods available to us back then (Fred Flintstone was my buddy). Maybe it was Dirt Bike magazine that did an article on completely removing the fork springs and using air to suspend the bike. It was an easy and cheap experiment; drill and tap the fork caps, install schrader(?) valves, add air. Even back then, I had to farkle (35 years before I ever heard the word farkle).

This is what I ended up with, it's over in the DR Index, but WTF; now it's here again.

Use a 1/8 NPT tap. Ignore the forks being slipped up in the triple, it's just an experiment.

Copied and pasted from the Index; Suspension / Chassis:
Then I use one of these with a zip tie loose enough to slide up-n-down. Now I can adjust my oil level without disassembly, which came in handy when I put a 320mm rotor on the front. The brake works so much better that the fork dive with .45 Eibachs, was too much for my liking. Stock oil level is 16-1/8" (forks fully extended, with springs and caps installed), I added 20ml and ended up at 14-7/8". That's 1 1/4" or 5/8" per 10ml. You don't even have to move your handi-bars, way better than removing the springs and collapsing the forks everytime you want to experiment with oil levels.

More info here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...2&postcount=19

But in your case (Intiminators and heavier springs), fork dive isn't an issue. So none of this matters. If you aren't bottoming out frequently and you're ok with whatever fork dive, I'm thinking the stock 19.1oz (for accuracy) is good.



My turkey baster:

[Rugby4life]

OK folks, due to old age and old knees I'm selling my DR. I'm going to move it in the next couple of weeks to get something new so this is your last chance.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=822901

Thanks for looking.

[NordieBoy]

Originally Posted by planemanx15

Probably not intimidators, I don't have them and I'm still having this issue.

Did you add a spacer after removing the Intiminators?

[planemanx15]

Originally Posted by ER70S-2

Stock springs? If so, what do you weigh? I'm about 205 ready to ride (boots, coat, pants, etc). I shimmed my fork preload; started with 1/2", which was too much. So I tried 1/4", but it wasn't enough. I would have been happy at 3/8" but decided to go with Eibach .45 springs and RT emulators. Adding preload is free.

Progressive springs from procycle. 200 ready to ride. How can you tell if you have the right amount of preload? I don't have the noise that isaac004 has, but the springing back to the top issue.

nordieboy: never had Intimidators. Thinking about getting them to solve the brake dive.

[planemanx15]

In other news, I finally got to ride after a wet week. I was able to put my rear through its paces again with the new oil and spring. There is no off roading near me (that's legal, and as a soon to be federal employee I refuse to chance it). The bike is so much more controlled, and it actually feels like it has a more aggressive stance. The power delivery now is Great since the rear doesn't dive when twisting the throttle. The front wheel is in the air now, a lot lol.

I've learned that more power is nice, but how you control that power makes all the difference.

[Escaped]

Well my Intiminators work great, brake dive eliminated, better on and off road performance

I believe isaac004 said he bought his used, so maybe there is an issue with his set?

Originally Posted by ER70S-2

:



Crap. I was tempted to try the Intiminators, just 'cause. Now, not so much. I do like my emulators.

[disconnected]

Im looking for engine case savers. Im a complete boob when it comes to this bike, but I learn fast. are there any other options than the TT case savers? Just wondering.



greg

[TrophyHunter]

Here's an option - don't know if it's what is offered on TT
http://www.procycle.us/bikepages/dr650.html#engine



Armor Plating for Engine CasesDR650SE '96-Current

Select Package Case Armor Only $79.95 Armor & Alum. Skid Plate $149.95 Armor & Black Skid Plate $169.95 Armor & Gunmetal Skid Plate $169.95
Qty:
$79.95 - $169.95
Add To Order

Heavy gauge stainless steel case armor to protect your engine cases. These case guards bond to your clutch cover and stator cover with high-temp silicone (not included). Extremely tough protection from rocks! In a fall your brake pedal or shift lever can crack the engine case - leaving you stranded. Don't let it happen to you! Get the case armor or choose our Armor & Skid Plate combo.
NEW COLORS! Skid plates now available in the standard Aluminum finish or NEW Black or Gunmetal powdercoating!

[disconnected]

Thanks TrophyHunter!


greg

[disconnected]

Other than a skid plate, are there anyothers you may need or want?

Originally Posted by TrophyHunter

Here's an option - don't know if it's what is offered on TT
http://www.procycle.us/bikepages/dr650.html#engine



Armor Plating for Engine CasesDR650SE '96-Current

Select Package Case Armor Only $79.95 Armor & Alum. Skid Plate $149.95 Armor & Black Skid Plate $169.95 Armor & Gunmetal Skid Plate $169.95
Qty:
$79.95 - $169.95
Add To Order

Heavy gauge stainless steel case armor to protect your engine cases. These case guards bond to your clutch cover and stator cover with high-temp silicone (not included). Extremely tough protection from rocks! In a fall your brake pedal or shift lever can crack the engine case - leaving you stranded. Don't let it happen to you! Get the case armor or choose our Armor & Skid Plate combo.
NEW COLORS! Skid plates now available in the standard Aluminum finish or NEW Black or Gunmetal powdercoating!