the DR200 thread

[alejandro1254]

Originally Posted by Klay

Send a message to Ladybug0048. She had her stator rewound for more power. The post is here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...postcount=2785

Thank you !! (that´s quick =) )

[Klay]

Originally Posted by Dorito

What size Klay? Has anyone run the Kenda 760s in a 120 rear?

90/90-21 on the front and 4.10 X 18 on the rear.

[thesurvivalist]

Hello again people. I'm looking for some advice on replacing my handlebars. I want to get an aftermarket handlebar so I can fit barkbusters. I've gone through to many clutch and brake levers. I am not sure exactly what parts are required, eg the bars, the grips, donuts, barkbusters, riser, glue for the grips perhaps? I'm just not sure. Can someone please clarify exactly what I need.

[MiteyF]

You shouldn't need different bars to fit barkbusters. Just buy a universal fit kit, and modify if necessary

[thesurvivalist]

The factory bars have end weights making it a total bitch to fit any type of bark busters,

[thesurvivalist]

Here is a current pic of my dr200.

[Dorito]

Originally Posted by thesurvivalist

Hello again people. I'm looking for some advice on replacing my handlebars. I want to get an aftermarket handlebar so I can fit barkbusters. I've gone through to many clutch and brake levers. I am not sure exactly what parts are required, eg the bars, the grips, donuts, barkbusters, riser, glue for the grips perhaps? I'm just not sure. Can someone please clarify exactly what I need.

Here's what I did:
Pro Taper SE Handlebar - Factory Suzuki/KTM Stock Bend $51
Rox Speed FX Pro-Offset Block Riser 3R-B12POE $75 (Most 1" risers will work, and you won't need to lengthen any cables)
PRO TAPER Pillow Top Motorcycle Grips - BLACK - $14
Cycra Pro-Bend Center Reach Clamp Racer Pack $121 (Spendy, but American Made)
3M silicone

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by thesurvivalist

The factory bars have end weights making it a total bitch to fit any type of bark busters,

Change the bars or use different bolts.Bar ends dampen vibration.The bark busters will offset and help do the same thing.

[MiteyF]

I've got bark busters and bar ends on my Strom among other bikes, and so long as you use slightly longer bar end bolts, it's really quite simple. 1 bolt. Literally.

[Conman]

Originally Posted by thesurvivalist

Hello again people. I'm looking for some advice on replacing my handlebars. I want to get an aftermarket handlebar so I can fit barkbusters. I've gone through to many clutch and brake levers. I am not sure exactly what parts are required, eg the bars, the grips, donuts, barkbusters, riser, glue for the grips perhaps? I'm just not sure. Can someone please clarify exactly what I need.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...9#post12519417
Here is what I did. Bars are 25bucks now though. They don't vibrate like the stock bars did even without weights. I cut 1" off each end to get it close to stock width. Used a plumbing pipe cutter. Can't recall but think it's the Suzuki bend.
Reused the factory grips since the throttle grip is fused to it. A needle air blow gun will help take off the clutch side grip. Might be easier to buy a clutch side grip depending on how old your grip is. I had grip glue from another project.
There are locating plastic pins on the forward controls that I filed down. I put electrical tape under the controls and they don't move. When you take the controls off the bar you will see them and the locating pin hole on the factory bar.
The Acerbis guards I have are no longer made plus they were pricey. Mine are not metal backed so it has not helped me protect the hand controls.

http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/876...roject-kdx100/
Bark buster on my 2-stroke: I think they are Tusk brand but can't remember the model number. Recall they were under 40bucks. They sit farther away from the bar so I suspect they would fit fine on the DR200. I have not broken any hand controls yet and ride much harder on my KX.

Only reason I changed the bars as I first tried drilling out the weights on the factory bars and gave up. If you go back through the thread, I've broken quite a few clutch and brake handles but the bars have stayed straight so happy with how well it's holding up for the price.

As for your riser inquiry, I don't have them on my DR but I did add risers to my KX from Pitposse.

[FAW3]

Originally Posted by thesurvivalist

Hello again people. I'm looking for some advice on replacing my handlebars. I want to get an aftermarket handlebar so I can fit barkbusters. I've gone through to many clutch and brake levers. I am not sure exactly what parts are required, eg the bars, the grips, donuts, barkbusters, riser, glue for the grips perhaps? I'm just not sure. Can someone please clarify exactly what I need.

For adding some lever/hand protection I bought some "universal fit" handguards from e-bay. They complement the OEM bars and fitment on the bars and around the various cables/lever mountings was fine. I would think most universal fit types would fit...and typically the mounting hardware can be rotated/slid and the bar itself bent a bit to clear any issues. See Post #5899.

Typical installation does not require removal of the grips (unless you want to upgrade/update at the same time). You do cut the ends off the grips (dremel or carpet knife) to expose the end of the bars.

On throttle side...you will cut the throttle tube (the part that rotates over the handlebar) back 1/8" so the handguard does not interfear or bind the throttle tube movement.

Here as others have posted you will find the bars filled with steel (not soft lead). Your handguard kit likely will come with some type of expansion type mounting system...don't use it as drilling the mass of steel out of bar is a PIA...so turn this into an advantage: select a suitable bolt size and length for your application...get a tap set from hardware store (drill bit and tap) and drill/tap a centered hole and bolt those puppies up. Blue locktite on bolts.

For installing handgrips...try peeling off, curse a bit, cut them off, curse at it, clean off bits and residue, finish cursing...then install new with grip glue. Easy!

[Sateev]

Originally Posted by burnt09

I just completed the install of an FMF Q4 muffler and the Kientech jet kit on my 2004 DR200. I also made the airbox mod. I ordered the muffler along with the jet kit by telephone from Kientech. Kientech gave very good service and the parts were here within a few days.

A few observations:

There was a small ding in the side of the FMF muffler. Since it is hidden under the side cover, I decided not to complain about it.

I was surprised that there is no pipe clamp on the front portion of the FMF pipe. It is a fairly loose slip fit onto the head pipe and relies on high-temp RTV for a seal. Not quite as well engineered as the stock muffler clamp setup IMO.

The right side panel gets reinstalled with a spacer and longer screw furnished by FMF. This simply pushes the side panel out further than the factory location. Not a highly engineered solution IMO.

The FMF pipe is very loud. I like a nice exhaust tone, but I was surprised at the increase in sound level. It really has a "bark."

Interestingly, the FMF directions state that the muffler is designed to be used with the factory carburetor jetting!

The jet kit installed with few problems. Be careful as the float bowl screws and bonnet screws were VERY VERY tight. I stripped the head on one bonnet screw and had to hack-saw a slot in it to fit a flat blade screwdriver.

Cold start is greatly improved. Much less warmup required. My seat-of-the-pants road testing shows that the low and mid-range power and responsiveness might be a tiny bit better, but at wide open throttle in 4th and 5th gear, the bike had a intermittent hesitation. Top speed was about 5 mph slower! I ended up putting the stock main jet back in: hesitation gone.

There was no startling performance increase with this installation. Cold start and warmup is much better, with possibly a little bottom and mid range boost. The FMF pipe, like most aftermarket performance parts, almost hits the mark, but fit-up is not as good as factory.

Bottom line for me is that it was a few hundred dollars wasted. Any performance gain is very small, and the FMF pipe isn't as well engineered as I had hoped, and a little too loud. My advice; get just the fuel screw mod from kientech which will cure your cold start/warm-up problems, and have them mod your muffler which will give you a little nicer tone.

Interesting.

Can't address the loudness of the FMF; I like the sound of mine.

Having a dent in it, out of the box, is troubling; I would probably have filed an insurance claim with the carrier. I doubt FMF would ship you one in that condition.

The midpipe to head pipe connection is pretty standard for aftermarket pipes; most don't even suggest the high-temp gasket goo. The expansion of the inner (headpipe) vs the outer (midpipe) is usually all it needs to seal for stainless. I didn't us any sealer, and if it leaks, I can't detect it.

As for the sidecover: what would you have considered a 'highly engineered solution'? The supplied spacer and longer bolt seem to me to be an excellent, efficient, and simple solution. Installed, it is virtually unnoticeable, blends well with the contour of the pipe, and has lasted a long time on my bike with out any adverse effects. What could be better?

The pipe weighs several pounds less than the stock, iron beast that it replaced (which used/needed a clamp at the headpipe, because of the tendency to rust out). Mine was rusted out all along the seams, and rattled like a bucket of marbles, casting a harsh light on its internal condition as well.

I'm not sure what you were expecting, but the Kientech kit gives you the parts to tune the bike for your particulars. If you are at high altitude, you may not need to increase the main jet. In any case, you WILL need to adjust the needle height, the pilot screw and make sure your float is set properly to get the optimum tune. It's time-consuming to get the desired result, but there are literally dozens of guys here who have used those parts to good effect...

Blame Suzuki for the crappy float-bowl screws; EVERYBODY who takes the bowl off uses Allen (internal hex) screws to replace the crappy stock ones. And it seems like it's always just ONE of the stock screws that won't come out...

Sounds like you expected pieces from three different vendors to all bolt together, and increase power without any effort beyond tightening the bolts...not likely.

I have all the above mods; I was satisfied after about five or so hours of tuning and adjusting, but decided that I wanted a bit more top-end. So, I installed the Hotcams bumpstick. This time, it only took me about three hours to tune it (after a couple of hours to install the cam). Eventually, I needed to go back to the stock main jet, and adjust the needle differently, as well as moving the fuel screw quite a bit. Different cam lift/duration, different airflow characteristics. It's way faster than before, but with a small drop in low-end, as expected.

Why not take the time to tweak things a bit. The side cover and spacer will grow on you...

[Sateev]

Let me start with an apology: I didn't take pics of this project, and they probably would have helped.

Here's the deal: my sidecovers (yellow) were pretty oxidized, and had a few greasy fingerprints that I just couldn't buff out. A high-pressure washer applied by one of the Thai terrorists at the car/bike wash had completely obliterated the '200' stickers on the covers, and left gummy outlines where they had once been. This was not acceptable.

I tried every kind of vinyl cleaner that I could de-cypher the label of at my local Thai car accessories vendor, but nothing helped. I decided that abrasives were needed...

Rubbing compound? Nope. Petroleum seemed to have seeped deeper into the plastic than I could reach with liquids or pastes.

So, I grabbed a scouring pad from my wife's kitchen, and went to work. It was a bit too coarse, and left some pretty big gouges until I realized that I didn't have to press too hard. It was the type that looks like drill shaving curly-cues all tangled up in a ball. Faster motion, lighter pressure was pretty effective.

Turns out that where the decals were, there is a raised rectangular pad on the cover, presumably to highlight the position of the decal. I aimed to preserve this detail, while making sure to clean away the crud that built up around the edges of it.

After cleaning all the discoloration of the greasy fingerprints, I could see that the whole panel was oxidized, so I just continued the scrubbing process all over the panels, until they were uniformly clean (and, unfortunately, uniformly dull).

Next, I grabbed a washing tub from my wife's laundry room ("just for a while, Hun..."), and a few sheets of wet-or-dry sandpaper, starting with 600 grit, and including some 1200 and 2000. I filled the tub an inch or so deep, and started sanding with the 600.

First thing I noticed that, on the back of the muffler side, the heat shield was coming off, so I helped it, and set it in the sun to dry. I also popped out the rubber bumper from that side.

Then I wet sanded. And sanded. Changed to 1200, and sanded. Changed to 2000 and sanded some more.

After a few passes with 2000, it was pretty smooth, although kind of dull.

Now, some people might have got a buffing wheel at that point, and attacked it with rubbing compound. But I remembered making plexiglas tiny surfboard keyrings in high school, and - here it comes - fire-polishing them!

So, I got a big oxy-acetylene torch...NO I DIDN'T.

I got out my heat gun (like a big, very hot, blow dryer), and tried an experiment! I switched it on high (probably, you could do this with YOUR wife's hair dryer - but you didn't hear it from me), and aimed it at the needed-to-be-smooth plastic surface, taking care to keep it moving side to side, never in one spot too long. I could hold it so there was a bit of light reflecting of the area I was heating, and after a few seconds, a very shiny, almost molten patch appeared! I was careful to 'walk' this patch across the face of the cover, all the time keeping the gun moving, and pretty soon, I had melted the surface of the whole cover at least once, and let is cool.

It was pretty shiny! Not perfect, but MUCH better than just after sanding it. I tried going over it once again, but it never really got much shinier. So, I got out some cleaner wax (the one-step clean and wax type), and buffed it up by hand, and damn if it didn't look pretty good!

So, now my side covers are clean (but naked, no '200' stickers), and look better than the rest of the plastic on the bike.

I took some yellow contact cement, and glued the newly dried heat shield back onto the exhaust-side cover, and re-installed the bumper.

Finally, if (when) I get around to doing the rest of the plastic, I will start with steel wool, rather than the aggressive pot-scrubber I used. It's hard to find here (I did look for some before I started), but I think it would have made it less work. I *may* try to borrow a buffer and use some rubbing compound for the whole process (or only the last part), but the oxide was unusually tough, and I think I'll need the more aggressive abrasive to at least get through that part.

I think this process would work well with any color, but always try it on a hidden piece before you commit to the whole project. Dark colors (blue?) might be more difficult/less forgiving of less than perfect smoothness.

Heat guns can be bought for as little as $30 here; probably the same in the US, but a cheap hair dryer can be used for this (and shrinking heat-shrink tubing for wiring jobs). You can increase the temperature of the hair dryers by blocking the air inlet slightly (you'll see the heating coils get brighter), but don't overdo it.

A good way to spend a rainy Bangkok afternoon...have fun!

[jeffcneal]

This has probably been covered elswhere in the thread, but I can't seem to find anything on it. Many years and motorcycles ago, I owned a DR200 SE and regretted parting with it the day I traded it in. I'm about to take the plunge on a new 2013 and will be mounting a rear fender tool bag. I cannot for the life of me remember if there was anything "special" that I carried to make life with the little DR easier. The bike will be ridden about 95% off-road. Suggestions anyone?

thanks,
Jeff

[Dorito]

Thanks for all your feedback and proof-reading! I've updated the compendium of tires on post #6276

Linky Here