the DR650 thread

I've been using them for a long time. When I started I had already changed all my lights (except at that time, headlights) to LED. My voltmeter told me that with all the lights on and high beam on I was still in positive territory. When it was really cold and I was riding for quite a while I would sometimes turn them off so I wouldn't be too negative with the heated grips and electric vest on. I have variable heat controllers on both so I sort of play with them to keep on the positive side. I still have the stock "voltage thingy" and it seems to be working fine at 69055 miles.

Bike new, just take off from showroom.

at 67 km i give a wash to take off all the mud and see a small water repelling zone. applied soap and wash off.

now at 87km oil persisting. only on the left side.

I have about a grand in accessories added to my '12. It's such a nice platform for personalizing and adding things to make it do what you want it to do. No performance mods yet and may just focus on suspension next year.

My07 new out the door in Feb 08 was ....$4700.00

ebay racks
skid plate
Sargent seat
IMS tank
ebay tail rack
FMF full exhaust
Fly screen
wide pegs
heated grips
spare wheels(road)
Dyna Jet kit
1 set MT 21s
2 sets T63s
1 set 700s
chain & sprockets
9 oil & filters
2 plug set ........................... PRICELESS

2009 DR650 (used)
skidplate
DDC' & Cogent Shock
Heavier springs F&R
case guards
14 & 13 tooth sporckets and 520 chain
lower pegs
Seat Concepts Tall seat
smaller tail light
taller bars
grip heaters
bark busters
DJ jetting
hand choke (CSE )
Super Trapp (not currently being used)
18" DR350 rear wheel

total expenses, estimated (not including taxes)..... $4025

Impressive mileage. Have you had any issues along the way?

hello akasy, is this oil on the cover?

I have many pics of southern Utah, lots of them I can't recognize because they look so dinky in the photo.

I'am there somewhere

That is oil seeping past the rubber seals in the valve covers. It doesn't look like much. I think most people expect to see oil on the cooling fins and round the spark plugs when discussing oil leakage residue. You could add a bit of the soft form a gasket to the rubber seals to reduce the seepage.

There's a red jacket rider on a DR way out there:

I don't want to be ill.......to much

Not many. Had the rectifier go out on me on the way back from CA once. That was really the only trip stopper.

It did start to leak around the cylinder base gasket (it's a '97 and had the original type gasket) and changed that at just over 50,000 miles. Had to replace the cam chain tensioner gasket twice (but the second one was probably just 'cause I didn't do a very good job on the first one).

Other than that just pretty routine maintenance and putting tons of "stuff" on it - which I do not even want to figure out how much it all cost - you know just because I wanted to.

I like the pics. Really shows the vast area available and how relatively insignificant we are. Kinda relaxing to me when one can see for miles.

DR Stuff
Stole a bone stock 2005 in 2008 with 5100 street miles on it - $2200
F & R suspension
3 wheel sets - Shinko 244's, 705's & Kenda Trakmaster/Scorpion
2 Seat Concepts - "Commuter" and regular dualsport
TM40 pumper
GSXR "40" plus midpipe
PMB tail rack
WM side racks & bags
HID upgrade
Aux spots
Engine side guards/oil cover guard
Skid plate
Handguards
Warp9 levers / anti-squeal starter thing
IMS then Acerbis tank
Heated grips
DRZ 250 tail light mod plus LED
Front fender
Headlight guard
Doubletake mirrors
GPR stabilizer
Cee Bailey Sport screen
Steel brake lines
I'm sure I missed a few things...

Purchase $2200 plus mods $4000 so about $6200 for a rock solid fun machine. I'd do it all again.

Yep most likely--I've done the valves twice and I don't change the gaskets.

that's just stupid $ being spent on a DR.
speaks volumes how much disposable income people have in this country... and how they blow through it. i'd own 2 bikes if that much was spent or better yet take a sweet month + vacation with the $.

on the other hand it also shows how much of a hole there is in the US market for an updated Japanese 650 dual-sport. i'm guessing those spenders could have bought a KTM 690 but are not a fan of Euro bikes. they then looked at the DR, KLR & XRL (& the 1 year only TR650) and felt the DR was the best base to dump $ into. still stupid $ to spend on an old tech Japanese dual-sport.

but hey it's your $. no wonder many guys can never retire nor take big trips ever. i'm sure Jeff @ PC is not complaining. to contrast, for a measly $15, we offer so much more grin potential with our maps.

me. i bought a used 05 for $2900 and have another $2000 or so in it.
$5000 is less than buying a new one and mine is setup well enough for the $.
i also am realistic in my assessment that a DR650, no matter how much stupid $ you dump in it, is never gonna be a serious dirtbike. my golden rule is to almost never spend more on mods than i bought the used bike for.

so far i have $500 in the 02 DRZ400E (my dirtbike) i just bought. we will see what the final outcome on that bike is, but the initial investment is cheap for sure. i might have to fudge my rule by a small amount.

05 DR650 (FREE)
TAGS (102)
FIRST OIL CHANGE (30)
F & R TUBE (30)
GRIPS(10)
LED TURN SIGNALS REAR(24)
BBQ RACK(60)
IMPROVISED TOOL TUBE(26)
NEW CHAIN(98)
Vapor(130)
Charging port(23)
Barkbusters(80) will be selling in the future
Clutch lever(21) shortened for 2 finger
DR350 WHEEL (175)
PAIR OF CR10 SPARK PLUGS (22)
NEW RIM(108)
FCR FROM MXROB 500
FMS (20)
Head stock bearing (26)

1,485

Not as much as i thought...

Still have to add in
Future cost of rebuilt shock
Upgraded rmz450 front.
Seat
And lowered pegz

If you can live with buying used, it's usually not difficult to find deals...

01 DR with 2,600 miles, stock condition for $2,300

(This is off the top of my head, and my memory ain't that great)

•IMS tank (used) $100
•Parabellum screen (used) $160
•Corbin seat (used) $200
WP rear shock (reconditioned) $250
(Traded in old shock to Procycle, used store credit to purchase their •lowered pegs $0)
•stock fork springs from DL650 (used) $5
•BBQ rack (used) $60
•Five Stars center stand (closeout) $150
•Baja skid plate (closeout) $120
•eBay side racks (cheap) $120
•Ortleib saddlebags (used) $100
•Aerostitch tank panniers (used) $40
•TM40 carb (used) $100
•AMP case armor (new, dammit) $100

Throw in shipping, that's $1,700- 1,800 maybe...
Four grand for for a bike outfitted to fit my needs.