the DR650 thread

I have the ProTaper 7/8 bars (KX high) with the stock mounts and am very happy with them. The DR650 has rubber cone washer dampened bar mounts, so they do move a little bit and are supposed to, but that makes it less likely that more expensive parts will bend/break when you drop it. In fact, if you drop the DR650 and the front end is knocked out of apparent alignment, it is usually the handlebar mounts that are tweaked instead of the fork tubes in the triple trees and that will make a difference in how you properly realign it. For example, if that is the problem and you loosen the triple clamp bolts (or they aren't torqued/aligned properly to start with) and push the front end back into "alignment" so the handle bars look perpendicular to the front wheel, the forks will then be out of alignment to make up for the handlebar mounts being out of alignment. That is NOT the right way to realign the front end and your bike will dog-track and will not handle properly and will eat tires! If the rubber bar mounts are too loose, tighten them back up, or if the rubber cone washers are damaged, just order some new ones for a couple bucks.

What are the best tires to run? Just kidding.

After doing the TAT and running 2 sets of tires EVERYDAY for 4 weeks I thought I would give my 2 cents on what I found

First set: IRC GP-1 (Charlotte NC to Trinidad CO)
I really liked these tires. In NC and TN there was a lot of paved roads and they handled great. I could do 70mph and didn't feel like I was going to die. They were quiet on the pave as well. I think where these tires excell is gravel roads, dirt trails, etc. The front end felt stable and the rear tire gave lots of traction. We did a few rocky areas in this streach and they performed well. Downfalls: O.K. mud. They loaded up quick. I was riding along, felt a little slip, then BAM! I was down. I 'think' something with more lug would have done better. My friend was on TKC they didn't do well in that particular mud either so who knows. At tire change the front tire looked great, the back was pretty thrashed.

Second Set: Dunlop 606 (Trinidad CO to Port Orford OR)
At first I didn't like these tires. In the gravel roads and sand the front tire felt "twitchy". I lost a little confidence on the gravel roads and had to slow down around 15mph from what I was running with the IRCs. Once we hit the mountain passes these tires came into their own. Going up steep grades over rocks and loose dirt these tires shined and I was glad I had them! Side bite on these tires is amazing-I expected the front end to slide away on steep off-camber mountain crawls but the tires stuck like glue! On the pavement they were ok, but not as nice as the IRCs. And they sound like a mud truck going down the road. At the end of the trail the tires had worn evenly.

Overall: I would say it depends on what you plan on doing. If you want a good 50/50 tire I would say the IRCs. These are what I will probably run from here out because I ride a lot of pavement and groomed dirt roads. If you want a tire that works great rock crawling, loose dirt, with the occasional pavement the Dunlop is for you. The "twitchy" feeling I get from the front of the Dunlops would keep me from using them as an all around tire. I might try the IRC front with Dunlop rear- Best of both worlds?

I have not had any issues with it, so far it has been good. It is an Acerbis fuel cap. I bought it together with my safari gas tank from justgastanks.com
http://www.justgastanks.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_355_12&products_id=488

Works fine for me as well, I have it mainly for the city. No leaks and the bike took a nap a while ago ...
Got it from procycle, I think it's also the acerbis one. And I use it on the IMS tank. I just use it as my main cap adfter the IMS one disintegrated

I have right at 4,000 miles on a set of 606's and I think they have another thousand miles left in them.

As noted they are noisy on pavement but they handle well and really shine off road. The tradeoff has been worthwhile for me.

On top of that they are a great buy for the price.

Just MHO

I share Mongle's opinion of the D606's. At first I thought the tires were really squirrelly on gravel and worse than the OEM Trailwings. But on a recent trip I found myself in ruts, mud, rocks and loose stuff. That's when the D606's came into their own and I was really happy with them.

Riding pavement is not their strong suit. At speeds over 60 it becomes a white-knuckle experience. The noise they make is tiring, too. Because most of my riding is pavement, I will get a more street-oriented tire when these wear out.

Been working on the ProCycle order all afternoon.

Okay, HID installed and working correctly.

The LED aux lights are proving to be more of a challenge. I want them to work on a switch, not be wired directly to the battery, or wired in with the hi/lo beam only. How do I wire two individual lights to a switch which will control power to the lights?

Any input tonight would be great so I can finish it up and maybe even go for a short test ride!

Depends on how you want them to work. I would recommend using a relay. Take the two ground wires connect together and ground to frame. Take two + and connect together run to switch. Use a relay between + from battery and switch. It will need a constant +, a ground, a switched +, and the other goes to switch. Hope that helps.

I ran my HID from the headlight power tapped in before the hi-lo switch. That way it always on when the key is on and uses the stock fuse. I wired the input to the solstice relay to the output of the high beam switch. The LED's get their power directly from the battery & through the inline fuse and relay.

That gives me a HID thats always on, a flashable LED highbeam, and two completely seperate lighting circuits for redundancy.

While I am very appreciative of the advice you guys have just given me. I think I have no clue what you guys just said.:huh I am a total novice to wiring and electrics. I somehow did the tail light mod and it worked, and somehow I got the HID to work. I don't know what a ground wire is and I am lost when you say solstice relay since the solstice basically came with wires that have a quick disconnect on them.

At the risk of sounding even more ignorant could you please explain in dumber detail.

Get one of these switches and mount it next to your hi/low beam switch.

http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Switches/switches.html

There's an unused two wire connector behind your head light housing that has a ground on one side and a switched 12 volt on the other side, use it for power.

AK

I have a switch, but I just am at a loss as to how to incorporate two separate lights (4 wires) in to one switch (two wires) that also needs to go to the battery or some other way to power them.

sorry the solstice lights are also sold as a Denali package that comes with an automotive relay.
A relay is a switch that is powered by 12 Volts. There are many ways to do it. Just keep trying different things until you see smoke, then back up two steps and your done.

Maybe someone more ambitious than me can post a diagram. It's not too difficult if you look at one piece at a time.

That's the best advice I've ever gotten. Thanks

Is anyone running Shinko 705s on their DR? I am thinking of spooning on a set but wanted to hear how they do first. I ride 70% on road, 30% off and I like to corner aggressively on the asphalt. For a point of reference, I've actually been quite happy with the OEM trailwings - great on the road and acceptable for the dirt, gravel and forest service roads that I go on. Just looking for a rear tire that will last over 2000 miles. I ran one set of Kenda 270s and hated them.

You have to start somewhere bro!

Since you don't have any experience in this area, get a friend to help. That way you can watch and ask questions. Or take it to a mechanic that will allow you to watch him. This way you gain the knowledge you need and get your bike going without setting it on fire the first time you turn your new lights on.

I like the optional grenade launcher button...

Maybe this will help some: http://hawkeye.ualr.edu/~ltjones/wiring/index.html
A bit crude but it's the basic idea.

-- alonzo

ha ha thanks,
I thought that might be an option.