the DR650 thread

[zdiver1]

Took a 460 mile ride today Left my house @ 6am in Peoria AZ, had breakfast in AJO and top off my acerbis tank went by a guy I used to work with and he was not home so I left my .45 and ammo in his back yard, you do not want to take them in to Mexico you will never get out of jail. so off I went I hit rocky point around 11:00am drove around was going to stay the night but it was dead there, had lunch fired the bike up hit AJO picked up my gun made it home at 6:30 beer time.

Next week back way up to prescott yarnell hill! Another attraction of Yarnell is the thrill of one being able to ride a motorcycle up or down Yarnell Hill. This makes Yarnell a "Mecca" to the hundreds of motorcycle riders that love to ride through Yarnell to other areas of Yavapai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F82S-xcZHP8

[procycle]

Originally Posted by zdiver1

the thrill of one being able to ride a motorcycle up or down Yarnell Hill.

+1
Been up and down that road myself many times.

[Mambo Dave]

So I rode the DR650 the 40 miles into work this evening for the first time - indicated speed on the highway was usually 90, but 95 a lot, too. I take it these DR speedometers are really off...

But, anyway, when I got to work I found that the allen-headed bolt/screw that was in the direct middle and top of the rear fender was almost all the way out. I hand-turned it back in and hope it sits there for the ride home... but this begs the question - does every bolt need loctited on these thumpers? I wonder how many others I have lost...

[Kommando]

Originally Posted by Mambo Dave

So I rode the DR650 the 40 miles into work this evening for the first time - indicated speed on the highway was usually 90, but 95 a lot, too. I take it these DR speedometers are really off...

But, anyway, when I got to work I found that the allen-headed bolt/screw that was in the direct middle and top of the rear fender was almost all the way out. I hand-turned it back in and hope it sits there for the ride home... but this begs the question - does every bolt need loctited on these thumpers? I wonder how many others I have lost...

Pretty much. I also have trouble keeping auxiliary lights in 1 piece. I keep vibrating bulbs to pieces. I'm going to have to mount them with rubber. Between the vibes, wheelies, and bumps, even LED bulb-replacements break.

[dave43]

Originally Posted by zdiver1

I got my PC Australian made Pivot Pegz today! put them on took a ride with boots on and can now get my boot under the shifter the pegs pivot forward and backwards, better feel on brake pedal. on the shifter it is like I move it up two notches.
Very nice should be for the $..

Just be happy you were able to buy them in USA and not Aus where they are made. WE have to pay around $220!! locally. Still worth it IMHO.

[newride]

Originally Posted by jessepitt

I have a whopping 200 miles on my new DR650 and the low speed/throttle surge was killing me. I cant afford a jet kit yet so I decided to shim the needle. I had done this on my previous DR650 so I new it was easy and I figured I would take some pics of the process to help those who have yet to do this including my little brother who just picked up his new bike yesterday! If that surge bothers you this trick eliminates most of it. I forgot what a great difference it makes, night and day! It is very easy to do as I said; first remove the side panels, then the seat then the tank. Be sure to disconnect the small vacuum line from the carb to the petcock and don't worry about emptying the tank as the vacuum petcock will not flow without the engine running.
Once you have it stripped down you can easily see and access the carb. Be sure to clean the area around the carb so no contaminates make it inside your carb while you are working on it.Then loosen the cab boot clamps on either side of the carb and rotate it to the left side of the bike, you may need to loosen or remove the plastic reusable zip-tie that holds the throttle cables to the frame. That will allow more rotation without damaging your cables. Once you have the carb rotated so that you have a clear shot at the cap remove the two screws holding the cap in place. Be aware that there is a spring under the cap so press down on it while removing the screws.

now you should be here:


Under the cap is the diaphragm which is very delicate so proceed with caution and keep everything clean. Remove the cap and the spring then gently pull up the diaphragm which is connected to the slide.





Here is the slide/diaphragm/needle assembly:


The needle just sits down in the slide and is held down by the spring so to get it out just tip the slide and it will fall out. Once you have the needle out you will see a plastic spacer and a c-clip. Remove the c-clip and slide the spacer slightly down the needle and place a thin stainless washer on top of the spacer and replace the c-clip, then snug them all tight to the c-clip:


I used a plastic washer from another carb I had laying around but any thin washer will work as long as it wont rust.
When you drop the needle back into the slide you may notice that it does not hang straight down from the slide. This is due to a shoulder inside the slide. I don't know the purpose for the shoulder but as we are not changing the seating surface I don't think it is a problem. I have heard that some people cut there spacer so that it fits past the shoulder and sits flat but that would require a thicker shim and I feel like there must be a reason for the shoulder so I left mine alone. The reassembly is easy. Just drop the slide back into the carb. Make sure the the diaphragm is sitting flat and even around the top of the carb body and does not get pinched when reinstalling the cap. Also of note: there is a tiny o-ring that seals the vacuum line connection between the carb body and cap. It is visible in the third picture. Be sure not to loose or pinch this little guy. Other than that there aren't any tricky parts, just be careful not to pinch any vacuum lines when you rotate the carb back into place. You will know the carb is aligned correctly when the bump on the front of the carb neck aligns with the corresponding notch on the carb boot.

While I had the carb rotated to do the needle shim I decided to go ahead and remove the plug over the fuel screw and install an extended full screw I had from another carb. The extended screw can be purchased from procycle.
First it is drill (by hand) the little brass cover plug:




Once you have CAREFULLY drilled through this plug you can CAREFULLY thread a small screw into the hole.


Grip the screw with pliers and twist/tug out it comes!

Easy, and now you have the ability to adjust your fuel screw.
This pic illustrates why an extended fuel screw is nice. Getting to that little bugger while the engine is hot is no fun:


Extended vs. regular screw:




Anyway, I hope this helps a few folks with their low speed surge. It really does make a huge difference and doesn't cost anything, also it is a good way for new DR owners to get a feel for their bikes and show you just how easy they can be to work on.

My DR just stared surging yesterday finally after almost 13,000 miles. Since I really have never modified a carb in any way, I have a couple questions:
1. When you say a thin washer needs to placed under the c-clip, how thin? how big? I am sure that must make a difference.
2. Is the extended fuel screw part of getting rid of the surge, or did you just do that because you were in there anyway? don't see the need to go drilling anything when it is not necessary.
Thanks!

[AST236]

Newride,

Just read your post and am about to walk out to my garage and do this very mod. The size of the washer used falls into a range, so there is some +/- there. Looking at the pic should give you a pretty good idea of a starting point.

The drilling only involves removing a little cover that is designed to keep you away from the air screw. If you do it as described in the other post, there is very little possibility of doing any damage.

I've had my coffee and fed the animals, so I"m going to play w/ the bike a bit. Will report back here later on the results.

[newride]

Originally Posted by AST236

Newride,

Just read your post and am about to walk out to my garage and do this very mod. The size of the washer used falls into a range, so there is some +/- there. Looking at the pic should give you a pretty good idea of a starting point.

The drilling only involves removing a little cover that is designed to keep you away from the air screw. If you do it as described in the other post, there is very little possibility of doing any damage.

I've had my coffee and fed the animals, so I"m going to play w/ the bike a bit. Will report back here later on the results.

Thank you,
I am going to take the DR out for a ride and see how bad it is and maybe open it up today.

[Mambo Dave]

Don't hate me for this, but I got to ride a stock 2008 KLR650 (so the new style), and found its ergonomics far more comfortable than my DR650.

Now, sure, one could point to the peg placements and/or the wider saddle - but I mean beyond those with the simple seat-to-handlebar position it put me at. Yet, without the bikes side-by-side, I can't figure out what it is that seems so relaxing about the handlebars - why does the KLR put less strain on the shoulders and make it feel like the bars or grips are exactly in the right place for day-long rides?

I've read through that older review of the two, and the KTM, with side-by-side pictures and comparisons, but that was for the older style KLR650's.

[poppawheelie]

Originally Posted by Mambo Dave

Don't hate me for this, but I got to ride a stock 2008 KLR650 (so the new style), and found its ergonomics far more comfortable than my DR650.

Now, sure, one could point to the peg placements and/or the wider saddle - but I mean beyond those with the simple seat-to-handlebar position it put me at. Yet, without the bikes side-by-side, I can't figure out what it is that seems so relaxing about the handlebars - why does the KLR put less strain on the shoulders and make it feel like the bars or grips are exactly in the right place for day-long rides?

I've read through that older review of the two, and the KTM, with side-by-side pictures and comparisons, but that was for the older style KLR650's.

This comfort/fit thing depends on body build, height, length of arms, torso, legs, etc. What fits one person may not fit another, like clothes. That's why good bicycles are custom fit with different length top tubes, seat tubes and down tube. Personally I could never get my BMW to be comfortable, even after spending hundreds on seat, bar risers, countless windshields, etc. The DR650 just FITS, everything just falls into place when I sit on it. No modifications other than seat (though the position was fine) and a cheap windshield already laying about the garage. It's perfectly comfortable... to me.

[xKLR_John]

Does anybody use these softbag racks

http://www.happy-trail.com/Suzuki-DR...cks-DR650.aspx

with the Pat Walsh tail rack?

Looking at pictures, I see no reason the combo wouldn't work but I'm not that good visualizing things from pictures.

[zdiver1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McjWb...eature=related

Originally Posted by procycle

+1
Been up and down that road myself many times.

[AST236]

Thanks to jessepitt's photo tutorial, I finally tackled the carb on my '98. Shimmed the needle, drilled the slide and removed the airbox snorkel.

From the time I started getting my tools in place until the time I started the bike up was about 45 minutes.

For those of you who are hesitant about working on carbs (me), all I can say is DO IT TODAY! Follow the directions in jessepitt's post and take your time.

Seat of the pants impression is all positive. Improved throttle response, much better fueling at steady state highway speeds (60-70 mph). Bike pulls very cleanly up to an indicated 80 (76 actual per gps). I might even put the 14 tooth countershaft sprocket back on.


So now a question to the better informed. How much additonal improvement should I expect if I decide down the road to install the pumper carb?

Thanks jessepitt for the photos and write up. If you ever find yourself in south Alabama, let me know and I'll buy you a cold beverage.

[jessepitt]

Originally Posted by godwinmt

Seeing your post + a lack of stuff to do today inspired me to drag it up to the shop and rip into it. Actually pulling the carb made it much easier to do everything I thought.

I used a #8 flat washer which was about an .035" shim. Couple that with drilling a second hole in the slide while I was at it really helped with the surging and helped throttle response.

Glad you got it done without problems. I admit that all of this is much easier with the carb on the workbench, however there are two reasons I did not recommend pulling the carb: One, I found in the past that it can be somewhat dificult to get the carb back on properly. The rear boot to the air box can be stuborn. Reason two is that it seems much less intimidating to those who havent done much wrenching if they dont have to remove it completely. It might be the difference between doing the job and not.

Originally Posted by ER70S-2

Jesse:
Excellent series of pics. Please copy your post in the DR Index.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=635786

Done

Originally Posted by newride

My DR just stared surging yesterday finally after almost 13,000 miles. Since I really have never modified a carb in any way, I have a couple questions:
1. When you say a thin washer needs to placed under the c-clip, how thin? how big? I am sure that must make a difference.
2. Is the extended fuel screw part of getting rid of the surge, or did you just do that because you were in there anyway? don't see the need to go drilling anything when it is not necessary.
Thanks!

1. I find that if the washer is the right size to fit around the needle then it is usually about the right thickness.
2. The extended screw is not nessasary but I had one and it is nice to have, however having acsses to the fuel screw is very handy for tuning.

I have to wonder tho why your bike started surging a that high a mileage? maybe your airfilter is dirty? A clogged pilot jet? I think you may want to clean your carb and possible replace the pilot jet.

[THB]

Originally Posted by jessepitt

.... The rear boot to the air box can be stuborn. Reason two is that it seems much less intimidating to those who havent done much wrenching if they dont have to remove it completely. It might be the difference between doing the job and not.

Glad to hear it's not just me. I just did the carb mods last night and fought with the stupid air box connection for an hour. I used to have a DRZ400SM and had major issues, but it had the FCR39 card, so I thought that was the issue. Apparently not. Must be a Suzuki issue. I have three Yamaha dirtbikes and never have an issue. The lips on them seem thicker though. Maybe that's why.