the DR650 thread

[urbancowboy]

Originally Posted by Dirty Harry

Seriously, nothing against GS'ers, and Im all up for a good tech talk, but... they're spark plugs... Depending on my mood, I would rather go fuking ride.

DH

thanks to all for the info. i agree, they're just plugs. but one gentleman recommended iridium plugs. around $15 each online. wow. so i was curious what people were using.

my faith in the DR forum has been restored .

[Old_Lion]

There has been a brief discussion on the Yahoo Group of fuel leaking past the carburetor.
The gent initiating the discussion indicates that according to his observations and experimentation the leaking is caused by parking the bike on a slight uphill slant in his garage.

He posted this observation under the heading "Warning".
He seems to think that the uphill slant affects the float level.

[racer 07]

I don't think so. Sounds like his float is set too high. Mine's set at the factory setting and I've parked it in every direction except upside down.

[wayno]

Originally Posted by racer 07

I don't think so. Sounds like his float is set too high. Mine's set at the factory setting and I've parked it in every direction except upside down.

+1

[Rusty Rocket]

I pulled my stock tank off last week to do some jetting and check the valves and the stock petcock was spewing gas in all positions. I thought the thing was supposed to be off unless the engine was running. Also the intake valves were at .0025" I set them to .004, but I'm wondering if they were supposed to be at .0025. The prev owner put a Webb cam in it. Does anyone know what valve specs are with this cam? Exhausts were at .008"

The fact that both intakes were exactly the same and the prev owner worked as a mech at a Suz shop got me wondering....

[Lefty52]

Hey all,
Lurking around for awhile, and have been really impressed with the passion, and knowledge here. So I'm asking if I can pick your brains.
I'm 6'1" 220lbs. I'll be riding 80% street 20% gravel/fire roads. I live in New England now but I'm moving back to Oregon in 18 months. I plan to ride the secondary roads from MA to OR, so I don't need a highway driver. All things considered(money to spend, quality, reliability and serviceability and she looks mighty damn cute) is the DR650 the bike that will fill the bill? I understand changing out the tires will be the first thing to do. Any and all suggestions and comments will be taken in stride.
Thanks in advance for your time...

[Dirty Harry]

Originally Posted by urbancowboy

thanks to all for the info. i agree, they're just plugs. but one gentleman recommended iridium plugs. around $15 each online. wow. so i was curious what people were using.

my faith in the DR forum has been restored .

Ahh, I didnt know plugs made a diff on GS's surging... If the DR did, I'd start the thread .
My bike came with the Denso's in it, recently put in the normal heat range NGK's (9E I think) and they work great/the same. Main jet at 145 and 1 1/2 out on the idle screw (with stock airbox/pipe) and I have a nice brown electrode and no change in plug clearance after about 2'500 miles.

$15 sounds salty for a plug , but if there is proof of better combustion/more mpg/very long life/and fouling/heat resistance, I'd give em a try...

DH

[Zapp22]

is there a budget on this project?
I mean, if it was me, I'd have one bike to make the cross country trip, and a different one to ride once on the Left Coast. I would for sure do the DR for out there, but cross country if had druthers I'd take a weestrom.

anyway, you'll definitely want to invest in luggage and a suspension upgrade. Stock DR's are good to about 175 lbs. IMHO

Originally Posted by Lefty52

Hey all,
Lurking around for awhile, and have been really impressed with the passion, and knowledge here. So I'm asking if I can pick your brains.
I'm 6'1" 220lbs. I'll be riding 80% street 20% gravel/fire roads. I live in New England now but I'm moving back to Oregon in 18 months. I plan to ride the secondary roads from MA to OR, so I don't need a highway driver. All things considered(money to spend, quality, reliability and serviceability and she looks mighty damn cute) is the DR650 the bike that will fill the bill? I understand changing out the tires will be the first thing to do. Any and all suggestions and comments will be taken in stride.
Thanks in advance for your time...

[Old_Lion]

Chatting with a friend the topic of winter storage came up.

He related that a friend of his had rodents finding their way into the engine via the exhaust and an open valve during the winter a few years ago.

Starting the bike in the spring his friend's bike threw a rod.

I told him that I always cover my exhaust with a mushroom fashioned from aluminum foil because with an operating livestock farm nearby there is no shortage of mice.

If you forget it is there on start up it spits right out.

My .02.

[Lefty52]

Yes there is a budget. I can spend about $6000. now and them over the next 18 months add mods as needed.

[duckmanjoel]

Originally Posted by Lefty52

Hey all,
Lurking around for awhile, and have been really impressed with the passion, and knowledge here. So I'm asking if I can pick your brains.
I'm 6'1" 220lbs. I'll be riding 80% street 20% gravel/fire roads. I live in New England now but I'm moving back to Oregon in 18 months. I plan to ride the secondary roads from MA to OR, so I don't need a highway driver. All things considered(money to spend, quality, reliability and serviceability and she looks mighty damn cute) is the DR650 the bike that will fill the bill? I understand changing out the tires will be the first thing to do. Any and all suggestions and comments will be taken in stride.
Thanks in advance for your time...

Changing out the tires isn't really necessary since the stock tires are 80/20 tires. Go ahead and run 'em. You'll want a wind screen (check out the parabellum site) and a new seat. I just got the corbin in black TODAY and it looks and feels fantastic. It took me 5 minutes to take off the old seat; 5 min to put on the new corbin; and 5 min to take the new corbin off and then put it back on because I'm a perfectionist and wanted to make sure I had it right. I did. It just seemed too easy. My DR is yellow and now looks awesome with the new black corbin. The real test will come Sat when I take her for a long ride.
The DR 650 runs fine up to about 70mph then the comfort level starts to go down. Kinda like my firebird runs 90mph and I feel like I'm just cruising slowly along. Yet my truck at 70mph feels fast enough. But the firebird can't cross over a RR over 2 mph.
Anyway, you get the drift. I'm 5'10'' 180lbs and carry passengers (+120lbs)going 70mph so I don't think you're too big. My brother is your size and he has the 350 (he only paid $300 for it I think, looks like crap but still runs) and he goes all over on it.
Based on my memory of this site, you should be able to get a new DR 650 out the door for about $4900 maybe get em to throw in a helmet. Add a corbin seat for $300 (sporttour) and a couple more for a windshield and you are ready to go.
I use a back pack I already had for carrying stuff and have a cup holder on the bars.

[Stromdog]

Just got a Caribou 1550 case mounted tonight. The rear rack is one of those BBQ racks from e-bay. Four drilled holes and four 5/16-18 HHCS w/fender washers inside the case and lock washers and nuts on the bottom. I put an old piece of indoor-outdoor carpet on the inside of the case and stuck it down with some velcro. Removal: 5 minutes, tops. This thing is rock solid on the rack. That thing ain't goin nowhere. Holds alot of stuff and locks, too!

Thought you all might be interested.

[Old_Lion]

Originally Posted by DR. Rock

I got the idea to make some kind of brace to stabilize the non-kickstand side.
I considered buying the bike krutch, but I anticipated someone would walk with it, and that's $32 + shipping down the tubes. So I found some scrap aluminum stock molding in the basement of our building, took some measurements, and created this:



The aluminum stock is about 2.5 inches wide, and sort of C-shaped. It was cut 18+ inches long. The bolt is 1/2 inch from the top, and about 1.5+ inches long. It fits into the hole around which the brake lever pivots.



When I'm riding, it easily fits in the top-case. It was field tested over the last week, and the bike stayed up during 34 mile/hr gusts, with the cover on .



I was on the list for a Dual-star centerstand... but not anymore. This is way more stable.

So I present to you: "The Alternate-side Parking Stand". If you park in NYC, you'll understand the name. Cheers.

Note: Some of Dr. Rock's original text has been omitted.

Rummaging through the attic I found a long forgotten set of aluminum crutches.
After a second look I got the idea that the center post of one of these crutches would make a rather nice bike crutch on soft ground while camping.

I drilled out the holes so they fit the eye bolt of a small turn buckle.
I removed one bolt from the turn buckle.
Wrapped the turn buckle with electrical tape creating friction.
Inserted it into the end of the right hand foot peg simultaneously levering the footpeg in the "up" position.
The pressure of the peg's spring secures it.
Added securement can be obtained by stretching a bungee to the passenger peg.

The pressure of the spring on the foot peg secures the crutch.

[DR650SEDDY]

Originally Posted by Lefty52

Hey all,
Lurking around for awhile, and have been really impressed with the passion, and knowledge here. So I'm asking if I can pick your brains.
I'm 6'1" 220lbs. I'll be riding 80% street 20% gravel/fire roads. I live in New England now but I'm moving back to Oregon in 18 months. I plan to ride the secondary roads from MA to OR, so I don't need a highway driver. All things considered(money to spend, quality, reliability and serviceability and she looks mighty damn cute) is the DR650 the bike that will fill the bill? I understand changing out the tires will be the first thing to do. Any and all suggestions and comments will be taken in stride.
Thanks in advance for your time...

beside of what have been said or recommended to u add also ,extra tools ,front & rear inner tubes ,tire irons ,check ur front sprockets must be the 15T size if u r doing mostly streets ,add 12v outlet ,always carry electric air pump (u can buy it from Walmart) ,small Batt. charger , when i travel long distances i always carry box of junks meaning some bolts & nuts, washers stuff like that can come handy in the least expected moments & J.B. weld glue ,G.P.S. 4 me is a mendatory item ... hope all this would help ...

[DRinda505]

Originally Posted by Old_Lion

Chatting with a friend the topic of winter storage came up.

He related that a friend of his had rodents finding their way into the engine via the exhaust and an open valve during the winter a few years ago.

Starting the bike in the spring his friend's bike threw a rod.

I told him that I always cover my exhaust with a mushroom fashioned from aluminum foil because with an operating livestock farm nearby there is no shortage of mice.

If you forget it is there on start up it spits right out.

My .02.

If you forget to check for mice it spits it right out also, and they (mice) are softer on engine parts than Al foil.