the DR200 thread

[Klay]

Great stuff, Bross!

[puntoMX]

A friend of mine got problems with his left passenger peg protector hitting the swingarm and took some metal with it. The sag measured from the rear seat top-end hight to the rear wheel axle is 7cm (2.8") when a person of 80kg / 176lbs sits on it. So, height will drop there measured from the rear axle from 59 to some 51-52cm. Looks much to me. Bike has only 16.000km/10.000miles on it.

More people have this problem? And what did they do to fix it? I was thinking about putting a aluminum spacer (0.8"/10mm) above the spring to make the shock stiffer.

[ThomasVolomitz]

That ride in Canada looks fantastic! And the is the perfect bike for it.

[ThomasVolomitz]

Meant to say the dr200 is perfect for it.

[Klay]

Originally Posted by puntoMX

A friend of mine got problems with his left passenger peg protector hitting the swingarm and took some metal with it. The sag measured from the rear seat top-end hight to the rear wheel axle is 7cm (2.8") when a person of 80kg / 176lbs sits on it. So, height will drop there measured from the rear axle from 59 to some 51-52cm. Looks much to me. Bike has only 16.000km/10.000miles on it.

More people have this problem? And what did they do to fix it? I was thinking about putting a aluminum spacer (0.8"/10mm) above the spring to make the shock stiffer.

I'm not sure what the sag sould be, but the service manual says the spring should be set between 236 and 225 mm.

[puntoMX]

Originally Posted by Klay

I'm not sure what the sag sould be, but the service manual says the spring should be set between 236 and 225 mm.

Thanks Klay, it's set like that, this is why I'm clueless about this. I think that the sag I'm talking about is also called static sag and 7cm drop seems a lot to me. max. load on the DR200 is 125kg/275lbs? The DR200 frame is really flexible compared to the DRZ400 and DR650.

[Klay]

Originally Posted by puntoMX

Thanks Klay, it's set like that, this is why I'm clueless about this. I think that the sag I'm talking about is also called static sag and 7cm drop seems a lot to me. max. load on the DR200 is 125kg/275lbs? The DR200 frame is really flexible compared to the DRZ400 and DR650.

You shouldn't be able to notice any flex in the actual frame...if you can, there must be a crack or a problem somewhere.

7 cm of sag indeed sounds like too much. It's possible your spring is worn out. My rear shock does not behave like this. Did you actually measure the length of the spring to confirm it is in the correct range?

[Andyinhilo]

Originally Posted by puntoMX

A friend of mine got problems with his left passenger peg protector hitting the swingarm and took some metal with it. The sag measured from the rear seat top-end hight to the rear wheel axle is 7cm (2.8") when a person of 80kg / 176lbs sits on it. So, height will drop there measured from the rear axle from 59 to some 51-52cm. Looks much to me. Bike has only 16.000km/10.000miles on it.

More people have this problem? And what did they do to fix it? I was thinking about putting a aluminum spacer (0.8"/10mm) above the spring to make the shock stiffer.

I would look for some frame/swingarm damage if the passenger peg protector is hitting the swingarm. That is not correct. Klay is absolutely right in that there should be no flex in the frame itself. 3" of sag out of 8" of total travel when laden is not out of the ballpark, IMHO. I know mine sagged at least that much with my 230 lb on it, and it was at the stock setting.

[Klay]

I guess I've never actually measured sag.

Andy, based on your continued interest in this thread, I think you will one day have a DR200 again.

[K44rll]

Originally Posted by puntoMX

A friend of mine got problems with his left passenger peg protector hitting the swingarm

Had this on a Djebel 200, seems the RH footpeg hanger had been bent inwards at some point, didn't realise until the bike was loaded and used off road, a nearby fence post and a little tweak outwards sorted it...

Karl

[Ladybug0048]

bross, nice pictures of the KVR. That's a ride I have been wanting to do. Is the trail difficult to find?

[tnmike]

The claimed hp of these little bikes is 40 hp at 6400rpm. How is that possible? Its only a 12 cu inch engine. Does anyone know any different? Im doubtful.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/motor...ki-DR200SE.htm

[Ladybug0048]

I did a report about my adventure in Moab. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=622716

[ShadyRascal]

Originally Posted by tnmike

The claimed hp of these little bikes is 40 hp at 6400rpm. How is that possible? Its only a 12 cu inch engine. Does anyone know any different? Im doubtful.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/motor...ki-DR200SE.htm

Typo. It's more like ~15.

[puntoMX]

Originally Posted by Klay

You shouldn't be able to notice any flex in the actual frame...if you can, there must be a crack or a problem somewhere.

7 cm of sag indeed sounds like too much. It's possible your spring is worn out. My rear shock does not behave like this. Did you actually measure the length of the spring to confirm it is in the correct range?

I lifted the rear wheel from the ground to see how much the shock would extend and it's almost nothing. The adjustment of the pre-load of the spring is still factory set so that will be adjusted to the highest pre-load setting. After a closer look, it seems that the left passenger peg had taken some abuse from some one who was sitting behind although it can't be that much off using the drivers pegs as a reference. The flex in the frame is normal, I was just saying that a DR650 has a way stiffer frame (and it should be with 430 more CCs).

The owner of that bike complained that it could be a design fault, I told him that Suzuki isn't stupid enough to not change the frame over that many years (design released on the market in 1993), but I do agree that they could have put the passenger pegs a bit more to the outside.

Originally Posted by Andyinhilo

I would look for some frame/swingarm damage if the passenger peg protector is hitting the swingarm. That is not correct. Klay is absolutely right in that there should be no flex in the frame itself. 3" of sag out of 8" of total travel when laden is not out of the ballpark, IMHO. I know mine sagged at least that much with my 230 lb on it, and it was at the stock setting.

Thank you for your opinion on this, 5" left isn't much indeed. The frame and swing-arm are okay, just the passenger peg seems to be bend a little. The rear spring will be adjusted to it's max pre-load. I like the aluminum swing-arm by the way.

Originally Posted by K44rll

Had this on a Djebel 200, seems the RH footpeg hanger had been bent inwards at some point, didn't realise until the bike was loaded and used off road, a nearby fence post and a little tweak outwards sorted it...

Karl

Yours got damaged a bit more than my friends bike; only the beveled upper part of the swing-arm has now 1 to 1.5mm less metal there. He wanted to fill it up but I told him to leave it as it is. I put some tape over the damaged area so he can see whenever the peg hits swing-arm again. Now it's bend a little, and you bend it back, it will not have the same strength again, but I did take a log and a hammer to smash that "protector" (small plate with some holes in it) aside the peg and it looks like it moved some 4mm aside. He is using the bike with 2-up from time to time.

Originally Posted by tnmike

The claimed hp of these little bikes is 40 hp at 6400rpm. How is that possible? Its only a 12 cu inch engine. Does anyone know any different? Im doubtful.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/motor...ki-DR200SE.htm

If it was a 500cc I would believe that ;). It should say 20 and some 18Nm torque (as I remember well).