the DR200 thread

[JayGoldstein]

Originally Posted by Wallrat

It seems counter-intuitive, but gravel, like sand, is actually easier to ride the faster you go.

I understand the principle, and apply it when riding my bicycle, but it's hard to resist the temptation to back off the throttle on the DR when the front end starts to slip and slide.

Other considerations are tires and air pressure. If you're running (mostly)street tires, then any trip offroad is going to be interesting. A smooth rear tire won't grip in loose stuff and blipping the throttle will just make it spin rather than pull the front end up. You can lower the pressure a bit in your tires to around 12-15 psi to get a larger contact area, but the benefit of doing this on slick tires is going to be negligible. With a proper knobby or more dirt oriented tire, pressure can have a huge effect on the bike's handling.

I've got the stock Trailwing knobbies. Right now my riding is about 80% on pavement and 20% on unpaved surfaces. To maximize fuel economy I keep tire pressure a couple of pounds above what the owner's manual recommends. I'll have to accept the fact that traction in sand or gravel will be compromised.

[Wallrat]

Don't take sharp turns too fast or you'll eat it.

Or just lock up the rear and pitch it sideways going in, then drop the clutch and goose it out of the turn.

[MorganSS]

and then park your 250 honda dirt bike and hop back on your DR for a leisurely cruise

[bross]

Originally Posted by JayGoldstein

I understand the principle, and apply it when riding my bicycle, but it's hard to resist the temptation to back off the throttle on the DR when the front end starts to slip and slide.

I've got the stock Trailwing knobbies. Right now my riding is about 80% on pavement and 20% on unpaved surfaces. To maximize fuel economy I keep tire pressure a couple of pounds above what the owner's manual recommends. I'll have to accept the fact that traction in sand or gravel will be compromised.

All good advice so far, I'll just add that when standing, you can easily steer with your feet simply by weighting the appropriate peg. Weight the right peg go right. Once the bike is turned in the direction you want to go you should then be weighting the outside peg, but don't worry too much about the outside peg until your speeds come up. Next time, just try alternately weighting the right and left peg and you'll soon see how easy it is to steer with your feet.

And don't forget to stay loose on the bars and let them move around. Once you get the feel of steering with your feet you'll realize you're not really doing any steering with the bars anyway.

If you really want to practice their's a couple inmates on here who have made a couple DVDs: Dual Sport Riding Techniques, and Advanced DSRT. Good info and will help you to improve your dirt skills.

http://dualsportriding.com/

[tomas377]

hey what are some stuff i can add to my bike? all it has it a tank bag and rear bag.

is there a good windshield thatll fit the 200 nicely?

[Wallrat]

Originally Posted by MorganSS

and then park your 250 honda dirt bike and hop back on your DR for a leisurely cruise

Haha I lolled. But no really you can do it on the DR. You're not going to wheelie out of the corner but sliding in and gassing out works just like you'd expect with a short, heavy bike. I rode my wife's DR around and had a blast doing this.

[MorganSS]

doing 100 miles today with my brother and his klr

back roads mostly, about 50mph max

should be fun!

[BC1]

Hey...what a huge thread here about the dr200! Tons of info here.
I thought Id post up my latest score, a 98 model. Neglected, ignored and left outside to die, I rescued her for a measly $100 canadian. I thought worst case scenario, I could part it out and get more them my money back, and best case, I'll have another dualsport again. ( I had a 92 DR350 up til 10 years ago)
It is what you see...missing sidepanels, sprocket cover, stator cover+stator. I have the stator+cover onroute from an ebay purchase. I want to get the engine running before investing in more parts. A new battery is already installed.
Its getting a good carb cleaning and tank as well, as It had some old gas in it, guessing 1-2 years. The previous owner had a chain let go and take out the stator cover and a chunk out the engine case, but its a small area, I think it should patch up fine with jb weld.
Heres a pic. thanks for looking.

[Wallrat]

Originally Posted by BC1

I think it should patch up fine with jb weld.

Wait. Patch up part of the stator cover or part of the engine case? If you meant the case then that makes me nervous. JB weld doesn't do well with small contact area and vibration. Grats on the find though. For $100 can't go wrong.

[BC1]

Yes the engine case, I will have to keep a close eye on it. Ive seen jb hold up to some amazing situations though.
I dont think there is a lot of pressure in the stator area.......?

[Andyinhilo]

Originally Posted by BC1

Yes the engine case, I will have to keep a close eye on it. Ive seen jb hold up to some amazing situations though.
I dont think there is a lot of pressure in the stator area.......?

The product I have used for that kind of repair is Marine-Tex. Much better than JB IMHO. I had a 1976 GT750 that I bought at one year old cheap because of a broken case, due to chain impact. I repaired it with the Marine-Tex and rode it for several years. Never a problem.

[daffodil60]

Hi everyone - I wanted some advice on doing a hairpin turn on a dirt/gravel driveway. Yup I have a driveway with this challenging turn. I also have the choice of a straight run out of the driveway too - which is what I choose most of the time.

But on occasions I attempt this hairpin turn. Now the turn is to the left and it also is an uphill turn.
I can usually manage this turn by going really slow and shakily. The other day I attempted it again and of course - down I went.

Actually what happened (I think cause it happened so fast) is I looked at the building I didnt want to hit on my right (first mistake) and then I hit the brake - and what happened was that the back wheel spun around and I tried to let the throttle off but because I was going uphill, I was hanging onto the bars, I put my foot down and then both me and the bike went down. I didnt remember to use the kill switch either.
So how should I take a left uphill hairpin on gravel/dirt?

Oh and I am not young enough to be doing acrobatics on the bike, so this grandma just wants the technique so I can practise! hahaha thanks for any help you can give me!

[Klay]

Look over your shoulder up in the direction up the hairpin turn you want to go and fly the bike like an airplane. If it's a real low-speed corner, rev the engine and slip the clutch at a steady rate and use the rear brake to control speed.

[godwinmt]

If it's dirt/gravel, I'd go into it standing up on the pegs. Especially going slow, it makes the bike pretty easy to just toss wherever you need it to. Unlike a normal turn where you essentially countersteer and lean into the turn, put more weight on the inside peg, push against the outside of the tank with your outside knee, and focus on pushing the bars sideways (across the pivot) through the turn. Brake before you get to it in a straight line on a loose surface, turn in, and accelerate out.

[psu75]

Originally Posted by MorganSS

doing 100 miles today with my brother and his klr

back roads mostly, about 50mph max

should be fun!

How'd the hiney feel after that?