DR350 Thread

[saddlsor]

Originally Posted by johnnyandjebus

saddlsor I'm interested as well, any info would be welcome.

John

if you go to maximum suzuki's website, in the dr open discussion area, there is someone that has done something similar and has pictures posted. the only difference between his and what I did was he added a piece to the top engine mount, where as I removed the top bolt and replaced it with a piece of allthread that sticks out about an inch on either side. don't know how to do links to make it easier but type in oversized tanks in the search and you should be able to find it. the user name of the poster is fariborz.

[Klay]

Originally Posted by saddlsor

on the front downtube the oil line goes into a fitting, right above the drain. take the oil line off and unscrew the fitting. the screen is in the fitting. I've checked mine twice, first time had a little bit of metal flakes in it, most likely from the frame casting, second time it was clear. just be aware the fitting might be difficult to get out as it can be pretty tight.

Thanks.

[johnnyandjebus]

Oil........sorry in advance

---

I just picked up a new to me '98 DR350SE. My question, is what type of oil i should run in the bike. I don't have an owners manual, so i bought a Clymers. I have read on here that there are a number of mistakes in that manual, but it was better than nothing. But i can't find any info, about running Dino, semi-synth, or full-synth.

Come someone suggest what direction i should go in?

thx,

sdc

Seems like everyone has an option on oil, most with more experience than me. For what it is worth I am running Rotella T diesel oil, a common choice here and else where, non synthetic.
My own thought is to use a quality non synthetic and change it often. For me @ 800 - 1000 km's. If you buy it in 5 gallon pails you can get away with about 50-60$ or about 10 - 12 $ a gallon.

John

[TourPros]

Hey guys I am normally found in the Pacific Northwest section of the site or on the XR600 boards. But a buddy of mine just got this DR 350 and we are looking for info and parts. It has purple frame, yellow seat, fork boots and white plastics right now. First can someone explain the SE model and how it differs from others? Also would like to know what after market tanks (plastic) if any bolt right up? And does anyone know of black plastics (Tank, Sides, Fenders for this bike I see some on this thread are they painted? Thanks in advance for any info you may be able to help us with.

[Bulleteer]

Originally Posted by TourPros

First can someone explain the SE model and how it differs from others?

From my understanding, the SE is Street-legal Electric-start and ran from '94 through '99. I think the DR350S was street legal kick start prior to '94. The plain DR350 was off-road kick-start. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.

BTW, if you find black plastics you like, I'd be very interested in your OEM side panels and fenders.

[bpg]

saw a few references in this thread, thought I'd throw this link out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beEXfEdpDrk

Cool as hell trip from before the days of internet and cell phones and GPS and SPOT - just some blokes having the time of their lives on DR350s!

[TEZZA]

That is GOLD !!!!!!!

Originally Posted by bpg

saw a few references in this thread, thought I'd throw this link out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beEXfEdpDrk

Cool as hell trip from before the days of internet and cell phones and GPS and SPOT - just some blokes having the time of their lives on DR350s!

[BikePilot]

Originally Posted by Bulleteer

From my understanding, the SE is Street-legal Electric-start and ran from '94 through '99. I think the DR350S was street legal kick start prior to '94. The plain DR350 was off-road kick-start. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.

BTW, if you find black plastics you like, I'd be very interested in your OEM side panels and fenders.

That's quite right

[EvilGenius]

Do you guys find the braking ability of the DR350/250 to be adequate for the street?

I flushed out the brakes completely with new brake fluid a month or so ago as anytime I'm above 35-40 mph it seems to not stop very well. The front fluid was just dark and slightly dirty. The rear was down right scary though.

I have one of those vaccum hand pumps with a catch can for bleeding brakes. The front I pumped it up maybe 1/3rd of the gauge and opened the valve and it came out ok, better while pumping the lever. The rear was a different story. I popped it on, pumped it up to about the same, opened the valve and nothing happened. I started pumping it more until I maxed out the gauge and still nothing. I then mashed down on the pedal and something popped and it started gushing out into the catch can. Looked like a nice dark frothy beer in there with some sand mixed in. It came out fine after that and I kept pumping until nice clear fluid came out.

Afterwards it stops a little better now, neither of them act funny, no sticking, etc. But I still feel like if I'm doing above 40-45mph I can definitely stop fine, but there's no way it'd be quick enough to avoid any kind of collision.

I know DS bikes normally have "under powered" brakes up front to help keep you from locking it up while you're in the dirt, but I didn't think a 250cc DS would be that hard to stop quickly.

Does it sound normal? Any little tricks aside from a total conversion of the brake system that might help?

[mouthfulloflake]

stainless hydraulic hose in front is supposed to be a good upgrade.

Originally Posted by EvilGenius

Do you guys find the breaking ability of the DR350/250 to be adequate for the street?

I flushed out the brakes completely with new brake fluid a month or so ago as anytime I'm above 305-40 mph it seems to not stop very well. The front fluid was just dark and slightly dirty. The rear was down right scary though.

I have one of those vaccum hand pumps with a catch can for bleeding brakes. The front I pumped it up maybe 1/3rd of the gauge and opened the valve and it came out ok, better while pumping the lever. The rear was a different story. I popped it on, pumped it up to about the same, opened the valve and nothing happened. I started pumping it more until I maxed out the gauge and still nothing. I then mashed down on the pedal and something popped and it started gushing out into the catch can. Looked like a nice dark frothy beer in there with some sand mixed in. I came out fine after that and I kept pumping until nice clear fluid came out.

Afterwards it stops a little better now, neither of them act funny, not sticking, etc. But I still feel like if I'm doing above 40-45mph I can definitely stop fine, but there's no way it'd be quick enough to avoid any kind of collision.

I know DS bikes normally have "unpowered" brake sup front to help keep you from locking it up while you're in the dirt, but I didn't think a 250cc DS would be that hard to stop quickly.

Does it sound normal? Any little tricks aside from a total conversion of the brake system that might help?

[z@ch]

Originally Posted by mouthfulloflake

stainless hydraulic hose in front is supposed to be a good upgrade.

that and a good set of aggressive pads.

[BikePilot]

My guess is either your pads are contaminated or you didn't get it bled very well. Vacuum bleading isn't the most reliable method in my experience. Lots of people don't replace brake pads after a fork leak or get crazy with wd40 after a wash and ruin the brake pads.

The rear brake should be more than powerful enough to lock the rear tire easily at any speed.

The front requires a very hefty squeeze, but should still be strong enough to stop quite quickly and even lift the rear tire under very hard deceleration.

Quality pads and braided lines do go a long way in improving brake feel, but from your description your brakes are a very long way off from correct functioning stock brakes.

[shearboy2004]

Total agreement with Bikepilot here , contaminated pads are the shits .

Man Bikepilot i bet you are missing the hell out of CO right now , bloody near 70 degrees out here with those wonderful blue skies.

[EvilGenius]

Is there a brand of agressive pads y'all recommend?

The current ones have more than half their life left, but the previous owner put them on so who knows what kind of condition they're really in.

Like I said, they don't seem to stick or anything weird. Just not very powerful.

I was planing on bleeding them again just to make sure.

[z@ch]

Originally Posted by EvilGenius

Is there a brand of agressive pads y'all recommend?

The current ones have more than half their life left, but the previous owner put them on so who knows what kind of condition they're really in.

Like I said, they don't seem to stick or anything weird. Just not very powerful.

I was planing on bleeding them again just to make sure.

EBC brand, HH compound