DR350 Thread

[dtp]

Originally Posted by EastBoundAndDown

So for the upcoming harescramble season I need a number plate setup for the DR350, can someone tell me if I have a crazy idea? I need black backgrounds and white numbers, no one makes a pre print for the 350, so I can use blak sheets and cut them to fit. However, what if I were to spray the side panels with that bed-liner in a can stuff and pained over the numbers I wanted? Would that look weird? I might try it....

I think it would work and here's why...

I painted the whole headlight surround of my V-Strom with the rattle-can bedliner and it turned out amazingly good. WAY better looking than the glossy black of the stock surround. The key was to use several very light coats to give it slightly more texture than orange-peel. If you slop it on it will be rough and ugly. I sanded the plastic down pretty good with some fine-grit paper first to rough it up a bit and take that glossy sheen off the top. Then I cleaned it real good with DupliColor cleaner/degreaser. I also did the heat shield over the exhaust with fantastic results.

Based on how mine looks, I think it would turn out great if you did that. It would be really cheap to try it on the inside of your side panels and do a "test paint" to see how it turns out.

Post pics if it works!

[dtp]

Hopefully someone can help a bike wiring newb out with a problem here...

I am trying to get my 92 DR350 (plated version) ready for an enduro later this month and in my check-up I noticed that my tail/brake light is not working. Like I said, I am rather a newb at bike electrical issues so I was hoping someone could give me pointers on what to check for. Here is what I have done so far...


Verified that neither brake activates the light to rule out the switches.

Verified that the headlights do not activate the running light (is there one? I never noticed... but pretty sure there is... lol)

Verified other electrical stuff works... headlight, turnsignals, speedo lights, etc.

Changed the bulb.

Checked for continuity at the wires where the leads plug into the tail lamp assembly and there is none there when the brakes are engaged.

Checked the plug next to the battery where the leads come out of the main wiring harness and go back to the rear of the bike. I do get some continuity there when the brake is engaged but I don't know for sure if I am checking for the right thing here... but perhaps this is pointing to a cut wire somewhere behind the harness.

Any ideas??? I want to get this running and go for a test ride before the end of the week (and the end of my vacation.)



Other things I did to the bike to get ready...

I had to replace the engine stop-switch. Old one went bad. New one is MUCH nicer as I can actually tell if the bike is in the ON or OFF position now instead of guessing.

Replaced rear tire/tube with an MT43 and Tubliss core. If I can get the freakin brake lamp working, I'll give this setup a try. I did ride around the block a few times with it and boy that rear tire sure is quieter on pavement than a full knobby!

Made some flexible turn-signal extenders to send them rearward so I would not kick them getting on/off the bike and break them off anymore. Should be better in a drop situation as well since they should just flex back out of the way instead of snap off.

[yondering]

Originally Posted by AtlantaViking

The only other bike that I really considered as a balanced dual sport was the Husky TE610. So I think you are on the right track. When I brought $$ into the equation the balance REALLY went in favor of the DR.

Cost is definitely a factor; I almost went for a TE610 a while back, at a pretty good price, but I still have trouble with the idea of banging a $4000+ bike through the woods. I do think it's probably the closest to the DR350 as an all around dual sport.

Originally Posted by BikePilot

The XR650R isn't far off. Its less civilized with kick start...

I haven't owned an XR650R yet, but want to someday. The big downside of that bike though is the lack of a plate, for those of us on the west coast or other more restrictive states that won't plate a dirtbike anymore. Other than that, it sounds like a great bike. I think the KTM 520 EXC I just bought will have many of the advantages and disadvantages of the 650R, except that it's got a valid plate, for now. 6th gear wheelies are fun.

Originally Posted by jon_l

The WR250R seems like the modern version of the DR350SE dual sport

Originally Posted by Country Doc

I can tell you after riding both bikes back to back, I'd much rather have a massaged DR350 than a brand-new WRR. Stock, the WRR is a bit better. However it's also more $$, and if you put a couple of grand into hot-rodding a DR, it drastically outperforms a WRR.

Doc, been there, done that, and agree 100%. The WRR is a good dual sport, and got most of it right, but just doesn't have the low end tractor-like grunt of a well set up DR350. With some motor work on the 350 (even $1K is enough), there's no comparison. There's no replacement for displacement! A WR400R would be close to perfect; like a combination of the DRZ and WRR.

[sperz1]

Verified that neither brake activates the light to rule out the switches.

All this does is test the brake light, did you test the switches. It's a long shot but both switches could be bad.

Verified that the headlights do not activate the running light (is there one? I never noticed... but pretty sure there is... lol)

Yep, there is a running light.

Checked the plug next to the battery where the leads come out of the main wiring harness and go back to the rear of the bike. I do get some continuity there when the brake is engaged but I don't know for sure if I am checking for the right thing here... but perhaps this is pointing to a cut wire somewhere behind the harness.

Any ideas??? I want to get this running and go for a test ride before the end of the week (and the end of my vacation.)

Try and see if you can apply power to the light assembly and get it to work. Another option would be to use a test light and see if you are getting power when the switches are being activated. If you do not get power, then follow the wires until there is power. Sounds like something is grounding out, or just plain ole' dirty.

I'm not an electrician, but have played with a few bikes in the past.

[cwc]

Originally Posted by dtp

Hopefully someone can help a bike wiring newb out with a problem here...

Verified that neither brake activates the light to rule out the switches.

Verified that the headlights do not activate the running light (is there one? I never noticed... but pretty sure there is... lol)

Verified other electrical stuff works... headlight, turnsignals, speedo lights, etc.

Changed the bulb.

Checked for continuity at the wires where the leads plug into the tail lamp assembly and there is none there when the brakes are engaged.

Checked the plug next to the battery where the leads come out of the main wiring harness and go back to the rear of the bike. I do get some continuity there when the brake is engaged but I don't know for sure if I am checking for the right thing here... but perhaps this is pointing to a cut wire somewhere behind the harness.

Not sure what you mean by no continuity and some continuity.

What are you using to test this.

The fact that there is no tail light AND no brake light suggests a bad ground to me. I've had to fix the ground wire more than once on my 40K mile '95.

IRRC this is the Black/white wire.

If you have a test light connect one end to ground (the battery negative terminal is the best place) and touch the other end as close as possible to bulb's contact for the brake light. Better yet take out the bulb and touch the contact inside the socket. When you operate the brake with the igniton switch on the test light should light up.

If it doesn't start working back along the W/B wire until it does light.

If the test light indicates power into the brake light contact then move the grounded end of the test light to the + terminal of the battery and and start probing with the test light from the ground connection of the socket and work back to the actual ground connection. When you have a good connection the test light will light up.

Disclaimer: This is based on looking at the DR350SN wiring diagram. I could give a better description of where to probe if I looked inside my tail light, but it is below zero out there and I'm NOT going out to look.

[NikonsAndVStroms]

I'm thinking about pickup up a DR350 but have 1 big question, how bad is the vibration?

Just for comparison if any of you have ridden a F800GS that is my most recent riding experience so would the 350 be better or worse for vibes next to that bike?

[BikePilot]

Its extraordinarily smooth. No idea re the F800 comparison, but you'd probably be best off comparing with other thumpers. I've never heard of anyone trying to minimize vibs on a DR350 as there just aren't enough there to cause a bother.

[NikonsAndVStroms]

Originally Posted by BikePilot

Its extraordinarily smooth. No idea re the F800 comparison, but you'd probably be best off comparing with other thumpers. I've never heard of anyone trying to minimize vibs on a DR350 as there just aren't enough there to cause a bother.

That's what I wanted to hear, from what I've been reading in this thread/on the net it sounds like an ideal bike to ride around the city for now and when my wrists get better to have as my trail bike.

[BikePilot]

I terrorized boston/cambridge and occasionally, the surrounding trails, on mine for 3 years - seemed well suited for the job. Only complaint for that purpose is its a bit heavy and cumbersome when trying to keep up with MX bikes in the really rocky stuff, but it'll make it most anywhere and do a pretty good job of pretending to be a serious dirt bike while still being a smooth, civilized street bike too.

[dtp]

Thanks for the tips on the wiring.

What I meant by "continuity" is that my voltmeter does show that there is continuity at the mentioned plug.

I was wondering about the ground at first too but I was thinking more than just the taillight would be bad if that were the problem.

After stewing on it for a bit, here is what I did last night...

I wired-up a test light and jumpered it into the socket at the end of the wiring harness at the battery. The brakes both triggered the light at that point and the running light connection was working as well. So, the problem is most likely either in the socket and plug at that point (they are looking pretty corroded) or in the wires themselves going back from there to the light.

I am thinking of taking the plug off and splicing in a new one first since they are looking pretty nasty. If that doesn't fix it I will run a new set of wires back to the tail light. Off to the auto-parts store...

[jessepitt]

Originally Posted by oremike

I got my project 99 DR 350 all done today except I still have to sort out the turn signals, they are there and work temperamentally so close enough for a ride. Went 10 miles with a couple miles of pot holed gravel thrown in. The bike runs right up to 70 mph and then runs out of beans, and has no problem lofting the front wheel off the line. Paid 500 for the bike then put about a grand in it so I think I'm in it right!

I live right down the road (Cottage Grove) and ride the same bike (pic in sig). My bike originally came from Creswell... small world.

[cwc]

I was wondering about the ground at first too but I was thinking more than just the taillight would be bad if that were the problem.

IRRC (again) my ground wire failures were right in the tail lamp assembly which would explain why the turn sigs work but the tail light and brake light don't.

The wire can break right inside the insulation and the break is invisible. If you flex the wire along it's length it will typically bend sharply where a break is located.

Using a voltmeter for continuity test works some of the time, but you can have a high resistance in your circuit due to corrosion or ?? and the voltmeter doesn't draw enough current to detect this.

For this sort of thing a test light with a bulb similar to the one the offending circuit supplies current to will give the best result because the current drawn by the test lamp is similar the required current for the bulb in the bike.

BTW I use a dielectric grease that will prevent corrosion if you liberally coat all the contacts in the socket and connectors. The fact that it is dielectric prevents shorting between connections if you get a little enthusiastic putting it on.

Ask for DC 111 at an industrial supply place or Permatex dielectric grease at the autoparts place.

[Airvent]

Here's a few pictures from today's ride.

[dtp]

Got the tail light working. There was a problem in the last section of wiring so I ran a new set of wires back and all is good on that front. Thanks to all who gave me the tips.

NOW, my new problem... the stupid bike won't start anymore. Ran fine three days ago though it was a little tough to start. It is pretty cold here (for us - I am in California) at about 45 to 55 deg F but I doubt that's the problem. I pulled the carb and gave it a good cleaning. It was pretty darn clean inside which was good considering it has been sitting for about six weeks with gas in the tank. I have a new sparkplug too which I am going to put in tonight and I have added Sea Foam to the fuel and topped it off with fresh gas.

However, I have several hoses that are just dangling off the carb/petcock/etc. I am not sure if one of these came loose and that is why it stopped running. Here are some pics and the hoses I am wondering about. Carb is the pumper, bike is a 1992 street-model, petcock is... well I'm not sure if its stock or after-market.

The "red arrow" hose in the pic below is the fuel supply line to the carb, that I know. The other thinner one "green arrow" is coming off the back of the petcock and just floats connected to nothing. Not sure if that is correct.



In this next pic, this hose I am holding goes up into the area underneath the tank/air filter where the red arrow is. It has that hose clamp on the end of it so my intuition tells me that it should be connected somewhere but I don't know where. Also tucked-away in there unseen is a hose that looks like it came off the airbox that is capped. I suspect that is a line to pump the fuel in the stock CV carb and is capped for the pumper model.


In this pic, I know the "red circle" is the main fuel supply line and the "blue circle" is the drain for the float bowl (I have the hose for that.) The pink hose coming off the "green circle" was just hanging down loose. Not sure if that goes someplace special...


On the other side of the carb, this "green circle" hose was also hanging down loose connected to nothing. Again, not sure if that is right.


Any answers to the mystery hoses would be appreciated. Also, I have searched but can not find any diagrams detailing the pumper install on the DR350. Are there any around that I missed? Or photos that illustrate where it all hooks up?

Thanks for your patience and help.

[TwilightZone]

Both the 'pink' hoses are just vents. They hang to the rear behind the carb. Should have a little hose on the float bowl drain too.