DR750 & DR800 owners thread

[ausibatla]

What's the matter with all you blokes. This thread has been so quiet for so long. I haven't seen anything from anybody since last year.
Cheers.

[Ladder106]

Give us Norte Americanos time to catch up...we still have 8 hrs to go.

Best Wishes Lloyd.

[MrPopples]

Hello BIG fans :)

I've seen many of you adapt a fork from another model on your bigs.
but how do you know the fork will fit?

I have access to pretty much any bearing I can imagine (I have a bearing specialist nearly next door) and I know a guy with a CNC ... so it shouldn't be a problem to adapt anything to the BIG ...
but mounting the fork doesn't mean the result will do well ;)

so, how do you know the fork will do a good job for the BIG?
you look at the length of the fork (and how far it can plunge)? the spread between the fork tubes?
the weight of the bike it comes from? a fork for a bike that weights 110Kg wouldn't fit the BIG? right?

I would like to hear any opinion you have on this topic ;)

Happy new year,
from france.

[Resi]

Gidday Mr.Popples,

on my SR41 I fitted an USD-fork (MDS damping systems), taken from a 1990's KTM LC4.



The overall length was about 10mm longer.
I milled special triple clamps and made a matching steering stem.
Additionally the travel was reduced from 300mm to 240mm with a 10mm "hard bump" to prevent damage.
There are stronger springs mounted, too.

Cheers,
Lars

[spen]

Hi I have a DR 750/800 center stand for sale ,freshly powder coated so looks as good as new.£45 plus p&p

[stefan rb]

Originally Posted by MrPopples

Hello BIG fans :)

I've seen many of you adapt a fork from another model on your bigs.
but how do you know the fork will fit?

I have access to pretty much any bearing I can imagine (I have a bearing specialist nearly next door) and I know a guy with a CNC ... so it shouldn't be a problem to adapt anything to the BIG ...
but mounting the fork doesn't mean the result will do well ;)

so, how do you know the fork will do a good job for the BIG?
you look at the length of the fork (and how far it can plunge)? the spread between the fork tubes?
the weight of the bike it comes from? a fork for a bike that weights 110Kg wouldn't fit the BIG? right?

I would like to hear any opinion you have on this topic ;)

Happy new year,
from france.

in my opinion the wp extreme fork is th ebest solution
thats why you can adjust supspension way, and of course springs to the dr big
with a usd and with too much suspension the front wheel can have contact to the mainframe
...the result is not funny....


we change with cnc parts damper, fork bridges and make fork clamps
you see it on my bike or in our big shop

greets stefan

[stefan rb]

and my new years gift for 2013 is the new DR BIG SHOP

one matter...

Unfortunately the new shop can't be offered in an English version until next week. Please leave you e.g. using google or firefox for help. These browsers will translate into your language fast and for free.
klick! DR BIG SHOP translated with google
We wish you a happy 2013 - regardless which type of DR you're riding !

[Ladder106]

I saw this in eBay/Germany.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Suzuki-dr-800...b#ht_500wt_947

Did the Bigs ever come with a fairing this large?

I know there was a 650 RS model in europe but this looks like it's part of a SR43 package.

Any info or other photos?

[Longdude]

Hi,

DR BIG'S never came with a fairing like that in Europe, yuk.It may be the fairing from the 650. Like this !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Suzuki_DR650RSE.jpg

[Bambi]

Hello Ladder, hello Longdude,

it's not a 650 fairing, it's a special for the DR 800 S (SR 43). If the seller had laid out the parts a bit wider to pick the picture it would have been clearer to see. Ladder, if you take a look at your SR 43 you will realize that the big parts with DR 800 written on them are the right- and left-hand tank-covers. The front cowl of this fairing differs from the original one: there's no beak on it and it resembles a bit to the 650 version that Longdude has been thinking of. But contours of the fairing and headlight-cut-out are a bit different. There are some pics in the gallery of the German forum, I'll try to find one of them ...
Kind regards, Bambi

[Resi]

Gidday.

There was/is a converting kit availlable over here, for those who ged rid of the palatypus-style fairing.
Made by a company called "Gimbel" AFAIK.
Style is like RSE650.

Cheers,
Lars

[Bambi]

Here we go:
http://www.dr-big.de/forum/viewtopic.php?p=195800
Scroll down to the bottom of this side of the thread, the fairing of the blue bike should be the same as the one in the e-bay-add. This whole thread is named 'beak-less' and shows a lot of Bigs without the beak in different variations. Putting away with the beak is often judged as a sacrilege here ... When getting mine in 2003 I had ideas like this, too. I wanted to change the fairing to something like the old KTM LC 4 Adventure, a fairing I still desire as beautiful. In the meantime I like the appearance of my bike, ressembling the first Dakar-version by Gaston Rahier ... and thus honouring him.
Kind regards, Bambi

[Bambi]

Lars is right, 'Gimbel' was the name of the company that didn't spring to mind at once ... As said, not quite DR 650, a friend of mine bought one of these bikes last summer and so I'm able to compare. There are differences ...
Kind regards, Bambi

[Ladder106]

Thanks Everyone !

It looked interesting since there are times (in the rain) when I think about having some sore of shield with a bit more protection than the standard for our Bigs (all models).

Many thanks, Bambi, for posting the link to the photos. The eBay ad did very little to describe or illustrate the part.

For me, the beak is a MUST. Seeing that blue bike without the beak is like looking at some grotesque anatomy book describing rare skin diseases....rather makes my toes curl.

If I need a wider screen, I can always take my Africa/Alp.

If shipping were not so expensive, It might be an interesting excercise to add a beak to that part. I think it would look better.

I've got a SR41 engine to disassemble over the next week or two so no time to play with fiberglass.

Thanks again, everyone. It improved my "Big" education.

If there are any wider windscreens available in other countries, please let me know. I can find the Puig model quite easily but the existence of this part tells me that there may be more things available than what is common.

[Bambi]

Hi Ladder,
I don't think that you can just add a beak to the Gimbel-fairing. The lower part of it's front is too different ...
For more wind protection the Puig-shield is a very common variation. I'm not really aware if there is more to choose from. Except Jörn's version (you remember the slim tall guy from the pic of our meeting with Bluesman?). He once told me the web-site of it's producer but sorry, I forgot it. And yes, I forgot to mention my own Five-Stars-shield. But like the Puig-version it's just a little bit higher, not wider than the original one.
Perhaps a note to Stefan Heßler could be helpful!?
Kind regards, Bambi