DR350 supermoto project on a KLR budget

[jplum1556]

Nice deal on that rear wheel. I was looking at using the GS 500 wheels on my dr350 also but thought that the brake calipers needed to relocated or was I wrong?

[TheOtherBart]

I did a GS500 wheel conversion on my XR250L and it worked great. Something to consider, I actually ended up using the GS rear brake caliper and bracket instead of trying to adapt the XR one. Because of differences in design that swap made it much easier to make sure the chain was aligned. It makes it tougher to switch back to the dirt setup, so that may be a consideration depending on how you plan to use the thing.

[dbarale]

This one will be street only (I've got a plated XR250R for the trails). But I still would like to be able to swap back to 18/21 if needed. From what I read it should be possible but requires some machining. Mainly milling down the rotor side to be able to center the wheel and line up the rotor.

[BUGSMAK]

Couldn't feel better about who got the bike! Awesome job documenting the process too!!
My guess is that kick start spring is beat... Felt weak ya know!?!?:

[TheOtherBart]

Originally Posted by dbarale

This one will be street only (I've got a plated XR250R for the trails). But I still would like to be able to swap back to 18/21 if needed. From what I read it should be possible but requires some machining. Mainly milling down the rotor side to be able to center the wheel and line up the rotor.

If you do use the GS rear caliper and bracket the only extra work involved with the switchover is really just the time it takes to remove, replace, and bleed the caliper. To me "machining" and "low budget" don't go together because I'm not equipped to do that stuff myself, but obviously your situation may be different.

[dbarale]

Originally Posted by TheOtherBart

If you do use the GS rear caliper and bracket the only extra work involved with the switchover is really just the time it takes to remove, replace, and bleed the caliper. To me "machining" and "low budget" don't go together because I'm not equipped to do that stuff myself, but obviously your situation may be different.

I am lucky that I "know someone" who's a really good machinist. So the cost of the machining is, to me, probably equivalent to what a used caliper and a rebuild kit would cost me. Otherwise I would agree that replacing the caliper maybe an easier option (assuming that the wheel can still be centered in the swingarm).

[TheOtherBart]

Originally Posted by dbarale

I am lucky that I "know someone" who's a really good machinist. So the cost of the machining is, to me, probably equivalent to what a used caliper and a rebuild kit would cost me. Otherwise I would agree that replacing the caliper maybe an easier option (assuming that the wheel can still be centered in the swingarm).

It's always good to have a machinist around!

[buls4evr]

You do know that a 17" rear wheel from a DR650 is a direct trade for your 350...right. Not only that, a lot of 650 owners would love to have that 18" rear so they can get a better OR tire selection.

[dbarale]

Originally Posted by buls4evr

You do know that a 17" rear wheel from a DR650 is a direct trade for your 350...right. Not only that, a lot of 650 owners would love to have that 18" rear so they can get a better OR tire selection.

I can see the vultures circling already...

I thought about doing the DR650 swap and lacing a 17" rim to the front hub. But a set of spokes from Buchanan will cost me as much as the whole GS500 setup and I would lose the option of swapping back to a 21" front. It also does not address the issue of a bigger front rotor. Finally I wanted to run tubeless tires.

I know the GS wheels will be heavier and not as sexy as a set of spoked wheels but some of the weight will be offset by not having to use a tube. If I remember I will weight the wheel setups to see what the difference really is.

EDIT:
Front wheel with rotor, std tube, no rimlock and 80/100 new Kenda 760: 19.0 lbs
Rear wheel with rotor, std tube, no rimlock, cush hub and sprocket, and 130/80 bald Maxxis: 30.8 lbs

[Honkylicious]

Wanted:
- XR style tailight
- SM front fender
- factory clutch perch and lever (the ratio on this one seems to be all wrong)
- maybe a lighter skidplate (any suggestions?) ***
- SS front brake line
- fork brace[/QUOTE]

Maybe a plastic skidplate from an 08+ KLR650? Got one laying around, just let me know.

[dbarale]

Originally Posted by KLickeR

Wanted:
- XR style tailight
- SM front fender
- factory clutch perch and lever (the ratio on this one seems to be all wrong)
- maybe a lighter skidplate (any suggestions?) ***
- SS front brake line
- fork brace

Maybe a plastic skidplate from an 08+ KLR650? Got one laying around, just let me know.[/QUOTE]

Klicker, thanks for the offer. A plastic one is actually a good idea but I just swapped my skidplate for a factory one which should be a good bit lighter and fits right in...

[dbarale]

So, one step forward....

.... 29 steps back.

I took the engine to get measured. As I feared the cylinder is out of spec. The exhaust valves are also badly hammered.
I thought about slapping in some new rings and calling it good but in the end I decided to do it right:
- Wiseco piston and rings (+ 0.5 mm)
- New exhaust valves
- Re-bore
- $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.........

So I was a little down after that one, thankfuly a big package was waiting for me at the house:



Decent shape, no major issues. For $25 I was happy!
So I knocked out the (brand new) wheel bearings and slapped in a couple 6204's that I had leftover from something and fitted the DR axle.

I cleaned and taped the swingarm and marked some reference points with the stock wheel fitted:



Then I finally was able to see for myself how well the GS wheel fits the DR swingarm... To sum it up: it ain't fuckin' happenin'!





The wheel is offset about 13mm to the right, not great but not too bad. I could live with that.



The sprocket side is also pretty good. I would need to run a sealed bearing and grind about 5mm of the lip to gain some clearance but nothing complicated and the chain would line up perfectly:



The brake side is the problem. I read some writeups about using the GS wheel in a DR650 and I thought it would work for me since both bikes use the same rear wheel but the 650 swingarm must be wider than the 350's. The other issue is that it looks my wheel doesn't have enought meat on the rotor side to machine it. Suzuki might have lightened the wheel at some point, lucky me I got a later wheel...



So even if I wanted to use the GS caliper and hanger I would have to grind the swingarm to make room for the rotor. Even then I'm not sure there is enough room between the hub and the swingarm to clear the hanger. Here's an example on an XR250 (maybe from OtherBart?):




So back to square one. Unless I'm missing something really obvious I don't think this wheel is going to work. I may go the DR650 wheel way. I don't know. Need a drink...

[rubberband]

bummer about the wheel, and the engine internals. Were the valves as hit as mine?

Don't get too discouraged, hang in there.

[TheOtherBart]

Originally Posted by dbarale

So even if I wanted to use the GS caliper and hanger I would have to grind the swingarm to make room for the rotor. Even then I'm not sure there is enough room between the hub and the swingarm to clear the hanger. Here's an example on an XR250 (maybe from OtherBart?):




So back to square one. Unless I'm missing something really obvious I don't think this wheel is going to work. I may go the DR650 wheel way. I don't know. Need a drink...

That's not mine, but I can take pics if it would help. When I made a left side spacer that positioned the wheel such that the sprocket lined up then all I needed on the right was the caliper bracket and a washer (maybe 1/8" thick?). I don't think my wheel had that huge space from the rim edge to the sprocket like yours does there.

[dbarale]

Originally Posted by TheOtherBart

That's not mine, but I can take pics if it would help. When I made a left side spacer that positioned the wheel such that the sprocket lined up then all I needed on the right was the caliper bracket and a washer (maybe 1/8" thick?). I don't think my wheel had that huge space from the rim edge to the sprocket like yours does there.

A pic or two would be great. I'm starting to wonder if I got a wheel from something else? Katana maybe?

EDIT: Well, after your post I started looking at pics of other GS500 wheels for sale on Ebay. The cush hub/sprocket carrier doesn't look to be the same. No wonder the effin wheel won't fit.

OtherBart, any chance you could take a quick measurement from the inside surface of the sprocket to the lip of the rim itself?