Wherever I May Roam - One Woman Livin' on a DR650

[gunnerbuck]

Originally Posted by Feyala

Spoilers, but nope, haha. It's actually gotten significantly worse, it tries to stall in the rain now if I don't keep the throttle open, backfires like a bitch. I need to try adjusting the mixture when it rains next time, see if that does anything.

Glad you're enjoying it! Up next is my first motorcycle rally!

If the rain makes the problem worse then it is likely electrical... It could be something as simple as a faulty spark plug cap...

Try unscrewing the spark plug cap off the lead wire and then snipping a very short piece {1/8"-1/4"} and then screwing the cap back on to give it a fresh contact...

[prsdrat]

I'm in. Now to backtrack and catch up.

[Scootard]

I had a problem with an intake boot before. The engine would buck like crazy under accel, but run fine at cruise.
if that boot has been torn for a while, the carb may be out of adjustment by folk trying to "compensate" without having noticed the rip. You just found it while doing some serous maintenance. Resetting back to stock may result in a dramatic improvement....here's hoping!

[breakouttathemould]

Originally Posted by Feyala

Spoilers, but nope, haha. It's actually gotten significantly worse, it tries to stall in the rain now if I don't keep the throttle open, backfires like a bitch. I need to try adjusting the mixture when it rains next time, see if that does anything.

If its definitely worse in the rain (no problem in the dry then?) I'd agree with gunnerbuck and go down the HT/electrical checks. Maybe the stripdown disturbed the culprit to make it worse (a good thing if it helps you find it!). HT lead, spark plug and coil can all be suspects. My old beemer had an ignition can problem (hall sensor in the electronic ignition went bad) which gave a random misfire / backfire esp once the engine got warm. Pig to find and one of the last things I suspected / checked. Just my $0.02.

Originally Posted by Feyala

Glad you're enjoying it! Up next is my first motorcycle rally!

Yay! Lookin forward to it.

Good luck!

[Gixer7]

This is a very familiar story to me, i packed in my job, sold the house and put what i had left in storage then set off to tour Australia and New Zealand.
I still feel a bit lost but i'm loving the experience of meeting new people good and bad and i'm doing it on a Honda CB1300 (I love big capacity bikes and bitumen riding), so what you are doing ring's loud and clear to me, i'm right with you.
/Users/ianblakemore/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2012/07/14/20120714-132557/DSC00308.JPG

[Flashmo]

Nice Ride Report.

[Flashmo]

You might like this. A few days ago I stumbled on a free .pdf download, 100 page article on "How to ride Offroad". It is a good read, both humorous and full of good info.


http://www.bestrestproducts.com/p-34...-off-road.aspx

[NomadGal]

Originally Posted by Feyala

Spoilers, but nope, haha. It's actually gotten significantly worse, it tries to stall in the rain now if I don't keep the throttle open, backfires like a bitch. I need to try adjusting the mixture when it rains next time, see if that does anything.

Glad you're enjoying it! Up next is my first motorcycle rally!

Hey Fey, it sounds like you don't have a T-mod done to your bike. Mine used to stall in the rain all the time! Now with the T-mod it doesn't.
If you look at your carb, there is a hose coming from it that ends nowhere. This hose gets filled with water that splashes up on the road, effectively closing off airflow out and it stalls the bike. If you connect a little T shaped connecter and attach one hose going up under seat, and one hanging down, you won't have that problem anymore.

[purplesage]

Originally Posted by SoulDreamRider

Hey Fey, it sounds like you don't have a T-mod done to your bike. Mine used to stall in the rain all the time! Now with the T-mod it doesn't.
If you look at your carb, there is a hose coming from it that ends nowhere. This hose gets filled with water that splashes up on the road, effectively closing off airflow out and it stalls the bike. If you connect a little T shaped connecter and attach one hose going up under seat, and one hanging down, you won't have that problem anymore.

+1 for what SoulDreamRider said above. I didn't find a procedure with a quick search for the DR, but it must be out there on the net. Here is a link to the mod for a KLR, probably pretty similar, pretty much same bikes except for h20 cooling. One caveat, this procedure shows a short piece of added tubing to the "T," use a longer piece that runs part way under the seat. When identifying the tube, put your finger over the end of the tube while bike is running, should die almost immediately.

http://klr6500.tripod.com/tmod.htm

Hope you find the problems source.
Great thread, enjoying your adventures.

[gunnerbuck]

Originally Posted by purplesage

+1 for what SoulDreamRider said above. I didn't find a procedure with a quick search for the DR, but it must be out there on the net. Here is a link to the mod for a KLR, probably pretty similar, pretty much same bikes except for h20 cooling. One caveat, this procedure shows a short piece of added tubing to the "T," use a longer piece that runs part way under the seat. When identifying the tube, put your finger over the end of the tube while bike is running, should die almost immediately.

http://klr6500.tripod.com/tmod.htm

Hope you find the problems source.
Great thread, enjoying your adventures.

The DR runs the same carb as the 640 {BST 40}, these carbs already have a high vent built in with a tube that runs up under the seat so a T-Mod shouldn't be required...

I guess this is turning into a bit of a highjack so I'll quit the tech posting..

[Feyala]

Originally Posted by gunnerbuck

The DR runs the same carb as the 640 {BST 40}, these carbs already have a high vent built in with a tube that runs up under the seat so a T-Mod shouldn't be required...

I guess this is turning into a bit of a highjack so I'll quit the tech posting..

Hey man, free advice is always welcome!

Do you know if this applies to the TM40 as well?

[Team Longriders]

I was gonna add try checking the idle jet. I let my bike sit too long and it was popping and stuff. I just ran it hard for a few minutes and it eventually cleared. The carb you have now is like a modern morocross bike carb with a squirt/ accrlerator pump. Could be anything. Also try checking the kickstand safety switch. Sometimes I don't kick it up all the way and it cuts out a little. Good luck on sorting it out.

[PaulGir]

If your bike has twin sparkplugs,then poor spark due to plug cap,lead or coil problems,especially in the rain may cause poor running.
A friend had a Freewind (same motor) that suffered these problems.

[Sandspit]

Amazing report, simply amazing, you are hardcore!

My DR 350 with a pumper carb acted similiar to yours..I second this fix

"If the rain makes the problem worse then it is likely electrical... It could be something as simple as a faulty spark plug cap...

Try unscrewing the spark plug cap off the lead wire and then snipping a very short piece {1/8"-1/4"} and then screwing the cap back on to give it a fresh contact..."

Very simple to do and it fixed my idle and hestiation issue. You can take it one step futher and pull out the inside of the spark plug cap..there maybe a small brass rod used to prevent electrcle interference to electrcle devices such as radios...who cares about that, replace the short resistor rod with a similiar piece of copper. Should make the spark stronger and the trimming of the plug wire will give you a clean strong connection.
.
Also have you tried cracking open the gas cap when it is having the issue? If it clears up or gets better maybe something in the Petcock.or vacuum lines, etc. Changing out petcocks have fixed alot of issues on DR's.
.
One more...a carb I had suffered badly from Ethonal fuel, had to replace multiple rubber bits and clean with a air compressor to get it working right..maybe post up in the regional forum, someone nearby should have tools, knowledge and can help give the carb a good cleaning.
.
.Good luck and keep charging! You Rock!

[Feyala]

(This one is really sparse on photos, and I am sorry. I promise I'll make it up in the next few entries! )

Even though I was living in the woods, I still managed to get wifi in town often enough to keep up on the current happenings with the Hells Canyon gathering. John (asrvivor) had posted that he had a small group that were going to ride to the gathering together, and I figured I would tag along. After I managed to get my laundry done and scored a free shower (I figured they probably weren't partial to smelly forest-dwelling hippies), I headed over. I thought that two hours would be more than enough to get through Portland traffic, but I was wrong.

On the way there I got a bit turned around. I frequently get off track in my travels, but I have a good sense of direction so I always end up where I wanted to go eventually. This isn't usually an issue, as long as I'm not running late. I missed a turn off and had to turn around, winding up at a poorly-designed intersection where I had to go from a stop sign to 70+mph highway traffic during rush hour with no merge lane. I revved my engine in anticipation of gunning it, and WHAM! I was suddenly jolted forward several feet. What the fuck?! I looked behind me and the stupid lady in the cage behind me had rear-ended my bike. I parked the bike, took off my helmet, and surveyed the damage. Luckily, my bike is tall and her car was short, so the only damage was some paint transfer from her fender to my tire, everything else was fine. I asked her what the hell she was thinking, and she said that she "heard my engine rev so she thought I was going". Good job lady, apparently you've never heard of a manual transmission. I told her to be more careful and went on my way.

Eventually I found John's house, and everyone was already mostly geared up and ready to go. Somebody had to flag me down from the road, because I drove past it several times (it was tucked back away down a gravel road). I didn't get photos because I was already the slowpoke. Someday I will figure out how to make it work. Maybe I just need to ride faster...

We headed out into the rain, gassed up, and headed toward Hood River. I went slow, I don't like the rain to start with, and the chosen route was full of awesome little twisties. Very fun, but I don't corner that fast even in optimal weather. On top of the corners and the wet pavement, the hiccup returned with a vengeance. The bike was Not A Happy Camper, and it stalled more times than I could count as I let off the throttle to slow for a corner. I ended up just using the clutch to slow myself, keeping the throttle at a steady level. This didn't eliminate the problem, it was sputtering, backfiring and bucking, but at least it stalled less. It was downright terrifying to ride with the ever-present fear of stalling at the wrong time or breaking down and inconveniencing a pack of people I barely knew.

The path wound out of the dense forest and up along a ridge, and I was reminded of Highway 1 in California as I snuck quick glances over the sheer cliff to try to glimpse the scenery below. Almost everything was obscured by a thick layer of fog, and the rain started coming down in sheets. I kept on the throttle and hoped for the best.

Suddenly, there wasn't a road anymore.

Now, asrvivor assured me later that he'd made it perfectly clear that there was going to be dirt involved, but I didn't pay attention or something, because this took me completely by surprise. I'm sure if I'd lived in this area a while I'd know that "Lolo pass" was made out of dirt. So I began my second real dirt ride, in the rain, going down a mountain pass. (I don't count the stuff where I dinked around in the woods, most of those roads you could easily drive a passenger car down, not very challenging even at my low skill level.) I waved everyone ahead of me, because I knew I was going to be riding my brakes and white knuckling it the whole way, but one person (I believe it was Mark/s1marks) decided to stay behind me and make sure I made it okay, for which I was very grateful, even as I felt bad for slowing him down.

The road was not very long, maybe 7 miles? but I was dealing with gravel and some mud. I'd never dealt with gravel, particularly inch-sized pieces before, just well-packed graded stuff. Water, finding the path of least resistance, turned the track into a small stream, and after a bit of terrified experimentation, this seemed to be the area with the most reliable traction. Luckily for me, the rain let up, and as it did, my bike ran much smoother, so at least I wasn't wrestling both nature and machine. After crossing one of those disconcerting bridges which has two tracks to the outside and no center, I eventually caught up with the rest of the group. I was tense, but proud that I'd managed to make it through, and vowed to return at some future point when I had more skill and better weather, as it seemed like a gorgeous place to visit.

We continued along our way to Hood River, where a stay at the Lazy Lodge had been arranged!

I was the only one who parked out front, too chicken to park in the sloped grass out back as I knew I'd drop it if the grass got wet.

Somebody brought me a beer, which I slowly nursed as I set up my tent. I didn't take too many photos as I wanted to try to socialize and I still hadn't gotten used to the idea that random photography was acceptable and expected at these gatherings. Chris and Marti were awesome! Lots of great stories were shared, and delicious kebobs were had by all. They really bent over backwards to make sure that I had enough vegetarian food, and Marti insisted I take about a half gallon of roasted potatoes and veggies with me for the road. I also really enjoyed the gigantic chubby wolves they keep as pets, and the "dogs" shed furry tumbleweeds in response to my scratching.

As the night progressed, I got more tipsy, and for some reason I found the sign over the shop to be quite funny:


Eventually I went to bed, around 3 am. I think I was the last one up. And we were supposed to get an early start...