Lukas' Ultimate DR650 Adventure build up

[LukasM]

So I am finally starting my next project. I would like to share this with you guys and hope to inspire some of the less mechanically inclined ones. It should help people working on their DR's as well as show you what NOT to do as I am sure to make plenty of mistakes.

The bike is a 96 DR650SE (except for a gasket the exact same thing Suzuki is still selling today) that I bought last winter real cheap. I plan on doing a trip from Vienna - Capetown down East Africa sometime this fall. I thought it would be a smart idea to really get to know the bike, replace all the wear items and improve some of the DRs weaker areas.

The plan includes the following upgrades:

Wheels:
Excel 21" front and 18" rear wheels for offroad
Excel 17" front and rear for supermoto
Front brakes:
Brembo 2 piston with 300mm rotor, 13mm (?) MC for offroad
Brembo 4 piston with 320mm, 16mm (?) MC for supermoto

WP 43 USD Forks with 20mm offset, custom valving and external preload-adjusters
Pro Taper Easton 28mm bars
Ufo hand guards with aluminum inserts
KTM EXC switches
Touratech IMO 100R300 with switches
Garmin 60CSX GPS with Touratech mount
IMS tank (and later Safari)
Wilbers rear shock
Hepco & Becker luggage rack
SW-Motech quick release side racks
Replace worn bearings, regrease
Metal base gasket
Holeshot Performance header
Aftermarket exhaust (probably LeoVince)
Dynojet kit

Also, since I have a scale in the garage and somewhat of an obsession with weight (being a wannabe racer), I will keep a running tab of the part weights as I add them to the bike. Maybe they will help someone who is trying to get the weight down to something more off-road worthy:

Frame (helmet lock yet to be taken off): 16 kg
Wilbers Shock: 3,4 kg
WP 43 Forks with triple and handlebar mount: 12,5 kg
Stock engine with oil and oil cooler: ~50kgs!
21" complete Excel front wheel with tire (90% thread): 9,1 kg
IMS Tank, plastic cap, petcock: 2,9 kg (I read somewhere that stock is 4,5 kg)
Left side case saver: 0,1 kg
Ufo hand guards: 0,6 kg
Wiring harness: 1,1 kg
Stock Pegs: 1,1 kg
Sidestand: 0,6 kg
Throttle tube with cables: 0,4 kg
Front MC: 0,4 kg

Removed:
Plastic undertail: 0,7 kg
Rear handles: 0,75 kg
Sidestand safety switch: 0,1 kg

[LukasM]

So this is what she looked like the day I bought her. What can I say, she was really cheap



The previous owner clearly felt no love for this bike, so there were lots of little nags and minor issues. The engine however felt solid and made no strange sounds, so I thought it was a good candidate for my planned project. I does however have a leak, which I think comes from the shifter shaft area. Kind of hard to tell as the whole thing is covered in grease and dirt.

Since the frame had lots of rusty areas and a hideous purple color (looks much worse in real life than the pictures), I decided to tear her down completely and start fresh.



These are various shots that show what mess I had to deal with. And this is after several tries with the pressure washer..



Wiring was messed with as well:



Almost done, the beast (sort of ) and its heart:

[RiDR]

[LukasM]

Since the dissassembly about 3 months have passed, I have accumulated lots of the parts I need (much of the delay due to a very unreliable supplier ), the frame is back from powdercoating and of course I have no memory anymore which part goes where

This is what the frame looks like after sandblasting and powdercoating. The finish appears to be pretty tough so far and I think the dark silver color came out nice:





Next up were the WP forks. As I have posted on here before and member Gsuser did on his bike, they fit on the DR650 very well. You can re-use the stock DR races, the lower KTM seal and bearing on the KTM stem, and the KTM upper bearing with the DR seal on top. Looks like this when done:





Put the upper triple on and slide the forks tubes in, gotta love the USD look!





The swingarm was wire brushed, and the seals + bearing cleaned and re-greased. Also put the pimpin' shock on for a trial fit.

[FatChance]

Great project! Keep the updates coming!

[Max Kool]

Great thread Lukas!!

Keep them pictures coming. You're doing a great job!

[warnabrother]

mmm... WP's on a DR

[LukasM]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I should be able to finish up the suspension, put the wheels on and drop the engine back in today.

Max and FatChance, both of your rides where an inspiration for me to get a DR and gave me some great ideas on how to mod it!

[Navaho]

Nice work! I've always wondered how the DR would ride with a taller front end.

I've dumped about $1k into my stock suspension. Although it can handle some rough terrain, adjusting the front requires tools, and the shock is only adjustable by compression.

[bonedale]

There is just something cool about a tooled out DR. Can't wait to see your results.

I am more interested to see if you can shave off any significant weight. I imagine wheels and suspension are the best opportunities for that. Any guesses from fellow advriders on what the weight savings might be from a project like this?

[brianwheelies]

USD forks weigh more than the stock stuff.

Lukas.....nice bike you are building!

[bonedale]

Darn, so besides the usual exhaust weight savings, would the wheels be anything dramatic? As a crazed mtn biker I know the beneifts of losing weight at the wheel. But haven't read anything here about folks upgrading wheels on motos for weight so I imagine the cost is too high for the little gains.

Lukas, how about the 670 bore kit? I know no one has praised any performance gain, but sure would make your rebuild more than everything around the engine.

Nice frame work too. Looks sweet, too bad we don't have carbon fiber protectors for the DR, although that would be like lipstick on the pig so to speak.

[BikePilot]

Looks great!

[clevishook]

Posted here the other day. Planning a projet like yours. Watching your thread intently. Good luck and keep us updated as you go. Thanks!

[johnnyandjebus]

PLease keep posting!!! Great project