the DR650 thread

It was a beautiful day on the NC/TN border yesterday.

As always, your pics make me so jealous. Beautiful country! Great photos!

DR800 OWNERS
Can you comment about the post modification vibration level?. I'm contemplating doing the conversion but don't want to increase the vibes. I'm presuming that a piston of equal weight should produce the same dynamic response, but would like to hear from someone who has done it.
Thanx!

Yes, and we have a bunch on order. However Mikuni is way behind filling orders (like many other manufacturers) we're waiting for a reasonable quantity of them to arrive before we post them to the web site. Last I heard ETA was projected to be some time in January.

Thanks, maybe? I hope you’re just using jealous as a phrase. I’ve fought hard since my 20’s to remove jealousy and envy from my life, I certainly don’t want to make anyone else feel that way and I’m sorry if I did. Now if it makes you want to get out and ride, or even better makes you want to come to WNC and ride then I’m not sorry and I’m accomplishing my goal

Well, wound up caving in to excess, and took advantage of the Pro Cycle sale. 790 kit, big valves/seats, and cam on order. Ordered the components only, and will DIY the installation. It's a long winter, and it'll be fun to learn. May not even get to it this winter, as I have other projects to finish, but it won't spoil on the shelf, so no worries there. Already have an ebay donor head for the valve job/head porting. Just need a jug to bore out, and press in the sleeve. Will probably have a local pro do the final bore/hone on the sleeve once in in. We need more power captain!

I think he means the latter because that's how your pics make me feel. Envious and inspired

A garlic we will pickle. @JRowland

A spices we will ready (including pickled garlic).

A venison/pork sausage we will grind.

A sausage we will taste test. (and Shadow Girl approved!)

A sausage we will pat.

Hi. Ho. Yer derriere. A sausage we did make!!

Same here. Jealous, but in the nicest way possible! Truly great photography, and scenery in that part of the country is really beautiful. On the must see list.

Yum! deer sausage?

My DR790 conversion runs smoother than a stock 650, with a couple of caveats. I took a small amount of steel off the crank to clear the #1 prototype Nova 4th drive gear, and I had the crank rebuilt by a local bloke who gets them spot on.

Yep.
~=2/3 deer & 1/3 pork, my garlic and hot peppers + muy good custom spice mix


And Y. Black and Tan...secret ingredient.

On the "Gold Plug"...they use a neodymium magnet.

I have a message in to them asking how the magnet is retained in the threaded plug.

They aren't cheap, $18.99 plus shipping but they are the least expensive drain plug that uses a neodymium magnet I have found .

Now that I’ve read a Wikipedia article on neodymium magnets, I’m a bonafide expert. Seems their magnetic pull goes down as the temperature increases. I wonder how effective that makes them in DR engine case conditions?

Also note that the socket size increases for the Gold Plug that fits to the DR, from 17 to 19.

Lastly, the thing I really like about this plug is that it’s lower profile than the other two magnetic plugs I have seen. I realize the chances of a thing like a knot on a log reaching up into the skid plate and messing with a drain bolt are slim, but I figure you make your own luck in this world and I’m not tempting fate any more than I have to.

Procycle’s uses a Neo magnet FYI

Can confirm

No vibration increase with 790

I use something very close to this magnet. It just sticks to the drain bolt head.
K&J Magnetics: DE4

I find mine a tad smoother. If I remember correctly the piston is a little lighter than the stock one.

On the temperature affecting magnetism...it all depends on the grade of the magnet. There is some info here to give you an idea: https://www.duramag.com/neodymium-magnets-ndfeb/available-neodymium-magnet-grades/

I got involved with this while playing with electric bikes...at the time the grade of magnets being used in the motors I was playing with were not affected by 150C temps. I'd say the max temp the DR drain plug experiences is about the same as the sump oil temps which are probably around ~115C/240F max but I also have no idea what grade magnets Gold Plug or anybody else uses. I'd bet most use a grade of magnet that is not affected by oil temps too much.

Temp measurements can be a very tricky thing to determine...a lot depends on how and where they are measured. If anybody has measured oil temps for a DR650...please jump in here with some data, Thanks .

Winter (late fall) Riding paradise !!!

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