I bought a 1999 DR650SE last week. It has been sitting since 2003, 2010 miles, wiring harness cut through and stripped out of the bike, start / kill assemble removed, front and rear shocks modified (front shocks have air valve to add air to them?) (rear shock has a lowering link) airbox missing, exhaust system needs to be replaced, the plastic and gas tank rattled canned black complete with drips and runs. The deal is I got the bike and clean title for 500.00. Unfortunately the owner passed away in 2003 so I do not know what all the mods are. I will take and post pictures of what it now looks like. Now it is like a jigsaw puzzle and I am working through it a little at a time. I pulled off the carb, cleaned and installed an oversized jet kit, got a new airbox and did the airbox mod, the tank is a piece dented and sprayed black so i will be replacing it with an Acerbis 6.6 gal which will require a bracket mod to make it fit , removed the exhaust and am waiting for a new FMF Q-4 system, waiting for new dual sport tires. I got the new wiring harness but can not figure out the wiring layout / routing. Would someone, who has their bike apart, take a picture of the wiring harness routing and post it so I have an easier job routing and reconnecting things up or is there someone close by that I can come have a look at their bike? With the way I have it routed right now there are a few open connectors with no mate to plug into. This is my first DR650 and my hope is that I can have it running this month. Thank you for your help, Steve Barrus North Bend, WA
It sounds like the PO was insane! Distech has a build up thread here for his DR650 and it is VERY GOOD with mucho details.
Sounds like you got a great deal! Distech's build thread is really good, mine should have a bunch of pictures of the wiring as well. Link in my sig. Lukas
The factory service manual is excellent, and there are excellent drawings for routing the wiring. It might be worth buying it. I enjoy reading it.
Factory rear wheel is 17", and DR650SE's do not come w/ a factory tach, only speedo/odo. Congrats on the purchase - quite a deal you scored even if it does need some TLC! I live in Monroe and work in Redmond. If you'd like to check out another DR as part of figuring out your bike, feel free to send me a PM and we can figure out a way to meet up. - Chris
A common modification is to put an 18 inch rear wheel from a DR350 on there. That may be what you have.
I live in Snoqualmie and trying to decide what my first bike should be. Strongly considering the DR650. Steve B: howdy neighbor! Brad Beck
Tearing into the bike. The 18" wheel is not from a DR350. It is rigged mickey mouse, I will take photos, and has worn the swing arm, has washers stacked as spacers and is a real mess. Good thing it only has 2000+ miles. I contacted the seller and the original wheel was in the garage so i picked it up today.
I am having a hard time uploading photos so I will regroup and try again. I got the new wiring harness installed and all the lights work (headlight, blinkers, brakes) except the tail light, not sure why. Plug gray to gray, b/w to b/w and w/b to w/b. Any ideas? The engine turns over. I will get the FMF hi-flo headers and Q4 exhaust and 6.6 gal Acerbis fuel tank Friday. I have built and installed (http://dr650.zenseeker.net/GasTank.htm) the conversion kit. I will try to get pictures up.
Hi Steve, Have a read of this for uploading, host them elsewhere & then link them. If you get stuck on a part missing from the bike i may have it floating around from my old DR project, im in Perth as well. PM if you need anything. Mezo.
Sounds like you have the wiring pretty much sorted, but I have a bunch of pictures I didn't put in my thread just to keep track of the routing. Let me know if your interested. Nice collection of bikes, are you going to Odessa?
sounds like this project is right up my alley I hope it goes well for you, sounds like you're getting there. Those little "bugs" at the end of sorting something can be frustrating but the end result is worth it. Ironing the kinks takes various amounts of time depending on the original design. That rear wheel thing sounds pretty sketchy Please post pics when you get a chance ~Tator
Hi Steve, I don't know if you already knew about this, but the 1998-99 DR650s can have a problem with the starter gear (depends on the serial number, you can Google "Suzuki DR650 starter problem", or something like that for the scoop). I also have a 1999, and replaced the solid gear that was driven by the starter motor, with the earlier/later gear that has a torque limiter clutch. If the engine backfires when it shuts down, this can break the solid gear, and that apparently destroys the engine case. Interestingly, my torque limiter came from a 1995 DR; I checked the part number from one of the on-line Suzuki parts houses, and it was identical to the later number. The retail price for the parts is about $175, but I bought mine through eBay for $40... Regards, Harry
Ok I set up a smugmug account and here we go My bike in a box. this is what the wiring harness looked like some sort of front fork mod my rear wheel was on this bike so i assume the rear wheel on the 650 came off of this bike parts used to get the rear wheel to fit rear wheel I took off Misc photos busted off the chain guard mounting brackets <a href="https://steve-b.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/DR650/11695391_Sywf2#825190485_euh7i-A-LB"><img src="https://steve-b.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/DR650/chainguard/825190485_euh7i-M.jpg"></a> wear on the swing arm <a href="https://steve-b.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/DR650/11695391_Sywf2#825190462_HoYMx-A-LB"><img src="https://steve-b.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/DR650/swingarm/825190462_HoYMx-M.jpg"></a>
So what do you guys think about going to the 18" rear wheel? I am considering swapping wheels with my DR350. I am also installing a 46 tooth rear sprocker with a 15 and 16 tooth front gear.
Life can pass one by if we are not careful. I have always said I am going to get me some bikes to have fun with and teach my boys along the way. To many tomorrows and not enough today's and two of my boys are grown and gone then i got cancer and through a surgical miracle it was all hacked out and I am still here. I lost most of the left 1/2 of my pelvis but thanks to someone who donated his body to medicine I got his pelvic half and guess what??? It still works. Thank God for good surgeons, organ and tissue donors, and life. So i went out and bought two 1980 xl250's and we started riding. traded my old quad for a DR350s and had 3 bikes. Now the son, wife and i go out riding often. Found a sweet old BMW R90/7 and now i commute to work on it. What a way to wind down from a hard day of work. <a href="https://steve-b.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Steves-BMW/11739799_GxLXk#828674271_nGZYk-A-LB"><img src="https://steve-b.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Steves-BMW/CIMG0237a/828674271_nGZYk-M.jpg"></a> The moral is act now before life acts for you.
I do not know what Odessa is. Share... I do not have a bracket for the starter solenoid, if you have a picture of that and location i will make one and get it attached to the bike.
