the DR650 thread

I’m considering the tusk ones as well. I wouldn’t off road with them and I like the ability to lock them....and the price!!

I just put in an order myself. No idea if it'll arrive this week, but DR 2 will be done after it arrives.

Basically that people will try that hard to keep folks out, even in the middle of nowhere.

It depends on where you intend on riding the most. General consensus is Hard for street and Soft for dirt. I started with tusk large panniers and rack with stock suspension and it was not a good choice as the weight is too much for the stock spring and can be dangerous. With proper spring rate and shock the hard boxes are good and convenient for going to the store for beer and mostly street riding. They are water and dust proof and hold a lot. The quick release frames work rather well and can be locked by an inside screw knob.

Then using the racks I got Nelson Rigg adventure dry bags. They are only 4 lbs and are also water and dust proof but not quite convenient to open and close because of all the straps and clips. They like most saddle bags tend to sag while loaded but they can be overstuffed to accommodate larger loads. The tusk racks kept the bags off of the exhaust which is a must for that type of bag. A much better experience ridding on dirt of any type because of the lighter weight and they compress on impact.

I did try the Harbor Freight medium pelican clones on the tusk racks and top box but experienced uncomfortable wobbles at 45 mph or faster. A no go for me. A weird thing about the aluminum boxes is that it settles the bike down at highway speeds with the weight low and out like a tight rope walker.

Even lighter adaptation was the Nelson Rigg RG20 Dual-Sport soft bags with out racks. These worked the best for all dirt especially single track. They hold a good amount for their size but you will need something to keep them from scratching the heck out of the side plastics and if overloaded the right side will melt on the exhaust.

In conclusion for me it's the hard boxes for putting around town, touring on the street and maybe fire roads. For dirt my vote goes to soft saddlebags especially if you don't have the funds to upgrade the suspension YET. Try it out and if they don't work you can always sell them on the flea market thread and put the money towards something else.

That’s what I love about the DR so versatile.

No banning here this week !


Just up mountain enjoying winters bliss !

Having grown up farming I would say it isn't about keeping people out...you lose a couple of $2000 animals and fencing starts to look cheap.

A cow is hard to find on 1000 acres, I can not imagine 50k acres.

I guess that's the beauty of buying the same bike as everyone else... it only took half a day to find someone who has already tried all the stuff I'm debating. It sounds like the Nelson Rigg bags w/ tusk rack deal is the way to go for me. If I don't like them it'll be a lot easier to sell the bags vs. aluminum panniers that I've already drilled for my rack system, and they're lighter and cheaper to boot. Think you could rig them to the removable frames that are used for the aluminum boxes? That would make them extra quick to remove for dual sporting.

BTW are those the medium or large Tusk panniers on your bike?

Large they be. I made some plates out of cutting board with home made cargo nets and using any dry bag, I found my soft bag set up. Cheap too.

Just need a more sophisticated horse:



https://www.google.com.au/search?q=...AUIDigB&biw=1777&bih=979#imgrc=Dy0V9FmZyf-LvM:

My older gen. Nelson-Rigg roll tops on modified Happy Trails rack. Been good 4 years now. One self inflicted cut was patched with Gorilla tape 2 years ago. Still on first application. Waste basket liner keeps the shape easier & pulls out easily. I have found that wrapping them up & over with Rox straps hold them in tighter for better load control. This photo before strapping ...

It's too cold, wet and depressing here to ride. Keeping entertained with some shop projects.
A friend brought his street-tracker project over to see if I could work out a few of the kinks that were keeping it from running.

I like the look of that.

Any details or build thread..??
Or even just a pic with all its clothes on..

No build thread. The clothes stayed home but whenever it's all in one piece again I'll get some pics.

It is of course, a Yamaha XS650. 750cc motor with Megacycle cam, Boyer Brandsden ignition, Mikuni VM36s, R6 front end, YX600 Radian swingarm, rear disk and proper 19" dirt track wheels & tires. Missing bodywork is a one piece fiberglass tank/seat/tail.
Serious build, not a poser bike. It could go straight to a short track oval and potentially show well - once I get it to start, run and hold oil.

A few dozen pages back we were discussing removing gaskets with abrasion. Well, some time in the past 50 years someone did just that to this Yamaha. Cleaned off the clutch cover gasket with a wire wheel.



Some obvious damage that doesn't look that bad to the naked eye. Leaks oil though even with a fresh gasket and coating of Hylomar.

To see how bad it really is I gave it a coat of machinist's dye and took a few passes with a large flat file - using the surface itself as a guide so only the high spots are planed.



Yup, pretty F*ed up.

I always cringe a little when I see stuff like that.

Speaking of XS', from time to time I post a few in my thread. Some I've worked on, some I haven't.

This isn't one of mine.

953cc
270 degree crank
plus a raft of other goodies.
Australian bloke, cast his own bits in his back yard then machined them in a drillpress.
Yes, it'll be an MX sidecar.

I do like a neat XS.

Sweet!

Someday I'll get back on this one. XS motor stuffed into a 250 Ninja chassis.
Motor in the pic just empty cases but I have a 880cc motor built and ready.

In the back half of the shop is my my 65 Barracuda. It has been sitting outside for 2 years since getting painted. On Sunday I gave it a wash and pushed it in. Finally starting to put it back together. There's a fresh 225 Slant Six with a 264 cam and 2 barrel waiting to go in.

But sometimes you've just had enough of the vehicle you've been working on and it has to go....

Love a bit of Short Track. #7 on my HL500. Big valve XT500 motor, cam, flowed and bigger bore. Goes hard, but more set up for MX. Managed to not embarrass my self with a couple of 2nds on the night.

Hot diggity dog, man, you've got some cool stuff

Are you going to make a sleeper out of the XS'?


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