The DR650 thread

[Waipukbiker]

Well Ive fitted the centre stand and its bloody bewdy mate, the only trouble is getting the bike up on it, mine is in the lowered position and its a hell of a lift to get it up on the stand. The stand dousnt have a bit sticking out the side so you can stand on it to use your body weight to help rock it back on the stand. idealy, i need a handle just above the pillion foot peg but its a trade off for having it in the low position. once its up, the back wheel is well off the deck and its only just weight biased to the front, a gentle push down and the front is off the ground so great for doing anything on either wheel.

[Box of riddles]

Is there anything that can be done on the cheap to make the stock headlight a little better? Riding in the dark puts the shits up me with the stock unit, and it's incredibly offputting since I travel at night alot.

[NordieBoy]

Is there anything that can be done on the cheap to make the stock headlight a little better? Riding in the dark puts the shits up me with the stock unit, and it's incredibly offputting since I travel at night alot.

Get a +60% bulb (Philips/Narva)

[Waipukbiker]

Ive seen a post on another forum where a guy fitted a relay in the system so the headlight was fed straight from the battery so it was getting full battery voltage instead of suffering the usual voltage drop from going through the standard circuits. How the the dip switch was hooked in Im not sure without looking at a wiring diagram but apparently it made a very noticeable difference. The control circuit of the relay was via a handle bar switch so the lights could be be turned off.

Ive just purchased an HID lighting kit for mine but haven't fiited it yet, From what I have read it just changes the normal light spread to a very bright white light but I will also be fitting an on/off switch on the bar.

There is an LED spot light kit available for the DR650 and I think its on the Procycle site.

[pomgolian]

Ive seen a post on another forum where a guy fitted a relay in the system so the headlight was fed straight from the battery so it was getting full battery voltage instead of suffering the usual voltage drop from going through the standard circuits. How the the dip switch was hooked in Im not sure without looking at a wiring diagram but apparently it made a very noticeable difference. The control circuit of the relay was via a handle bar switch so the lights could be be turned off.

Ive just purchased an HID lighting kit for mine but haven't fiited it yet, From what I have read it just changes the normal light spread to a very bright white light but I will also be fitting an on/off switch on the bar.

There is an LED spot light kit available for the DR650 and I think its on the Procycle site.

Ross if you search this thread for "headlamp relay" it will bring up the wiring diagram i added, i was led to believe the high wattage bulbs would melt the wiring but i was surprised how little current it draws. Still worth adding heavier duty cable, fuses & relays just in case.

Paul

[Waipukbiker]

Thanks Paul, Im starting to wonder now after looking at some other posts about 650 headlights on diff forums as to whether upgrading the existing system to a better bulb and a switchable relay for a direct feed from the battery may be just as effective as a High intensity discharge kit. A couple have fitted the LED spot kit and reckon they are awesome.

[pomgolian]

Hi not sure the relay mod will be as good as the HID kit, i purchased one off trademe recently and it looks like a Xenon bulb which are very good if they are the same as car versions, rare for them to blow but i have changed car ones, havnt put it on yet as concerned if i get a bulb failure in the middle of a trip can you easily switch back to the standard bulb. Next time the headlamp is off i will see if its worth fitting or not - spare bulbs are $ 30 US.

[R650R]

Hi not sure the relay mod will be as good as the HID kit, i purchased one off trademe recently and it looks like a Xenon bulb which are very good if they are the same as car versions, rare for them to blow but i have changed car ones, havnt put it on yet as concerned if i get a bulb failure in the middle of a trip can you easily switch back to the standard bulb. Next time the headlamp is off i will see if its worth fitting or not - spare bulbs are $ 30 US.

Very reliable. My old linehaul truck did 460 000km before one of the HID lamps blew. Mostly night work and multi-deliveries so they got switched on and off a bit too. You get a bit of warning too, at least I did before the failure, the colour temp of the light changes noticeably.

[Waipukbiker]

Interesting comments, A couple of the posts Ive seen on the HID kit, It was thought that the best possible performance of the HID bulb was restricted by the reflector design in the DR650 headlamp. Its like anything that is changed from what the manufacturer designed it to do, there is always some compromise, for me who dous,nt do a lot of night riding, if the HID kit improves on what Ive got then that's fine. If i was doing a lot of regular night riding then I would be fitting the LED driving lights kit.

If I was living in a city then how often would you be able to have your lights on full beam anyway.

[UralIneed]

What views are there on dr650 seats . sargent any good? any one got the procycle foam/seat cover ? looks comfy .

I've got the Sargents low seat, very comfy compared to the standard bone shaker. I see they have a standard Sargents seat and a low version at Freedom in Palmy. Pricey but what price comfort and the Sargents look good too, IMHO.

[humphrt]

Have just saved up and ordered a bunch of parts etc off procycle.com. What's the story with customs, tax and stuff once landed and how do you get charged?

[NordieBoy]

Have just saved up and ordered a bunch of parts etc off procycle.com. What's the story with customs, tax and stuff once landed and how do you get charged?

Only GST might be applied.

Bike bits are duty exempt.

[humphrt]

What about how they charge u?

[pomgolian]

What about how they charge u?

Keep it under $ 400 inc freight NZ and it ships straight to you, go over $ 400 inc freight NZ then you get done 15% GST and one off $ 25 or $ 35 not sure (called import duty fee). Nice man from DHL will ring you for your credit card number, once processed he sends the bits, NO pay NO bits. Been caught everytime bar once when i went over $ 400. The one time i didnt was a $ 800 import which was sweet.

[humphrt]

Nasty money hoggin bastards.