The DR650 thread

[888]

Front or rear wheel?

Front wheel, I'm basing my decision on a review by the ProCycle team on a 19" front giving far better tar seal performance while still allowing some thrashing on gravel and easy (dry) trail...

[warewolf]

If you ride in mud a huge amount of crud gets stuck up behind that cover, I dunno whether removing it would made that any better or worse.

Better, IME. Mud still gets stuck between the cases and the sprocket, but not on the outboard side.

[NordieBoy]

Front wheel, I'm basing my decision on a review by the ProCycle team on a 19" front giving far better tar seal performance while still allowing some thrashing on gravel and easy (dry) trail...

Find an XF650 front wheel then. It should bolt right up.

[badlieutenant]

Made it to the end of this thread hurrah!!
cheers to those who have contributed here and on other forums (nordieboy)
and dr650gary who sold me thos rims and gave me a coffee to help me on my way back to auckland. That power gearcommander link has been awesome
Mods so far
rims (i think they were off a rgv gary)
airbox mod (top is off)
header grind
zx10r exhaust because all the 01 gixxer muffler are made of gold or gone. (works really well)
seat mod (just unstapled it and packed some foam in. really comfortable.
re-jetted carbs
520chain 16t frnt sprocket and 41t rear
*side bitch* ordered these and expected to wait a few weeks. 3 months !! Wish I had paid more attention to the sales guy. They turned up last week. a month after the ones I ordered turned up 2 weeeks after I ordered then. Wemoto for the win.
oh and the spark retarder thing spun 180deg.

Quasi maybe i should give u my one to take a blast on ? with the wrong profile tyre, a 120 on a 110rim and stuffed wheel bearings (these have been fixed)
its stable as on the motorway. It does turn very quickly atm tho. That will change once the tyres are used up.
Only time I miss the high speed is on the straights but I dont miss the fuel bill. I will miss the sound of my vfr. 18 years on that one bike.
Once you get these things in the twisties they are so much fun.
Another thing to consider brett is if you get something similar you can set it up so that you can do both.
The rims gary sold me drop out and I can put the standard ones in. 30minutes and off I go on an adventure ride.
Oh the leathers are still O for awesome quasi

[888]

So the search for an XF650 wheel begins...Boyds quoted me $400 for a DR650 front wheel hub, and it would cost another $600-$650 for Wheel and Spoke Services NZ to lace up and put together the front wheel. So ProCycle still wins with their $800NZ price for a brand new 19". I could probably shave some of the shipping cost by having a mate in the states send it over as well. Still waiting to hear back from an Aussie wheel maker to see how they compete with the states- I don't think any NZ supplier can be competitive with the dollar as high as it is now.

[The Pastor]

So the search for an XF650 wheel begins...Boyds quoted me $400 for a DR650 front wheel hub, and it would cost another $600-$650 for Wheel and Spoke Services NZ to lace up and put together the front wheel. So ProCycle still wins with their $800NZ price for a brand new 19". I could probably shave some of the shipping cost by having a mate in the states send it over as well. Still waiting to hear back from an Aussie wheel maker to see how they compete with the states- I don't think any NZ supplier can be competitive with the dollar as high as it is now.

talk to squiggles, he got a set of wheels from overseas (probably procycle, but not sure) and they did not fit, last i heard either bent hub or bent brake disc

[gav24]

Just a thought, I have been getting a bit of stuff for my vintage MX'ers recently from ebay.
Seem to have just about anything I need, no matter how obscure, and with the exchange rate the prices are pretty keen at the moment too.
I have never had any trouble with traders in the states (different story with UK ebay and trade me!), US Postal Service priority is pretty quick (4 days from arizona is my current record!), or using Paypal.
Maybe give that 19' front wheel a go on there...

[DR650gary]

Made it to the end of this thread hurrah!!
cheers to those who have contributed here and on other forums (nordieboy)
and dr650gary who sold me thos rims and gave me a coffee to help me on my way back to auckland. That power gearcommander link has been awesome
Mods so far
rims (i think they were off a rgv gary)
airbox mod (top is off)
header grind
zx10r exhaust because all the 01 gixxer muffler are made of gold or gone. (works really well)
seat mod (just unstapled it and packed some foam in. really comfortable.
re-jetted carbs
520chain 16t frnt sprocket and 41t rear
*side bitch* ordered these and expected to wait a few weeks. 3 months !! Wish I had paid more attention to the sales guy. They turned up last week. a month after the ones I ordered turned up 2 weeeks after I ordered then. Wemoto for the win.
oh and the spark retarder thing spun 180deg.

Quasi maybe i should give u my one to take a blast on ? with the wrong profile tyre, a 120 on a 110rim and stuffed wheel bearings (these have been fixed)
its stable as on the motorway. It does turn very quickly atm tho. That will change once the tyres are used up.
Only time I miss the high speed is on the straights but I dont miss the fuel bill. I will miss the sound of my vfr. 18 years on that one bike.
Once you get these things in the twisties they are so much fun.
Another thing to consider brett is if you get something similar you can set it up so that you can do both.
The rims gary sold me drop out and I can put the standard ones in. 30minutes and off I go on an adventure ride.
Oh the leathers are still O for awesome quasi

Now enjoy the ride

Glad they went to a good home.

[gav24]

Thought I'd better clean and service the old girl a bit today, as I had 2 hours free this arvo.

Started with a pressure wash clean (managed to lose the left side rubber cover for the swingarm pivot - doh!) But that did remind me that I havent greased the swingarm pivot since I've had the bike - I hope that suzuki werent too tight with the grease gun as I didnt do it today either...Anyone have experiences to tell me I should?

I finally got round to grinding out the weld on the header pipe. We'll see if there is any noticable difference... I also gave the pipe a proper clean and realised that its not actually that mud colour as standard!

Then took the seat, other side panel and tank off to swap the plunger choke on the new flat slide carb back to the original cable, but realised that my "helper",3 year old son Tom, had lost a cable end from the choke cable, as it pinged from the retaining spring across the garage - double Doh! So will have to leave that for now.

Whilst there decided to check the valve clearances - spot on, right in the middle of the tolerance for both inlet and exhaust Still untouched after 12,000kms

Then I took out the air filter for a clean (Is anyone else finding the new green No-Toil oil a bit shit? Hard to put on evenly and turns a bit too dry after a few weeks...? Still quick and easy to clean.)

Then took off the counter shaft sprocket cover and gave it all a good clean under there (front sprocket starting to hook slightly, might have to get a new one...Chain and rear sprocket are still going strong)

Gave the plugs a quick clean, do you need to worry about the colour of these anymore? Seemed a little "white" at the tip to me. Lean?

Next job; tomorrow morning I'm gonna do the job I told the missus I was only going to quickly do today - oil and filter

New shopping list - Front sprocket, a rubber frame plug, and a choke cable ferrule (is that what they are called?)

Should be all good for another 6,000kms again !

Not too sure why I'm sharing all that - not too revolutionary or enlightening I'm sure... But good to be reminded of a few things;
1. DR's are super easy to work on, you should all do your own maintenance with one of these bikes.
2. Pressure washers are both your friend and your enemy!
3. Help from a 3 year old boy can be as frustrating for you, as it is fun for him!

[DR650gary]

I dunno, blaming a little boy

You are right though, the DR is/was an easy bike to get at, although I would have preferred a seat release mechanism. Both side covers off then 2 bolts. Easy but on the side of the road 4 little bits to loose and 2 tools needed to get it off. Plus, I always had a bit of a mission to line the mounting lug hole up at the front of the cover.

However, the TDM has 7 screws to get the screen off, 6 capheads to get the dash surround off which then lets me get at the wiring behind the headlight. But....the seat pops of with a key

[86GSXR]

Fitted a Spitfire screen yesterday. Took a bit of fiddling to get the positioning right but makes an amazing difference to the road riding, much reduced windblast. The secret is to have it as low down the front cowl as possible and angled back a fair bit otherwise the buffetting is just too much. I've got mine just right now and I was able to ride 200kms without being dragged off the bike by the wind. Took off round some forest and beach, dropped it twice , absolutely no damage to either bike or screen

[Pikey]

Fitted my hand made screen yesterday (Mk III clear one this time) photos to follow when I find the camera
Fitted top box too so ready for summer
I'm pretty sure I can do you a deal on the missing part if you want Gav?
Still on the look out for a 520/16t sprocket??

[NordieBoy]

Still on the look out for a 520/16t sprocket??

JTF437 DR650 pre 96
http://www.jtsprockets.com/52.0.html...el_uid=6058&p=

For 14 and 15t go for DR750 sprockets. They've got a wider base on the spline.

[Pikey]

Thanks Fran

[gav24]

I dunno, blaming a little boy

You are right though, the DR is/was an easy bike to get at, although I would have preferred a seat release mechanism. Both side covers off then 2 bolts. Easy but on the side of the road 4 little bits to loose and 2 tools needed to get it off. Plus, I always had a bit of a mission to line the mounting lug hole up at the front of the cover.

However, the TDM has 7 screws to get the screen off, 6 capheads to get the dash surround off which then lets me get at the wiring behind the headlight. But....the seat pops of with a key

Luckily seat doesnt need top come off that often, not even for a filter change, so all good, If you were keen you could drill a hole on each side panel in line with the seat bolts, like KTM used to have so you get at the exhaust bolts, back when they used to have useful side number boards...