DR650 suspension modification.

[puddy]

Thanks Gents. Being my first off road(ish) bike, I don't have anything to really compare it to, but going out to Woodhill once, and a bit of stuffing round on grass/dirt, and a few gravel roads........
1. I suck badly off road/on gravel(more practice!)
2. The bike's suspension is way short of the mark (for dragging my big arse around.
3. I'm still not sold on the whole off road/adventure thing (more practice/experience)
4. I really suck!
So ... yeah, still deciding what to do.
P.S. I don't know if I want to do the whole Ohlins makeover thing, then decide to sell the bike in 6 months because it's just not me (the off road/adventure bit), hence the "springs" idea............

[Bass]

P.S. I don't know if I want to do the whole Ohlins makeover thing, then decide to sell the bike in 6 months because it's just not me (the off road/adventure bit), hence the "springs" idea............

That's exactly why I offered you a blast on mine

[ducatijim]

:
P.S. I don't know if I want to do the whole Ohlins makeover thing, then decide to sell the bike in 6 months because it's just not me (the off road/adventure bit), hence the "springs" idea............

In spite of wot some on here say, stronger springs on their own will only exassabate the non-existant rebound damping and give a MORE pogo like progress...sorry dude, you go try Bass's as he offered....the best time/money you can spend at THIS point in your DR career!

[vifferman]

In spite of wot some on here say, stronger springs on their own will only exassabate the non-existant rebound damping and give a MORE pogo like progress...

True.
The suspension is very much built to a "one size fits all" budget. Stronger springs will just highlight any deficiencies in the damping. I fitted 20% stiffer springs to the forks of my VFR, and as I can't afford a fork rebuild just yet, the best I could do to reduce the bounciness was to change to a heavier weight oil. Then of course, this means the dampers don't flow the oil quickly enough over some bumps, so the ride's less than optimal.

[warewolf]

Go the springs. They are the primary component of the suspension and the first thing you get right, even on a $2000+ extreme suspension makeover. Damping is there to assist (fine-tune) the action of the correct spring sitting at the correct sag level. This is even more important at the rear with the rising rate curve of the linkage operating on the spring.

Right now you have the way wrong springs and the wrong damping. Getting the primary factor correct has to be better than what you've got now, and there are some cheap crude ways of making it better again, eg thicker fork oil.

Note, suspension is a system, and making dramatic changes to just one part of the system (spring rate) without the others (damping curve) can be a recipe for sub-optimal performance, or changing the problem rather than fixing it. However, in this instance given your weight is in the order of 40-55kg above the design, I expect springs only is a good choice for you in the short term. Plenty of ppl do it and are happy with the results. Of course the damping won't be optimal, but at least it'll only be controlling the correct springs, not a way-out spring. 6 months on, when you are committed to this mighty adventure lark, get a revalve done - you've already got the correct springs.

Riding a bike correctly sprung and damped for your weight and style is a good learning exercise. But having done so, the first step down that path, the one most likely taken on a limited budget, is springs - and they are readily on-sold if you part with the bike later.

And you should appreciate that "adventure" is not the same as "off-road" like Woodhill park. Most adventure bikes and riders would suck at Woodhill, even good ones. Just a different environment, don't lump the two together.

[ducatijim]

Good luck then Puddy............................................. .............................

[warewolf]

Further thoughts; there are much more modest options these days than Ohlins. Craig Brown at Coleman's worked wonders on my non-serviceable DR-Z250 shock for $250, doing a re-valve. Half of that money paid for a replacement end-cap that allowed the shock to be serviced ie recharged. (Already present on the 650?)

It was supposed to be just a service (oil change) as he reckoned heading down the suspension makeover path was trying to make a silk purse out of sow's ear; money would be better spent on an overall better bike later. However the difference was chalk and cheese, when I talked to him after the first ride he admitted that he figured while it was apart, "it would be a shame not to throw a few shims at it." Impressive result for little spend. He noted that ex-factory, it only had about half the oil it should have which wouldn't do the damping any favours at all.

He is not alone, there are loads of suspension tuners out there. It is possible you could get springs both ends, revalved shock, and thicker weight fork oil for say $4-500?? That would seriously transform the DR60, and only leave the fork valving to be done, maybe another $500.

May not be as good a result as Dr Robert, but it'd be close enough for the average punter.

[Bass]

Further thoughts; there are much more modest options these days than Ohlins.
May not be as good a result as Dr Robert, but it'd be close enough for the average punter.

Quite right, and speaking for myself, I never intended to convey the impression that a complete Ohlins makeover was the only option. However, I do tend to agree with Jamie and Fran, that for a big guy on a DR, just a spring change, while undoubtedly a step in the right direction, on its own, may not give the improvement sought and could conceivably make things worse. This is a possible consequence given that the DR is notoriously underdamped in rebound.

[warewolf]

Agree with you there, Bass. I just wanted to put the middle ground option out there to complete the picture - particularly for n00bs who might otherwise think it's $2K+ or nothing.

[Padmei]

Well done gents - a very interesting explanation of upgrading shox. Is this the same on most bikes (unless they are top end fully adjustable bikes of course)?

[warewolf]

Are the options the same? Yes, mostly, provided the shock is not a sealed unit, in which you can either get lucky like with my DR-Z250 or have to cough up for a full replacement. The physics and tuning processes and goals are certainly the same.

Even top-end fully-adjustable systems can (usually?) require spring and/or damping changes to optimise for your weight & style, but that should be just a comparatively cheap spring and/or shim change.

[TLDV8]

PM Robert Taylor,ive a mate in Australia that bought some suspenders for a DR off him.

Indeed Mike ....but have to add,something like an Ohlins rear shock absorber is wasted to some degree if you are not prepared to use its adjustibility (working from its base settings)
The same goes for the front forks,there are no Ohlins parts available,the main one being RaceTech springs and emulators as a kit.
Even with those the fork has no real adjustibilty externally in the form of preload,compression and rebound damping,you would need to strip them to play with the emulator or oil level/viscosity.

A popular base modification is springs/emulators and a Goldvalve in the stock damper. ( I would think that is an RT option also)

In saying that i have a mate (19 stone at the time) who did a round NZ trip on a dead stock fully loaded 1980's XR250 with no problems including plenty of gravel roads.
Do i overheat the stock damper in under half and hour on single track here,yes i do,do i cane the DR at up to 130kmh on corrugations until it is skating,sure do,what the Robert Taylor set up will do is increase comfort and reduce fatigue due to a better ride and feedback. (it will also be adjustable unlike the stock components.)
But you could still ride around the world on a stock DR even if you weighed 150 kgs. (does it show i started riding dirt bikes in the 1970's )
What the DR needs (besides a 6 speed transmission) is a set of RMZ450/CRF450 Showa forks for that real adjustibility both ends (after revalving and springs perhaps)
At the end of the day the DR is simply a plugger,nothing over the top but simply gets the job done with minimal fuss.
You can upgrade it but there is a limit when it comes to sensibility verses monetary input,i gave up on sensible years ago.

[NordieBoy]

The same goes for the front forks,there are no Ohlins parts available,the main one being RaceTech springs and emulators as a kit.
Even with those the fork has no real adjustibilty externally in the form of preload,compression and rebound damping,you would need to strip them to play with the emulator or oil level/viscosity.

Just a little note.
The V-Strom adjustable pre-load fork caps fit straight on the DR650 forks.