Brand spanking new 650

[spn383]

I just got a New dr650 yesterday. I put about 250 miles on it. I am new to the site but i have a few questions. First on my black 07 the front s on the fender is silver instead of red. No big deal but seems odd. Second is there any needed mods for the bike. I have spent hours scanning the site and i found out about the upper chain guide.

P.s I would love to do the air box rejetting but man i went down to the garage and took the seat off. I think i might be outta my skill lvl.

I am located in Western Md if anyone knows of a close Reliable shop for mods..

Lastly on the stock shock there is an adjustment screw. How many clicks can you turn that up or is it like only 5 setting and endless circle.

[brianwheelies]

Can't remember how may clicks are on the rear shock but when it had stock oil in it I had it on the full hard setting or firm if it's an "F".

[sdemondo]

Congrats. I got the Blue 07 a couple of months ago.

As for the silver "S" I think it's because it's a late-07, almost an 08:

http://www.suzukicycles.com/products/DR650SEK8/Default.aspx

The 08 graphics are a bit different, they may be switching over the production line. Is your headlight cowel all black, or black/white? The 08's are all black. I think all the changes are strictly cosmetic.

The upper guide removal is a must, IMHO. Use an 8mm x 1.25 mm thread x 12 mm set screw to plug the hole (add thread lock). A regular bolt will stick out and MAY hit the chain.

As for mods, there are quite a few, depending on how you ride. I got the Corbin seat 'cause I couldn't go 30 miles on stock without my butt going numb. If you do any real dirt riding, a skid plate is a must. I think a smaller sprocket (14 tooth vs. stock 15) is really a "must" for off-road, too (on my list, anyway). Many guys get new springs for the shock and forks since stock is "soft." Better tires, maybe. There are others, depending on your preference.

Almost forgot about "bark busters" (hand guards) to save the hands and levers if you drop the bike in the dirt. I use the plain aluminum (cheaper), but you can get them with plastic shields added. I think I'll try to put the stock plastic shields on the bars since they do cut the wind on the hands.

If you're doing mostly/all street, I'd skip the sprocket (unless you love wheelies). I think the new springs really depend on how heavy you are.

I think re-jetting with an open airbox and free-flow (K&N or similar) is a good bet regardless of how you ride. I'd ask local riders about the best shop to use.

Note: you will likely void your warranty with most of these mods.

Check-out the DR650 mods at kientech.com . They seem to be the "most required" (based on my research) for real dual-sport riding. I got my Corbin and skid plate from there. Jesse, the owner, test-fits the seats before shipping. He'll also answer questions via phone or e-mail if he's got time.

The thumpertalk shop has lots of stuff, if you KNOW what you want first. For example, I got a good deal on Emgo "universal" mirrors (stock mirrors are too short and all I see are my arms). I had to search for them a bit (supposed to be the same as Ken Sean "dual sport" mirrors). The Emgo mirrors are a bit "buzzy" but at least you can see if you put them on the "L" bracket of the stock mirror (vs. putting them directly on the bar mount).

Short answer: depends on how you plan to ride, then build-up from there. Some guys do the full "super moto" conversion on their DR (a number of threads) and they look really nice (I just don't like the 1000 bucks for the SM-type wheels).

Almost forgot -- a Trailtech Vapor Speedo/tach is on my Christmas list. Stock speedo is WAY OFF any any real speed, and I HATE not having a tach.

[spn383]

The head light cover is black and white. I think i lke the all black one better but oah well.

I do wanna gear it down. I am gonno order the 14 tooth sprocket monday. It doesnt look too hard to install. Isnt there a rear sprocket thats bigger you can use with the 14 up front and still use the stock chain.

I would like to open the air box up and jet it i am just too scared of messing it up.

I am going on my first dirt ride in a little bit the 15 mile loop in Greenridge state park.

[sdemondo]

So, officially, yours is an 07 but they're starting to swap things for 08. I had a Ford like that once. Everything except the A/C was for '94, but it was a '93.

I think the 14-tooth would work with the stock chain. It's not that much of a physical change (1 tooth or maybe an inch). If you order from kientech.com, you can ask Jesse (phone/email on site) if it will work.

You could go up in the back, but then you'll lower the ratio even more, better for off-road, worse for street. I think the ratio is 3 rear teeth = 1 front. If you change the rear, you will certainly need a new chain. Personally, I'd start with 14 up front and go from there -- front sprocket is cheapest.

[DR650_Mike]

Congrats on getting your DR!! Now the fun begins ?

I have an 07 Black DR650 with the following Mods:

Acerbis Rally Pro Handguards

FMF Q2 Pipe

Oversized Header Pipe (Kientech.com)

Extended Fuel Screw (Kientech)

K&N Air Filter

Airbox Mod (kientech)

Dyno Jet Kit 170mj (Kientech)

Dunlop D606 front and rear tires

Motrax front and rear mini turn signals

Lowered per manual, original kick stand cut and rewelded

Suspension/Sag adjusted

Black Krylon Fusion Painted side panels

Slide drilled mod (kientech)

14 Tooth Front Sprocket

DRZ 250 rear tail light mod

Cut rear fender/license plate mod

Future stuff:

Skid Plate and maybe an acerbis front dual light kit...

My Bike now has the power to lift the front end with just a twist of the throttle in 1st and 2nd gear, havent tried 3rd yet. I am recovering from an ACL repair surgery that was caused the first day I bought my DR and tried riding it offroad with the stock trail wing tires. So take my advice- If ride offroad dont unless you get better offroad tires or you may end up on the ground like I did.

The first mods I did were low cost:

14 tooth front counter sprocket- $15

Airbox Mod-Free

Drill air mix screw plug and adjust to 2 1/2 turns-Free

If you go offroad some better offroad tires, I chose the Dunlop d606 only because of the excellent reviews they got. And I absolutley Love them.

From their I wanted more- so I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. I am a married 41 year old with no kids so i tend to go overboard on my toys, and luckily my wife is the same way!!

Good Luck, be safe, and have fun!!

[spn383]

I did prolly 40 miles in the dirt today. I only had two problems. 1st one was that i was following a 4 wheeler and we came outta a creak around a turn the right up a hillclimb that was covered in tall grass. You couldnt see the ruts at all cause of the grass laying down plus it was slippery. I didnt make it. the 4 wheeler went way too slow and i ended up gettin high sided in two ruts. The dr is really heavy on steep hills trying to pull it off the frame with out dropping it. I finaly got it turned around and down the hill. The other trouble i had is there was a huge mud hole right infront of a hill climb. i was all geared up and the front end washed out in the mud. So i droped the bike on my second day of owning it. No harm a couple scratches here and there on the plastic and quick readjust to the handlebars and it was a good as new.

I got almost 400 miles on it in less than 48 hours and i can keep the shiny side up most of the time.

I am gonna hit the trails hard again tomarrow.

[betiller]

About those Acerbis Rally Pro Handguards, do you have any clearance problems with the levers?

[DR650_Mike]

About those Acerbis Rally Pro Handguards, do you have any clearance problems with the levers?

I had to bend the outer a little and move the levers in on the bars a bit, Then clearance was just fine. Remember to remove the outer cap weights.

[cashneno]

I had to bend the outer a little and move the levers in on the bars a bit, Then clearance was just fine. Remember to remove the outer cap weights.

DR650_Mike, I got black dr650 as well. I really like your set up and mods. Looks sweet. Got anymore side view pics? I would like to see a side view profile with exhaust, lights, and dunlops. Ever think about getting gold rims? thx

[lowercasee]

I too have a brand new 07 DR650 (LOVE it) and had a question regarding the airbox/airscrew mod. Is it worth doing alone without doing a re-jet or changing the exhaust (stock)? If so, any idea on how many turns I would need for about 1000-1500 altitude? Thanks!

[mxrob]

I too have a brand new 07 DR650 (LOVE it) and had a question regarding the airbox/airscrew mod. Is it worth doing alone without doing a re-jet or changing the exhaust (stock)? If so, any idea on how many turns I would need for about 1000-1500 altitude? Thanks!

Don't do any mods to the air box if you are not going to re-jet. The pilot screw adjustment is right up your alley though. You'll have to remove the cap over the screw so you can adjust it. After removing the cap adjust the pilot screw out to 2 turns from lighty seated closed. Then fully warm up your engine. Slowly turn the screw in until you hear the engine idle start to change. Back the screw out about a 1/4 turn from there. ?

[lowercasee]

Don't do any mods to the air box if you are not going to re-jet. The pilot screw adjustment is right up your alley though. You'll have to remove the cap over the screw so you can adjust it. After removing the cap adjust the pilot screw out to 2 turns from lighty seated closed. Then fully warm up your engine. Slowly turn the screw in until you hear the engine idle start to change. Back the screw out about a 1/4 turn from there. ?

Ok, thanks for the heads up. I do plan on rejetting, just not yet. I'll try the pilot screw adjustment as well. What are the benefits?

[mxrob]

Ok, thanks for the heads up. I do plan on rejetting, just not yet. I'll try the pilot screw adjustment as well. What are the benefits?

It will reduce partial throttle surging and make the bike idle smoother. It will also reduce decel popping. You will still get some popping set up the way I've mentioned above. To reduce popping completely you have to to go overly rich which can cause idle load up which is a rich acceleration stumble after idleing for longer periods. Its hard on your plugs and dilutes the oil film on your cylinder walls. I'll live with a bit of popping thanks. Certainly it would be a lot more annoying with a straight through exhaust system. Decisions, decisions! ?

[lowercasee]

It will reduce partial throttle surging and make the bike idle smoother. It will also reduce decel popping. You will still get some popping set up the way I've mentioned above. To reduce popping completely you have to to go overly rich which can cause idle load up which is a rich acceleration stumble after idleing for longer periods. Its hard on your plugs and dilutes the oil film on your cylinder walls. I'll live with a bit of popping thanks. Certainly it would be a lot more annoying with a straight through exhaust system. Decisions, decisions! ?

Ok thanks. I'll probably give it a try over the weekend. Heck, I might even just go ahead and order the DJ kit and extended screw from Kientech and just get it over with. My only issue is that I really don't want to kill my MPG so I was thinking of getting a 16T front sprocket too. I figure that way the DJ will give me a little more power, but with the bigger sprocket, I won't need to rev the engine like crazy all the time. I ride 97% street (60 roundtrip commute to work daily).

[MTF]

spn383, the white on the headlight surround is a decal. It is easily removed with the aid of a bit of heat (eg hair dryer)

[Jon B]

Congrats on the new bike. I got mine 2 years ago and love it! If you are planning on riding that much, you have to get a Corbin seat. Get the Gripper, though. The other materials are pretty slick.

The Corbin seat will let you walk away from the bike after a long day of riding. Otherwise, you limp away and are bent over for a bit. Your butt will be sore, too.

Go to Corbin.com and check out the fabrics and colors, then order through Kientech.com. Jesse will fix you up. You might as well get to know what a great guy he is!

[Rick Blunden]

Jon -

> If you are planning on riding that much, you have to get a Corbin seat.

Are you an expert on lowercasee's butt? Is Corbin the only alternative? I think not.

Lots of other alternatives out there besides the expensive boat-anchor Corbin.

Rick

[sdemondo]

Lots of other alternatives out there besides the expensive boat-anchor Corbin.

Alternatives? Yes. Lots? Not really. I spent about a month or so researching before I bought the Corbin from kientech.

To be fair, I have read of folks using the stock seat with no problem. One guy mentioned riding 275 miles the first day and didn't say anything about problems with the seat. Before I bought any seat, I tried some trail and street rides to see if the stock seat would be OK. I couldn't take it for more than 1/2 hour, but I'm no kid anymore and I have a larger-than-average kiester. I bet if we took a pole here, we'd find that at least 2/3 of the riders hate the stock seat.

The Suzi gel seat has received enough mixed reviews to make me question it. I'd want to ride before I bought OR be sure that I could get my money back. But that's me.

There are 2 or 3 other aftermarket seat companies, as I recall. I can't remember their names off-hand, but I do remember that they were all more expensive than Corbin retail. At least one required you to ship your seat so they could re-work it, meaning you'd be stuck not riding for a few weeks until the work was done. One place was in Chicago, sounded like the guy did the work part-time. Got rave reviews by some, hated by others.

You could also go with some sort of cover. I've read about some sort of sheepskin that folks like. Also, there's those pad covers for ATV seats that might work (saw one at Wal Mart for 30 bucks or so, I think).

One final option is to do the work yourself. Buy the right foam, sew the vinyl, etc. If you're handy, widen (or create your own) seat pan with fiberglass. I used to re-pad and re-cover my seats way back when I had time and no money.

That was the bottom line for me getting the Corbin -- excellent reviews (almost, but not 100% positive) and a fair price from kientech (savings off of Corbin's retail), cheaper than the other seat options (outside of the Suzi gel). Maybe it is a boat-anchor, but the fact that I could ride for 2 hours and still feel my butt afterwards (and WALK without looking goofy) made me think it was money well-spent since I'd rather spend time riding than re-doing seats nowadays.

[Rick Blunden]

Sde -

The important thing is that you found something that works well for you. But that does not mean it will automatically work well for someone else. Look at the current thread on Corbin. Not everyone is happy.

Vive la difference and all that stuff :-).

Rick