jessepitt has done this. He had some pics posted earlier in this thread, but the links are no longer good. You might PM him for more info.
Great thread. Y'all are awesome! After several days of finding reasons why I should read this thread instead of work, I am now finished. I just bought a 91 DR250s and a 91 DR350s (possibly with a big bore kit in it) and can't wait to tear into them. The 250 runs and is legal as it sits, but the PO of the 350 said the carb dropped some screw (?) so he gave me a replacement carb with it. The 350 is definitely in worse shape than the 250, but for $300 each, I am optimistic. seeing as how I am on a very small budget, I am sure my time will need to replace money in this endeavor. So I hope y'all don't mind, but I may need some help when I get started on the 350. Thank you for all the info on these bikes, this is my first non-street Suzuki and after reading this I am pumped.
Wow. I got my bikes for about $900 each and I thought I got a good deal. I bet when you're done you can assemble and extra bike with the leftover parts and sell it for more than $300. Something to consider: I am told the DR250 CDI has a more aggressive spark advance and will give you more power than the DR350 CDI. I am running the DR250 CDI with a high compression big bore kit and when I go below 4000' elevation the engine starts to ping at WOT. So if you do have a high compression big bore kit, or you think you might install one, save the 350's CDI; you might need it to keep the engine from pinging.
Just an FYI for those of you following this thread: http://www.ebay.com/itm/20087118432...m=&sspagename=ADME:X:eRTM:MOTORS:1123&vxp=mtr I sent this guy a memo asking what year the tranny was. He says it's a '91 DR250S, so it should be the wide ratio tranny. The price is a bit high, but maybe he'll take an offer. [EDIT] I'm not interested in buying this one. I posted it in case someone else is looking for one.
I already have a spare so I won't be bidding on this one. I only see 1 or 2 of these for sale each year so I posted it because I thought someone else might be interested.
I'm glad it went to someone who will use it. I seem to remember that you bought a spare engine just for the tranny and it turned out to be the wrong year (was that you?). Looking for these trannys is a little stressful because the seller doesn't realize how important knowing the exact year and model is. Hopefully this one will be perfect for you. The narrow gear ratios on the normal transmission are wasted on a bike with as much power as yours.
I will keep that cdi swap in mind once I start tearing them down. Thanks to you and DisTech for all the info and pics! I will be sure to take as many pics as i can when I start.
I bought a '93 dr250se engine thinking it had the gearing in it. Screwed myself on the gearing, but I wanted the estart. It will all come together.
Two things I keep an eye out for are the DR250S tranny and DR oil coolers. Since I built my bike I have only seen two oil coolers for sale, both were the Jagg unit. I bought and installed one and it works great. This is the first factory oil cooler I've seen for sale. I think this came stock on the CA models. It should give better oil line routing than the Jagg unit. I think the price he is asking is real high (but like I said, it's the only one I've ever seen). I'm not buying this one, if someone else wants it, grab it. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230912170783&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123
Nice find and great photos (I'll add them to the existing DR350 oil cooler photos on my website). I continue to like the idea of an oil cooler, though having thoroughly flogged my DR350 in the Phoenix summers, I'm convinced one is not needed. Regards, Gregory Bender
Thanks Pablo. I like Greg like the idea of a cooler. I live in Gardnerville NV desert-ish area and think it would be nice but cant find the "cant live with out it" feeling. Maybe when I blow a motor I will say "I need a cooler now"
I don't know at what temp oil starts to get damaged, so I can't say whether or not a cooler is really needed, but I can say it really reduces oil temps. When I built my bike I got an oil temp gauge from Europe (they don't sell them here). Below is a pic of it after a long steep technical singletrack climb (the long end of the needle is the one you read). Every time I got on singletrack the needle was in the red. There were probably a dozen times that summer when it went clear off the top like pictured below. Shortly after that ride the clutch started slipping and when I replaced it, the center disks were clearly burnt. I found and installed the Jagg shortly after that and now when I'm on the really nasty stuff I'm barely above redline, but nothing near where it was before. I hadn't seen that page on your website before. Thanks for pointing it out. Just curious, do you know how much DR. Z sold his oil cooler for?
I seem to recall $125, but I'm not certain about that. I tried to buy some NOS parts from that other eBay auction from which I have photos. But, the guy never got back to me. Maybe he sold it all, but I've not seen it since (haven't looked, either). I'm taking the "ignorance is bliss" approach and not installing a temp gauge. In the summer, I bet mine is up there a lot!!! :> I really like the look of this kit. Since the guy lives in Scottsdale (very close to Cave Creek), I've often thought about seeing if he would be willing to make up a custom kit. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=652313 Regards, Gregory Bender
