the DR650 thread

It looked green in the pics, it was a new DR650 for $4998

Looking at buying a clean, well cared for 2003 DR650 with 22,000 miles. Would this be suitable for an Alaska trip "the hard way" - up the Cassiar. Actually I am a Canuck so I would like to take it to Tuktoyaktuk. Anyhoo - lots of gravel.

I dont have mega bucks and this baby is a good price, just not sure if its too old with too many miles.

You never know, but i would trust it, i sold one with 52,000 miles on it, there is one down the road from where i live, i drive by it all the time, it has over 100,000 miles on it, all stock.

Mine's done OK.

Replace the wheel bearings, cush hub bearing (and rubbers), chain, sprockets and ride for another 22k.

You should grease the steering head bearings and the rear suspension linkage pivot bearings and swingarm bearings.

If Cassiar is really the hard way, I'd recommend emulators and springs in the front and a Cogent shock in the rear. It will keep things from shaking themselves to bits on all the washboard you're going to be riding.

I'd do it. 22,000 miles is not a lot for a DR.

Mine has 63,000 miles now and I wouldn't hesitate to take it on a trip like that. Make sure your chain and sprockets are fresh and do the 'big service' (new plugs, set valves, etc.) before you go.

.........shu

Greetings Lawnchair!

Have you ever ridden any bike with full knobbies on the freeway?
If not, what you felt is probably normal.

Full knobs really squirm and move around and the faster you go on a paved smooth surface, the scarier it might feel.
NEW knobbies are the worst too. :huh
It is something most of us get used to, but the first time.... :eek1

The front tire is the worst offender of course.
Holding the bars tight will also make it worse, not better.
The bike needs to be able to move around some to track straight..

This is assuming that the wheels are aligned, the tires are round, etc.

Put your thumb on a knob and push it around.
Now picture that knob and a couple of its neighbors being the only contact with the ground at 55 mph with 200-300 lbs riding on them...

Many riders think they have flat tires the first time they ride fast on a paved road with new knobbies since the bike feels so loose.

Many of us ride on a freeway with a knobbie at times, but it is NOT an ideal front tire for that!

Twitchy front end off road? Probably needs more weight on the front.
The tire needs to be loaded to be effective.

You bought it new and the dealer hadn't set it up correctly?
And the dealers wonder why we don't trust them to work on our bikes?

Pretty much spot on!
My D606 front scared me too when new and running to much pressure.
Once it's done some miles and been leaned over a bit on pavement, it will improve. I'd try somewhere between 22 and 25 PSI for the front, 25 PSI for the rear D606.

The 50/50 tires mentioned are FAR better road tires. But if going into more serious off road, the D606 is your man. Learn to relax your grip and get used the movement, it's normal.

PLUS ONE! Not a big deal. Go through the bike and check everything and do appropriate (and affordable) upgrades and hit the road. you'll be fine.
Fresh oil and filters, clean carb, good tires, spare tubes and tools, you should be OK.

They will have to tell us both! After 15 straight days of riding and about 2400 miles I switched out my GP1s for a set of 606s. I thought I was going to wreck going straight. This is on gravel roads, NOT PAVEMENT. The 606s want to track around. I tried diffrent pressures with no luck. I put another 3000 miles in 15 more days...they never got better. I could run 15-20mph faster on gravel with the gp1s. No more 606s for this guy.

Ok, ill bite. I wouldn't buy one with 22k miles personally. There are too many well cared for ones with less miles less apt to give you issues. Heard of steering head bearings at 40k, some with wheel bearing issues at 25k while others have no issues at 60k, same with rear linkage, etc. How was it ridden? Was it neglected?

I will say its prolly good. I will also say your odds are even better with lower mileage. Mines approaching 22k at this point, though 14k of that has been in the last 2 months and only a cct gasket has failed me..

I'm telling you- its the front and I feel EXACTLY the same. The 606 rear is awesome when using a different front. Give the MT21 front a shot. The GP1 rear sucks compared to the 606.. read around online.. MANY are happy with mt21 front/606 rear

A cheaper front option that I'm going to try and many say is awesome is the IRC TR8. Its supposed to be great everywhere, last a long time and its not directional so you can flip it. Cheaper than a GP1 as well.. maybe try a tr8 front 606 rear?

Thanks for the replies gang - I'll do the test ride tomorrow and see how it goes.

I'm impressed by the high mileage DR owners have achieved. The comments about lubing the swing arm, steering head and wheel bearings has me wondering:

Is there a specific grease for each of these? What do you use?

I have a can of waterproof wheel bearing grease that I use for my boat trailer bearings. Are there any attributes lacking in that?

Thanks for the many informative replies! I aired the front down to 24 psi. and hope as it gets more wear and broke-in it will provide some better stability. I checked the rear pre-load and the adj. collars are 2/3rds the way down the range (compressing the spring) The fork tubes are all the way up in the clamps. The bead is seated and uniform around the rim. I ride as far forward as my Wolfman allows. I have learned that a death grip is the grip of death. I hope to get a few miles out of the 606 it before I give up on it but the suggestions are helpful. I don't plan to use my DR as a road bike (I have an old one of those) but I was really freaked out with the change to full knobs, and I was unsure if there was another issue that came about with the bike from the change. I am a O.F.F. , but Speed has never really provided a sense of FEAR as these knobs at 60 on the freeway. Why I can remember a time when......

perfect. use that.

The TR8 is a great front dual-sport tire.

My swing arm bearings were ok when I checked and greased them. My desk puter died so I can't look up when that happened; somewhere around 30k miles IIRC

My steering head bearings needed to be greased before I got to them, and should be done before 20K (again, I can't look at my records). I had seen this posted before and those posts were correct; Zuki didn't waste any money on greasing the steering head.

The stock single seal wheel bearings have a pretty good reputation for long life. I replaced mine because I spend too much time on the internet and had seen them mentioned a few times (looks like 20,800 miles, on the box in the drawer). All four were in good condition when removed. I replaced the stockers with an aftermarket brand with double seals. Then I read on the internet that the ones I used were 'of questionable quality'. So many thousands of miles later (looks like 8k, another old box in the drawer), I decided to go back to the OEM bearings, this time double sealing them, using seals off of the old bearings; like this:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17769542&postcount=81

Every time you have a wheel off, stick a finger in the bearings and spin them, feeling for notchiness. If there's ANY roughness, replace them as soon as possible.

Idealistically, yes. But NASA doesn't read this thread.

My newest favorite is a marine grease, I think from Pep Boys. It's soft and gushy, easy to knead into the bearing rollers; unlike some of the stiff wheel bearing stuff with the consistency of roofing tar. :huh

If you're happy with it for the boat trailer, and since it's waterproof, sounds good to me.

That's a little unnerving having that thing touch yer junk, izznit? :eek1

Remember this: it's a dirt bike with knobbies, it's supposed to wiggle like a girl. You remember those right?

Maybe his "Wolfman" IS his junk. One of my friends used to call his "Little Elvis".

Something touching the Wolfman is really only a problem if he's not into that kind of thing. He might be shy though. Who knows?