650L also. I had the manager of a honda svc dept [dealer] tell me bluntly that the 650L lump was not fit to be run a lot on the road....
My theory is to just ride the thing,mine makes no noises it didnt make when new,its good to go. Ive hammered it like a big squarehead nail on offroad rides and it takes no notice,just a big dumb bike that doesnt want to quit.
Yah,the 650L's get hot when run hard on the road,Ive seen one in person where the valve seats came out of the head and things get all chewed up inside,heard of many others,its an old school design with only air cooling,Honda still sells them,most guys never run em hard enough to have a problem. My DR with the air/oil cooling and the oil jets spraying the underside of the piston has never so much as pinged in hot weather. I should run premium when its hot out but rarely remember to do so. Ive run it from Death Valley to Chico at 75/80 mph fully loaded (630 miles) only stopped for gas and food. 50 mpg all the way and smooth enough to be no problem. I just dont worry about the thing.
Quite a few whining 3rd gear DR650 still on the road and whining away! Mine started whining at about 20,000 miles, now at 48,000 miles, NO ISSUES. Is whining a sign of impending DOOM? I doubt it, ride on. I would use GOOD oil and change it at reasonable intervals. Suerte!
+1 I think weve beat to death the fact that it is rare. But a problem that can lock up the rear wheel, that has enough occurrences to be more than a fluke, and can KILL someone is just not something to brush off the shoulder as "nothing." While it probably hasnt happened, considering the majority of DR650s are run outside this forum, it is entirely possible that this issue which has REPEATEDLY happened could have already killed someone. All because they cant do what Nova Racing has already done as it costs too much. I am aware noone with a DR650 wants to hear this, thinks im stupid and ridiculous, etc. So, ill stop posting in here. FWIW, im probably taking a DR650 to Alaska anyways
According to Mel Harris, CEO, American Suzuki : "Suzuki have too much on their plate." This response given (face to face, in person) in 2007 when Suzuki was still in Moto GP and the Burgman Scooter was BIG on their agenda. American Suzuki insiders claimed it to be the 2nd coming! (I tried to tell them! ) Seems they forgot about the dozens of cheap Chinese scooters flooding the market ... and selling like hotcakes at 80% less than their beloved Burgman. All good and fair points. I'm not a Japanese expert, but I worked for one! But back to reality for a minute: To Suzuki, the DR650 is NOT their most important product. There is no "team" following this model. When Mel Harris was informed of the issues, he responded (see above). Then followed with the comment : "DR650 sales have doubled and are consistently higher than they've EVER BEEN.". I responded saying then that's all the more reason to fix the issues! Silence. (He IS the CEO, and one doesn't get too snippy with the guy) Still, its a danger .... and the idea proposed of opening a case at NHTSA is not a bad one. Once Federal pressure is applied and a RECALL issued, we would have a fix ... and a recall for all existing bikes to get a FREE upgrade as well. Get a petition going! I'll sign it! Once again, good and reasonable requests. These issues on the DR seem to have slipped through the cracks. I have some idea how corporations work. I believe there may be some internal corporate cultural wrangling going on at Suzuki (as well as many other companies). Some propose profit and dominance, even risking everything to get there. Others are more moderate and feel they have to clean up dirty loose ends as they go and feel more obligation to stay with a product even through its later years. Which way they go is the question. But sometimes even law suits won't solve the problem. BMW was sued in Germany regards the F650 forks breaking off. They lost and paid out to the Plaintiff. BUT no recall was issued, far as I know. I believe the NHTSA has a case on this in the USA, but no recall. And guess what? A new G650 (new model) broke its forks off recently. Same Showa forks! Anyone can tell just by looking that the forks are under spec'd for the weight/size of the bike.
hey ! i use the clutch. it just crunches into 2nd every time. the rest of the gears go in fine. i'll check the shifter. thanks for your input. i'll have a look.
Not many. 0% Not many. "X" What's Suzukis MTBF on their 3rd? Billet gear vs sintered. Stronger in the tooth valley to key on inside dia area.
I haven't heard of anyone here or on other forums using the new Nova gear set. One interesting thing on this came from the guy at Nova in the UK. Upon examination of the stock Suzuki 3rd gear he found NO FAULTS with it in either design or materials. I'm pretty sure the Nova guys have seen a few gears and other high stress parts ... probably would spot an obvious flaw. Somewhere here or on another 3rd gear thread are quoted the comments from the Nova guy, if you care to dig them up. Fact remains, some gear boxes do break ... but I think we are a ways from knowing exactly the cause.
Usually theres some shifting linkage outside of the center cases,I would check that out in detail before I dove in too deep. Sometimes its just a spring or loose screw,you never know.
Its cool you got to talk to him. I do understand they have other things they are contending with, but this is a dealbreaker for the DR and dangerous. We disagree here and I can respect that.. See, there you go! Its great you got to mention that, however it doesnt seem like anything came of it (not your fault of course). It isnt there most important money maker- and thats why they leave it to blow up and potentially kill someone- no money in it. +1. Ive never done a petition before, so I will look into it. I do wish someone with more knowledge of gearboxes could start one or clearly write out the text for the petition. I will need to do much more research, posts in DRRIDERS, etc. You dont throw together a 5 minute paragraph for something like this. Good points. I dont think everyone in Suzuki is "fuck um.. costs too much- let em blow up or kill the rider, who cares? Poor bastards with no money anyways.." But I do think those with power in Suzuki think that way Otherwise, a fix would have at least been attempted. Yup. Thats the reality in a world by profit, for profit. Outside of yourself (if you are a corporation), people are merely monkeys you train to buy your shit and to not complain when it doesnt work as advertised. I think we mostly agree here. The thing is, I have a real problem with the fact this problem is DANGEROUS. Blowing an engine due to a problem- ANY problem that is more than a fluke which this is not- on a motorcycle is dangerous. It irks me and infuriates me to my very core that they simply refuse to do anything about it. Corporations will walk on people until those people hit them where they hurt most- their bottom line. I can bet if NO DR650s were bought next year and everyone simply said "Fix 3rd gear or fuck you", Suzuki would probably at least TRY a fix. This is part of the reason I frankly wish I had a WR250R- despite its problems and being a different type of ADV bike, it has no overwhelmingly dangerous problems. I contributed to the problem by buying a DR and supporting the whole aftermarket ecosystem and resale value of the bike- I contributed to a corporation laughing all the way to the bank. To each his own I guess...
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ride-tales/two-moto-kiwis-arctic-antarctic-65500 Heres a link (there is a corresponding one in our Ride Reports section, but this one is more condensed) where a brand new 2012 DR650 less than 3 months old has had to have 3rd gear worked on TWICE. TWICE. This isnt a blowup because he didnt let it go too far, but notice (page 5 post #67) how the gear turned blue from heat. He also reported the whining getting louder and louder, etc. 11000 miles. Not much info on the second time into the shop, but its related to third gear (last page; page 8). My bike is an 08 with 6700 miles. If this happens to me next year on my AK trip, my trip is over. For us poor folk, thats a hell of a chance to take with lifelong memories. Just sayin..
The mechanic didn't line up some oil galleries properly... The cases on both bikes were replaced under warranty because of the countershaft seal issues...
I wish I had one too. Just have to make do with it's grandad - TT350. Makes a great partner for the DR650.
Im guessing this info is in the thread here- ill have to go take a look. The first time was indeed a normal third gear (almost) failure, right? If memory serves me correctly, the manual calls for lining up a certain oil part on assembly, but then nothing holds the item in place and it has been considered that this could lead to the problem (much as it did with the bike in the thread I quoted). Is it the same oil gallery you mention here? Agree about making a great partner bike. Ive considered getting a WR250R for Alaska and keeping the DR for a trip to South America. Seeing these third gear issues does make me nervous though- a guy had third go in South America if I remember correctly.
