the DR650 thread

[isaac004]

Originally Posted by Mongle

I have never actually run my DR/IMS tank out of gas, but that seems like a lot of fuel left behind. I can go 225 miles before reserve (4.5gal @ 50mpg average) and have gone another 20 miles @ .4 gal on reserve. 4.9 total leaving .2 gal- maybe .4 if you figure the tank has expanded. .75L to 1.5L

Your 2L isn't far off I guess after doing the math. I haven't actually measured my tank since I got it (marked on the sides) but the pump and marks seem to match up pretty close. Since new my tank has held over 5 gallon even though they say it is 4.9.

I can also confirm that on my 4.9 gal IMS tank (could be larger now due to expansion, never checked though) that I could go 225-230 miles before going on reserve when riding at 40-55 mph in low wind conditions.

[neo1piv014]

Originally Posted by isaac004

I can also confirm that on my 4.9 gal IMS tank (could be larger now due to expansion, never checked though) that I could go 225-230 miles before going on reserve when riding at 40-55 mph in low wind conditions.

Wow. I really am being overly conservative with my fuel stops. I start looking for gas stations at 150-170. Never have hit reserve though.

[Kommando]

Originally Posted by Adv Grifter

That is really good to know. My next tank will be the Acerbis!

I wonder if the Acerbis will expand like the IMS does? My so called 4.9 IMS now takes 5.4 gallons once emptied of every drop of fuel ... BUT it can only really use about 4.5 gallons before running out when on reserve. You can tip her over and get a bit more, but that's a last ditch effort, maybe worth 10 to 15 miles further.

I don't know how much total gas my IMS will now hold, but I often hit Reserve at 220-230 miles, and have gone over 250 on Reserve several times. I've never run it dry, but I've filled it with almost 5.3gal a few times. I haven't yet had to tilt the bike to get more gas either.

BTW...I currently use a Suzuki OEM petcock, and my carb inlet is turned.

The IMS tank seems extremely durable, and the white one looks like yellowed hell after a bit of heavy use.

[Adv Grifter]

Originally Posted by Mongle

I have never actually run my DR/IMS tank out of gas, but that seems like a lot of fuel left behind. I can go 225 miles before reserve (4.5gal @ 50mpg average) and have gone another 20 miles @ .4 gal on reserve. 4.9 total leaving .2 gal- maybe .4 if you figure the tank has expanded. .75L to 1.5L

Your 2L isn't far off I guess after doing the math. I haven't actually measured my tank since I got it (marked on the sides) but the pump and marks seem to match up pretty close. Since new my tank has held over 5 gallon even though they say it is 4.9.

Somewhere here I posted a thread about running the tank to down to reserve ... then running reserve dry.

I then drained the tank AFTER reserve ran out ... and that is where the 2 liters came from (actually more like 1.5 liters). Still, I was stunned just how much was hiding in there. I did this with tank OFF bike, pulled Petcock out, drained it dry.

One interesting thing I did find was that once my Petcock was cleaned ... my reserve range went from about 15 miles up to 32 (measured).

I then put everything back together and filled up the dry tank.
5.4 gallons !! Don't think its possible to put in that much fuel unless you drain tank dry first. There is always some lurking in there ... even after your reserve runs dry. In a pinch (like out of gas) loosen tank and dump fuel over to Petcock side. Might get you a ways further down the road.

I always run my bikes dry to know for sure my range. I never mark the tank ... but I do Zero ODO at every fill up.

[Mongle]

Originally Posted by neo1piv014

Wow. I really am being overly conservative with my fuel stops. I start looking for gas stations at 150-170. Never have hit reserve though.

If you have the semi-clear one put gallon marks on it. I can glance down and know exactly how much fuel I have. I don't even think about stopping for fuel until I'm down to a gallon (about 200 mile mark). Figure I have at least 30-40 miles even if I can't get all the fuel out of it to find a gas stop. My DR gets right around 50 mpg +/- 1 mpg no matter how I ride it so I know I've used 4 gal at 200 miles- makes worrying about gas stops low on my worry list.

[Chill]

well, you were all right. It's a lot harder than a bicycle tire. I got the longest irons I could and I think that helped, I looked at a few tutorials and they helped too. I now understand about "breaking the bead"

I think my next door neighbour thought I was making a porno in the garage for all the swearing coming from it. I used lots of baby powder, and also a milk crate as a rest to avoid any damage to disc or sprocket. At the end I couldn't get it to pop out onto the rim so went to the servo to use the air line. It was nearly midnight by this point and the sign said, "this airline works on solar power so may not work at night" FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Found a working airline and it poped onto the bead nicely.

As for using the old tube as a spare, I don't think that will be happening, it seems to have some sort of abrasions on it all the way around and this was where it was leaking from these porous patches. perhaps it had been ridden flat? Also the valve stem looked pretty rusty.

[Thumper Dan]

Originally Posted by Chill

well, you were all right. It's a lot harder than a bicycle tire. I got the longest irons I could and I think that helped, I looked at a few tutorials and they helped too. I now understand about "breaking the bead"

I think my next door neighbour thought I was making a porno in the garage for all the swearing coming from it. I used lots of baby powder, and also a milk crate as a rest to avoid any damage to disc or sprocket. At the end I couldn't get it to pop out onto the rim so went to the servo to use the air line. It was nearly midnight by this point and the sign said, "this airline works on solar power so may not work at night" FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Found a working airline and it poped onto the bead nicely.

As for using the old tube as a spare, I don't think that will be happening, it seems to have some sort of abrasions on it all the way around and this was where it was leaking from these porous patches. perhaps it had been ridden flat? Also the valve stem looked pretty rusty.

Gee, I remember going through all of that but with practice it really does a lot easier. I use two 8" spoons and have a third similar size non spoon. The front tyre is the easiest as breaking the bead usually happens by standing on it.

The rear is a bit more trickier as I believe it has some sort of safety lip on it so one needs to leaver over that lip before the bead breaks. Using the two spoons and pushing down, the third non spoon (has a pointed end) grabs at the tyre to leaver over the ridge. Do this a few times and the bead breaks with very little effort. The more times you take tyre on and off, the easier it gets as you learn a little something different each time.

There are some good links out there for tyre changing and by the way, have never used baby powder or wd40 etc. I believe if technique is right, no need to use it.

[thetable]

Originally Posted by Thumper Dan

There are some good links out there for tyre changing and by the way, have never used baby powder or wd40 etc. I believe if technique is right, no need to use it.

The baby powder isn't for the mount, it's for the tube to tire interface. Keeps them from sticking together and rubbing agains each other while you're riding. Myself, I use corn starch.

As for the time it takes, I know a girl that can change a rear in less than 5 minutes from axle nut to axle nut.

[Thumper Dan]

Originally Posted by thetable

The baby powder isn't for the mount, it's for the tube to tire interface. Keeps them from sticking together and rubbing agains each other while you're riding. Myself, I use corn starch.

As for the time it takes, I know a girl that can change a rear in less than 5 minutes from axle nut to axle nut.

you're right, the baby powder, of course...........between tube and tyre.

As for the girl changing tyres; got any video.

[RidingDonkeys]

Originally Posted by Thumper Dan

As for the girl changing tyres; got any video.

+1


Sent from the voices in my head, and transcribed by their drinking buddy.

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by Thumper Dan

As for the girl changing tyres; got any video.

Originally Posted by RidingDonkeys

+1

It's not a video but will this do?

[Skidmarkart]

Wow. Just wow. This thread is awesome.

I am the proud new owner of a DR650. I can see my job performance is going to suffer due to this very thread. I just got a 2005 DR650 with only 800 miles on the clock. The guy I got it from only rode it 100 miles in the year he owned it!?! How that happened is beyond me because I just rode it 100 miles over the weekend. No adult should be able to have this much fun getting to work!

Question - since this bike is older, and has low miles, is there any particular maintenance I should do? I am assuming that I will need to do the oil, filters, etc. I do not know if the bike had the 600 mile valve adjustment tune up. It seems to run well, but it is difficult to start at times and seems to bog-down a little bit at lower rpms. I am sure I can find this info inside, but jeebus, there's a to sort through.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[thetable]

Originally Posted by Thumper Dan

As for the girl changing tyres; got any video.

No vid, but if you're google-foo is strong, you can find pictures... And an article to go with.

[Rob.G]

Originally Posted by Skidmarkart

Wow. Just wow. This thread is awesome.

I am the proud new owner of a DR650. I can see my job performance is going to suffer due to this very thread. I just got a 2005 DR650 with only 800 miles on the clock. The guy I got it from only rode it 100 miles in the year he owned it!?! How that happened is beyond me because I just rode it 100 miles over the weekend. No adult should be able to have this much fun getting to work!

Question - since this bike is older, and has low miles, is there any particular maintenance I should do? I am assuming that I will need to do the oil, filters, etc. I do not know if the bike had the 600 mile valve adjustment tune up. It seems to run well, but it is difficult to start at times and seems to bog-down a little bit at lower rpms. I am sure I can find this info inside, but jeebus, there's a to sort through.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Wow, it's not even broken in yet!!!

I'd go ahead and change the oil since the oil in it could be up to seven years old at this point. Check the chain adjustment, maybe put in fresh spark plugs (there are two). If it has original tires (likely), replace them ASAP. Tires should be changed every seven years because the rubber goes hard in that time. Besides, the stock tires suck anyway. Look at the Shinko 705.. great, inexpensive, long-lasting tire that is surprisingly good off-road as long as it isn't sand or mud. I'd do fresh tubes while you're at it too, heavy duty.

Next up you'll want to do something with the seat before your ass goes on strike.. for that, www.seatconcepts.com.

Oh yes... and the NSU screw. Order up a clutch-side gasket first, but you'll need to pull the clutch basket and lock-tite the NSU screws before one of them falls out and lunches the transmission. It's the one fatal flaw in the DR650. Somebody probably has a link to the how-to thread on that. It's really pretty easy.

Rob

[neo1piv014]

Originally Posted by Skidmarkart

Wow. Just wow. This thread is awesome.

I am the proud new owner of a DR650. I can see my job performance is going to suffer due to this very thread. I just got a 2005 DR650 with only 800 miles on the clock. The guy I got it from only rode it 100 miles in the year he owned it!?! How that happened is beyond me because I just rode it 100 miles over the weekend. No adult should be able to have this much fun getting to work!

Question - since this bike is older, and has low miles, is there any particular maintenance I should do? I am assuming that I will need to do the oil, filters, etc. I do not know if the bike had the 600 mile valve adjustment tune up. It seems to run well, but it is difficult to start at times and seems to bog-down a little bit at lower rpms. I am sure I can find this info inside, but jeebus, there's a to sort through.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Same as what Rob said - oil, tires, tubes. I'd also just check out the air filter to see if any bugs decided to take up residence in your air box in the years it didn't get used. My buddy bought a 2008 Ninja 250 with super low miles, and a family of bees had set up shop in there. Couldn't hurt to thoroughly clean the chain, check it for rust, and put some quality chain lube on there. Maxima chain wax has worked damn good for me so far. As for tires, I'll throw another vote in for the Shinko 705's. If you're using it as a commuting machine, they're excellent, cheap, and they throw themselves around off road decently too.