the DR200 thread

[WizardSkills]

Congrats on the new (again) DR FishQuest!

As a fellow fly fisherman I love scouting out new spots on my DR, I have found it perfect for this and it's small stance and low weight make it great for getting to those tough river access spots off the fire roads.

Pics?

-WizardSkills

[Solas5]

After replacing my battery and tweaking my carb just a little bit, I got out and did a 40mile loop with one of my housemates. I was a little nervous on the way home because we had to take a little stint on I5 but I was incredibly pleased with the little DR. Not only did it hit 65-70 mph, but it felt pretty stable and had a little more left to give in the speed department but I didn't want to top it out. Certainly happy with my purchase and am very excited for WA weather to warm up so I can get out more often.

[Goon310]

Well, on Thursday I tried to take my DR out for a spin to a nearby shop.
Kept having trouble getting it to even idle when the choke was off, rode it for a bit with the choke on but it kept stalling unless I was on the throttle..

Pull in the clutch, let off gas, stall.
Every time.
Then the battery didn't have enough juice to turn the bike over.

Finally got it started and got home as fast as I could.
Put in newer gas and played with the idle screw and had my dad put around on it. Said he was having to feather the clutch to keep it from stalling but not as bad as the other day. I wasn't satisfied.

So, jet kit, fmf exhaust, and cr high bend bars ordered from Kientech!

While working on my other bike, I noticed what looked like a nail in my rear tire. Pulled it out with some pliers, and out shot Slime and all the air out of my rear tire. One little plug was all that was keeping the air in.
So! New tires and tubes for me! Need to figure out what to go with, hard to choose.

Guess that's what I get for buying a used bike from an old dude who "Didn't ride hard" and is buying "One of those big BMW adventure bikes" LOL!

[Solas5]

Goon310:

I was having the same idle/stall problem with mine and I plan on rejetting it before long but for now, just playing with the idle screw was enough to keep me going once I had it good and warmed up.

[Goon310]

Well, my jet kit and pipe ships out Monday.

I would play with the idle screw more, but I can't ride with a flat rear tire anyways. LOL!

I went with a Kenda K270 and a Michelin "Ultra Heavy Duty" tube.
We'll see how that go's.
Going to replace the front death wing eventually, not sure what with yet.

[bross]

Originally Posted by Goon310

Well, my jet kit and pipe ships out Monday.

I would play with the idle screw more, but I can't ride with a flat rear tire anyways. LOL!

I went with a Kenda K270 and a Michelin "Ultra Heavy Duty" tube.
We'll see how that go's.
Going to replace the front death wing eventually, not sure what with yet.

My wife really liked TrailWing that came on her DR, not to be confused with the Deathwing version of Trailwings that came on my DR650. Couldn't find the TrailWing so bought an IRC GP1 and she's happy with it. I've run the GP1s on my DR650 as well and they work well for us. We live in the mountains so have very little mud and sand, thankfully.

[inuvik]

Originally Posted by Sateev

The middle adjustment in the cable is nothing magical. It just exists to allow you to compensate for a stretched cable, and dial in the right amount of free play to allow you to use the top (lever) adjustment. The proper adjustment is the same whether or not you achieve it at the lever or in the cable: approx 10-15mm of free movement at the end of the lever before the clutch starts to disengage.

The only other possibility is that the lever on top of the trans is not positioned correctly (removed, and placed on the shaft on the wrong tooth. If you follow Klay's directions about riding slow in top gear, then opening the throttle, and you find it slips, it's clutch-replacement time. Be sure you use MOTORCYCLE oil (without friction modifiers found in automotive oils) when you refill the case.

Been riding with Tusk 1" handlebar risers for about 1 week. I can report that this has moved the airflow over the top of my visor with my Spitfire S-06 windshield. I can still catch some wind if I moved my head back but in a level riding position it's much better. Strangely enough with the handlebar risers I now have the appropriate amount of slack in my clutch cable.

[Goon310]

Originally Posted by bross

My wife really liked TrailWing that came on her DR, not to be confused with the Deathwing version of Trailwings that came on my DR650. Couldn't find the TrailWing so bought an IRC GP1 and she's happy with it. I've run the GP1s on my DR650 as well and they work well for us. We live in the mountains so have very little mud and sand, thankfully.

The GP1's look nice.
I had looked at IRC offerings for the rear tire but most of them seemed a little pricey.

I'm riding mostly street right now, so I decided to go with something pretty cheap that I wouldn't feel too bad if it got torn up.

I think I'll try a GP1 on the front, it looks pretty similar to the Kenda, as well as the stock tires and isn't very expensive. Going to see how the Kenda holds up for me but for a "50/50" tire the K270 sounds decent for the money.

Optimally, I'd like to have a set of sumo wheels and tires for the street, and a set of non-dot knobbies and wheels for when I hit the dirt.

[JGatlin]

My first post after lurking for many years:

I'm helping a friend here in West Virginia fix up a 2003 DR200se that's been sitting and not started for 3 years in their dry basement. It was originally stored with a full tank but then was partially drained a few months ago. But the bike looks brand new. It's got less than 1600 miles on it.

I've drained the gas (but not cleaned the tank of potential varnish), replaced the battery, added some seafoam to the tank, and attempted to push start it. It popped for about 3 seconds and then nothing.

I checked the air filter and the polyurethane foam element was disintegrating.

I took it out, put some gas directly in the cylinder, and tried to start it again a few times (with electric start and rolling start) and got the same result. I want to replace the air filter before I do anything else. My search for a replacement polyurethane foam element yielded one source from a shop but without much confidence...probably more on my part.

I am still learning my way around searching these forums (and particularly for specific posts within specific threads) so please feel free to redirect me, but is there any reason that I wouldn't want to use this instead of a polyurethane foam element ?

http://www.amazon.com/SU-1691-Suzuki...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Klay]

The problem is almost certainly that the carburetor jets are clogged up with varnish from evaporated fuel. The solution is to clean or replace the jets.

[Solas5]

To show my ignorance of four strokes... Is there anything you have to worry about when putting the carb back on after a good cleaning such as any timing or anything or is it just plug and play? (My dr is my first 4t that I myself am actually working on, previous experience only with 2t)

[bross]

Originally Posted by Solas5

To show my ignorance of four strokes... Is there anything you have to worry about when putting the carb back on after a good cleaning such as any timing or anything or is it just plug and play? (My dr is my first 4t that I myself am actually working on, previous experience only with 2t)

Nothing to worry about in regards to timing, it's just plug and play.

[Conman]

Congrats! I was in the same boat as you but I took a different route; I kept my DR200 and bought a used 09 F650GS. Best of both worlds! I did a 1,000 mile road trip from Las Vegas to Utah then to Death Valley, CA on a rented 2012 BMW G650GS and had to get an Adventure bike. I'm keeping my DR200 and it will be my dirt/trail bike; but the F650GS will be my touring bike.

Cheers,
Con

Originally Posted by FishQuest

Hi Everyone,

Been lurking on this site, and the DR200 thread for quite some time. This is truly a great thread; full of valuable information and helpful, friendly people.

My short story:

I purchased a new 2006 DR200 back in...well...2006 - and spent most of my time using it to commute around town. It was an great bike and I loved riding it - it reminded be of my motocross racing days many years back. After a few of years of riding (and being inspired by some of the threads on this site) I started to develop grand ideas of touring the country on a motorcycle.

I sold the DR and bought a 2010 BMW F650GS. Another great bike that was fun to ride. I did do a few short tours in Alberta but I never really found the time to make full use of this machine. I felt it was more than what I needed - I never really found the time to do much highway travel, it was heavier and less manuverable in city traffic, and I was starting to yern to hit the dirt again (on a lighter machine).

This week I sold the BMW and bought a new 2011 DR200 (our local dealer still had a new one in stock that they were practically giving away ($3000)). I wasn't sure about the black color scheme at first - I thought the blue and yellow looked cool - but now that I have the bike at home I think I like the black better.

I will use it as a commuter bike but also have plans to explore the network of logging roads and cut lines in some of the areas where I like to go fly fishing. I like to do all of my own mechanical work and will try to add my 2 cents to this thread where I can. Maybe I will see some of you on the trails.

Cheers

[tony the tiger]

Originally Posted by Solas5

After replacing my battery and tweaking my carb just a little bit, I got out and did a 40mile loop with one of my housemates. I was a little nervous on the way home because we had to take a little stint on I5 but I was incredibly pleased with the little DR. Not only did it hit 65-70 mph, but it felt pretty stable and had a little more left to give in the speed department but I didn't want to top it out. Certainly happy with my purchase and am very excited for WA weather to warm up so I can get out more often.

[FishQuest]

Conman - I hear what you are saying. Two bikes (the Dr200 and the F650GS) would have been the ideal set-up but the wife will only allow me to own one bike at a time.No worries though, I spent the extra cash on a new mountain bike and some rather expensive camera gear.