Pablo's DR350

[Airvent]

Holy crap, I'm gonna get me some keyrings that fit my countershaft now
Great story, glad it ended well. The DR350 is reliable!

Lookin forward to riding out there this summer

[BAD-MOD]

good skills on the keyring man i like it .
its like the ultimate stocking fan belt

[juda5]

Good call on the keyring -- that is really impressive.

I got stuck last year with a broken chain - it actually sheared off the upper case saver mount. I had to push it about 3/4 of a mile out of the woods -- luckily I was able to get a friend with a truck to come pick me up from there.

[Greg Bender]

I ride alone out in the desert all the time (I only very rarely ride with anyone else). I bring tools and spares that I think I might need, I bring my SPOT, and I bring water. But it is simply not possible to bring the quantity of water I would need when it is 115 deg F in the Arizona desert. I do my best to mitigate the risk. But that risk and any other worries get left at the house. :>

Regards,

Gregory Bender

[Pablo83]

I need a grill for my headlight. Can anyone recommend one?

[Olas]

Been enjoying this thread since it started! Thanks for sharing it with us.

That fix for your sprocket was pretty clever, I must say. Was the old circlip just worn out from taking it on and off too many times? My local hardware store (A&A Hardware/Ace) has these circlips in stock for only a few cents each. Not sure if you have anything similar close to you but in a pinch you could find some there or at a similar hardware store I suppose.

Was this pic taken at Rainbow Falls by any chance?



Thanks!

[cwc]

Originally Posted by pablo83

I need a grill for my headlight. Can anyone recommend one?

I just use a piece of 1/8" polycarbonate (Lexan) stuck on with four Velcro dots.

No nicks or chips in the headlight in almost 40K of use.

If you get caught out in the dark you will need to pop it off and wipe off the dust, otherwise it's pretty low maintenance.

It's better protection than a grill and if clean has very low light attenuation.

[Pablo83]

Yep, that's Moab Hill at Rainbow Falls. I did not go straight up it. There's a diagonal route that's a little more reasonable, but I have yet to do it without putting a foot down, in fact, I think I completely dismounted on that particular day, but once again, I was riding alone so I didn't want to take too many chances.

Originally Posted by Olas

Was this pic taken at Rainbow Falls by any chance?



Thanks!

[Pablo83]

Would you mind posting a pic of your cover?

Originally Posted by cwc

I just use a piece of 1/8" polycarbonate (Lexan) stuck on with four Velcro dots.

No nicks or chips in the headlight in almost 40K of use.

If you get caught out in the dark you will need to pop it off and wipe off the dust, otherwise it's pretty low maintenance.

It's better protection than a grill and if clean has very low light attenuation.

[NLS1]

What a great build! Thanks for taking the time to do it for all of us to see. This thread and DisTech's have really gotten me thinking of one of these bikes too. I love the 650 and can't imagine a smaller bike that I would like more!

Just curious what the final wet weight of the bike turned out to be? And any more issues you have had? I also sent you a PM.

Dan

[Pablo83]

According to my measurements, these are the weights with an empty fuel tank, but otherwise ready to ride:

Stock '91 DR250S = 291
Stock '98 DR350 = 258
My finished bike* = 267

The reason my bike weighs more than the DR350 is the increased electronics (stator, rectifier, etc), and other things I've installed like heavy duty hand guards, tool pouches, tools, tubes...

* really, I'll probably never be finished with this bike. Next on the list is rear suspension work. Even with the front suspension work I've done, it's still lacking. There might be a set of USDs in this bike's future. I think next winter I'd like to cut off the steel rear subframe and fab an aluminum one to decrease weight. And there are more things I have in mind as well.

[NLS1]

Originally Posted by pablo83

According to my measurements, these are the weights with an empty fuel tank, but otherwise ready to ride:

Stock '91 DR250S = 291
Stock '98 DR350 = 258
My finished bike* = 267

The reason my bike weighs more than the DR350 is the increased electronics (stator, rectifier, etc), and other things I've installed like heavy duty hand guards, tool pouches, tools, tubes...

* really, I'll probably never be finished with this bike. Next on the list is rear suspension work. Even with the front suspension work I've done, it's still lacking. There might be a set of USDs in this bike's future. I think next winter I'd like to cut off the steel rear subframe and fab an aluminum one to decrease weight. And there are more things I have in mind as well.

Cool thanks, pretty light really considering the additions. Really light compared to the 250!

Looking forward to the next upgrades!
Dan

[Rich667]

i cut off my subframe and made an aluminum one. I think its more work than what its worth, I think the only real benifit is the fact you can get creative and use a different fender/number plate/seat combo. i can load some pics.

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by Rich667

i cut off my subframe and made an aluminum one. I think its more work than what its worth, I think the only real benifit is the fact you can get creative and use a different fender/number plate/seat combo. i can load some pics.

I'd love to see them.

[Pablo83]

I was having a bad hanging idle. I read a few posts about leaky slides. It sounded like this was mainly due to carb body wear so I decided to go ahead and get a completely new carb.

On the old carb I was running a 37 idle jet. On the new one I could run the idle mixture screw in all the way without effecting how the bike idled. I kept moving to smaller idle jets with the same result (mixture screw all the way in and it still idles fine). I eventually ended up with a 25 idle before the bike started popping at low RPMs (running lean), but the idle screw still did nothing.

I then moved all the components back to the the old carb body and things seem to be working much better. The hanging idle seems to have been caused by slide wear, not body wear.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea what's going on with the new carb body?