Pablo's DR350

[Pablo83]

I started installing the oil cooler yesterday. The oil cooler did not come with the barb adapters that Jagg originally shipped with it and that was fine with me because I did not like that setup anyway. I wanted a cleaner installation.

I cut up the oil line and welded some AN style connectors to the metal pipe. I’m really not familiar with these connectors so I wanted to take it to a hose shop that could give me some suggestions. There’s a place in Colorado Springs called Whistler Bearing that I’ve used a few times and they have a huge wall full of blue and red anodized aluminum hose fittings, so I figure this is the right place. This morning I mount the cooler, remove the gas tank and take the bike and all my parts to the hose shop.

One of the oil lines comes out from below the engine so I push the bike into the warehouse and I lay it on its side so all the oil lines can easily be seen. As I’m doing this, the guy looks at me with a panicked look as if I’m about to give birth and I’m expecting him to deliver the baby. Then he start with “I’m not allowed to do any engineering. I’ve been specifically told this. I can make hoses, but I’m not allowed to even measure anything.”

I don’t see this as a problem because I know what size oil line I want and, as it turns out, I’m qualified to operate a tape measure. All I want from this guy is for him to look at what I’m doing and try to sell me some expensive fittings that will get the job done. It takes some convincing, but finally he decides to show me what kind of flexible oil lines they have.

As we’re walking through the warehouse one of the managers comes running up behind me yelling about my bike leaking shit all over his floor. I apologize and head back to the bike to see what’s going on. I’m confused because I’ve removed the gas tank and drained the engine oil, and it’s not like the bike has a radiator, so what could be leaking? As we’re walking back he starts grilling me: “Why’s your bike in the warehouse? How'd you get it in here?”

“I pushed it through the big overhead door at the entrance.”

“Does the bike even run?”

The man can be forgiven for not realizing the oil lines are incomplete, but how he missed the non existent gas tank is beyond me.

Maybe he thought I was homeless and trying to repair my bike in his warehouse and wanted me to get out. As I pick up the bike he realizes that my bike is not leaking, it just kind of looks that way because I've laid the bike down on a big stain on his floor.

At this point I start pushing the bike out of the shop to take it to the other custom hose shop, but I’ve never been to the other shop and I quickly realize that if they don’t have what I need I’ll just be right back here and I’ll look like an idiot. On top of that, I need the bike for a Moab trip on Friday so I put the kickstand down and with a little more prodding we eventually found what seems to be a good solution.

[/RANT OFF]





Initial results are good. I took it for a quick spin on the Hwy and a brief steep trail section. After the steep section the engine temp was 215 deg where it would normally have been much closer to 250 deg. I might extend the skidplate up to protect the oil lines, but overall I think it's a pretty solid installation.

[Pablo83]

Sherman did great in Moab. The oil cooler generally kept the engine 35 deg F cooler than without it. The only time the temp needle went into the red (250 deg F) was in the sand dunes and that type of riding is real rough on engines. There is a very small oil leak, but it was not enough to change the oil level on trip. I think it is coming from one of my welds, so it will be easy to fix.

Top of the World Trail, Moab, UT:

[Pablo83]

SteveO put together a great video of the Moab trip...

[Hotmamaandme]

Yep good video

[rubberband]

good stuff, more info on your trip? routes? accomodations? etc

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by rubberband

good stuff, more info on your trip? routes? accomodations? etc

Trip planning is at the beginning:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=753707

Rider reports starts here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...0#post18441730

I arrived a day late and stayed a day late, so I wasn't on all of the rides.

[tkent02]

After riding it a bit, how are you liking the taller fifth and sixth gears?

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by tkent02

After riding it a bit, how are you liking the taller fifth and sixth gears?

Overall, the DR250S tranny is a great match for a bored out DR350. I love the gear spacing for 1st-4th, and the higher 5th and 6th are real useful, but I wish 5th and 6th were even higher. I want a bike that can go interstate speeds and still do stupid-difficult obstacles like what you find in Pritchett Canyon, Moab, but that's really asking a lot from any bike.

I've experimented with a lot of gear combos now and what I'm going to do is gear the bike just a bit higher and carry a slightly smaller front sprocket in my rear pouch. It doesn't take long to swap it out, so when I'm doing real difficult trails I can slap on the lower gearing.

[Airvent]

Do you have the exhaust from the dirt model? That could be causing some extra noise, plus a high comp piston Looking forward to heading out there soon!

[Pablo83]

Today a friend called me asking if I had an extra circlip because he lost his on the trail today and his sprocket popped off. Another guy here on ADV had the same problem as well. When I posted the below info on the DR350 thread some people went and checked their circlips and found they were loose. So go check your circlip and make sure it's in good shape.

Originally Posted by Pablo83

I noticed the circlip that holds the CS sprocket on was loose so I ordered a new one, but it didn't come in time for my ride today so I went anyway. As soon as I got way out in the middle of nowhere it all went to hell.

The case saver took a fair amount of damage:


So did the chain tensioner:


The circlip was nowhere to be found. I don't know how long I was riding without it. I was kind of screwed. I hadn't seen anyone one else in hours. Searching around for a solution, I considered using the key ring.



The first full turn of the ring fit in the groove perfectly. The second turn had to sit on the outer diameter of the shaft.



It worked perfectly. I started to head home at first, but it was such a solid fit that I ended up riding a bunch more trails on the way home. I was awfully lucky to have that size key ring on the bike.

[slowsuki1]

i put a second air filter in my airbox, it quiets the bike down some , say 15-20%, not huge, but no power loss to speek of.

[tkent02]

Originally Posted by Pablo83

Today a friend called me asking if I had an extra circlip because he lost his on the trail today and his sprocket popped off. Another guy here on ADV had the same problem as well. When I posted the below info on the DR350 thread some people went and checked their circlips and found they were loose. So go check your circlip and make sure it's in good shape.

After reading your post about it, I got four of them. One to replace my loose one before it fell off, three more in the tool kit.

[Pablo83]

[Jeff@TheQuadShop]

Originally Posted by Pablo83

If I wanted to stiffen another bike, I would try the RMX swingarm first.

Is there a link to this swap somewhere?

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TheQuadShop

Is there a link to this swap somewhere?

jessepitt has done this. He had some pics posted earlier in this thread, but the links are no longer good. You might PM him for more info.