Another one I quite enjoyed. At one point I had the difficult task of keeping used bikes at a dealership fresh...by riding them. It was my favorite.
This was my favorite demo but I quit riding it as I was getting a bit too froggy with it.
The Suzuki already feels like an old friend. You really can't ask much more than that. I still find the 21" front wheel awkward. I'll probably get used to it just in time for the 17's to come in.
People have been complementing the new bike. One fellow bashed the Buell. Thats not fair. It's been rode hard regularly for 13 years, with a one year hiatus due to repairs. It's worked as well as I could expect of it.
It kept me busy yesterday. Mounted a smaller, sleeker tail light, mini led signals, got rid of the mud flap for a small tail light bracket with an led, desnorkled the airbox and shimmed the carb needle. An adapter had to be made for the tag bracket, tail light, and mounts for the rear signals. A few days ago some case armor went on. The chain guard got chopped to look a bit sleeker. A battery tender lead was added and diodes were wired in to allow the signal indicator to function. It also allows for enough load that a low load flasher was not necessary.
The wife actually liked the big mud flap and gargantuan signals and tail light.
Next week I get a muffler, my wheels, an oversized floating front rotor, rear wave rotor, handguards, Progressive fork springs, etc.
A fork brace went on a few days ago as well. The front end feels a bit more planted and in conjunction with the chopped front fender it's a ton more stable at speed, especially in cross winds.
The stock mechanical speedometer and drive will get replaced with a bicycle unit with an led lamp during the wheel swap. A tach seems unnecessary as it runs out of steam well before redline.
I made some axle sliders with some all thread and some spare polymer and aluminum bar end sliders I had laying around.
Nothing too exciting to report. It's been working good, runs smooth, gets 50+ mpg with spirited riding. Looks like the first service will be happening next week. It'll get a magnetic drain plug then as well.
Turns out I've got enough metric tools to get by.
Most importantly, it is kid approved.
I've jumped it over my favorite spots I used to hit with the Buell, and it's a lot less exciting. I guess that's a good thing
I did the magnetic drain plug and a magnetic washer behind the oil filter. Both from Procycle. Its amazing how much is stuck to them during a oil change.
The LED headlight bulb they offer is a retina burner for sure!
I never thought I'd ever consider a DR until I rode one. A friend of mine has two and asked me if I wanted to go duel sporting and I took him up on it, needless to say I purchased one off of a college student that needed the money about four months later, I love it.
This is probably the best bang for the buck when it comes to bikes that's out there. I swear I believe you could throw a grenade down the intake and it would spit it out the exhaust!
I've found that Pro Cycle is like Candy Land if you own one.
You've really got to admire the simplicity of the thing.
I had it desnorkled and the needle shimmed in about 20 mins, including the warm up and test ride. The wiring harness is remarkably sparce. Everything save for the CDI box is pure analog.
By this time next week it should be transformed.
The S1 is raw and nasty. The DR is simple and pleasant.
The kid asked if the engine would vibrate his butt like the Buell did now. He said he liked that about the S1. Naww...not this one.
DUDE!! that thing looks sweet! Sounds pretty good too.
Did you cut the original front fender?
I just did a trip to WV and back to C-Bus. With saddlebags and trunk full of crap. I averaged 50.1 MPG and there was plenty of wick twisting twisties. The FCR-MX carb is working pretty well.
that looks sharp! now your getting it sorted... mmm, motards... fun!
i really dont make enough use of my sm610... i even bought a second set of wheels, and tried a set of shinko trail master 17" dual sport tires. wasnt very fond of them so pulled them back off after maybe 100 miles. then i went and bought a set of 17" tkc80's... 2 seasons ago... mounted those on the other rims and still havent ever put them on the bike... i think i put a couple hundred miles on the husky last year :-(
BUT, i did take it with me to march badness down in Georgia this year and finally got to try it out in some real twisties! the thing was a riot!
Yes, the fender chop was the first thing I did. That monstrosity dangling about was an embarrassment. None of the existing fenders on the market looked appealing to me. The stocker keeps the color and the charm of the original. 20150414_174011 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr
The ATK 605 is the first dual sport that got my attention. Being old and using an obsolete engine makes it more of a dream bike than practical daily rider. The DR was always an interest, but is a bit lacking as delivered. At one point I was quite sure I'd be buying a KTM Duke II, then later a 640SM. The Husky looks like a real winner, but cam chain issues and long term parts availability scares me. The KTM 690SM is awesome, and I even like the looks, but they're a bit bulky and too modern for me. The XT600 is just a little too antiquated and clean examples are few and far between. To my wife's surprise I suppose I made the sensible choice, but the old school and simple nature of the bike really appealed to me. Even though the entire machine is a compromise of cost and performance, it's been around long enough to have a mature aftermarket base.
I have been fiddling with it some again. While it ran smooth, it seriously lacked throttle response. An Aussie fellow on DRriders had come up with a compromise between the full open top jet kits (which adversely affect fuel mileage) and desnorkeling, using a modified stock needle. Folks have reported good results so I tried it out.
It runs much better. It is free revving, responsive, and still gets 55mpg. It's still no flat slide, but about as good as a CV carb gets, I suppose. There is a minor lean spot off idle/low speeds that I can't get rid of through the needle position or pilot screw, so I may try out a thinner needle. It's a little flat up top so the next size main jet may be in order. Stock is a 140 and a 150 is currently in it.
As it usually goes, I may eventually abandon this for a flatslide, but you've gotta try, right? For a $12 investment (main jet and needle) it works quite well!
Now that I'm riding it a bit harder, the suspension has been showing its weaknesses. Mid corner bumps and hard edged hits show the limitations well. I'm so used to riding the Buell with a blown shock (it blew every 15K miles or so) that it's easy to deal with. That said I may do some fork cartridges sooner than later. The shock I won't mess with until it blows.
Just yesterday I jumped some railroad crossings and had a good time with it. She's a bit portly so it does take some speed and it doesn't leave the earth too far, but it's still a lot of fun.
Normally, the extra brake dive on hard braking on other bikes is an annoyance, but for whatever reason that hasn't been the case here. I guess progressively wound springs make all the difference.
For a portly dual sport with substandard suspension it handles incredibly well with a set of 17's on it.
While the Buell is fairly wild, and this one is quite mild, I don't mind the change of pace. It'll cruise at 80mph all day, and is a dream in town.
fargin brilliant! epoxied to hold it? A guy I worked with had a 450 honda something or other. We lived near each other, so often we'd meet up on our commute, me on a buell, he'd be on that thing. I never actually talked to him, more of just nods of approval, but I will admit that watching him pulling wheelies and stoppies all over the place got me a wondering, and you guys aren't helping. Of course he just leaned his against the building.
The stand? It was threaded 3/4"-10 and a 4-1/2" piece of all-thread used.
It certainly wasn't my idea, though I'm happy to use it.
quote:
I'm thinking of a Dual Sport myself and have this one picked out ...
Certainly can't go wrong with that one!
It's supposed to be a handful offroad due to the power delivery (and to a lesser extent the weight). From what I've read the rear tires don't last long on the street. But, yeah...it's supposed to be a top notch bike.
The wife and I looked at one of these locally some time ago. She was in love with it. While it would have been great to dupe her into thinking it'd make a practical ride, it's essentially a racebike with lights.
Here is a pic of me and my 2006 DR650. It was 100% stock when I purchased it last fall. I did a lot of mods to it (mostly to reduce weight) and it is a great running bike. I have a XB12S and a Yamaha WR426 that is street legal. If I had to have only one M/C, this would be it.
I'm working on refreshing (top end rebuild, carb rebuild, brakes, etc, etc) a 1994 Kawi KLX650. I had the head bored 2mm over and installed a forged Wossner piston.
Still having a few carb issues (flooding BADLY). But is should be road/trail ready in a few weeks.
Its right in between the buell and the Yamaha. One a road bike and the other a dirt bike. It does well on the road and excels on dirt roads. If you do not push it too hard, it can do single track too. I have a blast riding it. Its my "go to" everyday bike.
Others use a 19" front with adventure touring type tires as a compromise.
Those bikes rock, but if racking a lot of miles on they have pretty intensive maintenance schedules and require rebuilds much more frequently than more street oriented bikes.
