Its been a while since I posted an update to the DR350S project. Been busy with lots of other things, including a dual sport ride we helped put together here. The Little DR got to help out with that project.
I had been working on upgrading the lights, in fact, most of them are LED now, the dash looks great with the mini-leds I put in for illumination. I haven't changed out the indicators for turn, high beam or neutral...yet.
Here I am trying to sort out the harness issues. During this portion of work, it also got a new key switch, notice the screwdriver I am using as a key!!
A tail light had been acquired from Ebay. The part number it was listed as did not match what it was supposed to be (a DR350 tail light). It turned out to be a DR650 light. I heavily modified the mounting to make it work, mainly because it was cheap.
I had a new tire waiting to install, this old rotten thing has to go. While I am there, she will get new brakes, a chain and some cleanup!
I pulled the old tire and began the process of replacing and repairing.
Lets get that old rotten tire off the rim!
While I was there, I did a quick inspection of the cushion drive. It is still useable, and I just cleaned things up a bit before reinstall!
The DR gets a new Kenda 4.50-18 270 for the rear this time. Decent enough tire for this bike and for the price. Not sure why the pic is blurry. My potato must have slipped... And yes the rim has a slight bend.
I also did a little paint work to make things look better. I like blue paint!
I began work on the brakes. They were worn to the metal, but had not ruined the disc. I did some cleanup and installed the new pads. I also made note of some miscellaneous things that will be needed.
It is amazing how a little paint and some new parts will make an old bike look good!
I finished all this just in time to do a bit of trail layout for the Texas Redneck Ramble - "North" dual sport event I helped with. It was still raining, and we had not been able to get into the off-road section. My KLR 650 was staying behind this time. I was expecting slick mud and there was plenty. I had a blast.. Sorry no pics. I was too busy. But the bike ran good, started good, and was just fun to ride. Not bad for its initial trial run after years of setting up.
I thought I had found a side cover from the DR350 I had rescued a few posts back. The DR350 off-road cover is different from the DR350S cover. It is not deep enough, and the mounting hole for the bottom is in a different place because of the battery box on the street version. I still stuck it on there for a moment.
I ordered a new side cover from one of the Suzuki parts dealers. I got an email that it was back ordered, and then it showed up a few days later!!!
Here is the latest pic of the DR350S project. I went out to help a friend learn to ride. She is riding a rescued 2006 KLX 250S. Since we were riding at a friends place in the field, the DR fit the ticket. What a blast it was too! Even did a bit of dirt-roading.
The DR350S runs and starts great, hot or cold. No oil consumption so far. I am going to pull the clutch cover off and take a look. I do hear a noticeable difference when I pull the clutch in vs. when it is not.
This little thing is a blast to ride, and the power is really decent. I have to remind myself that I am old, tired, fat and gripey. The gripey part goes away pretty fast while riding it. But, the other parts stay with me. Especially when you hit one of the jumps a little fast and weren't set up for the landing. Its ok, the handlebars caught me, I kissed the front fender while gassing on it, and..... I recovered without a crash.
More soon!!!
Craig
I had been working on upgrading the lights, in fact, most of them are LED now, the dash looks great with the mini-leds I put in for illumination. I haven't changed out the indicators for turn, high beam or neutral...yet.
Here I am trying to sort out the harness issues. During this portion of work, it also got a new key switch, notice the screwdriver I am using as a key!!
A tail light had been acquired from Ebay. The part number it was listed as did not match what it was supposed to be (a DR350 tail light). It turned out to be a DR650 light. I heavily modified the mounting to make it work, mainly because it was cheap.
I had a new tire waiting to install, this old rotten thing has to go. While I am there, she will get new brakes, a chain and some cleanup!
I pulled the old tire and began the process of replacing and repairing.
Lets get that old rotten tire off the rim!
While I was there, I did a quick inspection of the cushion drive. It is still useable, and I just cleaned things up a bit before reinstall!
The DR gets a new Kenda 4.50-18 270 for the rear this time. Decent enough tire for this bike and for the price. Not sure why the pic is blurry. My potato must have slipped... And yes the rim has a slight bend.
I also did a little paint work to make things look better. I like blue paint!
I began work on the brakes. They were worn to the metal, but had not ruined the disc. I did some cleanup and installed the new pads. I also made note of some miscellaneous things that will be needed.
It is amazing how a little paint and some new parts will make an old bike look good!
I finished all this just in time to do a bit of trail layout for the Texas Redneck Ramble - "North" dual sport event I helped with. It was still raining, and we had not been able to get into the off-road section. My KLR 650 was staying behind this time. I was expecting slick mud and there was plenty. I had a blast.. Sorry no pics. I was too busy. But the bike ran good, started good, and was just fun to ride. Not bad for its initial trial run after years of setting up.
I thought I had found a side cover from the DR350 I had rescued a few posts back. The DR350 off-road cover is different from the DR350S cover. It is not deep enough, and the mounting hole for the bottom is in a different place because of the battery box on the street version. I still stuck it on there for a moment.
I ordered a new side cover from one of the Suzuki parts dealers. I got an email that it was back ordered, and then it showed up a few days later!!!
Here is the latest pic of the DR350S project. I went out to help a friend learn to ride. She is riding a rescued 2006 KLX 250S. Since we were riding at a friends place in the field, the DR fit the ticket. What a blast it was too! Even did a bit of dirt-roading.
The DR350S runs and starts great, hot or cold. No oil consumption so far. I am going to pull the clutch cover off and take a look. I do hear a noticeable difference when I pull the clutch in vs. when it is not.
This little thing is a blast to ride, and the power is really decent. I have to remind myself that I am old, tired, fat and gripey. The gripey part goes away pretty fast while riding it. But, the other parts stay with me. Especially when you hit one of the jumps a little fast and weren't set up for the landing. Its ok, the handlebars caught me, I kissed the front fender while gassing on it, and..... I recovered without a crash.
More soon!!!
Craig
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