20 Things You Should Know About: the DR650

This entry is part 18 of 320 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #1

20 things you should know about SUZUKI’s DR650SE

The venerable DR650 is still the first choice for many riders when it comes to a rock-solid reliable, affordable and capable adventure bike. We grabbed hold of Inverell’s Vince Strang, Australia’s undisputed DR guru, and asked him to give us 20 points of interest about the bike he knows inside and out.

“The DR650 is very versatile,” idled Vince in his calm and unhurried manner, “and there’s many ways it can be made to suit you, your style of riding, your budget and many other things.

“These points are just my opinion,” he air-cooled, as we remembered how he campaigned DR650s in the Australian Safari in decades past. We also had a look at Vince’s own bike and thought, “Phwoar!”

So here’s what a man who builds, races and rides the workhorse Suzuki has to say…

1. The front end loves a wider front tyre. If you ride trails and outback roads on your journeys, a 90/100×21 is the good size, and my choice is a Dunlop D745 or Michelin HP4.

2. I use a 130/80×17 Dunlop D606, or for longer life a Heidenau Scout, 130/80×17 to match that front for the same type of riding.

3. Run lots of pressure in your tyres! Use speed to get up the sandhills. Pressure somewhere between 18psi and 24psi helps to prevent impact punctures. You should only use lower pressures in the mud.

4. The bottom shock mount has two positions for the bottom shock bolt. The design allows for two seat heights, either 885mm or 845mm. If you choose the lower setting for the shock, drop the triple clamps around 15mm on the fork legs so you don’t end up with the bike sagging at the rear

5. The 17-inch rear wheel is a good choice as the tyre has a bigger ‘bag’ and can absorb impacts better than an 18 inch tyre, so you’ll get less punctures. Tyre choice was a bit limited for 17-inch rears a few years ago, but there’s plenty of good rubber available in that size now.

6. You can use the heavy-duty 18-inch Bridgestone Ultra MX tubes in the 17-inch rear. Trelleborg used to market the rear tube in a 17-18-19-inch, one-tube-fits-all, and it was a good tube.

7. Use a lightweight rim lock in the rear (the Talon billet rim lock is strong and light). The front will be okay without a rim lock. Lightweight rim locks make it possible to balance the wheels, and I strongly recommend balancing.

8. Fit a 44-tooth rear sprocket. The DR loves it. You’ll get less chain rattle, better first- and second-gear performance on the trails, better throttle response between 90kph and 110kph, and slightly more top speed. The original 15-tooth front and the super 525 chain fitted at the factory are top quality and will often go more than 20,000km. Fitting a 14-tooth front to achieve this same gearing is a false economy. The tighter circle the chain has to turn causes greater wear.

9. Run the chain at the right tension (the right tension often looks very loose) or risk ripping the top roller off the frame. Be very careful if you fit a 16-tooth front sprocket, too.

10. Don’t you dare cut the airbox up! If you want your DR to be easy to live with, and you’re sticking with the original carby and cam, leave the airbox alone. Cut it up and the fuel consumption is sure to drop from between 18-22 kilometres per litre to 16 kilometres per litre. Or worse.

11. The screws holding the carby float bowl are notorious for being difficult. Changing them to Allen screws the first time you have to remove the bowl is the go.

12. The current DR650SE series was first released in Australia in 1996 and placed third outright in the Australian Safari with Holden valve springs in the forks. In 1997, Australian enduro champion Mike Shearer rode a DR in the Safari and won 11 of the 22 special stages.

13. An older DR650 will sometimes “squawk” in the starter when starting. There’s a bush in the housing that causes this, and the smart move is to replace the stock end cap with a flash billet end cap and bearing (available from VSM of course). It’s a fairly straightforward job if you’re handy with tools. If you’re not confident, VSM can fit it for you as well.

14. The standard exhaust system is often replaced. However, it’s sometimes better than the unit that replaces it. The standard pipe is extra quiet (that’s good), extra heavy (not so good), and fairly fat (not so good), but it has decent power. If you must replace the system, VSM has had years of success with the Staintune. It’s not too loud, it’s light, slim, made in Australia and it’ll last as long as the DR.

15. DR650 valve clearance is: inlet 0.1mm, exhaust 0.2mm – give or take a thou either way – and must be measured cold. Valve clearances should be checked at the first service and the factory suggests they be checked each 12,000km after. Lots of them are never checked.

Inverell Suzuki dealer and recognised DR guru, Vince Strang. His own DR650 is a serious test bed and workhorse.

16. The fuel inlet spigot on the DR carby has a tiny filter inside. Pull the fuel line off carefully and if you see a tiny white ring sitting on top of the pipe, that’s the filter. Pull it out and use an inline filter instead, because the small stocker can block with a single drop of water.

17. Don’t fan the clutch when things get tough. Use torque and momentum to get up hills. The DR clutch will last for years unless you get bogged, panic, and slip the clutch like a supercrosser on a 125. Once you do that it’ll be gone in a flash.

18. Make sure you keep around three millimetres of free play in the clutch lever so there’s no drag. The clutch slipping will damage the plates very quickly.

19. My favourite thing about the DR650? They’re easy to live with! The DR is very reliable, pretty much does anything you ask of it (allowing for her size), you don’t have to learn any special technique to ride it and you won’t have to spend a lot of money to make it suit your style.

20. My least liked thing? The seat. It’ll make you squirm and wriggle after 300km. Fortunately, it’s easy to replace or modify. It needs to be flatter and wider at the rear where you do most of your sitting.

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