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Rexx Riot

If you lived in Idyllwild....

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Hey guys!

Still a noob with a street bike but actively homeworking my way closer to a dual sport. After my wedding this month the focus will be for her and  i to get on the road and start exploring. We're planning on buying a home in Idyllwild a little later in the year which will result in my SV650s staying in San Diego for round town wheels when we drive down the hill. We'll keep our dirt bikes up the mountain. I had been dead set on a DRZ for myself but now I've begun to panic and think maybe an EFI bike would be better. I've heard though that a properly jetted DRZ will still change altitude and not take too big a hit on power. I'd imagine that the VAST majority of our riding would take place from 4-7k feet but the option to drop down off the mountain and hit the desert is appealing. That all being said: I have 0 experience with carb'd bikes, I have 0 experience in the dirt, and I have LOTS of questions about lots of things but primarily on my mind is "should I focus my hunt on EFI or is a carb'd bike still a good and viable choice?". I wanted to toss it out to you guys for inputs. 

Further: if I still get the DRZ (it's just so ubiquitous I figured I should cut my teeth on it ya know?) what can/should I do in terms of setup/mods to accommodate some radical elevation changes? Again knowing so little about carbs I'm unsure what I can do outside of a rejet but I figure that there has to be a means to tweak A:F mix on the fly without tearing the carb out yeah? So....on my way down off the mountain I can pull off and fiddle for a few minutes to re-optimize the ratio as i approach sea level....but yeah i dunno if that's a thing. Any info is appreciated chaps!

I've heard accounts of the WR250R pooping at altitude while an FCR carb'd DRZ kept and putting down consistent power, same with the little honda CRF...my heart still says DRZ but yeah...

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Can't comment specific to the DRZ, but my DR650 has the same type of carb. The CV carb works pretty well with altitude changes. I took mine in stock form, unmolested airbox, snorkle in - tuned to my house at 300 feet.  To 13,100 feet in CO last August. I had installed an extended mixture screw but didn't touch it. I also added a filtered sliding "door" used for snowmobiles on the side of my airbox. It wasn't needed but did help when I tried it from 11K to 13K as it let a little more air in.

I'm sure someone with DRZ specific info will be along.......

 

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Rexx, I have a 2008 stock DRZ. Before I went to higher mountains, I did a bunch of research on high altitude riding and learned about all I could do to prep for the changes in altitude.  I didn't do any of it, and proceeded to do the BDR colorado and some high mountain areas in Utah.  One reason is that when doing exploring like I was doing, there are many times you roam at 4,000 - 7,000 feet, and only go over 11,000 foot passes for about an hour or two. Playing with a carb for those couple hours wasn't worth it to me since I was just sightseeing. There was a loss of power at high altitude, but not so much that I couldn't cruise along on jeep roads just fine.  The only time I was a bit discouraged was when I went deep into the woods navigating technical stuff in first gear and wanted more low end power going over logs and through snowy muddy terrain.  For me, a bit of loss of power on a machine that I specifically use only for casual touring and cruising was no big deal, and since 90 % of all of my riding on that machine in a year is in the local san diego mountains and deserts (0 - 6, 000 feet), playing with the carb wasn't worth it.  That bike is known and trusted to work well most anywhere.  When you get one, just ride it stock until you can get it moving around pretty good at any altitude, and then decide if you want to play with the carb, mod the box, or even switch to a different bike to meet your newly discovered needs.  Cheers.

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That's all good to hear as it kind of puts the doubts to rest. As indicated I think 4 to 7 thousand would be thhr common range but the drop down to palm springs or hemet for extended touring shouldn't, it seems, spoil much of anything. Not really talking about altitudes where it seems the breathing of the bike will get snotted up. As usual, thanks gents! We just arrived in new orleans a couple days ago to do this destination wedding adventure and we're both eager to get home to start planning some of the two wheeled variety! Be safe out there friends

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Had a drz jetted it for 3500’ on the cv carb and never touched it again rode that thing from the lows of death valley to heights of big bear.

your over thinking this.

bigger concern is carb gumming up if left sitting for long time which you dont deal with on efi but them u have a fuel pump etc etc

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Thanks for the feedback gents...as per usual yeah I'm likely over thinking!

 

Eager to get the SV gone and get onto something more dirt friendly....dr650 would happily to Idy > San Diego in the morning commute I figure....I'll be keeping my eyes on the prize

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Yup, no need to mess with it in the elevation range you are talking about.

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