Buckshot

Good Call man!I have the 4" Comp Exhast on my beast, and it sounds great and tunes well with my Dynojet kit and K&N filter (evenl though it's not street legal!)

Sounds like a good choice!I had a buddy who rode a lot of dirt, and his brand new KLR wasn't up to the task. He swapped it for a DRZ and he much happier... though he mentioned that he missed the additional horsepower when on the street!I'm pushing around the DR650SE off road... at 320lbs dry, it's a handfull, but I've got 220lbs to push it around with! Since I ride 80% street, the DR makes sence to me, but if I found myself off road a lot more, the DRZ would be my first choice as well!Cheers!

I just gotta rant about my new IMS tank experence... sorry in advance for this 2 page rant!After two inventory screw-ups by IMS (two week delay), and then a two week wait for them to build some more white tanks for the big DR, I finally received my new IMS tank to go along with my new Corbin seat (It took Corbin 1 week to get me a custom seat, It took IMS a month to get me a “stock” tank!).First thing I notice is that IMS used a sticker to seal their plastic shipping bag. Here's what it says:"" WARNING! Read before RemovingBuyer understands and agrees that seller makes no representation or warranties of any kind, express or implied as to any matter whatsoever, including the condition of the product or any component parts thereof, it's merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose, or with respect to any patent or trademark infringement or the like, except as expressly provided herein. The foregoing warranty is in lieu of all other representations and warranties expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, any warranty of merchantability of fitness for a particular purpose. As to seller, buyer purchases the product "as is" and "where is". ""Wow... now that's really standing behind your product! Having survived two semesters of Contract law in law school, I can tell you what they really are saying is "We take absolutely no responsibility for the crappy product contained in this bag" I can also tell you that the owners wife must have wrote this, because anyone who passed the CA bar exam would never publish such a horribly written warranty exclusion and limit of liability.Next, I read the instructions... They want me to use my own OEM petcock bolts. Now, the more I thought about this, the more it irked me... they provide the petcock... they provide the tank with the embedded bolts... couldn't they have spent the extra buck and included two new stainless steel bolts with the kit, so I wouldn’t have to disassemble my OEM tank??? To add injury to this, I find during installation that the OEM tank bolts are obstructed by the petcock body during attempted insertion! In order to use the OEM bolts, I have to drill out the petcock bolt mounting holes!Did I mention that their provided petcock looks like it was caste out of the cheapest base metal they could possibly find? Oh, and though they provide a vented gas cap, they couldn't seem to cough up the 15 cents to provide a 2ft vent line.OK, parts are laid out, OEM tank is drained and disassembled, and tool bags are open. I inspect the tank... it's full of plastic shavings. I guess they weren't kidding about making sure to clean out the tank before installation! (You’d think they could do that during the manufacturing process, wouldn't you?). OK, after 10min of blowing it out with an air compressor, I realize that I better flush this tank out with water in order to insure it’s clean. (Two days later, after the tank is finally dry, I restart the project.)I inspect the petcock mounting area... I notice that the plastic of the tank, between the two embedded mounting nuts, is significantly lower then the plane between the two nuts... perhaps 1/8 of an inch. This is the area which the supplied rubber gasket needs to form a fuel-tight seal between the tank and petcock. Last time I checked, this area needs to be darn close to flush with the nut tops in order to get a seal, but, I figured I'd go thru the process and hope for the best.Ok, install the petcock (this is when I notice that the OEM petcock bolts do not clear the IMS petcock body). The instructions state: "Tighten snugly, but DO NOT over tighten". Hmm... they provide the gasket, they provide the nuts (and should provide the bolts)... couldn't they provide a torque value to insure a proper seal? Guess the engineers were out of the office on the day they wrote the install instructions.Well, long story short, the petcock held during a 1 gallon fill, but started leaking like a sieve when I started the bike. If you've ever been in this situation, you know it's not pretty: gas flowing down t he side of your bike, you're franticly searching for a gas can and funnel, and then your stuck draining your tank from a leaking petcock valve.After the flow finally stopped, I noticed that I only had 1/2 a gallon in the jug... the other 1/2 was still in the tank, in the right hand side low point (so, make that a "4.5 gallon tank", unless you're willing to lay the bike down on it's left side to get the gas to the other side of the tank!Did I mention that the IMS "Flight Line" Shift lever I ordered doesn't fit the DR? The kid at IMS said that maybe it didn't have the correct bend, so I should send it back to them so they could check it out.Did I mention that the IMS Gas Tank GPS mount I ordered doesn't fit the Magellan Meridian GPS, even though they say it fit's "Most GPS's" (except the second most popular GPS on the planet!)At this point, I'm thinking the Clark 4gal tank might be the way to go. I think I'll ship all this IMS crap back to Riverside, where it should sit until rapture, or the next ice age, whichever comes first. Of course, the Corbin seat is cut for the IMS tank... sheesh!So, a question: for you guys who have installed your own IMS gas tanks, did you run into the same problems as I did? I assume you jury rigged your own petcocks with a bunch of home-cut rubber gaskets?WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN TO ME!!! Thanks for listening... I feel much better now!

I'm a big fan of the DR650, and here are a few basic links. If you have any questions about them, feel free to email me! Official DR650SE Website Suzuki DR650SE Old but detailed review of the big DR plus all this guy’s mods: DR650 Review THE DR650 Messageboard of record. If you have a question about the DR, this is where you will get the answer. If your thinking of buying a DR, spend a few hours and read through this so you’ll know what issues you might be addressing if you buy one! Yahoo DR650 Message Board

Bravo! Good Post. I'm a freak about armor... Motorcycles, Mountainbikes, Snowboards, Climbing, Shooting... I currently have 6 helmets for my various sports, not to mention every conceivable type of body armor! If you want to see first hand what type of damage happens to mountainbikers (which is simular to off road MC riders), check out this crash photo section at mtbr.com: Crash Wounds I warn you in advance... some of it is not too pretty! I've been down so many times, in so many ways, without serious injury, due to being armored-up, I'll preach armor use all day long!

I'm Adam, AKA Buck or Buckshot.I ride a '99 DR650SE on both street and trail.I live near mission valley, but spend a lot of time in Escondido and Cardiff.I missed the Desert Dash (looked like rain to me!), but I chipped in for it anyway!I'm down for a BBQ, but I'll need to bring the Tofu Dogs, since I'm one of them Vegi-types!

I'm thinking of getting rid of my factory steel 1" bars and going with an Aluminium solution. I have no experence with the MX world of bars, and have just finished reviewing the Renthal site so I've got a basic understanding of rise, rake, etc. Anyone running the Renthal "FatBar"? ( http://www.renthal.com/fatbar.asp ). Looks like it might have alot of nice real estate for mounting equiptment. Lemme know what your running, and if you'd suggest it! Thanks in advance! -Buck

For you DR350 riders, this might turn out to be a good buy. (just spent $220 for my 5 Gal for my DR650!). http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=35586

Cheff, You mentioned one of my aftermarket safety lighting systems during our ride last weekend, but I forget which one you were refering to... so, here's the list: Headlight Modulator: Visipath http://www.comagination.com/modulator.htm (Easy install, very light and durable compared to other systems I looked at). I can tell by the number of oncoming drivers looking at me that this system works! I haven't got cutoff or pulled out on since I installed this! I'd recomend that everyone who rides on the street use one of these. Rear LED Flashing Brake Lights: HyperLites http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/produ...uct.asp?Item=HL (Easy Install, Light, Durable) Since I dont ride with a crew, I haven't got any feedback yet on how effective this system is... anyone notice this on my bike out on the road or trail last weekend? The one system you didn't see, which I have mounted to my street helmet: RiderLite Helmet Mounted brake light. http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/produ...uct.asp?Item=RL At $100., I'd save this one for last!

Ok, I'll start this off!I ride a '99 DR650SE. It's the best for me. Here's why:- It's known to have the most power of any of the Jap. Dual Sport 650's- It has a 32" Seat Height, which gets my 30" inseam flat footed on the ground.- It doesn't have nearly as many aftermarket bolt on parts as Honda or Kawi... which means it keeps me from spending $$$ I really dont need to on the bike.- It's air cooled, which means no worrying about an additional fluid system on the bike.-It's about the closest to a 50/50 Street/Dirt bike you can get to... Honda is around a 40/60, the Kawi is around 65/35, and the KTM's are around a 35/65 (BWM F650... 65/35?).- It's cheap... an almost new one will set you back $3k or so... which means that you can actually take it off road, drop it a few times, and not lose thousands of dollars in depreciation like you would on a BMW or KTM (this also applies to the Honda and Kawi).How about we start separate Topics for each bike?