I have recently acquired my first DR650!! It is a post '96 model, and this winter I will be Farkling the hell out of her. The brake pads need immediate replacement. I'm surprised the previous owner of my Beast didn't kick it in a crash. Check out the condition of the OEM pads the last owner was riding on!!!:


This leads in to my couple questions... My cycleshop didn't have the OEM sintered pads but had the EBC. I asked them for F&R sets of sintered EBC pads. Thinking they gave me the right ones, when I got home I double- checked, and it turns out that both front and rear sets are the red X-class carbon pads. Kinda pissed the "guru's" don't even know which damned parts are which. It was my first time buying EBS so I had no idea- stickers on the packaging prevented me from knowing they were the wrong pads, and seeing as I had already installed them before noticing they were the wrong pads, I was hoping to get a couple questions answered before I go bitch at the staff there.

1--Front brake pad shim: I can't find pics of it online, and the DR650 manual I downloaded from the Inet is worthless when it comes to photos. There is a tiny aluminum shim at the top and bottom of where the pads fit onto the caliper. The bottom shim fell out and I need to know its correct orientation with the pads. Can anyone provide an illustration or photo so I know I have it on right?

2-Are the red EBC carbon x- series worth a shit for a non-motard style DR, or should I uninstall them and return them for regular sintered? If these pads only last about 2500miles then my use will be primarily road, with some mildly aggressive off-roadiing. Weatherwise, there is a fair amount of snow/runoff/ rain where I live. Conditions will likely usually be dry, but I need to depend on those pads when I happen to be in the wet and off-road. If they last until next summer, I will be off-roading like mad.

3-Searched google for a good source for OEM suzuki parts (pads)- ebay seems to only carry ebs and no-names. Anyone have a good and cheap source online for OEM 650 parts? My Cycleshop quoted OEM pads at ~$44 USD for the front set and $66 USD for the rear pads. That seems ridiculously high priced? The woman behind the counter was a space cadet.

Thanks for the help!

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Does the placement of the tiny metal shims look like they are positioned properly? Cheers!

I don't think that top pic shows the spring in the right position.

I saw and replied to your post on the ADVRider DR 650 thread, as I was having the same problem. I posted a parts diagram and someone else over there posted a pic of the correct orientation.

Check on ADVRider and see what you think. Be careful riding until this one gets figured out for sure.

..........shu

The spring is upside down......

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Thanks guys for the heads-up. The last post I had seen on ADVrider was from a fellow named "Tree" who, if I read it right, said their positioning looked correct. Fortunately, I haven't ridden her since swapping out the pads, so I am happy to say this can be remedied before any problems occur.

Thanks again!