Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

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-   -   The DDPP (Definitive DR Prep Project) (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/suzuki-tech/ddpp-definitive-dr-prep-project-29878)

XT GIRL 12 Oct 2007 07:28

The DDPP (Definitive DR Prep Project)
 
PREPS FOR LONG HAUL
– This is just collation of members' posts collected into one place, in an ordered way - to make things easier to find
– Specific to DR650, but most things generic for all bikes
| NOTE: || Its a work in progress - || if you've got something to add, or I've made an error, || please comment. I will update as and when. |
INDEX:






1. Lose Weight

2. Get fit and stay beautiful (Endurance & Reliability)

3. Dont forget the feather pillows (Mods for comfort)

4. Louise Vuitton or Chanel? (Luggage options) [tbc]

5. Whats in the handbag! (Tools & Spare Parts lists)

*********Loose Weight!********
Mods to save weight

• Remove passenger pegs

• Replace rear license plate light and assembly, install a LED license plate light

• Remove Helmet lock (ground clean off frame)

• Replace some bolts with Aluminium in unstressed locations –
–may not be a good idea for serious ofroading, due to differing metal strenghts

• Replace odometer
–Digital Panoram / Sigma BC800 bicycle computer


• Replace factory pipe with good aftermarket pipe

• Remove 1/2-3/4" from side stand

• Swap stock indicators for smaller, lighter ones

• Replace stock seat with Corbin (comfort and weight saving)


**Get fit & stay beautiful**
Improve endurance and reliability


• Upgrade chain rollers [Lone Rider] Bolt spares on to the right side where the pillion peg mounts [ ]

• Upgrade your warranty – available for second owners, up to 5 years [Lone Rider]

• Add an inline fuel filter
cheap, available at all major auto pats stores.made for lawn mowers.doesn't require clamps. The 1/4" line can be pushed over 5/16" inlets/outlets. [Lone Rider]

• Replace factory pipe [Molly Dog]

• A few 1" holes in the top of the air box should also help it breathe better[Lone Rider]

• Replace chain
–with DID 525 VM X-ring. Lasts double longer. [Mollydog] [LeCap]

• Wrap header pipe
Engine runs cooler, better mileage. [Lone Rider]


• Replace Tyres
–MEFO tires went the entire way with some serious dirt and rock sections; I recommend them. They don't hook up quite as well as TKC80's. smoother ride on pavement and last much, much longer.[mrdnd]

• Home made stand offs for bags[Molly Dog]

• Replace or modify Indicators
– bolt front ones under the handle bars, using the mirror mounting, behind the bark busters. less likely to get hit! [Frank Warner]

– I made them flexible using rubber fuel hose. [Molly Dog]

• Replace suspension
– The Eibach F&R make an amazing difference [Fat Chance]

• Replace screws with stainless steel cap screws
– Esp on the carb, switch blocks, coil, and body. Stock fasteners have a reputation for being very soft. [bartman 10]

• Add a homemade headlight guard bent up from a piece of Lexan [bartman 10]

• Add Scottoilers
– kept our chains very clean. mounted on the main frame near the carb, cutting into the vaccum line for the fuel tap. [bartman 10]

• Strengthen main wiring loom - put some spiral wrap around where it chafes on head stock.[Bartman 10]

• Replace sprockets with JT Sprockets[Molly Dog]

• Sealed spoke nipples on front to slow air loss[Molly Dog]

• New brake pads f&r (EBC sintered)[Molly Dog]

• Brake systems flushed. all new fluid[Molly Dog]

• Fit braided steel brake lines [Nigel Marx]

• Fit rim lock to stop tyres slipping in mud [Geordie]

• Air filter socks. Slips over standard filter. Replace when dirty. Reduces frequency of filter replacement. [Frank]

• Engrave the inside of the valve covers with the clearence values. [Frank]

• Lower chain guide
- make out of multiple bits of chopping board. Rotate when worn - extends life. swap with outer bits so have built in 'spares' [Frank]

• Replace headlight bulbs for brighter - more here http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...741#post146788

**Louis Vuitton or Chanel?**






The luggage debate
– I'm still working on this section, since there is so many options and opinions all over. Perhaps just leave it for the 'Equipment Forum', HOWEVER, Peli Cases seems to be the fashion accessory of choice on the DR forum [Molly Dog, Fat Chance, Lone Rider, mrdnd, Mountainman]






**Dont forget the feather pillows**
Improve comfort on the long haul

• Wind shield
A tall Parabellum wind shield -- dangerous for dirt work. Using wingnuts and thumb screws, I can remove it within a couple of minutes and store it under a net on the rear. [Lone Rider]

• New foam grips on the bars – reduces vibration [Lone Rider]

• 12 volt switched plugs
– One up in the headlight, another above the shock and a third on the right near the CDI box. [Molly Dog]

– Wired (w/fuse) a cheap marine 12v outlet to the battery and mounted it under the BBQ [Lone Rider]

• Replace footpegs
– With WIDE IMS Pro series, Really reduces fatigue while standing for hours dirt riding.

• Installed ProTapers, using custom made gromets to allow the use of my stock bar ends

• Heated Grips
– Heated Symtec grips. zipped tied to Idiot light module. bought a rubber sleeve for the toggle - made a a rubber "dam" out of inner tube to go over the switch itself. [Mollydog]

– AeroStich wrap-on heated grip thingies. They take a couple of minutes to put on...and really work. No problems losing heat thru bars and grips. But they are another thing to store when not being used....[Lone Rider]

• Louder horn [Molly Dog]

• Hand Guards
– $30 TUSK items are not only the best quality of ANY Alu handguards I've seen, but also have the most clever mount system that offers the best adjustability of any I've mounted. [Molly Dog]

– Throttle lock [mrdns]

– Sheepskin for the stock seat. Done several 500 km days on the DR without complaint [Bartman]

**Whats in the handbag?**
Spare Parts & Tool lists

– Working on this section..

XT GIRL 12 Oct 2007 07:33

As promised...
 
This is a DRAFT - so please add comments, corrections etc.

Its a bit crude, since I can't use HTML --- so much for prettying things up.. :(

ALSO - we're only allowed 15000 characters, and so I had to remove sections...(already 23456 long) :confused1:

WANT to post it in ONE place cos thats the whole point.

ANY IDEAS.. moderators maybe?

Walkabout 12 Oct 2007 09:21

Belongs here
 
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tripplan/bike

Walkabout 12 Oct 2007 22:29

Just my couple of pennies worth
 
Hello Mollydog,
I believe your right; I was kind of hoping that a moderator (maybe Impasto will get such rights?!) would pick up on this and transfer very useful information that does not time expire, into that library over to the left - actually that library is looking sort of "tired" and quite a bit out of date. I must be one of those sad people who look over there occasionally!!

Sorry for that very short post of mine (tired of typing!), but it does seem quite a waste when really useful info disappears into the welter of other threads; stickies would be a part-solution, but if every bit of useful info was made into a sticky then the threads would be full of them and, potentially, negate their value:-
Sticky DR
Sticky DL650
Sticky DL1000
Sticky DRZ etc etc

Another example is your maintenance thread which is of the same ilk, and would be very valuable as a checklist over there on the left (that sounds like a political slogan!!). Even airline pilots know the value of a checklist.

I agree that folk will come to the HUBB first which is why, if the data on the left is up to date and relevant, we/you could refer to there and save a bit of typing ( IIRC a while ago you were getting a bit fed up with answering the same questions over and over?).

The saving grace in all of this is the search function within the HUBB and Grant J has pointed out in the past that no post is ever deleted - excellent!

Yep, from your last paragraph, Impasto should be a moderator - gets my vote!!!:rolleyes2:

Cheers,

Nigel Marx 13 Oct 2007 03:41

Multi-stickies?
 
Hi Guys and Guyesses. I'm conferring with Grant over this one. It seems to me that, like Walkabout says, it could potentially end with a sticky for every model. But is that a bad thing? I also think it should be pointed out that it is still possible to do some pretty serious traveling on a very standard bike. I would hate to see lots of people turned off getting out there if they think that they will need to spend a whole lot more money. The DR650 is a good bike, off the showroom floor. How many mods to people think are ABSOLUTE must-does?

Regards

Nigel in NZ

Grant Johnson 13 Oct 2007 17:27

GREAT post impasto!

And it is something I've been getting closer to for years - literally - and we're now almost there!

I was hoping to have it fully sorted today, but no such luck.

Take a look at the top of the left menu - you'll see under your name, "Create content" click and you'll get 1 item at the moment "
equipment review Review anything you've used on your travels" There will soon be something else - "bike prep" or some such. It will be to create a page like:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tech/suzuki/dr650prep

NOTE: You MIGHT not be able to access this at the moment - we ran into difficulties with the access and edit rights - but we hope to have it working very soon. Once it's sorted it will enable us to do lots more too. :)

which is of course the DR page - I just need to sort permissions so Impasto can edit the page. At the bottom you'll see comments - click and it takes you to the HUBB thread already started. :) So the idea is that the first post in the thread will be a link to the whole page - and the page links to the thread for comments. Almost done, give me a day or two to tweak the details.

Grant

Walkabout 13 Oct 2007 22:43

Sounds good!
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Marx (Post 154229)
I also think it should be pointed out that it is still possible to do some pretty serious traveling on a very standard bike. I would hate to see lots of people turned off getting out there if they think that they will need to spend a whole lot more money. The DR650 is a good bike, off the showroom floor. How many mods to people think are ABSOLUTE must-does?

Regards

Nigel in NZ


That's an important point - there is always more than one way of skinning any cat, usually there are quite a few.

Grant's solution sounds good - A kind of FAQs (frequently asked questions) perhaps is the analogy, in this case for specific bikes.
Perhaps this new content can reflect clear fact and the HUBB can be used for expressions of opinion & asking questions?

beddhist 14 Oct 2007 13:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by impasto (Post 154154)
[LEFT]• Replace alternator belt

Hmm, never seen a DR with one of those.

Frank Warner 15 Oct 2007 05:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by beddhist (Post 154355)
Hmm, never seen a DR with one of those.

Mine does not have one either! ..
Think that would be for a bmw oilhead...

--------
My thoughts - genric sould be on a generic FAQ .. not specific .. so 'we' all know it applies to all bikes .. that way anyone with an model not covered would still have a guide.

-----------------
On my DR I've about the same weight as a standard bike .. removed some stuff .. added others .. like a bash plate .. with spare F&R brake pads ...

-------------------
One of the things about the long haul .. carrying the 'consumables' and servicing .

I carry a spare chain roller - bolt on to the right side where the pillion peg mounts .. hides nicely there. The lower chain guide - make out of kitchen chopping board ... multiple bits so the waring bits can be rotated upside down - extending their life .. and swaped with the outer bits so having built in 'spares'. Not found a good soluition for the swing arm chain protector ..

The sealing crush washers for drain/timing plugs fit nicely behind the frame rubber plugs ..

Servicing of the air filter is too frequent .. I'm using air filter scoks .. go over the standard air filter - pull the dirty one off and put on a clean one .. 3 off these should get me to the next engine oil change where I do all the air filters together, and change the engine oil ... rather get dirty once than 4 times..
------

XT GIRL 15 Oct 2007 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grant Johnson (Post 154274)
Almost done, give me a day or two to tweak the details.

Grant

Lookin forward to it... I'm all excited! I thought RIDING the bike was the funnest part! :thumbup1:

XT GIRL 15 Oct 2007 17:12

Thanks for your thoughts guys...

About generic vs specific

We could defintely include other suzuki's - it would be no prob to add to the entry which model an entry is specific to. However - a non-suzuki list doesn't get my vote.

As we've already seen -- just by adding one non-suzi related item, I wasted an entire day, trying to find an alternator belt for my DR. (kidding, by the way)

The list was originally inspired by the WEALTH of information supplied by in particular mollydog and added to by other posters - its a shame to lose such model specific info in a mountain of threads. If there are other peeps with other manufacturers who have so much to add - it would be good to collect them too.

A generic list wouldn't fulfil my needs. And I always get my needs fulfilled, damn it. :rolleyes2:



Lets suck it and see. It may be that the list becomes unwieldly because there is too much - then we split it into different suzuki models.

For now (until I change my mind and decide do transafrica on my KTM Duke II ), you have my undivided attention and I would gladly look after the suzi list.:tongue2:

Frank Warner 17 Oct 2007 00:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by impasto (Post 154507)
I thought RIDING the bike was the funnest part!

Ha .. try making GPS maps for strange places... days of fun... to save hours of being lost ..

Preping the bike is mostly sitting looking at it and thinking about the "what ifs" that too can be 'fun'. Most of the best mods take little money - just thought .. like engraving the inside of the valve covers with the clearence values .. saves looking them up, carring them around .. and they are there for all time. And that would be a generic mod .. fits all bikes/cars...

XT GIRL 17 Oct 2007 03:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Warner (Post 154720)
engraving the inside of the valve covers with the clearence values .. saves looking them up, carring them around

ooh. very clever. definitely going in. and reminded me of reading somewhere that you should find out before departure where your frame/chassis/engine numbers are.

Nigel Marx 17 Oct 2007 06:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by impasto (Post 154728)
ooh. very clever. definitely going in. and reminded me of reading somewhere that you should find out before departure where your frame/chassis/engine numbers are.

And also note the main bearing numbers (steering head bearings, wheel bearings, chain idler etc), NOT the spare part number from the manufacture, so you can order generic bearings on the road. My F650 needed new steering head bearings. I rang the dealer who quoted me NZ$130 for a kit, then cleaned up one bearing to take to make sure of a match. On the bearing I found a Niachi bearing number and got a pair from the Niachi agent for NZ$26. I was careful with taking out the dust covers and did the job for 1/5 the price.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

Frank Warner 18 Oct 2007 00:20

The standard chain idler is a plain bearing - has no numbers. Probably only avalible from Suzi .. the 'better' one does have bearings .. but they are small and may not be as easy as the larger bearings to find.

They should all be noted down .. The ones in the swing arm and suspension linkages too ... if they have numbers .. if not then the suzi part number.. or an alternative..

A link or two to online dr parts fish would be good

Alpha Sports - Suzuki Motorcycle Parts Catalog

Motogrid | Honda OEM Parts | Kawasaki OEM Parts | Suzuki OEM Parts | Yamaha OEM Parts

And may be those after market bits
KienTech Engineering
Chain Gang


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