Yes, Dual Star took a lot of orders from DR owners, months later, still no center stands. Most gave up on Dual Star a couple years ago.

Prop stand? You mean something like this?

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Yep, is that a commercially available one? I'll see how I get on with a bit of pipe but something with some adjustment would sure be handy. I've even seen a picture of a prop stand made out of a sawn-off adjustable height walking stick too.

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Looks like I'm stuck with a proppy up stick then thats what I have used for the last year. centre stand with the bike level just makes it all that bit easier to work on. Maybe two prop up stick either side of the swing arm or something I don't know I'll go and stare at the bike and get some amazing idea that will make me rich and famous just like ewan and ..... what was that other blokes name....

You can use a strap, even a bungee, to tie the bike to a post, either leaned forward or to the rear, depending on which wheel you want off the ground.
This what I do when changing tires while on a trip.

I recently made an adjustable monopod from an adjustable walking stick. $11USD for the stick at Wal-Mart, and $.50USD rubber end-cap from the hardware store to put on the top. Works great and allows me to adjust the length for softer ground or when I want to prop the front tire. I waited 7 months for a center stand from Dual-Star...don't waste your time or money.
-Jeff

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www.Jeffs9thSemester.com

I think I'm the only one who ever actually got a Dual-Star centerstand. When I first got my '00 DR650SE, I ordered one and probably got the last one ever actually delivered. It works fine and I'm happy with the quality. However, due to the way they try to sell things they do not have, I would never order from that company again.

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Pain in the Butte Ranch
Durango, Colorado

Hi Jeff

Am currently prepping 2 DR 650's and am in the centrestand conundrum. I know my way around a socket set and thats about it...

Any chance you could do a small how to guide and some pictures to tell us how your stand works? It sounds perfect!
Thanks
Barney

A simple prop stand for a DR650 can be improvised out of just about anything handy. On the road I've used rocks, logs, random pieces of wood or pipe.

The one pictured is a leg from a broken tripod. I only carried it on one trip.
I hate carrying extra stuff! So I live dangerously and now carry nothing .... figuring most times I can find something to prop up the bike.

A stout piece of Aluminum tube will do the trick, is very light an can be shoved in anywhere in luggage. This system is a little unstable, so go easy or it will tumble off.

I've seen very few center (main) stands on DR650's here in the US. They typically add about 6 kgs. or so but very useful not only for tire repairs but normal maintenance/cleaning as well.

I really miss having a main stand but also am very concerned with weight going off road on my DR650. Had a center stand on my Vstrom and it was great, especially on the road. But that bike was SOOO big, you really needed it.

But no one I know of is supplying one now, at least in the USA ..... maybe SW Motech have a DR main stand again or someone else in the EU/UK?

Good luck with the prep. Love to see any clever mods you come up with.
Please post some pics here when you can. Or start another thread about your DR prep.

Cheers,

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Main stands and other accessories for the Dr650 and DR Big are available from Stefan Hessler. He will ship anywhere. Hessler Rallye Team - HRT If outside Europe you can even pay by Paypal.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

That is a GREAT site!
Thanks for the link. It's obvious this guy really knows DR650 & DR Big and provides some much needed services and products.

Hessler Rallye Team - HRT Rocks!

Cheers!

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Five Stars makes (at least used to) a centre stand for the DR as well. I met another rider who had one and he liked it. Not sure if it has the same problems as the other DR stands.

I personally like the lightweight tripod leg/walking stick idea, just have to find a cheap one.

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Currently on a RTW ride:
https://www.facebook.com/AroundTheWorldWithLukasM

The Virgin is no longer pure, she has been violated yet again. After my aborted Mexico ride (about 3000 miles) last Fall I've mostly been doing weekend rides out to the Desert or California Sierra mixed with street hooligan rides with the crazies that I call friends here in Northern California.
Most of these local rides are group rides that rarely stop, so very few pics.
Frenetic pace and sort of competitive atmosphere leaves no time for good pics until a gas stop or lunch. Roads rarely featured. But going alone in Baja on the DR I had lots of time to shoot.



I've picked up a few more tips on the DR650 as time and miles roll by. I've found the oil level likes to be pretty much up to the top line on the sight glass. Motor is quieter, smoother, especially when super hot. Did I mention this motor does not use even a DROP of oil between changes? (I change it at about 3500 miles, new filter every other change)

Bike Cleaning!
Once again, taking the time to clean up the bike saves some possible trouble down the road. I pulled up the rubber accordion fork gaiters. I found quite a bit of dirt/sand/crud built up down around the seal. At some point I will probably go with Neoprene gaiters and lose the stock ones.



I've gone with a new small GIVI right side only small rack. I only use to keep the new soft bags (Technic .... $60) off the pipe. Works MUCH better than my funky home made system shown earlier in this thread. While cleaning I did notice my left side piece of elec. conduit (another home made funky deal!) used as bag support had cracked and so had the mounting point on the DR. This will have to be redone. But it lasted up to almost 20,000 miles and plenty of rough dirt roads along the way, so not so bad really.

I've been into the air box and carb again and have found some good results.
i've cut the stock air box open according to the Jesse Kientz (Kientech) method, removed the backfire screen, installed the Dyno-Jet Needle and swapped to a 155 main jet from the 140 main I had in there. The new needle allows clip position adjustment, unlike the stock needle. It's on the fourth position.

The slide had already been drilled and a washer installed under the needle.
I'm running a Twin Air air filter.

The bike runs very well and shows great throttle response and great power lofting the front end even in 2nd gear. But after you shut off and go back on throttle there is just a bit of lag. I will look into this. Idles and starts fine.

But the key thing I was after was fuel economy. I did not want to give up good mileage or performance. With the "sort of" stock set up I previously had I was only getting around 42-44 mpg at sea level. Not good enough.

I rode the bike around some with the new set up but didn't really fine tune the few niggles it had. Instead I took off for a two week ride to Colorado via Nevada and Utah. Over all fuel economy was impressive going over 45 to as high as 47 to 50 mpg
This at altitudes up to 5000 ft.


Higher than that and it began to drop off sharply giving maybe 42 to 45 mpg. Seems most all the roads I took were fairly high up, over 5000 ft. Colorado was of course stratospheric with many passes over 10,000 ft. But MPG never dropped below 40 mpg.

Any thoughts on this? Can I do even better?

I pulled the snorkel off on a dirt dual sport ride out of Silverton, CO and that helped some at the super high altitudes where the bike would barely run .... literally!
I probably should have changed the needle setting and gone leaner a notch or two for Colorado. But at a rally its not really something I felt like doing.

Imogene Pass

More later.....

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

nice pics there molly

Hi Mollydog
What model panniers are those givi's?
Would you recommend them as good alternative to metal ones?
Joe

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"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" -Adam John Savage- MythBusters

Hi Joe,
No, for me the GIVI E41's shown are a bit too heavy. But they are pretty strong. I crashed the bike a couple times with them on and they held up well. Scratched up not no cracks and didn't get torn off the mounting racks.

On my DR650, which is a pretty light bike for a 650 single, the combination of the GIVI mounting racks/hardware (about 7 kgs. for both sides) and the GIVI bags themselves, (maybe 8 kgs. for both bags) adds up to nearly the weight of all my clothes and stuff, minus tools.

The GIVI's held up well on several off road rides, the one shown a two week ride in Baja. But bike handling was not great and the bike became a bit of a handful for me (I am old, weak, overweight, and only 5'6") .

A younger, stronger rider will do better I'm sure. The DR unladen handles off road really well but in Baja I was carrying 100 lbs. on the bike. (two tires for a while as well!) With 100 lbs. (about 45 kgs. ) the bike was tough for me.

Since then I've gone back to soft bags. These shown below, I used on a ride out to Colorado and back, about 3500 miles. The bags are cheapo Technic bags. I now limit my load to 60 lbs. or so. The bike still is OK in the dirt with that weight. Like I said, a good strong rider won't be affected as much as me. I used to me a decent dirt rider but I'm losing it!



These bags are BIG but not so well made, probably won't last too long but only cost $60 US. Here you see the bags with a top bag for my camping gear. Weight is about 60 lbs. including tools. I still had room in panniers.
This trip was only two weeks.

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!