I read the Nautilus compact will fit in the stock location - with the bracket turned somehow - as long as you are using the stock or IMS tanks. Not with the Safari.

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Luggage Update: A Tale of Four Bags

Here is a run down of the bags I've tried on my DR650 so far .... and the various stand-off's I've devised, sort of in chronological order.

The pipe hanger used below doubles as a stand-off. Supports the plastic side panel, keeps it off the pipe, either stock or aftermarket. This works even when bags are heavily loaded on rough riding. This in turn, helps protect whatever bag you hang on the bike.



These are the small Tourmaster bags I had laying around. OK for a few days ride but not big enough for a longer tour. Very well made bags, good value.
The Top bag shown works great and I still use it with the LARGE Tourmaster bags and as a day ride bag. Note how narrow these bags are.



These are the GIVI racks for any GIVI type hard bag. I used this set up for one trip only. If one was doing pavement only, they are fine and the bike handles fine loaded up if suspension is beefed up some. In the end, I found the hard bag set up added too much weight to the bike and gave one the ability to overpack. Not good when going off road in Baja.

Tourmaster top bag. You could put a much larger bag on with this set up.

GIVI racks/E41 bags in action in Baja. Too much overall weight. (100 lbs.)


These are the larger Tourmaster Cortech bags. Much better and good for
a two week camping trip with the top duffle bag shown. Problem was keeping it off the pipe. I tried this system .... it was OK but not perfect.
More improvements to come.



This is where I am now.
These are bags made by Tecnic. Inexpensive and very large. GIVI make a small rack set. Here I am using the pipe side rack only.
See it in the pic. It keeps the bags well away from the pipe ... nothing caught fire or gets hot ... so far. Very nice little rack and not heavy. Uses stock bolts, very secure.



Note the Tin heat sheild material next to pipe and on bag. Turns out, not needed, but can't hurt. I've set a few bags
on fire before so I'm a bit cautious. The GIVI rack allows air flow. Nice. Stock pipe is now back on the bike. FMF sold ... too loud!


Tecnic bags in action in Utah. So far so good. Cavernous. I try to limit my load on the DR to 65 lbs now. Bike handles better, easier to
pick up. Ohlins shock helps everything, everywhere. Swedish magic!

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Added a new Emgo box I found on New Enough for $60. It's good! I would not use for traveling but good for commuting and around town riding. Not too big or too ugly ..... and cheap! Amazing what you can cram into it! Helmet fits!

The DR needs tires. The current Avon Distanzia on there have close to 9,000 miles! I am very impressed! My Pirelli Scorpion MT90's just barely made 6,000 miles. Both had seen dirt. The Distanzia's get my vote. These worn tires are still on there. Worn but working OK. (shocker!) New set of Distanzia's waiting.

Last service found valves IN SPEC No adjustment needed after 5,000 miles. DID vm X-ring chain doing great at about 15,000 miles. No adjustments needed and looks in very good shape

Left heated grip needs to be re-insulated. I will order a Carb kit in the next year as I see some wear on the slide and needle. Fork pre-load spacer needs shortening by about 1/2" or so. Ohlins shock working great but in a year will be sent out for service.

Bike is running great and getting about 45 to 47 mpg and making lots of power.

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

great thread mollydog

23,000 Mile Service
Something finally broke on my bike .... speedo cable!
SPEEDO CABLE R & R
I found out a couple things in the process of replacing it. Routing is very important. Maybe the most important thing, IMO. Easy to get it wrong. If it's wrong you can interfere with clutch action and risk chafing some wires when bars are steered back and forth, over time. These are important wires.

You cannot just buy a replacement cable ... what you get is the entire sheath including cable, with knurled thingy that screws onto speedo. ... all as a unit. You simply fit one end back into the Speedo drive, re-route cable (correctly), screw knurled "thingy" into Speedo, and fit drive onto front wheel.

So that's done Hopefully this new one will last another 20K.

WIRING UNDER HEADLIGHT
Discovered some sloppy wire up jobs I'd done on my heated grips and the headlight switch I installed. I cleaned these up and used Zip ties to neaten
everything up under the plastic cowl.
CORROSION
I always look for corrosion on the connectors (multi-pin plugs) or any chafing that is going on and try to fix it before it becomes a show stopper in a bad place!
BEAD HARD TO SET
In mounting a new Avon Distanzia, I had trouble getting the bead to pop up fully, some of the bead was staying down in the rim. More dish soap and 70 PSI did the trick and all is well. Cold weather does not help this. All tires should come inside a couple hours before mounting. Warm 'em up, really helps.

CUSH DRIVE PROBLEM
I noticed some "slop" in my cush drive hub. I have two sets of wheels for my bike and it turns out I am using the "old" hubb and cush drive on my bike. It works fine but there is a fair bit of slop. I've now been advised that my Cush Drive rubber inserts are work out. (they are from 1997, so I can understand this).

So I'll go back to the other hubb, rubber inserts and sprocket from my "new"
bike. Also will be buying a new set of rubber inserts. When I go in again I will also inspect the bearings within the hubb very carefully and clean and regrease everything.

The tip off that the rubber inserts are shot is when the sprocket just falls out. If the rubber is fresh, it will hold the sprocket in place. Interesting.
Also, on mine there is a lot of movement, to and fro and side to side.
Should not be much of any movement apparently.

Fork Preload changes
Since installing new Eibach fork Springs (4.7 kgs ... stock is 4.0 ) over a year ago I've been fiddling with preload spacers. Last time I did this I added spacer length and went too far, so today I shortened them by an 1/8". Small adjustments can be felt ... believe it or not. Will have to see how it feels now.

Also backed off compression damping on my Ohlins shock, it was just a tiny bit harsh over small bumps.

UP COMING WORK
I will have to pull the clutch side case and check the NSU bolts.
Normally the clutch should be pulled for this. Will up date.
Also a couple other things to check once inside.

Bike seems OK other than this.

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Fantastic thread....

I'm looking to pick up a Suzuki thumber soon...

I'm 50:50 about a trip from the UK to capetown so I was considering a DRZ400S which I think would be perfect for the tracks which are classed as roads there, but the miles of tarmac to contend with inbetween the nightmare offroad sections, has my ass screaming in protest.

Mollydog, how do you think the DR650 compares to an XT600E (which I have good exxperience with) ????

I heard the DR650SE is smoother and quicker on the road (XT is not happy over 60mph)

How do you think the DR would do in Africa ?? Offroad capable ??

I didnt like my XT600E offroad at all. The suspension was awful and it didnt give me any confidence at all.. My XR650R was much much more capabe

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ted, I really liked my DR650SE for my last trip. It was so light and manoeuverable compared to the beemer which I still have (ie it hasn't been stolen yet...). I was concerned about hitting Europe, especially Germany however it sat at 120/130kph quite happy, ie normal motorway speeds. My GS1150 still feels way too big and heavy even after being home for 6 months.

Definitely go for at least the 20L IMS tank, the 30L Safari one is a bit excessive IMO. The Corbin seat was a bit hard, but is wider than the original which kills your ass v quickly. I put on higher bars which helped my lower back and a wee windscreen. Mine had an Aussie made Staintune exhaust which sounded fantastic, really dirty sounding. Its a bit lighter than the original.

I also recommend the Andy Strapz bags (or similar) in conjunction with some simple metal racks (I still have my set which I need to get round to selling) to keep the bags off the bodywork/exhaust although I secured them with 55L Pacsafes which got really annoying to get in and out of. However I was surprised at the amount of stuff I had nicked/broken in Asia compared to having nothing nicked/damaged in the Americas. But thats a whole other thread...

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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...

Hey Ted … I just finished a ride on a DR650 from Morocco to Cape Town. IMHO, the DR was the ideal bike for Africa. Light, maneuverable, fast and super reliable … great fun to ride!

Like you, I had considered the DRZ400. Glad I chose the DR650. Yes, once in a while the terrain was so bad that the DRZ would have been an advantage. But the DR650 was more than capable off road and overall the DR wins hands down.

I agree with MikeS – soft panniers are the way to go. Saves a lot of weight vs. aluminum boxes. I used an SW Motech Trax top box on the DR, providing security for laptop and other valuables.

I ran the 30L Safari tank and needed that all that fuel more than a few times. With the 20L IMS, I would have been toting fuel bottles a few times. Good luck.

Mark

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Looks like the DR650 could be the one...

They are very rare in the UK though. You very rarely see them for sale

I'm also a soft bag convert for overlanding. First time I dropped my XT in the rough stuff, I totalled my Metal mules... £900 OUCH.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Hey Ted,

I sold my KTM LC4 and bought a DR650 specifically with a trans-Africa trip in mind. Unfortunately it has been delayed due to a job offer I couldn't pass up, which at least it gave me some more time to tinker with the bike.

The DR has a really good base for an adventure bike IMO: Simple, very solid engine/frame/subframe, reasonable weight and good quality overall. It's a lot lighter than KLR and F650 and about the same as a KTM LC4. About 20lbs more than DRZ, which is worth it for the added comfort on tar roads. Suspension is decent stock depending on your weight, but it does need a seat and tank.

Another cool thing is that it has a very big following, especially in the US, Australia and Germany. This means a big aftermarket with just about anything you could want, as well as a very supportive group of owners on ADVrider and Thumpertalk. Some of these creative guys have come up with cool cheap mods, eg carbs (Keihin pumper), exhaust (GSXR titanium) and even suspension (KTM front end basically bolts straight on). None of this stuff is needed, but it can transform the DR into performing like a KTM while retaining the Japanese reliability.

If you can't find a used one in the UK, you could check in Germany. I am probably going to pick up a second one next week to make into a permanent supermoto for commuting, a 97 with 10'km for €1600. My 96 cost me only €700, and although it was ugly it has not had a single mechanical problem in the last two years.

Let us know if you have any specific questions if you do end up getting one, and we'll be glad to point you the right way.

Cheers,
Lukas

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are those 12 volt plug/switches stock?

Hey Mate hat as the reason for mounting the pelicans the lid first? I flipped them around so pelican was facing out.

Regards

I'm just in the process of buying a DR650 to ride the continental divide trail in August. All the info on this thread is a great help, but I have a question.
I'll be using small soft bags, but I have no "stand offs" are they a neccessity? I'll have less than 20kg each side, but I'm a bit worried about the exhaust side.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Absolutely a good idea for the exhaust side, especially if you spill. Easily made from metal bar at the local hardware store and vise, drill and hammer. I fastened mine to the upper bolt hole for the passenger footpeg (footpeg removed) and the exhaust mount bolt beneath the fender.

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Thanks, I will have to keep it simple as I fly into the US, pick up the bike and only have 1 day before setting off.
Perhaps if I take some flat bar with me with a number of pre drilled holes, I can knock something up quickly.