Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy s#$t....what a ride!".
2006 Suzuki DR650 dual sport thumper
Motorcycle sales are dominated by cruisers (50-75% of total sales, depending on who you believe). Dualsports are a tiny minority, something like 3% of all motorcycle sales. I can ride for a month and not physically see a DS bike other than my own, and I usually go for several months between actually seeing one running on the streets. I don't know why they are so overlooked. DS bikes are swiss army knife bikes, tons of fun and cheap to run. I don't know why they don't dominate the market. Maybe they are too goofy looking.
How I found my way to a DS
I took the MSF Beginner's Course in the late 80s. We rode
little dualsport bikes provided by a local dealer. I think it was an Honda
NX125. I was pleased at how light, well-fitting, and
FUN the little bike was. Then I understood why
the Europeans I saw when stationed in Germany were transitioning
from sportbikes to dualsports; they are wicked commando
commuting tools. I started thinking about a bike like an NX, TransAlp,
BMW Dakar boxer etc.
Saw the bike escape in "Deep Impact" and thought some more...
deciding on the dr650
15yrs later I finally pulled the trigger. I bought this bike on 17 Aug
2006 from Honda Suzuki
North (HSN) in Carrollton, Tx. Salescritters Smokey (and Scott,
when Smokey was away) treated me with respect and got me a decent price.
So although I shopped all the Zuke shops I saw listed in DFW, I bought
from HSN.
I love love love this bike.
what is great about this bike
dead simple bike. A plus in my book, but maybe not in yours.
easy to buy. MSRP is $5099. My "out the door" price was very close to that number.
inexpensive to run, easy to repair.
easy to insure. Liability, comprehensive and collision cost me less than $300/yr through progressive.
can be lowered for short people. It's already lower and lighter than the wildly popular klr650
thumpy sound is nice but not loud in stock configuration.
they are not perfect - things you should know if you are considering one
many people hate the seat. It doesn't bother me. Dualsport saddles are narrow so you can reach the ground from that high stance. :-)
it's a tall bike. 34+" seat is real. I can flatfoot it on both sides but I am 6', 190#. Shorter or lighter folks might need to do the shortening conversion.
no gear indicator, tach, or fuel gauge (but there is a trip odometer).
I hit reserve at 130m with about another 30-40 in reserve..
almost none of these on the used market. I guess people hold onto them forever.
stuff I changed, aftermarket stuff
handlebar gps mount
shortened sidestand
eBay rack
aftermarket chain rollers from Jess (see below).
Kryptonite disc lock and cable lock
bike cover
fully synthetic motor oil, albeit a III rather than II. I was looking for Mobil 1 10w-40 but couldn't find any, so I went with Castrol Syntec. Seems to shift easier now.
crampbuster (wide)
Why the dr650 and not the klr650
The DR is lighter
The DR is tall but not AS tall or tall-feeling. When I went to sit
on my first KLR I literally had to climb onto the bike using the footpeg.
I could not rotate my leg over the seat while standing on the floor. OTOH,
the DR650 felt like coming home again. Ahhhhhh....... [note, in the
interest of fairness to KLR: since then I have sat on other KLRs and
they didn't seem as skyscraper as that first one. It was used; I wonder
if it had been modified in some way? I still like the stock DR better
than the stock KLR for my purposes.]
the DR feels and looks more substantial from the rider's position
Doohickey.
Why the dr650 and not the dr200
The 200 was not tall enough to fit me.
ATGATT- All the Gear, All the Time
My gear doesn't match because it dates from different times when I owned different color bikes. :-)
insulated leather winter road gloves; don't know who made them.
On the day I wrote this paragraph I was making my armored way home behind
a hog rider wearing flipflops, a tanktop, shorts and sunglasses. Oh,
and straight pipes. And riding right in the middle of the grease stripe
in the middle of the lane. But I'm sure if he gets squished it will be
a consolation to blame the damage on a "damn cager". Best of luck to him.
reverse timeline
2007701 - 3430 miles. Oil and filter change. Goldcap Mobil 1. The tranny really seems to like it.
20070106 - put on a 1.75" shorter sidestand altered by a member of the yahoo dr650 group
20061216 - adjusted the chain tighter by one nautilus notch and there is zero chain slap is reduced while play still in spec. Yes! Also slipped on the cramp buster.
20061212 - let the bike set a while to make sure all the fluids were in the right place. Started and ran fine.
20061210 - wife called me at work to tell me the bike fell over (blew over? Pushed over?). Got home and stood it up.
Broke the rightside mirror, bent the bar risers and/or bar, scraped the beloved eBay rack. Smell of gas.
20061010 - installed the rollers. Somewhat quieter in volume, more bearable tone.
20061009 - received the moose rollers. Hope I can install them before the weekend.
20061007 - received and installed the eBay rack. I thought it would be dorky, but I like it!
the mousepad
I took the MSF Beginner's Course in the late 80s. We rode
little dualsport bikes provided by a local dealer. I think it was an Honda
NX125. I was pleased at how light, well-fitting, and
FUN the little bike was. Then I understood why
the Europeans I saw when stationed in Germany were transitioning
from sportbikes to dualsports; they are wicked commando
commuting tools. I started thinking about a bike like an NX, TransAlp,
BMW Dakar boxer etc.
Saw the bike escape in "Deep Impact" and thought some more...