[Spec]

... I can tell you from experience if you are going to do any serious off-road that even the DR is a big heavy pig. I did a couple MIchaux dual sports on mine and a 340lb a big fat pig plowing through the single track of rocks and fallen trees on the "B" sections. Glad I skipped the "A"sections. The guys on lightweight Euro's bouncing on top of the rocks and fallen trees whereas I was plowing through them leaving a trail of aluminum and steel from the skid plate, swingarm and foot pegs. Almost everyone of the Euro bike riders commented as they whizzed by I cannot believe you are riding that big bike through this. I replied had I known what this trail was like I wouldn't t have. But there was no turning around.

This guy seems to do OK on a DR 650. 😁

 

[PerazziMx14]

This guy seems to do OK on a DR 650. 😁

Pol Tarres does it even better on a 500lb Yamaha Tenere 700 that easily 100lb heavier than the DR650. Doesn;t mean the rest of us can

 

[PerazziMx14]

I liked my modified DR650 a lot. I miss it's off road capabilities. If I could do it all over again, I'd get another new DR650, and just add a Cogent Suspension, comfortable Seat Concepts seat, LED lights, small windscreen. Done. Leave the motor alone. Use it for backroads exploration, off road Forest Service road riding, urban riding. My VStrom does the longer trips in total comfort.

I've ridden my VStrom 650 off road rough terrain up to the limits of its suspension travel and ground clearance. Did not enjoy it at all. Having said that, it's pretty good and easy to ride on well groomed trails/two tracks that doesn't have rocks or soft sand.

Last year I bought a bone stock 2014 DR650 that has 1,599 miles on it for 4K. And that is the problem. They are great bikes but need so much to get the where you need them. Then once you spend the money on upgrades you could have bought a much higher spec bike to begin with. Having been down the road of spending the GDP of a small country on previous DR650's I decided to sell it and look for something else because no matter what I did to the DR it was still a 360lb+ bike.

Here is a partial list of wht I added to two of the 4 DR650's.

• Bigger tank
• Fork springs and some sort of valving
• Shock spring and gold valve
• Skid plate
• Rear rack
• DR250 tail light
• Handlebars that are not made out of room temperature butter like the stockers
• Seat (OEM seat was made by a sadist)
• Hand guards
• FCR 39

 

[GFHVstrom]

Love my K4 DL650 for road and very light gravel/flat dirt, if I wanted to ride off road again I'd pickup an old DR350 again, loved that bike with 6-speed tranny. much better than DR400's I've ridden.

 

[Spec]

Pol Tarres does it even better on a 500lb Yamaha Tenere 700 that easily 100lb heavier than the DR650. Doesn;t mean the rest of us can

Just having some fun with ya!
No offense K?

I grew up riding dirt bikes, the DR 650 isn't a dirt bike. Way too heavy.

The DRZ 400 isn't either really. I had one and I could flog it pretty good but it hit it's limits way before a proper dirt bike would.

 

[PerazziMx14]

Just having some fun with ya!
No offense K?

I grew up riding dirt bikes, the DR 650 isn't a dirt bike. Way too heavy.

The DRZ 400 isn't either really. I had one and I could flog it pretty good but it hit it's limits way before a proper dirt bike would.

it

I get and no offence taken. They are all tradeoffs and why I make the comment it's hard to have just one bike. It's easy to have five or ten but not one.

 

[Zone5]

Interesting where this thread is drifting.. I never got the impression the OP was asking about the end of the spectrum where the lightweight, higher spec ADV bikes reside, and sensibly asked about member thoughts about the incremental shift from a DL650 to a DR650.

I ride with others who have lighter, more off-road capable bikes. I’ve ridden those bikes and follow them around... I could easily have one if I so chose. I don’t. The DR is comfortable and stable on rough and rocky climbs and descents, chugs along at a pace that suits a lot of us (it’s known as the “Bush Pig” because of its unique sound and steady but unstoppable pace) and while unspectacular it just gets the job done. The guys I ride with love their bikes but are pretty complimentary about my humble steed and the ease at which it gets around the bush without stressing me. At age 63 I’m only selling it because I reckon I can give up 5-10% of the off-road riding I do by moving to the DL800SE, while still enjoying a good roadbike that has the suspension to soak up the bumps on my local tarred roads - fun & twisty but bumpy and hard on my delicate derrière…

There is no doubt you need to extensively modify the DR to get the best out of it - the list on my “for sale” ad is very long. But, it’s not that expensive and when you get it right it’s a sweet ride. I still chose to do that over the nice new T7 the local shop keeps trying to sell me, and I like it more in the difficult stuff than I did my DRZ400. I think, subconsciously, I might be quite pleased if I never sell it…

We all have preferences about where on this On-road/Off-road spectrum we wish to land… There is a big spread there and we cannot say an off-road or dirt bike is “only this…” to anyone except yourself.

I think the OP is making a sensible choice to suit his needs…

Anyway, enough from me!

chrs, jc

 

[OCL]

Last year I bought a bone stock 2014 DR650 that has 1,599 miles on it for 4K. And that is the problem. They are great bikes but need so much to get the where you need them. Then once you spend the money on upgrades you could have bought a much higher spec bike to begin with. Having been down the road of spending the GDP of a small country on previous DR650's I decided to sell it and look for something else because no matter what I did to the DR it was still a 360lb+ bike.

Here is a partial list of wht I added to two of the 4 DR650's.

• Bigger tank
• Fork springs and some sort of valving
• Shock spring and gold valve
• Skid plate
• Rear rack
• DR250 tail light
• Handlebars that are not made out of room temperature butter like the stockers
• Seat (OEM seat was made by a sadist)
• Hand guards
• FRC 39

That's a good list. But altogether, I gather the total price of those upgrades is $3.5k? Most of that is suspension and the FCR. Must you have the FCR 39? That's $500+. I do agree with what you said regarding upgrades. If you did get a CRF450L for $9k-$11k (used-new), you still have to put a bigger tank, hand guards, comfy seat, rear rack. Same with a 500 EXC-F or a 690 Enduro. They all have the similar shortcomings, give or take a few. Since you're starting out with a higher price, there's no way you can make up any savings. My thought was this:

Pro Cycle Seat (cover and foam) $240
Cogent fork + Moab shock $1,300
Oversized handlebars $150
LED head light and DR200 taillight $250
Trailtech Vapor $180
DSA Front fender $150
OEM rear rack $110 and Acerbis skid plate $110
Case Guards $120
Total add: $2,610

From a financial standpoint, comparing this to comparable alternatives, it's easy to still come out ahead.

Or....wait for the Royal Enfield Himalayan 452 (coming out early next year). All in, with nothing to add except handguards, the bike should be under $8k. Still going to be a 430 lbs. bike though. But it is going to be the lightest, adventure ready, bike out there wearing 17/21 tubeless spoked wheelset. 8" of suspension travel and 9" of ground clearance.

 

[Rally4]

Interesting where this thread is drifting.. I never got the impression the OP was asking about the end of the spectrum where the lightweight, higher spec ADV bikes reside, and sensibly asked about member thoughts about the incremental shift from a DL650 to a DR650.

I ride with others who have lighter, more off-road capable bikes. I’ve ridden those bikes and follow them around... I could easily have one if I so chose. I don’t. The DR is comfortable and stable on rough and rocky climbs and descents, chugs along at a pace that suits a lot of us (it’s known as the “Bush Pig” because of its unique sound and steady but unstoppable pace) and while unspectacular it just gets the job done. The guys I ride with love their bikes but are pretty complimentary about my humble steed and the ease at which it gets around the bush without stressing me. At age 63 I’m only selling it because I reckon I can give up 5-10% of the off-road riding I do by moving to the DL800SE, while still enjoying a good roadbike that has the suspension to soak up the bumps on my local tarred roads - fun & twisty but bumpy and hard on my delicate derrière…

There is no doubt you need to extensively modify the DR to get the best out of it - the list on my “for sale” ad is very long. But, it’s not that expensive and when you get it right it’s a sweet ride. I still chose to do that over the nice new T7 the local shop keeps trying to sell me, and I like it more in the difficult stuff than I did my DRZ400. I think, subconsciously, I might be quite pleased if I never sell it…

We all have preferences about where on this On-road/Off-road spectrum we wish to land… There is a big spread there and we cannot say an off-road or dirt bike is “only this…” to anyone except yourself.

I think the OP is making a sensible choice to suit his needs…

Anyway, enough from me!

chrs, jc

I thank you very much for all of your information. I do believe it's in my best interest for now to just keep the dl650 and modified in certain areas to help accommodate where I can and then in the future if I can buy another bike then I'll look at a dr650 but I do not do the car rallies and I am just starting to get into the off-roading cool and do not want to injure myself going on hardcore stuff that I'm not even practiced on.

I also have fallen out of the phase of constantly modifying my bikes as it is extremely expensive at times depending on what you get. To me it's much easier for me to keep my dl650 and modify it in the suspension and tires instead of buying a whole nother bike and modifying it from scratch.

I do appreciate all the replies and this spring I will start practicing a little bit here and there on gravel roads to get my feet wet. I also have some really good MX boots to prevent hyperextension as that's one of my fears of going off road and dumping my bike.

 

[Spec]

Must have mods on a DR 650?

The bike is under sprung for sure unless your weigh 120 lbs. Couple of hundred bucks for springs. Mine is rideable without further suspension mods.

Seat yea probably. Another couple of hundred.

Skid plate of your going to bash it off road. $100 or so.

Bigger tank yea if you want/need.

That about it really. The carb jetting could use some help. The motor runs good stock. No need to replace the carb or exhaust. Minimal gains for the cost.

Thing is though most used DRs already have mods done to them. So the cost isn't really passed on to the new owner right?

 

[Spec]

The Skids N Stuff guy has a pretty good take on DR mods.

 

[PerazziMx14]

Must have mods on a DR 650?

The bike is under sprung for sure unless your weigh 120 lbs. Couple of hundred bucks for springs. Mine is rideable without further suspension mods.

Seat yea probably. Another couple of hundred.

Bigger tank yea if you want/need.

That about it really. The carb jetting could use some help. The motor runs good stock. No need to replace the carb or exhaust. Minimal gains for the cost.

Thing is though most used DRs already have mods done to them. So the cost isn't really passed on to the new owner right?

The suspension on the stock DR650 blows. It is under spring and the spindly 70-year-old damper rod are a step up from a springer front end. The forks being so spindly flex like Arnold in Pumping Iron. Fork valves, springs stiffer than from a Bic pen, fork brace are must dos. The rear need at a very minimum a stiffer spring and it until you add some decent valving to the shock, you'll never realize how bad it is. In stock form the rear shock really chatters over bumps. I mean hit some washboard ripples on the road and it acutely feel like the bike is slowing down because the rear wheel is bounding. Hit the same spot of road with a reworked shock and it feel planted and like power is getting to the ground.

I've only ever met one person who could tolerate the stock DR seat for more than 30 minutes. I am not a seat snob, but the DR stock seat had me standing within 10 or 15 minutes.

Bigger tank is certainly subjective. All depends on if you want to stop for fuel every 80ish miles or extend it out. On ,my touring DR that eventually got a side car I ran a 5.3 gallon tank and liked the range. If I would have had the stock tank on the DR sidecar rig I'd have had to stop for fuel aout every 60 to 70 miles. The rig really drank fuel.

The stock BST needs reworked to make it tolerable. Tapering & shimming the needle, jetting and accessing & adjusting the A/F screw really help but no matter what you do a vacuum carb will never be as responsive as pumper carb.

The muffler accounts for about 1/3rd of the weight of the DR. It also horribly restrictive. There is a muffler cutaway on the internet and it's amazing how exhaust gas even escapes the labyrinth of passages.

I also do not like that there is no rear subframe on the DR650. The rear of the DR650 is a weak point and many have had frame break when loaded. If you are going to use a top case or put gear on rear rack its best to gusset the frame as a preventative measure.

One other niggle I had with the Dr650 is it has a lot of compression braking and a slipper clutch would have gone a long way in getting tires to last. I rand many different tired on the rear of the DR and never got over 2000 miles out of one. When riding even remotely aggressive down shifting the rear would lock momentarily every downshift grinding away at the rear tire. I also disliked the extra heft of the cush drive.

I know it sounds like I am downing the DR650 but I'm not. These are just my findings and as a whole I do really like the DR650 but after the DRZ400 I do like it less.

 

[Brockie]

These two bikes are chalk and cheese. The 650 tag that they share is totally misleading.
I've owned both a DR650 and a DRZ400.

The DL650 is a comfortable all roads touring bike that with the right tyres can handle loose dirt tracks etc.
Forget the BS of M/X riders taking to sand dunes and muddy trails on a V-Strom. That is advertising hype. Sure, it can be done by the skillful - for a challenge.
You can also leave your chainsaw in the shed and chop down a 4 foot diameter tree with an axe - but is that your best option?

On the other hand, the DR650 is a bike that can tackle trail riding but not as easily as a dedicated dirtbike.
It can also tour, but nowhere near as comfortably.

You need to decide where you want to feel most comfortable, or perhaps what type of riding you most wish to do.
The idea, if you can afford it, of two different bikes for different rides is worth considering.

 

[Spec]

I know it sounds like I am downing the DR650 but I'm not. These are just my findings and as a whole I do really like the DR650 but after the DRZ400 I do like it less.

I liked the suspension on the DRZ I had. The 650 is a better bike for my riding. Hated the 400 at highway speeds.

As far as spindly damper rod forks same could be said for the DL 650 right?

My point is that the DR is rideable without throwing thousands of dollars at it.

 

[PerazziMx14]

I liked the suspension on the DRZ I had. The 650 is a better bike for my riding. Hated the 400 at highway speeds.

As far as spindly damper rod forks same could be said for the DL 650 right?

My point is that the DR is rideable without throwing thousands of dollars at it.

Yes, the DL650 forks and DR650 for are pretty much the same thing.

 

[PeteW]

There is a difference. DR forks are several inches longer which equates to more flex and more annoyance from things like wind buffet from trucks.

 

[Nicad]

A lowly WR250R will do 70 all day. Motor is 1/4 of the R1 Yamaha and has very long valve adjustment intervals. It's a pretty good dirt bike too. Does get blown around on the highway, and going that fast on Knobby tires is not that safe if you have to stop.

 

[PerazziMx14]

There is a difference. DR forks are several inches longer which equates to more flex and more annoyance from things like wind buffet from trucks.

A fork brace really went a long way on my DR's and the DL, bt the biggest problem with the stock DR650 fork is dive. I mean tap the front brakes and the front ends will compress 9 inches. HEck even pushing it in th edriveway if you hit the front brake it'll compress 5 or 6 inches. In one DR I had Gold Valve fork inserts and the other I had Ricor Intiminators both inserts coupled with straight rate springs matched to my weight and topped off with ATF and both setups made a huge big difference. When I hopped on the last DR650 I bought i had forgotten how mushy the front end was. But it all came rushing back the 1st time I applied the front brake and the front end dived like it was in the final round of the cutoffs for the Cliff Divers of the LA Quebrada championship.

 

[OCL]

I thank you very much for all of your information. I do believe it's in my best interest for now to just keep the dl650 and modified in certain areas to help accommodate where I can and then in the future if I can buy another bike then I'll look at a dr650 but I do not do the car rallies and I am just starting to get into the off-roading cool and do not want to injure myself going on hardcore stuff that I'm not even practiced on.

I also have fallen out of the phase of constantly modifying my bikes as it is extremely expensive at times depending on what you get. To me it's much easier for me to keep my dl650 and modify it in the suspension and tires instead of buying a whole nother bike and modifying it from scratch.

I do appreciate all the replies and this spring I will start practicing a little bit here and there on gravel roads to get my feet wet. I also have some really good MX boots to prevent hyperextension as that's one of my fears of going off road and dumping my bike.

The VStrom 650 is very capable off road as long as the "off road" isn't moderate difficulty. Just fit it with a good set of tires (Trailmax Mission at least), and some sort of skid plate. The bike is very forgiving, with a nice, smooth throttle response, good Traction Control/ABS for gravel road riding. If you encounter ruts that you must cross, just slow down. I've taken mine on moderately soft sand and light sand, and it does just fine. You don't have to be an advanced rider to tap its off road potential, but you just have to be aware of its limits.

Have a seat by rogue_biker, on Flickr

Untitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr

 

[OCL]

The stock BST needs reworked to make it tolerable. Tapering & shimming the needle, jetting and accessing & adjusting the A/F screw really help but no matter what you do a vacuum carb will never be as responsive as pumper carb.

I agree with most of what you said.

I ran the stock BST for a while. I removed the air box snorkel, then shimmed the needle and added the Pro Cycle finger adjustable Idle Mixture. Cheap upgrade that made a very nice difference. Just doing this, the BST performed really well in that it was responsive to throttle input and had no surging on the highway. The troubles with this carb start when you really open up the airbox, re-jet, blah-blah-blah into that Rabbit Hole. It becomes a fine art of tuning without encountering any negative side effects. I later made the switch to the Mikuni Pumper carb just because I had to try it, and loved it. Loved the feel of the pumper and the immediate hit of power when throttle is applied. But the return spring was so damn heavy, and I really felt the throttle response was a bit too quick sometimes when I'm in rough terrain. I feel that it wasn't really worth $500 back then ($600 now). I think the sweet spot with the engine on the DR650 is Snorkel off, shimmed needle, slight increase in Idle Mixture. Keep the fuel efficiency to maximize range with the puny tank (I'd get about 120-130 miles). And also keep the convenient vacuum operated Petcock (no on/off every time you shut off the motor with a manual petcock and big fuel tank).

The biggest gain with the DR is in the suspension. And that seat!

It's damn easy to go into the deep end of endless modifications with the DR650. There is so much aftermarket support and products for it! Pro Cycle doesn't help either.