I thought I had a project thread for this bike but I couldn't find one so...
I bought this a couple of years ago I think and I've been using it for green laning locally. I took it to the ABR festival a couple of years ago and it did well although the trip there was a pain in the arse as the bike was unstable at speed on the road and just felt really sketchy. I swapped the tyres out for a Pirelli MT 21 Rally Cross - 90/90 R21 front and a Dunlop Trailmax D606 - 120/90 R18 rear which seems to be a reasonably common combination. I also changed the fork oil while I was doing it.
KungFooBob wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 6:33 pm
Loving the winch!
I got that from lidl(or maybe aldi) about 20 year ago for an absolute song. I can't believe it still works but it has been so useful. Pulled engines out of cars and all sorts with it.
Riding the bike again today and it's going well. Coping with more mud today.
Current issue I need to solve is the gear lever height. One one spline it's too low and on the next it's too high. Very annoying when it's a direct link to the gearbox shaft rather than an adjustable rod. I may have to attempt to bend it with heat and a hammer. This has only come to light because I've changed my boots this year. Very annoying.
Bustaspoke wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 7:39 pm
Is it possible to lower the footrest slightly,or if not can you buy adjustable footrests for the DRZ? Something that rotates on a cam?
You can get lower foot pegs for the dr650 cheaply but the 400's pegs mount at an angle so the only people who make lower versions are in the states and they sell for $225 there.
I've ordered an aftermarket lever in the vague hope that the splines are offset but if they're not I'll probably try and modify that or the original to make the shifter peg bigger in some way.
Dunno if it applies to the e model but the rear brake pedal on my s had a sharp ridge in the casting facing the clutch cover which owners filed flat to prevent “ Chebbing” the casing.
There was also an issue with the mild steel output shaft collar corroding, there was a stainless replacement available at the time.
I had IMS footpegs on mine, which were bigger and a little higher than the originals, they were loads better off road, I did the filing down of the back of the brake lever.
I quite miss my DRZ, it was a really good bike, it wasn't brilliant at any thing, but was capable of everything I wanted it to do and it with stood an amazing amount of abuse, you could trail ride it in the middle of winter, sling it in the garage, leave it for weeks and when you wanted to use it again it was ready to go, the only think it didn't like was road salt, which seized the rear caliper.
The brake lever has been filed and a case saver fitted under it so it should be ok when dropped... has been so far.
I hadn't heard of the output shaft corroding so will keep an eye on that. There's a load of preventative stuff about adding locktite to a load of the stator bolts and something else I can't remember which I've done.
It is a good bike. The only thing that gives me pause and make me consider something else is that it is 20 years old and I don't want to break down in the middle of nowhere. It's given no signs of doing anything like that and it's well maintained but it does occur to me occasionally.
dern wrote: ↑Tue Feb 28, 2023 11:27 am
The brake lever has been filed and a case saver fitted under it so it should be ok when dropped... has been so far.
I hadn't heard of the output shaft corroding so will keep an eye on that. There's a load of preventative stuff about adding locktite to a load of the stator bolts and something else I can't remember which I've done.
It is a good bike. The only thing that gives me pause and make me consider something else is that it is 20 years old and I don't want to break down in the middle of nowhere. It's given no signs of doing anything like that and it's well maintained but it does occur to me occasionally.
Great bike the DRZ but man that seat, I resorted to the sheepskin on long rides too.
Only problem I ever had was the stator windings burning out which was a bastard to diagnose as it was charging intermittently.
Kudos to Robinson’s Foundry in Canterbury for diagnosing the problem and not charging the earth to fix.
I did find out if you start the bike up without the front sprocket fitted it will launch the output shaft collar across the garage and lose quite a bit of oil
Gregor wrote: ↑Tue Feb 28, 2023 11:46 am
I did find out if you start the bike up without the front sprocket fitted it will launch the output shaft collar across the garage and lose quite a bit of oil
The only think holding the spacer in is the sprocket and nut, mine started leaking when I buried the bike down to the output shaft in wet sand, the spacer and seal can be replaced without splitting the cases, never had any problems after the first time it happened, but I never got the bike dug it that deep again.
I'm not sure I recognise the bike I have with the description of good everyday bike but maybe that's just the tyres. If I wasn't going off tarmac I'd prefer to take any of the other bikes I have. I'm enjoying riding it off road though.
I can't see the point of importing a new one, far too much hassle over buying a 2nd hand one in good nick.
