u/zappyguy111

Hi everyone,

First post here and I thought I'd reach out for some feedback from real people instead of an AI for once.

I've been drafting up a build for my 80,000km 17yr old DR650. I've had it for 1.5 yrs and bought it at 48,000km. I've ridden the life out of it; the wiring harness is going, gaskets and oil cooler are failing and the time feels right to give the old girl a rebuild.

Planned upgrades:

Wossner HC Piston

Mikuni TM40-6

Acerbis 20L tank

DG Performance V2 exhaust + quiet insert

Teknik suspension upgrade kit

Nova 3rd Gear

#190 Procycle Cam

At home upgrades:

Lower foot pegs

Open airbox

Tidy exhaust welds

DIY oil cooler fan

I am aiming for economy, range and off-road performance, and I feel this list of parts gives me a good balance.

Plan of attack:

0.1: Find a mevhanic

1.0: Engine rebuild, Engine upgrades, tidy exhaust

1.1: New wire harness

1.2: Frame, bearing service, open air box

1.3: Suspension upgrade

1.4: New oil cooler (has a leak after it briefly cosplayed as a plough)

2: Lower pegs, baggage, DIY oil cooler kit &etc

All items in section 1 are to be done by a mechanic, I am time poor and would like to be back on the road asap. Everything else will be DIY'd as they don't keep me off the road.

My expectation is I'll get a bike that out performs a DR-Z4S across the board, except for weight, and with all the accessories for about the same price. This includes post mechanic upgrades.

I'm keen for your feedback regarding this build.

PS. I will not be adding a rally tower, I've had a few instances where the windshield has aggressively tickled with my Adam's Apple on hill climbs. Most likely I'll engineer a quick connect removable windshield for highway stretches.

PPS. It already has a tall comfort seat and spotties installed, I will consider a power rail and a separate switch for the spotties when the wiring is redone. The topbox is likely going to be used exclusively for grocery shopping and daily commuting.

Hi all,

I'm having a lot of problems starting my bike, I've confirmed all the wiring from V+ to CDI are good and CDI to relay coils are good. I've also isolated and checked the relay, and it fires reliably. This lead me to the relay's connector.

The relay and plug were sprayed down with contact cleaner, which has greatly improved reliability and also exposed some leakages on the plug. I've since dripped some high viscosity thread seal around the wires to help seal the leaks, but I'm still not getting 99% reliability.

Has anyone else experience this problem before? Or does anyone have further suggestions on how to fix it? Is it possible to rebuild the stock DR plug?

Any and all advice is welcomed, I'm out of ideas other than buying new parts or going aftermarket.

Edit, the bike runs well, but it's not turning over sometimes.

Temporary fix, mate with a 3D printer has the new case on the way.

Just for that day somebody wants to ride pillion. Like my riding buddy's little brother.

The cost was about $400, considering I've been looking for 18 months, I thought I should just go to the supplier.

I'm happy I got to play bush mechanic in the local parking lot. I will say, these bikes are very serviceable, even in the wild with minimal tooling.

I've learned over inflating to 35psi with dishwashing water helps, but it's still a 50/50. What's your hack for making the bead seat?