honestly, am I best off with the DR650? | Thread profile

I keep trying to convince myself the DR is about the best buy with its do-it-allness, low cost and high reliability. But the feeling of doubt seems to grow a little more every day. All in all i'm content with my bike but I just keep getting the feeling theres something better For one the suspension is utterly pathetic no 2 ways about it. Apart from the DJ kit my bike is still stock so I don...

Well, if it's just a question of money.... If you took the $1200 you might spend and added it to what you could sell the DR for what could you buy that would even come close? The beauty in the DR650 is it easily lends itself to being transformed into whatever kind of bike we want - motard, dirtbike, adventure turer, commuter, etc. All while being stone reliable.

I still say,take the seat to a upholstery shop and have it repadded/recovered.Worked good for me and lots cheaper,but then again I only weigh 185lbs with a 34 waist

Eibach springs will definitely help out in the front, but the fork technology is still quite archaic on the bike. To help that, you might also want to invest in cartridge emulators. They will help, but it's still not going to be the same as newer USD or even standard cartridge forks. If you REALLY want to go all out, you might want to look into doing a front fork swap. You could probably...

Quote: Originally Posted by lowercasee Also, watch ebay, craigslist, and here for Corbin seats. They seem to pop up somewhat regularly and you would save a bundle over buying new. definately, most expensive part. So where do I look here? the shop? this section? or is there another one?

IMHO. The DR is a great versatile bike and I know the DR has passenger pegs but if you're even thinking of riding two up I suggest you get a more comfortable bigger bike better suited for that. You'll be happier. Your best solution is to have two bikes. If that is not possible something is going to have to give. You are going to have to decide what is more important to you. Just my 2 cents.

I have another question: how difficult is it to get plastic custom moulded from scratch? I'm thinking of radically redesigning the DR's look by making an accurate model of the chassis and plastics on the computer and then reworking it. A few things are simple in real life such as mounting LED indicators along the handguards and along the rear fender rather than the ugly things that stick out ...

Quote: Originally Posted by qwerty1234 I have another question: how difficult is it to get plastic custom moulded from scratch? I'm thinking of radically redesigning the DR's look by making an accurate model of the chassis and plastics on the computer and then reworking it. A few things are simple in real life such as mounting LED ...

I went through the same thing with choosing a dual purpose bike. Ive had KTM's,Kawasaki KLR and KLX and Honda's XR650L's in the past.Well actaually Ive had some TT's,XL's and KE's,but thats a different time. The KTM's are setup great from the factory for mostly offroad but as a result they dont do so good on the road.Mainly they blow up alot.The newer EXC line and the Adventurers are not ...

Quote: Originally Posted by ProCycle Figure at least $20K to $100K for injection mold dies. Once you have molds injection molding is pretty cheap but you'd have to make and sell a lot of parts to pay for the mold making. then that explains why nobody really makes aftermarket looks. While laying in bed last ...