The DR650 comes with virtually no protection... no skid plate, just those silly plastic hand guards,
and a bit of wire mesh across the oil cooler. So in this episode we will look at ways to
make the DR650 more crash proof for those long adventures. There's a lot of great protection
available for the bushpig, and much of this we sourced from some great Aussie suppliers B&B,
Off-road engineering, Force Accessories and Vince Strang Motorcycles. Despite the cost of postage,
all of these guys get international orders for their stuff, partly because the Aussie dollar is
so low, and because the gear is ultra tough. These guys know how badly your average Aussie rides,
and how often the DR650 is getting dropped. Force Accessories bashplate.At the very least Suzuki
needed to put a plastic one on, it is rare but it's possible to throw up a rock and crack your
engine cases. The Force Accessories bash plate is a great balance between weight and strength.
At 1.5kg, it takes plenty of punishment, it's available in a natural finish, but we opted
for the black EPA finish as the coating absorbs engine noise instead of reflecting it back up to
the rider. The plate comes up nice and high to protect your cases and of course you don't need
to remove it when changing your engine oil. On my last DR650, I flattened the frame rails on my very
first ride when popping a log so i can't stress enough the importance of a very solid skid plate.
This front sprocket case saver features a new heavy-duty design from B&B. It's CNC machined from
6mm alloy plate with a four millimeter alloy front sprocket cover and it serves a few purposes one it
protects your paces if your chain ever snaps this chain breaks and punches up this is going to stop
this case from breaking this thing wouldn't have a hope in hell - you can clean the mud out easily,
three you can check your front sprocket where at a glance, and four it's also very easy to see if you
have any oil leaks from your counter sharp seal a decent bash play will provide good protection for
your clutch and ignition side covers but we reckon it pays to double up with these B&B covers made
from two millimeter alloy 505 - plate these are easy to fit using a high-quality heat-resistant
silicone adhesive the standard mesh over the oil cooler is quite weak so we opted for the BnB oil
cooler guard this is CNC machined from two and a half millimeter marine grade alloy it covers
the full length of the oil cooler unlike the stock guard so even the most determined stick
won't be putting a hole in that oil cooler if you grip your bike with your legs the way you should
your boots will rapidly wear the paint off your frame being these frame guards are made from two
millimeter 505 - alloy and CNC machined in one piece of string and handy thing on this side is
it not a Nazi boots slide past here easier that it's protecting your rear brake master cylinder
all these frame guards are supplied with the necessary mounts and stainless steel fittings
we'll look more at BN B's rear rack in our upcoming luggage episode but we thought we'd
mention it here because it does provide some added protection to the rear end of the DR650
particularly if you ever flipped the bine but of course no one in their right mind would ever
really the bush pig would be it takes very little to dent the stock steel fuel tank which also has
a very small capacity for adventure riding plastic bins instead of denting and at only us two hundred
and seventy four dollars this ims 19 litre fuel tank is a great way to get fifty percent more fuel
capacity as well we also fitted this rear chain guide support plate from Vince Strang motorcycles
if you are riding in rocky areas or deep ruts this provides an added degree of protection and
looks pretty cool as well Vince Trang motorcycles or the sm also do this rear reg oak plate bracket
and LED light kit that replaces the bulky stock setup that is just begging to collect mud or get
smashed when you drop the bike in gnarly terrain now I D like just a little bit less power draw on
the battery both of these Vince strong items are high-quality stainless steel and designed to last
the stock DR650 hand guards are rubbish and a proper set of hand guards like these fast way
guards will properly protect your levers and hands and they come in sizes to suit either
the stock skinny bars or aftermarket fat bars and speaking of handlebars the stock steel handlebars
do Bend easily the only plus being you can bend them back into shape it wanted however most guys
fit a decent pair of alloy bars we've run with the Flex bars due to the usual upper-body issues
associated with being old farts and needing all the help we can get nowadays the stock mirrors
are great for not vibrating but they do weigh a ton and a vulnerable to break-in we've fitted
the brilliant double take mirrors that use red mounts so they are nearly destructible allow
more positions than the kamasutra they can be folded out of the way and a very light as well an
awesome bit of adventure riding bling let's just add to we've added a slider here on the GSXR pipe
this is something the guys in the super motard racing off and do so that's all we've done so
far depending on how hard your terrain is it might be worth looking at front and rear disc guards and
the headlight protector can be handy if your mates up front keep roosting you undoubtedly there are
more protection options out there feel free to send in your suggestions we'll add them in here