All the guys we know with private properties have great driveways as well as tracks to ride
on! Some basic derestriction and power mods can make the biggest transformation to the
DR650. And even better, the mods can vary from free to just a few hundred dollars to unleash
the Beast within! Today we are at Gordon's property where he's worked his magic on many
DR650s in our area. "You are crazy, Barry".
Gordon says these mods give 10% more power. It's just wheel spinning everywhere!
I definitely need tyre and suspension changes. Much faster now, I'm going to get
into a fair bit of trouble. It really feels like a different bike now.
There are plenty of DR650 mods but we are just covering basic easy cheap mods that
provide you with extra power, or if you don't use that power, then better fuel economy.
Like a lot of Canadians, Gordon used to do a fair bit of ice racing, he reckons he was a
gung-ho trials rider but I think he's Photoshopped this. lol A modified dr650
is a real beast with 40 horsepower at the rear wheel.
This is how Suzuki have managed to choke the tiger and turn it into a lamb, and here are
the mods we'll be covering in this vid. We'll cover the basics, then you can watch our step-
by-step video later on how to make your bush pig sprint along in the dirt . Groups like the Procycle in
in the USA, Adventure Bike Australia, and Vince Srtang Motorcycles here in Australia, can provide
jetting kits for the DR650, but if you like the DIY approach you can grind your own
needle down for good power improvements. If you go too far, it's no great loss. A new needle
will only be around ten dollars, or just buy a jetting kit. Depending on the level of mods you
want, you can remove the snorkel on the airbox or drill a second hole to let the DR650 breathe.
If you go a little further, you can use a bigger main jet, these are around ten dollars or
will come as part of a jetting kit. Regardless of whether you do any mods or not, the fuel-air
screw is in the wrong position and needs to be adjusted for better running just off idle.
Suzuki welded the inside of the head of pipe instead of the outside and thus cut down
the outlet by around 30%. You can grind this back for a better flow. You can shorten the carb slide
spring and drill a second hole in the carb slide to get a much improved throttle response.
For anyone thinking of spending hundreds of dollars on a pumper carb, it's well worth
trying this mod first as you'll be surprised at the improvement. All of these mods unlock about
half of the dr650's potential. The other half is a less restrictive exhaust.. God knows who designed
the stock exhaust, a ridiculously heavy stupidly restrictive lump of stainless steel.
It's a wonder the exhaust gas can even find its way out. We highly recommend the Suzuki
GSXR exhaust for good power gains, a great sound, but far quieter than aftermarket exhausts.
I find if I'm riding all day, even the relatively quiet FMF Q4 gets very annoying.
the GSXR is much quieter, still let's the engine breathe, and has a great sound. According to dyno
charts, we've seen these mods all provide about a 10% improvement across the rev range and
make a big difference to fuel econom,y better starting, and how smoothly it runs at low revs.
Whoa! This is amazing, no matter how quickly you touch the e-start, one of
the fantastic things is how quickly it starts.... beautiful! Let's get a sound check
Nice, not too loud but a beautiful note now, because she runs a lot cleaner down
low. You can just lock it in a higher gear a lot easier now, less likely to stall or fart
around. It really just feels a bit like a turbocharged tractor. Just to get a bit of
a baseline, no throttle, ease the clutch out, she stalls. And we'll try taking off with
no throttle again, and the bike can do it now. And uphill Gordon said it would just
run so much bette, this is amazing. And of course the throttle response is
instant now, it just picks up revs immediately. Okay, second gear rolling start, full throttle
a little bit of get-up-and-go. It gets up and goes now!
Doing a bitumen test at full throttle as it was just spinning in the dirt
It's definitely nippy. The front just comes up
with the slightest tug on the bars now. Third gear,
let's try rolling it on for third gear
yeah she's got a lot more punch now.
Definitely just run so much cleaner now, at low revs just above idle she's not
snatching and carrying on anymore, it's hard to express what a difference these
mods made. It may only be a 10% improvement on a dyno chart but the bush pig feels like
an entirely different kind of animal now, and for just a few hundred dollars... bargain.
you