There and Back Again -- Another DR350 Story

[Nice Goat]

I bought my first dual sport from @Postmaster in 2012.  It was a 1991 Suzuki DR350S (no electric start).  I did not like kick-starting it, but that bike was very easy to ride.

I've had many dual sports in the last nine years -- DRZ 400, XR 400, KLR 650, DR 650, WR 250, KTM 350, KTM 500.  They all had their strong points and weak points.  Heavier dual sports perform better on the road, but they are exhausting to ride (read: pick up) when the trail gets hard.  Lighter dual sports are fun to ride on trails, but are exhausting on the pavement.

The DR 350 strikes a great balance between weight and power and is very rideable on both street and trail.

Last week, I picked up a 1996 Suzuki DR350SE.  This one has electric start and only 2,100 miles.  Mechanically, it's still practically new.  Cosmetically, it needs a bottle of Simple Green and an all weekend rubbing session.  I'm going to give this bike some lovin' and freshen it up.  I'm hoping that it'll be as much fun to ride as I remember when I bought that first one in 2012.

Time to get to work!

[terryrussell1]

Nice glenn saw it when you posted up on advrider. Wish they still made the dr350 such a great little machine.

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[Postmaster]

I remember that day, 9 years ago.  When you tire of this one, let me know, I need something to do.

[Nice Goat]

As far as I can tell, I am the fourth owner of this bike.  The first two owners were in Texas.  The first "For Sale" advertisement on ADV Rider indicated some nice upgrades:

• Freshly rebuilt shock
• new tires
• Teflon coated axles
• Teflon coated linkage bolts, spacers, and bushings

By "new tires," I am sure that he meant very little use, because these tires were manufactured in 2015, according to the date codes.

The third owner added some color when he posted it for sale early this month:

• stock but for suspension work
• induction system is stock, with a pristine, uncut airbox and snorkle
• burns no oil
• Seat Concepts standard height seat

The second owner chimed in on the third owner's ad and said:

Just to verify, the intake, carb, and jetting are all stock, I played with jetting a bit and ended up back at stock.  I tried bigger jets, but alas, stock was perfect at sea level...rear shock rework and stiffer straight rate springs...

Japanese dual sports are notorious for having very soft, minimal suspension components.  However, the suspension on this bike is very nice.  It was done by 812 Suspension Design in Austin, Texas.  It is nice and firm, and fully adjustable (compression and rebound, front and rear), with a remote reservoir on the rear shock.  I will not need to do anything to the suspension on this bike except maybe tweak the settings.

Older Suzuki DRs are also known for having insufficient grease on the bearings and linkages.  Today, I tore into the front end and found that the steering head bearings had plenty of grease on them.  However, maybe it's just me, but I don't like grease that looks emulsified, so I cleaned it up and will re-grease with Belray waterproof grease.  The triple tree and forks cleaned up nicely.

However, I did find that the steering head rubber cap has a little dry rot cracking, and the plastic housing on the lower bearing had a break in it.  So I'll order and replace the steering head bearings.  My guess: since this bike is 25 years old, I will need to check all hoses and other rubber pieces, and check all wires and electrical connections.

[KevinB]

The dual-sport trip master is back!

[Nice Goat]

My new steering stem bearings and OEM dust seal arrived today from Rocky Mountain ATV (also some other stuff, but more on that later).  I like All Balls bearings because they use metal cages for the roller bearings, not plastic.

I ended up having to use the Dremel to remove the old bottom steering stem bearing.  Bearing puller simply broke off the lip.  Cleaned up the stem and applied a little grease.  Packed the new bearings with Belray waterproof grease before installing.  Got it all back together.

[Nice Goat]

Yesterday I worked on wheels, axles, brakes, and handlebars.  With these old dual sports, sometimes it is notoriously difficult to remove the brake rotor bolts, and I needed to remove both brake rotors to remove the surface rust.  The OEM bolts are so soft that people sometimes joke that they are made of butter, and they are often seized after this many years.  The front rotor bolts came out with very little drama, but I had to Dremel and drill out all four of the rear wheel rotor bolts.  The sprocket bolts came out easily.  I had enough aftermarket bolts to replace the front rotor bolts and the sprocket bolts, but I am still waiting for rear rotor bolts.  I had some stainless button head bolts that I stuck in there as placeholders.  I also cleaned the wheel bearings, axles, hubs, rims, etc. and regreased.

I removed both front and rear brake calipers and cleaned them gently with a wire brush.  Cleaned the hoses and removed the pins and pads and cleaned inside.  Lightly greased the pins before reassembling.  Both brake pads look good, but I'm going to replace them anyway and flush both brake lines with new fluid.  The new pads should be delivered today, but it'll take another 1-2 weeks for the custom stainless front brake line to arrive from Galfer.  I had them add 1-1/2" because of the stiffer suspension (riding higher) and I installed riser adapters for the fat handlebar.  I broke the clutch perch trying to get the mirror off, and there was no way to get the OEM grip off the throttle tube.  So, those are on order as well.

The chain appeared OEM, had lots of surface rust, and the links were not moving freely, so I ordered a new chain also.  Should be here today.

Coming up next: Remove and clean rear shock; remove, clean, and lubricate swingarm bolt, linkage bolts, and shock mount bolts, check linkage and swingarm bearings.

[Merkur Man]

Nice bike.  I noticed that it has IRC GP110 tires on it. I ran those tires on my 86 XT600 (kick start only) when I made a road trip to Red River NM in 1998.
As you may have noticed, they have minimal grip in the center portion, but will get excellent mileage when you are on a road trip.
Forget about riding in any kind of mud. They will "pack up" real quick unless you air them down.
They will make some noise on the highway while leaning over for turns. On my bike they would howl like gumbo mudders! I wore holes in the bottoms of both my saddlebags during a trip up to Deals Gap. I could not hear them scraping the ground for all the tire noise, Lol.
I just went and looked at that old bike. It now has almost 29,000 miles, and it still has some GP110s on it.

 

[Nice Goat]

Thanks!  Yeah, I've never tried these tires before.  I generally don't like tires that are more than 3-4 years old, but I'm going to leave them on until I finish freshening up the bike and do a couple of shakedown rides.  I have new tires, heavy tubes, and rim strips ready to go.

[Nice Goat]

Bling bling

[thinwater]

I just put the IRC's on my Himalayan, rode the first 190 miles with them yesterday, quiet as a church mouse going straight, sounds like you got on the shoulder of the interstate when you lean.   :D

Nice bike.  I noticed that it has IRC GP110 tires on it. I ran those tires on my 86 XT600 (kick start only) when I made a road trip to Red River NM in 1998.
As you may have noticed, they have minimal grip in the center portion, but will get excellent mileage when you are on a road trip.
Forget about riding in any kind of mud. They will "pack up" real quick unless you air them down.
They will make some noise on the highway while leaning over for turns. On my bike they would howl like gumbo mudders! I wore holes in the bottoms of both my saddlebags during a trip up to Deals Gap. I could not hear them scraping the ground for all the tire noise, Lol.
I just went and looked at that old bike. It now has almost 29,000 miles, and it still has some GP110s on it.

[thinwater]

I've been enjoying this thread, I've never had a 350 but I am fond of these 200SE's I have for the short people in my life.  I can't imagine buying a dualsport to get dirty, and dissassembling / reassembing it after going over it with a fine tooth comb and taking it back to dirt.  It looked good to me when you introduced it, not it looks fantastic.  I hope you enjoy that thing more than any bike you've ever had. 

[Nice Goat]

...I can't imagine buying a dualsport to get dirty, and dissassembling / reassembing it after going over it with a fine tooth comb and taking it back to dirt.

Thanks, man.  It is true that the bike will likely get dirty again, but I don't mind.  Right now, I just needed a project and all the tearing down, inspection, and cleaning... for me it's more about building confidence in the old bike's condition and reliability.  This bike might find itself on a long trip in remote territory someday.  I'd hate to be struggling on the side of the road over some bolt that won't come out or some bad part that I didn't know about!

[Nice Goat]

Today, I installed the new brake pads (front and rear); the factory luggage rack (came with the bike, thankfully); new turn signals (front and rear); new clutch perch; and new clutch cable and throttle cables.  Got the headlight reinstalled as well.  I also removed, cleaned and greased the swingarm bolt.  It came out with zero drama.  These teflon-coated parts are nice!  For that reason, I decided not to remove the shock linkage bolts... I don't think it's necessary at this time.

Still waiting for: skid plate, grips, throttle tube, and brake rotor bolts.

Almost ready to start riding it!

[klaviator]

Will the bike be ready for Tellico at the end of the month?