I purchased a used 2004 blue Suzuki DR650SE that had been well cared for, lightly-modded, ridden mainly on the road and had very few miles on it. It was a stock motor and run-of-the-mill DR650SE, but the perfect foundation for my adventure bike build. I am building this moto for the specific purpose of a lengthy South America tour in the future.

Also many thanks to fellow inmate Lukas for great ideas & input as well as answering alot of my questions on his DR650 build. I have followed along with Jammin Jay as he rode through South America and experienced some of his frame & metal pannier issues. Also lots of great posts and helpful information on the DR650 thread - and others who have purpose-built DR650s. Also many thanks to fellow inmate Lukas for great ideas & input as well as answering alot of my questions on his DR650 build. I have followed along with Jammin Jay as he rode through South America and experienced some of his frame & metal pannier issues. Also lots of great posts and helpful information on the DR650 thread - and others who have purpose-built DR650s.

What to call this thing ??? -- maybe a DR650F/Adventure. The "F" being "Frankenmoto" as I had planned a number of improvements, modifications and additions. My primary logic being keeping the motor essentially stock with virtually no internal mods thereby keeping it reliable and not making any more heat.

The primary missions for my build / bike selection are -- in order of priority:

1) Reliable - air cooled and carb (no FI or fuel pump wanted in 2nd and 3rd World countries), simple motor, stout frame

2) Functional - comfort, safety and dual-purpose (paved roads, gravel / dirt roads and some offroad)

3) Serviceable & repairable in the boonies

4) Light - I'm getting older every day and want to crash as little as possible and pick-up a bike with the least amount of weight

5) Secure as possible for critical gear, tools and travel documents

I have a very good friend who is (was) a professional moto mechanic and made his living for years at this. Several years ago, he burned out at being a full-time moto mechanic and has chosen a new career path; but agreed to be the primary builder on this moto in his somewhat cramped, but functional garage - along with my help when I am in town and not traveling on business.

He has a monster Snap-On rolling toolbox that just blows me away, and he has moto tools that I would never have - boroscopes, digital torque wrenches, specialized tools to disassemble and rebuild Ohlins forks, power drivers.....the list is endless. He was even sent to the Ducati factory in Italy to be certified as a mechanic on the Ducati Desmosedici and works on mine. In other words, he is the right guy to go through this bike.

In my opinion, the "cheapness" & compromise of most mass produced, relatively inexpensive dual-sport motorcycles, resides primarily in the suspension systems, as well as controls and seating. I planned a number of upgrades in those "weak" areas while maintaining the essential goodness and reliability of the motor.

This is not a monster power motor, but is dead reliable save for two known issues that I am aware of -

1) the neutral sending unit (NSU) which can loosen, the screws enter the crankcase and cause catastrophic engine / transmission failure

2) some examples of 3rd gear failures have been found - my understanding is pre-2004 units primarily but not exclusively , perhaps due to improper heat-treating of the 3rd gear. Total transmission / engine failure can result and you will be stranded.

I am building this DR650 to get me there and back again, not to go fast - I have lots of other bikes and cars to do that.

Click here if any interest in other motorized fun: My Garage

Here is the basic moto - the beginning.

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Where will we travel in the future?

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> The first order of business was to completely disassemble the bike. The Suzuki DR650 has very few known structural issues with the frame or subframe. However, there is one instance that I know of where there was frame cracking [but not total failure] at the "Y" of the frame downcomer near the footpeg. The upper chain roller is also a known problem if the suspension is heavily compressed the chain can tear the roller out of the frame, leaving a gaping hole and a weakened structure.



As noted in my Alaska Ride Report, I was the owner / operator of MotoAdventures doing offroad enduro-style tours in Costa Rica, Central America and Peru, South America. We used Honda XR400s in Costa Rica and XR650Rs in Peru. </o >

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> Both bikes experienced subframe cracking issues under the seat area with primary failures in the lateral struts that were welded between the horizontal sections of the sub-framework. Obviously there were severe loads being placed on the subframe to cause these types of failures - and the subframes were deficient.



I wanted to assess the structure of base Suzuki DR650 frame to see where I felt, based upon my experience with the frame issues on our Hondas, we may want to add frame gusseting and reinforcements. Fully loaded panniers induce lots of stresses on the DR650 frame & subframe.



Some of the disassembly photos:



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