Official Dual Sport BS Thread

They're solid. I've had my set for almost 2 years and two different KTM bikes.

 

Anyone have advise on an older dr350? I'm looking to pick up a 1993 dr350, guy says it needs a clutch but otherwise runs fine. I'm assuming the clutch job won't be any more difficult than any other bike, any gremlins I should watch out for?

 

Nope pretty solid bikes. maybe just a carb clean but we had a old one running with us in colorado just fine. Somewhere around that same age

 

Might be pulling back. I've been talking to the guy and getting the whole story on the bike. He said the clutch is fried and the bike will not move under it's own power. The engine idles and runs fine but the clutch is completely shot. Says it will shift through the gears but will not move. I might go look at it but not sure I'd be able to distinguish between a clutch and transmission problem, depending on what's actually wrong with the drive line.

 

Make sure the clutch cable has some slack in it when fully out. If not it's probably just adjusted wrong.

 

I talked to the guy on the phone and I'm going to look at it tonight. He's going to let me pull the side cover off so I can see the clutch. I'll rotate the basket by hand and make sure it doesn't make any noises from the transmission.

 

Forgot to update, I bought it and didn't even have to tear it apart. He had the clutch way out of adjustment, it is fried but I got it to grab enough to move the bike with me on it and at least shift through the gears. It runs beautifully and seems really well maintained. The whole suspension has been redone with Racetech parts, including emulators in the front forks (I'll tear them down and confirm). I have a Barnett complete clutch on order, drain plates, friction plates and springs. I might try half stock springs, half Barnett springs to keep the clutch workable in the woods. Otherwise, once it's up and running, I'll start looking at other mods. So far, the wish list includes a pumper carb from the DR350 dirt model, air box mod (free), exhaust (still researching), some decent skids, hand guards, cargo rack and some better lighting.

 

What's everyone's opinion on Pro Circuit T4 full exhaust for a DR350S?

 

DR update: The Barnett clutch is on, along with a new cable. I needed a new rear tire and I went with the Michelin T63, should be here in a couple days. I have the Pro Circuit T4 exhaust, Raptor petcock replacement, new turn signals and brake light all sitting in the garage waiting for a free weekend (the ones on the bike were cracked up and I found a complete set used on Thumpertalk pretty cheap). Now the bad... The wiring harness for the bike has been pretty hacked up over the last 22 years. Splices just twisted together and electrical taped, no crimp connector, no heat shrink, no solder. I will go through the bike wire by wire to make sure nothing is crossed that shouldn't be and to make sure I don't have any issues on a trail or on the road. Since I have the bike apart anyways, I'm going to also give it a full tune up, clean carb, new jet, valve adjustment. As I posted in the NE BS thread, I'm learning why they're called 'adventure bikes'.

 

14k this year alone
Well last year☺️

 

Getting the bike ready for another season. Want to ride at least two of the national dual sport rides. First project was a new seat cover. Came up with a way to get it nice and tight without to much of a struggle. I used gaffer tape but I think duct tape would work.


Started by stapling the front then the back while cutting strips of tape away then moved to the middle alternating from side to side and working my way to the ends. Used a neat little pneumatic stapler I got for under $20. Got kinda carried away with the staples.
No wrinkles and it was actually fun using the new staple gun. May trim off the excess material but for now I just stapled it down.
The rear shock just got rebuilt.
Some new plastic and graphics.
The UPS man is bringing more parts soon. New grips, rear wheel bearings, number plate backgrounds, frame guards and some other miscellaneous stuff. Lots of cleaning to do. Carbs gotta come apart for a thorough cleaning. New tires are waiting in the trailer to be spooned on once the weather warms up. Lots of work followed by lots and lots of fun!

 

Made a little progress today. Put the shock back together. Pressed a new heim bearing into the swingarm. Dropped the ignition cover off to be sandblasted and powder coated. Packed the new rear wheel bearings full of Super Lube grease.

 

All of my blinkers went out today. I still can find what the problem is

 

Low fluid obviously

Have a volt meter?

 

Damn I didn't check the fluid
I'm taking it to my brothers tomorrow to diagnose it and install a battery on the bike.

 

First thought is grounding problem.

 

Ordered more parts today. Ignition cover gasket, clutch cover gasket, new bolts for the ignition cover. Got the valve cover gasket cause I need to check/adjust the intake valves. No progress on the bike. Hoping to get some work done this weekend. And of course will clean some more parts.

 

Got a little work done today. Shock bearing and seals replaced, assembled the shock and set the preload. Washed the skid plate and muffler. Applied the number plate background on the front numberplate.

 

I just finished getting most of my 525 back together; I am almost done with a fairly extensive overhaul that touched every system that uses oil or some type of fluid and then redid the front end, and bars.

Here's the whole list copied from the moto bs thread:

New front floating oversized brake rotor
New rear brake rotor
Front and rear brake pads
Disassembled front and rear brake calipers for cleaning and flushed the fluid
Replaced rear brake pedal which was bent all to shit
New sprockets and chain
New chain guides, roller, chain slider, and swingarm guard
New clutch slave
Clutch master cylinder rebuild kit
High Compression Piston (12.5:1 vs 11:1 stock)
Cylinder replated
+1mm oversized kibblewhite valves with machining for better seating and flow by Dave Hopkins
Combustion chamber shape optimized by Dave Hopkins
New cam (8/06) for much more mid to top-end; high-comp piston offsets low end torque loss and runs fine on premium with the new cam
Carb bored out to 41mm and some venturi mods along with a complete carb rebuild by Dave Hopkins
New rear underfender with a larger LED rear brake light
Front HDB rallye fairing kit with 2xSquadron LED lights and a top clamp that has a keyed ignition and powerlet sockets along with 4 accessory switches and a standard KTM computer mount.
New HDB handguards with integrated mirrors
New CR High bend bars
New Throttle Cables
Fixed radiator guards which had some stripped out screw holes.
Added front brake lever hydraulic switch for engaging the rear brake light in conjunction with the rear brake hydraulic switch.
Added LED turn signals + Handlebar control
New carb vent hoses

Of all the above everything's done except the clutch master rebuild kit, I broke and have ordered an external high pressure oil line banjo bolt during reassembly (broke at half the rated torque value), and need to build a new wiring harness for the new electrical stuff. The stock one is just not up to snuff for the amount of extras and changes I'm making; and the bike's originally an XC-W so it didn't come with lights or a keyed ignition.

Beyond that I want to recover the seat and buy a set of new plastics as the current ones are beat to shit. I can't wait to ride it though with the engine mods.