Finally, our Suzuki DR650 review... kind of. A moto journalist from ADV Pulse recently asked me 10 questions about the DR650. They were keen to interview a DR650 owner with massive amounts of useful knowledge about the bush pig... and with great riding skills too. Welcome to Cross Training Adventure, we are into all things dual sport and adventure on the east coast of Australia. Those guys were all busy so they asked me instead. The DR650 is often modified for adventure riding and touring, but also more for a more dirtoriented dual sport platform. Which options have you tried? Which one makes more sense to you? The old bush pig is certainly a flexible platform. In the past I did try setting up a DR650 for more dirt riding. Knobby tyres. The suspension definitely needs work for any spirited offroad riding. You can actually drop a lot of weight with simply removing items like the fork spacers, bar ends, pillion footpegs and so on. I've got a whole video dedicated to putting the bush pig on a diet. You should just buy that twin, or pay the big bucks for a Husky 701 or KTM 690. How do you think the DR650 could be reasonably improved by Suzuki without spending a bundle? Check out our reviews of various adventure bikes and dual sport bikes. The favourite topic of all DR650 owners! Quite a few mods would cost them nothing... This is only just scratching the surface of course. If you ever have trouble getting to sleep, just ask a DR650 owner about their suggestions for Suzuki's next DR650 model. If you like dual sport riding in Australia then you might like our adventure riding vids. It's still bloody heavy but it can be a respectable dual sport bike if you are into the old school! An adventure setup? It really depends on how much you want to spend. The basics are just a bigger fuel tank and a comfortable seat. And of course if you are prepared to sell your kids to raise funds there's an endless array of parts and mods. Keen on adventure riding in Australia? Check out our vids. Remember we've done a big 10 part series about the DR650 that covers much of this information in detail. And it may help you decide if the DR650 is the perfect bike for you... or one you will deeply regret buying. As to which makes more sense? Many riders have been happy with either setup. Given its weight though, I think the DR650 makes more sense as a budget adventure platform. The DR650 is now cancelled in Australia, but I'm sure plenty of them are still around. Does the aftermarket and Suzuki still seem interested in supporting this bike, or has popularity started to die off? All the usual aftermarket mobs are still going strong. Vince Strang Motorcycles is our Aussie equivalent of Procycle in the USA in terms of providing a huge array of DR650 parts. FFRC make the well known Plex Valves for the front forks. They report there are still plenty of orders for these, as well as DR650s brought in for complete suspension make overs. The Aussie DR650 groups certainly seem to indicate the community is strong. I think it will take years to see any drop in popularity. In the longterm will the DR650 will have the popularity equivalent to the Hilux and other classic 4x4 rigs? Or will it phase out quickly in favour of newer fuelinjected bikes? A very interesting question! Back in 2008 Honda made the stupid decision to stop importing the XR650L, a bike this arguably better than the DR650 for most Aussie riders. It has taken years, but it's now rare to see these around or find much in the way of parts and support due to natural attrition. This will undoubtedly happen with time for the DR650 as well. I don't know if the Suzuki will ever be regarded as a true classic in the wider community. But certainly plenty of DR owners see it this way. I know you've owned a few DR650s and ridden with lots of DR owners. Benefits? Cheap! Many of us love the old school technology with less things to go wrong. No fuel pump. No fuel injectors. No radiators. No ABS. A stock DR650 puts out about 35HP at the rear wheel. It doesn't sound like much but it has piles of torque in the mid range. Plenty of riders keep their bikes stock very happily. I often kept my DR650s stock for the first six months or so and they would still wheelie easily in third gear. What's the most miles you ever put on a single DR650 that you've owned? And what's the longest trip? Doh, this one will be a bit embarrassing! My highest mileage was only 28,000km. After two years I start to look at other models and think I will be happier with another model. But eventually I just buy another DR650. This has happened four times now so I'm currently on my fifth bush pig... sigh. Is the DR650 powerful enough for the street, considering how much jam the modern liquidcooled twins have? It's a slug compared to most modern twins! If you want blistering acceleration the DR650 will disappoint on so many levels.
#crosstrainingadventure #dr650 #adventurebikes #dualsportriding
#suzukidr650