simon
10-11-2004, 06:03 PM
Well I can only give you a brief review of the bike, as I have not had is for a long time and only put it into off-road service once.
My bike is a 1991 model, running a H plate. It is the S-M version so that means it has all the road gear and is road legal (er…just!). Much of the rear metal work has been removed to save weight though the foot rests are still on (well you never know when they will be needed!). The front indicators are micros and the rear are the non-stalk variety sitting next to the rear light. I’ll provide some pictures at some point.
The DR350S was kick-start up until ’94. Now I’m only 5’7� and I can’t start the bike without it being on the side stand, but this is not too much of a problem…yet!
Starting hasn’t been too much of a problem, once a technique has been learnt. I found that turning the petrol tap to RES, kicking her over with full choke on three – five times would be enough from cold. For some reason she has been starting first time lately however!! :huh:
From hot she can be a bitch though! I have tried a couple of variations and the one that seems to work is by getting her to TDC (top dead centre) and giving her a boot all the way through and just a whiff of throttle.
On road she is a little gutless (compared to my ’02 SV650S) however, the gearing is 13\47 which is set for off-roading. So that will be changed to around 14\44 when I can, just to make road going a little smoother. The road manners are a little better than I expected, but I do miss the stopping power of the front brake. If ridden within her limits this isn’t too much of a problem and when combined with the rear she pulls up well enough. Up to 70mph there is no weave, at least not when the tyres are at the correct pressure! But the dive can be quite unsettling at first when the anchors are slammed on.
I have taken her of road once so far, I went to Joyce Green, Dartford, UK. Hmmm, bit of a mistake maybe. This is a full-blown motocross track!!! I went out to do one sighting lap and saw all the jumps and hairpin corners. What am I doing here? I’m going to die… :faintthud:
Actually she performed well, much better than I suspected. If anything I was the limiting factor. Some of the jumps were quite large and it was easy to get a lot of air :devil: but the landings could be hard and if taken too fast it was not difficult to bottom out the suspension. As long as I took my time over these all was well and my wrist didn’t get too much of a pasting.
Even though the engine only puts out around 27bhp at the rear wheel progress wasn’t held back too much and a good time could be had blasting into and out of corners. I rarely changed up into 4th gear and only need to drop into 1st for one tight hairpin. Keeping the revs between 3-6000 meant that I usually had enough power on tap to keep progress brisk.
If used in more suitable conditions such as trails and woodland etc. everything would be a little easier going, without the drama I incurred. I’m looking forward to try it out in more sedate surroundings and will update this review with what I have found out.
I have bought an Acerbis petrol tank that is around 16 litres which I still need to fit. The standard model is only 9 litres I think and doesn’t give a great range.
All in all I am really pleased with the bike and would only suggest getting a model with an electric foot!
Simon
These are great websites that have lots of info on the DR and links to other resources.
http://www.dr350.kenet.co.uk/index.php
http://www.ccwn.org/Ludwig.Geromiller/motorrad/dr350e.htm
My bike is a 1991 model, running a H plate. It is the S-M version so that means it has all the road gear and is road legal (er…just!). Much of the rear metal work has been removed to save weight though the foot rests are still on (well you never know when they will be needed!). The front indicators are micros and the rear are the non-stalk variety sitting next to the rear light. I’ll provide some pictures at some point.
The DR350S was kick-start up until ’94. Now I’m only 5’7� and I can’t start the bike without it being on the side stand, but this is not too much of a problem…yet!
Starting hasn’t been too much of a problem, once a technique has been learnt. I found that turning the petrol tap to RES, kicking her over with full choke on three – five times would be enough from cold. For some reason she has been starting first time lately however!! :huh:
From hot she can be a bitch though! I have tried a couple of variations and the one that seems to work is by getting her to TDC (top dead centre) and giving her a boot all the way through and just a whiff of throttle.
On road she is a little gutless (compared to my ’02 SV650S) however, the gearing is 13\47 which is set for off-roading. So that will be changed to around 14\44 when I can, just to make road going a little smoother. The road manners are a little better than I expected, but I do miss the stopping power of the front brake. If ridden within her limits this isn’t too much of a problem and when combined with the rear she pulls up well enough. Up to 70mph there is no weave, at least not when the tyres are at the correct pressure! But the dive can be quite unsettling at first when the anchors are slammed on.
I have taken her of road once so far, I went to Joyce Green, Dartford, UK. Hmmm, bit of a mistake maybe. This is a full-blown motocross track!!! I went out to do one sighting lap and saw all the jumps and hairpin corners. What am I doing here? I’m going to die… :faintthud:
Actually she performed well, much better than I suspected. If anything I was the limiting factor. Some of the jumps were quite large and it was easy to get a lot of air :devil: but the landings could be hard and if taken too fast it was not difficult to bottom out the suspension. As long as I took my time over these all was well and my wrist didn’t get too much of a pasting.
Even though the engine only puts out around 27bhp at the rear wheel progress wasn’t held back too much and a good time could be had blasting into and out of corners. I rarely changed up into 4th gear and only need to drop into 1st for one tight hairpin. Keeping the revs between 3-6000 meant that I usually had enough power on tap to keep progress brisk.
If used in more suitable conditions such as trails and woodland etc. everything would be a little easier going, without the drama I incurred. I’m looking forward to try it out in more sedate surroundings and will update this review with what I have found out.
I have bought an Acerbis petrol tank that is around 16 litres which I still need to fit. The standard model is only 9 litres I think and doesn’t give a great range.
All in all I am really pleased with the bike and would only suggest getting a model with an electric foot!
Simon
These are great websites that have lots of info on the DR and links to other resources.
http://www.dr350.kenet.co.uk/index.php
http://www.ccwn.org/Ludwig.Geromiller/motorrad/dr350e.htm