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Suzuki DR650 Adventure Setup

Why choose the DR650?

For a long-term overlanding adventure, we wanted bikes with the following characteristics:

  • Reliable
  • Light
  • Affordable
  • Easy to maintain & repair
  • Plenty of parts available anywhere in the world
  • Good fuel range and fuel consumption
  • Good Suspension
  • Comfortable to ride over long-distances

We also wanted to ride the same bike models to avoid carrying different sets of tools and spare parts. It’s convenient, saves weight and money. 

After lots of research, we narrowed our options to three possible candidates:  Suzuki DR650, Yamaha WR250R, Honda XR650L and CRF250L Rally (today replaced by CRF300L Rally). Arguably, none of these bikes fit the above requirements. However, thanks to a large number of aftermarket parts available for them, you can easily transform any of these bikes into a proper around the world machine.

In the end, we settled for the DRs as they are one of the most available second-hand bikes in Australia. And people give them funny names like “Bush Pig”, “Dirt Tractor”, “Off-road Armchair” which is very encouraging, isn’t it?

We bought both bikes in Melbourne with lots of modifications already on them. We then upgraded them even further to make sure they fulfil all our requirements.

suzuki dr650 before the adventure setup
Aga's DR right after we bought it
suzuki DR650 before adventure setup
Yan's DR right after purchase

Suzuki DR650 Adventure Setup

Below you will find a list of all the upgrades and modifications we did on our Suzuki DR650s to transform them into true adventure travel machines.

Tank, Filters & Carburettor

  • 30L Safari tank (link):
    • This provides each bike with a range of 600 to 700 km depending on the terrain.
    • Safari Tanks tend to expand with time, so one of the tanks has a capacity of 35L now vs the original 30L.
    • They are very sturdy, so far they show only minor scratches after all the falls we had with them.

  • Fuel Filters ¼ two per bike (link):
    • Inexpensive and a must when doing long distance, you never know when some dirt is going to fall in the tank by accident or if the fuel at the petrol station is clean… these can help in both cases.

  • Modified Keihin pump carb from a WR400F (Yan’s bike) (link):
    • Gives a more responsive throttle
    • Provides a little bit more power
    • Requires less maintenance compared with the original (no need to clean the secondary carburator air filter)
    • However, this is at the cost of more fuel consumption (+0.5L/100km compared to the stock carburetor)
    • And more temperamental with the altitude and the weather….
    •  Overall, we would not recommend doing this mod (it’s how the bike was when we bought it). The stock carburetor is better for long-distance travel and the power gain is not that significant. UPDATE: The modified carburetor needed to be completely replaced in Queensland (Australia) after a small butterfly piece detached itself and went into the engine… Another proof that the stock one is better for longer adventures.

  • Carburetor have been re-jet (both bikes)
    • A must-do on the DR650
    • Both bikes have gained a lot in power and smoothness once they were rejeted
    • Has almost no impact on fuel consumption

Exhaust & Muffler

  • Leovince X3 Exhaust (Yan’s bike) (link)
    • Less weight than original (-2.3kg!)
    • More power
    • Pretty quiet
    • European approved (street legal)
    • You can put a spark arrestor to make it trail legal in US as well.

  • Two Brothers M7 Exhaust (Aga’s bike) (link)
    • Less weight than the stock version
    • More Power & smoothness
    • Pretty noisy standard, we put a baffle to reduce the noise
    • Not street legal in Europe.

We recommend using the Leovince exhaust over the Two Brothers.
DG O series, and Stock exhaust: they are street-legal, less noisy, and give about the same power output.

Protection

  • B&B Case Guard Clutch and Ignition (link)
    • Another must-do if you’re serious about traveling offroad with the DR.
    • This mod will protect both sides of your engine in case of a fall. Some people without this protection had a hole in their engine case resulting in the bike losing all the oil…

  • B&B Front Sprocket Case Saver (link)
    • This mod helps to see the wear on the front sprocket.
    • Also helps to clean the front sprocket

  • B&B Oil Cooler Guard (link)
    • Essential mod, the stock guard is flimsy and won’t protect adequately the cooler from tree branches or rocks.
    • B&B Oil Cooler is much more durable and would prevent a hole in your cooler.

  • B&B Bash Plate (Aga’s bike) (link)
    • Good bash plate that protects the engine from rocks and gives extra protection in case of falls.

  • Force Bash Plate (link)
    • It’s a good bash plate, however the B&B is better. One of the issues with the Force Bash Plate is on the rear brake control, the pedal can sometimes scratch on the side of this bash plate.

  • B&B Chain Guard (link)
    • The original plastic one was breaking all the time, especially when you change the rear sprocket to a 44. Using this metal version helps to avoid this issue.

  • B&B Frame Guard (link)
    • Helps to have a flat surface on the side of the bike to better handle the bike offroad.
    • Protects the rear brake master cylinder in case of a fall

  • Parabellum Headlight Cover (link)
    • Protects the expansive DR650 headlight from flying rocks… (my Africa Twin has still a headlight smashed after following someone to close…)

  • Barkbusters Handguards (link)
    • An absolute must!
    • Protects your hands & lever in case of a fall or from branches when offroad.
    • Protects your hands from the cold & wind when driving on the freeway.

Suspension

  • VSM upgraded suspension & fork (Yan’s bike and Aga’s rear suspension too later in the trip) (link)

Wheels & Tyres

  • Rimlocks on front and rear (both bikes)
    • When running low pressure in an offroad situation rimlock prevents the tire to move on the rim and potentially tearing your tube…

  • Heavy Duty Tube 4mm (while heavy-duty tubes lower the possibility of getting a flat, they are very annoying to change, because they are thicker)

  • 50/50 tyres

Battery & Electronics

  • Motobatt Battery (link)
    • After 3 dead batteries dying in the middle of nowhere in Russia & Mongolia, I definitely wanted something reliable for our trip this time…
    • I haven’t been disappointed with these gel batteries so far. They start way better in the cold, don’t seem to have an issue with the vibrations or falls.

  • USB chargers
    • Charge our GPS, phones and power banks

  • LED Auxiliary Lights (both bikes)

  • Trail Tech Vapor Speedometer & Tachometer (Yan’s bike) (link)

  • Heated grips
    • It might seem like a luxury… But when driving in cold weather you need to be able to use your controls effectively. It’s not so easy to bend your fingers when they’re freezing!

Ergonomics & Comfort

  • Sargent Seat (Aga’s bike) (link)
    • The original seat is extremely hard and not suited for long-distance.
    • The Sargeant seat is comfortable enough for the first 300km of the day.

  • Seat Concepts (Yan’s bike) (link)
    • Less comfortable than the Sargent Seat but still better than the original one.

  • Sheepskin Seat Cover (link)
    • Add a bit more comfort for those long-distance…(and they look nice!)
    • Don’t forget to cover your seat when it’s raining. One of our friends had his sheepskin turn into a pile of mold after exposing it to too much humidity!

  • Aftermarket handlebars (both bikes)
    • The original bar is flimsy.
    • Highly recommend fitting a more sturdy one and adjusting its height to give you better control & comfort, especially when standing up.

  • Lower footpegs (link)
    • The ergonomics of the DR650 is wrong… If you are taller than 1.7M you should lower your footpegs to give you more control and comfort.

  • Pivot Pegs (Yan’s bike) (link)
    • Not essential but make the gear change much easier!

  • Warp 9 Brake and Clutch Levers (link)
  • Warp 9 Shift Lever (link)
    • The original shift lever is very flimsy… This one doesn’t break as easily during a fall.

  • Screens For Bikes Windscreen (Aga’s bike) (link) (Yan has a DIY screen made from a piece of plastic – see here for the video and forum thread)

Luggage Racks

  • B&B Carry Rack (link)
  • AndyStrapz Luggage Rack (Aga’s bike) (link)
  • Rackless Mosko Moto 80L V3.0 ‘Revolver’ (Yan’s bike)(link), but added VSM bag supports for more safety and support.
  • B&B Rear Luggage Plate Extension (Yan’s bike) (link)

Key Issues to be Aware of

The DR650s are very reliable, but there are a few problems that need to be fixed before undertaking any serious long-distance riding. Below are the main issues we addressed:

  • Neutral sending unit (NSU) loose screws (pre-2017 models only)
    • There are two screws holding the sensor responsible for lighting the “neutral” indicator. In some rare instances, these screws can fall into the engine and cause serious damage. To avoid this make sure to apply thread lock and re-tighten the screws. There are guides available on how to do this here (DRRiders Forum).

  • Countershaft Seal (Pre 2012 Models Only)
    • In some instance the countershaft will move out of position resulting in the bike dumping all it’s oil… Suzuki fixed that issue after 2012, you can get the original countershaft seal for post 2012 from any Suzuki dealer. Highly recommend you install it for peace of mind.

  • Upper drive chain roller
    • There is plenty of examples of the upper chain roller breaking out and leaving a hole in the frame… The recommendation is simply to remove it and Loctite a bolt in its place.

  • Wire Harness Chafing
    • You can put some plastic or tape on the harness to prevent this.

There are, of course, other potential issues on the DR650s. Whether or not you need to address them will depend on the DR650 model, the potential damage the issue can cause and probably the type of riding you want to do.

To read more about the most common DR650 issues check out the links below:

  • Common issues on DR650 on Wiki Fandom (webpage)
  • Cross Training Adventure: Known issues, problems and fixes (YouTube Video)

Useful links

Our review on Mad or Nomad website

dr650 review madornomad

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