Suzuki DR650SE Questions & Answers

No.

I use Penrite HPR Diesel 15 15W/50 Semi Synth in all my bikes. The 10L drums are often on special at Supercheap too.

Depends on the climate/riding conditions and what sort of money you want to spend on oil. Check out manufacturer JASO or API oil spec for your bike and try googling the dr650.zenseeker webpage for a wealth of informative info. I have got nearly 50 thousand on mine and have had no problems using Motul 5100 and Penrite MC 4stroke 10W40 ester based oils. Have also used Penrite MC 10W40 full synthetic in it when it comes on special and roughly 5000km between oil changes.
DON'T use ordinary car engine oils with friction modifiers in them as they can cause havoc with the wet clutch in the DR and you should have no problems.

Gulf western syn-x 3000, 10w40 semi synthetic works fine in a dr650, or any wet clutch motorcycle, there are no friction modifiers in it, and you can pick it up on special for as low as $15.00 for 5 lts .

I personally wouldn't go over the high mark. But remember to have the bike perfectly straight to read it correctly. If it's only over by 1 or 2 mm, then it won't matter. But 5 or more mm over could cause issues with power and seals. Eventually causing leaks and oil burn. It will also create more fuel consumption as engine works harder in a higher than recommended level of oil. The same reason oil viscosity should be a manufacturer specifications.
So remember that it's actually ok to have a engine at halfway fill level. But check the oil 10 minutes after a ride. As need to know warm levels. Usually it's similar to cold but not always.
My DR650 was always at 3/4 or just below full line. I would lean it up against a wall to point it was about to fall off the wall.
Also I always added moreys or similar oil stabilizer. 25%. Supposed to help prevent wear on cold starts but I used it because hot weather here is over 40 Celsius.
Another great addition is to get oil temp gauge or temp gauge to the engine block. I was amazed at times how hot it seemed to get. Especially on 40 plus days with just air cooled engine! !
I loved the dr650. But sold it for more light weight bike because had too many river crossings by myself and picking it up was just getting too hard

I had mine at 155km/hour and there was still more to go. This was in Northern Territory Australia with no speed restrictions.
I had adjusted the carby pin and opened up the vacuum screw two turns so it would have more power than the factory restrictions.

remember that if your 155 was what you saw on the speedo it is far from accurate. A SatNav (GPS) would have probably read about 145.
My big exhaust DR650 has seen 173 on the speedo in perfect conditions which was just touching a TRUE 160. I did it only once because that's not what these bikes are for.
They are a good sound bike in stock form just waiting for you to put your own mark on them by modifying and changing to what suits your style and needs.

It's your pickup coil then. (Pulser). There are two wires to it. Check the resistance. Mine died once on my drz250. It is same wiring as dr650.
Remember to check it properly. Mine basically had no connection.
Laid bike on its side. Take side off. Left the stator (the big copper wheel thing) in and just took pickup coil off. It's a tiny plastic thing on side of all that bundled copper wire!
Cut the wires outside the box and rejoin the new one.
Yippy! Finally spark and bike runs excellent again

So did it run better after changing spark plug?
Seems to me the mixture screw has been tampered with and thus it's flooding when you throttle hard.
Just turn mixture down one complete turn and should run better.

Hard to say, re "would the DR650 be a good learners' bike?" It's fairly tall (for a shorter person), and it might be a handful for an absolute beginner......45 years since I started riding, and on a much much smaller bike. Overall, I'd say yes, as it would be hard to hurt the bike with the inevitable driveway-drops, and one would soon "grow into it".

Hi Jordy, yes would make a good learners bike providing you (or the learner) are over 5'8" tall . Even when lowered which we have had done (by the Suzuki dealer) for our family it is still a reasonable tall bike compared to say a Yamaha XT250. But it is a bike you can live with after you get a full licence as it can cruise at 110kpm on the open road and is always fun to ride.

Hi Jordy, Short answer yes! Can be lowered with a lowering kit. Keep in mind there has been and still are gearbox issues, to date have not received a reply from Suzuki Australia in regards to this issue.
Suzuki#7

Mate it is a process of elimination, could be your tank/fuel lines/carbie/electrics. Check the DR forums and work your way through eliminating things. Good luck

I had what sounds like the same problem with an XR600 years ago. Being oil cooled also it would OVERHEAT (top gear on freeway) because of the too tall gearing (sprocket combo). Adding 4 teeth to the rear sprocket resolved the problem by letting the engine sit more comfortably in its torque/power curve as it was "labouring". Try it. You may have to put an extra couple of links in chain to accommodate larger rear sprocket. If it doesn't work you've only lost $50.

After reading your post again I see you've said "it won't start now". Is it seized because of the multiple "overheats-my theory". Naturally if it still turns over this isn't the case but you may have seized valves. I forgot to mention my last bike was a DR650. Rode it mainly in dirt/ short commuting so I didn't do long trips like yourself. Will buy another (when I'm allowed). At 5'10" found pegs too high (cramped) and would rectify this by adding an inch or two to seat next time. Other than that, bike IS bulletproof. Cheap to buy, run and fix. All the best Rick, good luck.

Gday Darren, I have had my DR for a long time now with no problems at all (see my review) you do not need to touch the fuel tap unless you need to go to the reserve tank, there is no "Off" position, the fuel tap is vacuum operated from the engine.
The only time you use the Prime or "PRI" position is if you run out of fuel, this turns on the fuel flow on, over rides the vacuum system, if you leave the tap in the "PRI" position you do run the risk of flooding and maybe fire.

Anyway you do have a faulty rubber that in the fuel tap so just replace the rubber or fuel tap and all will be O.K
Good luck.............

If the stand is down you can't turn it on and have it in gear, the bike must be in nutraul.

The side stand is probably not quite fully folded up into position meaning the switch still thinks it's down. Happens to mine sometimes when the centre stand just fudges it

No skid plate on the stock bike, but i would recommend getting one if you are planning on going over any rocky country, about $150 new for a VSM one, or lots cheeper from a wrecker.

mine was bought slightly used (800kms) and had a B&B bash plate fitted already. Great Aussie product. I would have done a bit of damage by now if it wasn't there