DR650 Repair Advice...or recommendation on mechanic close to Christie Pits in TO | GTAMotorcycle.com

DR650 Repair Advice...or recommendation on mechanic close to Christie Pits in TO

J_C_K

J_C_K

Member
Starting a new thread in order to not derail the "Dual Sport Routes near GTA" thread (where I was panic posting last evening).

Long story short, bike died on an uphill segment.
I'm looking for advice on how to tackle the issue - or if there is a good mechanic I can take the bike to near Christie Pits (Toronto).

Situation
  • Reasonably steep incline with loose rocks/gravel and areas of washout (complete with pits I REALLY didn't want to fall into)
  • Was slipping the clutch rather aggressively to maintain power uphill and not have the bike stall/loop out
Bike mechanical symptoms
  • Bought the bike used with 3200 km on the odo. I've noticed that since getting it, the bike would have difficulty shifting from neutral to first/second gear occasionally (it'd get stuck, I'd have to rev the engine/move the bike back and forth and hit the clutch pedal up and down to get it to shift)
  • Back to the trail ride... I initially noticed that the bike wasn't transferring power while in gear after a particularly nasty section - i.e. clutch not releasing? I'd rev engine and the yet the wheels wouldn't spin
  • I turned the bike off and let it sit - after restarting, the bike would immediately stall going from neutral to first or second.
  • Very stiff clutch lever all of a sudden (had free play previously)
  • I managed to get help from an experienced motorcyclist - he used all of the cable barrel and lever adjustment to get the friction point back in play (poorly at that).
  • When he took off the oil filter cap, there were some seemingly solid pieces stuck to it. No out of the ordinary smells however.
Oil used
  • Synthetic Motul 7100 4T (10W-40) at 6100km, now at 9200km
Looked into Suzuki mechanics on the forums - seems like Keith Premdas was the guy to go to, but unfortunately it seems like he passed away.

Anyways, I'm trying to get the DR up and running for a group ride on Sunday, so am in a bit of a time crunch.

Thanks!
 
How mechanically inclined are you? Sounds like a cooked clutch. Should take less than an hour to replace clutch material and oil change.

If you want to sub it out affordably, try @frekeyguy (he is also Motomechto). He picks up bikes, fixes them and brings them back. Afaik, not a ticketed mechanic but I haven't heard anyone complain about his work.
 
Thanks for the reply GreyGhost - I'd be happy to do the work myself (I love tinkering and have already done the basic stuff i.e. oil change)... but the issue is, I don't have a garage or the full set of tooling I'm assuming I'd need. Could take a while for the parts to arrive too (I'm thinking of upgrading to a Barnett kit - hoping a Suzuki mech would have one lying around).
 
Before you open the clutch cover, remove the front sprocket cover and make sure the sprocket is on tight. I've heard of front sprockets being so loose the countershaft was spinning freely while the sprocket was sitting still.
 
Relax said:
Before you open the clutch cover, remove the front sprocket cover and make sure the sprocket is on tight. I've heard of front sprockets being so loose the countershaft was spinning freely while the sprocket was sitting still.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure the front sprocket looks like this.

Pretty fool-proof

O.p., no time like the present to buy some tools and learn. Take the clutch cover off.

Pull the bolts out of the pressure plate. Measure the discs.

The clutch cable should have an adjustment at the clutch actuation arm, off the engine.

Sounds like you are out of clutch cable adjustment at the lever.

You should be able to slip a nickel into the gap between the lever, and perch before you start pulling on the cable. You need free play.
d618707d7cf20b1fd4f763a3866b2eb9.jpg


Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk
 
matt365 said:
Pretty sure the front sprocket looks like this.

Pretty fool-proof

O.p., no time like the present to buy some tools and learn. Take the clutch cover off.

Pull the bolts out of the pressure plate. Measure the discs.

The clutch cable should have an adjustment at the clutch actuation arm, off the engine.

Sounds like you are out of clutch cable adjustment at the lever.

You should be able to slip a nickel into the gap between the lever, and perch before you start pulling on the cable. You need free play.
d618707d7cf20b1fd4f763a3866b2eb9.jpg


Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Tools for a clutch are minimal. Probably a blowmold socket set can get it done.

EDIT:
I've done one sitting in a gravel driveway before. In that case, it turns out that I could have avoided the expense of parts as the biggest issue was many of the plates/friction were stuck. Disassembly and reassembly probably would have been sufficient. Since I already had the parts on hand, they went in. OP sounds like he lost significant friction material and I suspect parts will be required.

As others said, check sprocket and adjustment first but from the original description I expect some friction plates got hot and gave up.
 
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GreyGhost said:
How mechanically inclined are you? Sounds like a cooked clutch. Should take less than an hour to replace clutch material and oil change.

If you want to sub it out affordably, try @frekeyguy (he is also Motomechto). He picks up bikes, fixes them and brings them back. Afaik, not a ticketed mechanic but I haven't heard anyone complain about his work.
Click to expand...
+1 for @frekeyguy. unsure if hes still in the game as he has his hands...full but id trust him with my bike any day.
 
I am not in the GTA so no local mechanic insights. However, I am a former DR rider and will likely be one again..

Depending on the model year a Neutral Sending Unit failure can be a significant problem sending chunks of metal floating around the engine internals. You might want to poke around Thumper Talk or DRRiders for some insights....

Did the neutral light die? If so it could be worth investigating...

That said, my comments could just be another time wasting internet rabbit hole...good luck.
 
OP - drain the oil, pull the clutch cover off and have a look. What have you got to lose ?
A long time ago I was riding the Algonquin Enduro on my DT175 and the clutch started slipping, what to do ?
I lay it on its side, pulled the cover off by the side of the trail, found plates were smoked so I threw some sand in.
DO NOT try this at home kids, but it got me back to the trailer...
 
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