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1986 suzuki dr 600 future motard

15K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  gixxstar 
#1 ·
I've picked up this bike for almost free. I think I can build a nice motard with it. Anyone have similar experience? Resources are slim on google. The 650 has lots of threads. Wheels and the conversion info will be appreciated.
 
#2 ·
No experience, but I'm guessing you'll probably have to fab up your own spacers for wheels and brackets for brakes on a bike that old. I doubt you'll find much bolt-on parts for it to make it a SuMo.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I have the 650. It's a low-tech bike and Suzuki doesn't spend a tonne of time re-tooling. The only drawback with the 600 is it looks a little shortchanged for the front brake for a motard. I would check a bigger forum like thumpertalk and see what you can bolt on. Idealy, you would find a used but straight front end from the 96 and up 650 so you have the brakes from that, take the skinny 17" back rim and lace that up on the front hub and re-lace the back to accept a wider 17" rear rim. It shouldn't be hard to find as a fair number of guys try to upgrade the front end on the 650. I don't know if the width of the triples are the same. The tubes are 43mm. If your forks are 43mm, they might slide right in but will only work if the triples are the same width. If they are a different width, you'll need to machine new spacers or cut down the 650 ones depending on the measurement differences.......and that will only be worthwile if the the axle is the same diameter. If you don't have access to the machining, get the whole front end if you come across anything that's appreciably different. It will make your life a lot easier in the long run. I have an extra front wheel with the rotor and maybe spacers for the newer bike.
 
#5 ·
I haven't had a street bike since 1989. This bike will be a project for my son who want's his first bike. Living here in Courtenay I'm torn as to whether to go all road bike or true dual purpose. The kid of course wants to go road bike and somehow that just seems like more fun to me. I'm sure that it won't see a lot of off road use. I'm a pretty good fabricator and ichin' to get at it. Thanks for the input everyone.
 
#10 ·
well I'm having some trouble trying to figure out how to replace my rear shock without breaking the bank. The shock is very basic without any adjustment. It measures 350mm from eye to eye. It's got basic eye bolt style connection on each end. There's a company I spoke to in Nanaimo called STS Suspension and he (Ellis) is a wealth of knowledge. I pulled a similar shock out of a Suzuki dirt bike at Jack's Motorcycle salvage in Comox but it turned out to be too long. It was fully adjustable. STS told me they might be able to work some majic on it, rebuild and shorten. 150.00 for a used shock and 150.00 for repair is rapidly approaching the cost of something new from a company like
http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/catalog/partdetail.aspx?PartNo=M63051H
Anyway sorry for the long rant but if anybody has any idea as to how to upgrade the shock I'm all ears Nature Sky Light Lighting Automotive lighting
 
#11 ·
scrap it and get drz 400 . more power. better parts. old bike like that will nickle and dime you in the end to make it any fun to ride. heavy and old technolgy. call buchannans in cali and get front and rear hoops to spec for the original hubs. new spokes and tires.
 
#13 ·
Progress report. Last night.....it lives!!! We stripped it mostly down to the frame and cleaned off 30 yrs. of grime with my kid wondering (why). Got a shock all modded up to work, everything put back together, louder pipe confidently taped in place. needed a tow behind the van for some reason (wouldn't start with kicking) and it seems to run real well. the tape blew off and it got real loud (welding required). Now on to brake,front fork, front tire upgrades. Has anyone else started fixing one of these up? I'm looking ahead and thinking I should pick up some motor parts for next winter, cylinder head porting, rings for sure. anyone got a lead on parts?
 
#16 · (Edited)
It turns out I bought another DR

I bought another 89 with disk rear. This is the bike with the Yamaha front end. Now I have to figure out where to go with the original 1986 bike. After putting lots of miles on the 89 I'm good with saying it's a pretty good ride. I was going to build it into a supermoto and haven't given up on that idea. I'll try to swap out the swingarm and front end. The airbox will have to be swapped as well as the DR has a unique swingarm pivot system. Tig welding will be required. Wiseco makes a high comp. piston so it should have adequate power. I guess the bike is what you make of it. I'd maybe rather have started out with a WR450, but this bike is kinda cool looking and gets the job done. Pictures are in my profile under album.
 
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