2005 DR650se stock dog bone length?

[ThumperJordan]

Hey guys,

Just picked up an 05 DR650.

The second owner told me he shortened the kick stand because the first owner lowered it in the rear.

I'd like to put it back to stock. The fork is stock.

I've searched the threads and the shock appears to be in the right clevis hole and collar.

The only thing I can figure is the dog bones are longer. I get 4.5" eye to eye. The shock preload is cranked down a lot ...but it's still very soft.

Can a DR owner here measure the length of their dog bones for me?

Thanks.

[kezzajohnson]

Yep. Mine is stock and measures 115mm which close enough to 4.5", so yours is stock. The lower shock mount should be in the bottom hole of the clevis. If it's in the upper hole then it has been lowered that way. That in itself shouldn't justify a shorter sidestand. Once you drop the front, it is a different story. Have a look inside the tops of your forks and if the spacer is on top of the springs, then the forks haven't been lowered by conventional means but may have just been slid up inside the triples to lower the front. Mine stock, the top of the fork tube is flush with the top of the triple clamp, only the fork cap is sitting above the top of the triple. If the spacer is not visible inside the top of your fork tubes, only the spring, then your forks may have been lowered in the conventional manner which is to place the spacer that is normally on top of your fork springs, onto the damper rod inside the fork leg followed by the damper rod spring.

 

The stock spring is soft, even with the pre-load wound up. You'd be surpised just how far down the threads the preload collars are, even in stock form.

 

FWIW, when I change over to my super motard wheels (17inch front and rear), My stock sidestand is too long. The bike is close to upright when on the sidestand. The rear makes no difference cause it's the same size as the stock trail wheel, but changing the front from 21 inch to 17 inch, hence 2 inches (4 inches difference in diameter divided by 2) lower at the front, it makes the bike so much lower at the front that a shorter sidestand should be required for a permanent setup.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited August 10, 2014 by kezzajohnson

[ThumperJordan]

Thanks Kezza!

Yes. My shock is all stock. It just a weak spring or sacked out. Maybe a nitrogen recharge if it's low. I am like 5 spring sizes off.

The front is completely stock. I checked the extended length and pulled the cap off. The spacer is there as opposed to flipped.

She's just a soft bike.

Time to do both ends.

Great site guys. I will post my modifications if I can't find them with the Search feature.

Thanks again.

[kezzajohnson]

Thanks Kezza!

Yes. My shock is all stock. It just a weak spring or sacked out. Maybe a nitrogen recharge if it's low. I am like 5 spring sizes off.

The front is completely stock. I checked the extended length and pulled the cap off. The spacer is there as opposed to flipped.

She's just a soft bike.

Time to do both ends.

Great site guys. I will post my modifications if I can't find them with the Search feature.

Thanks again.

No worries.

 

If a nitrogen recharge is in order, then there is a reason for it losing the nitrogen. Maybe the seal head inside the shock has blown or faulty shraeder valve on the reservour. Whatever, it probably necessitates a rebuild of the shock first including new seal head.

 

I am only a light fella 65kgs wringing wet but I recently rebuilt my rear shock myself. It was still ok except the bumper rubber at the bottom had disintergrated and the large washer (normally held down by rubber) underneath it was rattling around on the shock shaft. Took me ages to find the nasty rattle coming from the rear of the bike on rough surfaces. To replace the bumper rubber (Bump Stop) mean't disassembling the shock as the lower shock clevis is not esily removed without damaging the shock shaft. So, basically I had to rebuild my entire shock just to fix a rattle. While I was at it, I added a racetech gold valve shimmed to racetechs specs for my weight and riding plus a slightly heavier spring. The stock spring I believe is 6.5kg/mm and I went to a blue 7.5kg/mm spring. I also installed a new seal head, even though the stocker wasn't leaking, but due to possible damage to it in disassembly. I Used 5 weight shock oil and got the local Suzuki dealer to recharge the nitrogen for me to 175PSI. 

 

On the front I have Eibach 0.47kg/mm straight rate springs and cogents dynamic drop in catridges (DDCs), spacers that came with the DDCs and 5 weight fork fliud. The front matches the rear very nicely.

 

Was pretty easy job, but I took my time and studied up on it prior to tackling the job. The Outcome was a totally different bike. Very Happy !!

 

There's plenty of you tube videos on rebuliding shocks but the one I payed the most attention to was this tutorial on the procycle (my favorite shop, even though I live in Aussie)  here : 

 

http://www.procycle.us/info/guides/dr650/shock-build.html

 

Here's some other useful links:

 

ADV DR650 site is gold for lots of DR650 specific chit chat.

 

The link below is the worldwide forum

 

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135295

 

Plus the below link from ADV on rebuilding the DR650 rear shock

 

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301968&page=24

 

And link below will take you to Racetechs 5 video series on rebuilding a shock. I watched these ones heaps before attempting mine and also referred to them regularly during the rebuild-especially the bit about bleeding the fliud.

 

http://www.racetech.com/page/id/138

 

Cheers Kezza

Edited August 11, 2014 by kezzajohnson

[ThumperJordan]

Great...yes I will probably go somewhere around 6.o front and 8.3 rear....not sure...still calculating because I am doing an adventure bike build. New Acerbis 5.3 tank, racks, dry bags, oversize bars, Cycra gaurds, 18" rear wheel, carb rejet.w adjustable needle and choke relocation...etc. The typical stuff I lurk at on the forums. Between T talk and Ad Rider, this bike has a wealth of knowledge.

As an ex-road racer of 600cc supersport, this cheap low mileage DR I got for $2,100 is really going to blow the doors off the rich BMW dudes in the dirt.

The key is to keep this thing as light as possible so I can have fun in the dirt...and still pick her up when I lay it over. That should happen everyday too. Lithium battery, plastic tank, and being careful not to add too many creature comforts is the name of the game. It's a low horsepower, lighter bike. I see these guys ad so much crap, it's gotta weigh a ton...haha.

After all, if I needed all that I'd just buy a GoldWing.

Edited August 25, 2014 by ThumperJordan