Hello,

I've been reading this forum for awhile and finally decided to join. I'm getting close to buying a DR 650 and there's lots of good info here.

One question though: Is there enough room for an adult passenger (with the Corbin seat of course- I sat on that 2x4 of a stock seat at the dealers)? Mostly one of my kids (10,11) years old would be a passenger, but maybe an occasional adult passenger.

No problem... I carry around my 150 lb kid every now & then. You will notice a sag in the suspension, & some noise from the chain slapping the plastic chain guide.

Ride all the time with a passenger.
I weigh 170 and the passenger is 150.
On the stock seat (which our asses are now used to) we can ride for a good 2 hours without having to stop.
I have a 05 model which is stock except for a minor carb change.

You will need the carb change with a passenger if you ride in areas that get over 80F as the bike runs too hot.

The carb change was to drill out the brass cover for the pilot screw.
On my 05 the stock screw was about 1.5 turns out and wayyyy too lean.

I changed the screw to 2 1/8 turns out and it runs much better and does not get so hot. If you live in a colder climate, you may want to start with 2 turns and adjust in 1/8-turn increments from there.

We learned that the recommended tire pressure on the stock Bridgestone trailwings is one of the best settings - 25Psi front and 29Psi rear.
Do not overfill much past this as you will see that the rear tire gets extremely hot - extra pressure just increases this heat. The pressure also effects the tire life.

I tend to slighly preload the front fork by starting on the brake a bit early. This keeps the front-end dive to a minimum.
Other than that the bike sits lower with a passenger and I have been up to 70+ on rural twisties and the bike handles fine. Also ride in rain and have had no problems.

For a single, the bike has some torque - compared to the others I have owned, the DR is the least effected by a passenger, both in power and handling in my opinion.

Ride safe.

flyinal said:

Higher pressure keeps the tire cooler by way of less contact of rubber to road+less friction. If you run lower pressures, this will give more contact and make the tires run warmer. The racers run tire psi low because it heats the tires quick, gives a larger contact patch, at the expense of faster wear and a little less feedback. For road riding, upping the tire pressure will keep the tires cool and wear less at the expense of traction. Low psi at highway speeds for long periods=blowouts.

Thanks everyone for the great info. This forum is great!

Upgrade the chain rollers! This is a must, IMO, if you're going to carry a passenger. I got mine (White Brothers) from the Thumpertalk Store. Work great and helps support teh site. With the stock ones I was getting some nasty noise that sounded like my valves were clattering, to death, when I would ride a passenger. Finally figured out it was the stock rollers, with a little help form the folks in this forum, of course. ;-)

Churchman, yes the 650 is a good choice if you intend to ride a passenger, a question thats often forgotten when choosing a bike. If you were mainly riding trails without a passenger the DRZ400 would be a better choice but on moderate to easy trails with a passenger the 650 is a better choice being more powerfull and a bit more comfortable. (mine has the factory optional gel seat) On the road the 650 has it all over the 400 and really isn't affected by the additional weight of a passenger that much. The only complaint is that there is little room and no back rest leaving the passenger feeling a little like they could slide off the back (especially if you gas it, this bike has power!).
Otherwise my passengers have enjoyed the ride.
One thought I've recently had on the back rest idea, while I'd always thought it would look stupid and be dangerous on a dirt bike(wind screens included,sorry), Buell has a new bike with one! They've recently introduced a new Adventure / dual sport bike that has a thin fold down backrest for a passenger. :thinking: My wife would like that.
It's small enough that when folded down it looks like a small rack. My own opinion of adventure bikes, BMW GS, Triumph Tiger, and now Buell are that they are worthless off road being more rugged street bikes, dependable for a long trip in all weather and on less than perfect paved or gravel roads. To give the devil his due, I'd rather take on the the Alaska trans America highway on the BMW though than my DR, the DR gets tough on the backside after a few hours even with the gel seat.
This backrest though is neat. Harley does come up with cool accessories. Too bad they don't make dirt bikes. (sorry this one don't count :lol: )
Mike