My DR350S

[yamarider]

Since this is my new project, the new love of my life, and there's really nothing else going on right now, here's a few pics of it as it is now. So far i've installed new hand guards, a k&n filter, painted the rusted fuel tank where it needed it, painted the old acerbis fork/rotor guard, painted the exhaust, and cleaned up 18 years of dirt, grease, and mildew. Doesn't look too bad for an $800 bike i think. (I've also already bent the handlebars and busted up the right rear tail light into about 10 pieces and taped it back together, lol, the front tire likes to wash out in the dirt).

I already ordered the clutch cover gasket to fix the oil leak (crossing my fingers that this is the only source of the oil leak), and sometime next week i should be getting the maxxis 6006 50/50 dual sport tires that should be waaay better than the worn out, dried out, flat spotted tires that are on it now. The knobbies look aggressive as hell but they're designed to have a smooth profile so they handle good on the pavement.

This winter I have some more plans for it, to make it look, perform, and sound a little better.
-Repaint Frame
-Pro Taper Contours (CR Hi bend is the greatest bend ever).
-FMF Powercore 4 exhaust for it, or possibly just modify the stock one (cut it open, remove the baffle, replace the 3/4" outlet with a 1-1/2 outlet). The exhaust options are frustratingly limited for this bike.
-Ufo front fender from an 06 RM
-Maier mx style rear fender with LED tail light/plate mount and flush mount signals (similar to bike in last pic)
-Braided front brake line and EBC Supermoto rotor kit (maybe)

This bike is already light compared to most enduros in the same size category (kick start only, air cooled) and I think I can get it from 285 down to about 260 between an aftermarket exhaust and the updated rear fender, which eliminates the turn signal bar and subframe that supports the stock fender.

Let me know what you guys think. Any suggetions or ideas, or even if you guys have experience with riding dirt bikes and have some riding tips. This is my first 2 wheeler and i'm kinda learning the do's and don'ts as i go. It already cost me a set of handlebars and a turn signal, and had my front fork all out of alignment. (i blame all this on the tires though haha)

 

[DeadLastRacing]

thats a kick ass bike for 800 bucks

 

[yamarider]

An update on my project. It's not done yet, this kind of project is never done though. Maybe this can be a little motivation for those of you that want to get an old worn out warrior looking better, see how far some paint and polish can go to making a machine look newer. This is a 20 year old bike and looked like it when I bought it, the original pictures I posted made it look a lot better than it really did. A couple weeks ago somebody on the street asked me if it was a 2010 model, he hadn't seen another one like mine out yet. That made me feel pretty good, that my 20 year old bike could fool somebody like that.

Since the last pics I:
Repainted the frame and other parts where it needed it
Polished the factory side plastics, lower tank shrouds, and headlight shroud
Replaced the front and rear fenders (UFO front from an RM, Maier MX rear)
LED turn signals all around
LED brake light
HID headlight in the front
White Brothers Pro Alloy exhaust
Wide foot pegsMSR Dominator bars (CR Mid bend)
Pro Grip triple density grips
MSR quick adjust clutch perch
Motion Pro Terminator clutch cable
Sicass racing leather fender bag
Replaced the blown rear shock
Dirt Skins to replace worn out fork boots
Rejetted the carb with quick adjust pilot screw
Maxxis 50/50 dot approved tires
Braking rear brake rotor
EBC pads front and rear
Full clutch rebuild with EBC pads and all new bearings, washers, and seals
Parts Unlimited X-Ring chain and 15/43 gearing (taller than stock)

There's still more to do, I need to get some bigger bark busters to fit around the new clutch perch, I want to get taller seat foam and a black gripper cover from Guts Racing, braided front brake cable, and some of the MSR mirrors that fold out of the way for off roading. Maybe even a rebuild with a 366 or 440 big bore in it, and some newer forks over the winter when I can't ride it anyways. Like I said, this kind of project never ends. It's always fun to work on stuff like this and improve the machine bit by bit, I think that's why my projects never end.

Tell me what you think guys, I'm trying to make it into a good road bike that still looks like a dirt bike and handles like one off road. So far it seems to be working.

 

[DeadLastRacing]

Looks great Graig.......kinda liked how the front looked with the hand guards on it. Look into getting the ones that have rear view mirrors built in? Sleeker look. The front forks deff. look a whole hell of a lot better and so does the new lighting! All you need now is a sick graphix kit on it and a scantly clad lady to ride bitch.

What kinda bike is that (pedal) in the garage?

 

[yamarider]

Thanks man, I thought the lighting turned out pretty good. The first set of signals were a little smaller, but were so weak they were almost invisible in the daylight, dangerous as hell. The ones on it now are actually brighter than the pictures show, they're bright even in direct sunlight.

It would look even better with a good deadlast graphics kit on there, I still haven't decided if I want to go with an oversize tank though, and haven't really gotten up the motivation to start making templates. Any tips on making them before I just dive into it? And how workable are the graphics over curves and stuff like that? The side panels have me a little worried the way they bulge around the exhaust and battery.

I don't think I ever saw hand guards with the built in mirrors that would be suitable for a dual sport. The only ones I ever saw looked like they were more for utility quads, they didn't have a bark buster built in and the mirrors in a hand guard would just be too low to actually see with them. The mirrors have to be tall like the ones I have now to do any good, otherwise all you see is your shoulders. I'll just get some of the fold away mirrors, that's the next best thing. It will be getting hand guards again before I do much more off roading, I haven't decided which way i'm going to go yet.

And the bike is an 08 Diamondback Recoil. Disc brakes, Spinner forks, Kenda tires, all the good stuff. I'm not big into mountain biking but there's over 20 miles of good trails around the lake right down the road, it's about the best I can do to keep in shape. Any time I try to do jogging or weight lifting or any of that crap it lasts for about 3 days before I totally lose interest and sit around all night doing nothing. I can at least ride around the trails real fast and make motorcycle noises and pretend i'm on a dirt bike.

 

[DeadLastRacing]

I can give you pointers if need be when that time come if ever. We cam come up with a really cool custom design. Heck yea they will form well, Hell, you see i got them to cover the whole rear fender on the war dog, there are two large releaf cuts but other then that the material can stretch and bent pretty good.

I could of sworn I saw some cyrca type hand guards that had some mirrors in them some time back, coulda been a custom thing too though. The Recoil is sweet! and i am also guilty of making my motorcycle noises what riding down some nasty hills.