Looked at a 93 DR350 yesterday

[not2shabby]

Stick with it, my son has a 1999 Dr-350 and that little bike rocks. There are also still plenty of hop up parts available if you want to go that route. 441 kit, bigger cams, exhaust, pumper carb, better suspension, larger fuel tank. It really is a good bike in the woods. Over at ADVrider do a search on "DR350 Thread" and you'll be pleased with the amount of info available.

Canadian FJR

Thanks! I've already read quite a bit of a few threads there...a couple of them are redonkulusly long! Don't know how much I want to put into it, it's just gonna be a commuter/toy. There's no place close to here to ride trails, I'd have to go down to Wayne Nat. forest for that.

Ok, I'm done working on the floors for the day...time to go pull a cylinder head. Wish me luck! Stay tuned, I should have some more pics tonight.

 

[not2shabby]

**** :-(

Not what I wanted to see. Hey...at least the jug looks good!

I'm sure this will require splitting the cases. I don't have the tools for that...Ebay, here I come! Anybody need some DR350 parts?!

I shoulda listened to you guys! Eh, I should still come out ahead, just have to deal with shipping all the parts out.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Well, that's not worth a crap. Sorry that thing is FUBAR. I was looking forward to the fix and rebuild.

 

[Bungie]

I think your decompressor can take it easy from now on.

 

[dcarver]

Sure makes a feller miss two strokes...

Any chance of simply sourcing a complete engine?

I mean, my 2k8 5k mile fjr1300 engine was only 1185 delivered.

How much could a 350 be?

Or how about dropping a Honda CR500 into the chassis?

Or better yet, an H3 triple?

Or a 6-cylinder KZ1300 motor?

Make it happen!

:lol:

 

[not2shabby]

Sure makes a feller miss two strokes...

Any chance of simply sourcing a complete engine?

I mean, my 2k8 5k mile fjr1300 engine was only 1185 delivered.

How much could a 350 be?

Or how about dropping a Honda CR500 into the chassis?

Or better yet, an H3 triple?

Or a 6-cylinder KZ1300 motor?

Make it happen!

:lol:

Hmmmm...a CBX motor would look bitchin'! I've done some looking for cylindr heads/motors for a DR and they're few and far between. Maybe I'll hold off the dismemberment for a while and keep looking.

I wish I had the skills/tools to make a cool frankenbike like some guys do.

 

[not2shabby]

I think your decompressor can take it easy from now on.

Yeah, that ventilated piston would make it easy to kick over...if the part that's now ventilated wasn't stuck somewhere in the bottom end!

 

[rushes]

*snip*

I'm sure I could part it out and make a little money if I can't get it running.

I'd stick with plan 'A'....

:thumbsup:

 

[beemerdons]

not2shabby I am highly impressed by how you dug into this project and just went for it, all of the best to you and I really enjoyed reading about this DR350 rescue project!

 

[Fly Bye]

Well, it was a good roll of the dice.

I hope you don't come out of this too far behind.

Thanks for the post.

 

[not2shabby]

not2shabby I am highly impressed by how you dug into this project and just went for it, all of the best to you and I really enjoyed reading about this DR350 rescue project!

I really appreciate that, since you tried hard to talk me out of it!(you could have just laughed and called me a *******!) I may not be done yet, I joined the Maximum Suzuki forum and started a similar thread there since they have some very knowledgable members concerning the DR and one of them thinks the head could be saved. I'm pretty skeptical about that but I could be wrong...dayum, that'll make like 4 or 5 times now!

Anybody ever seen a head that bad refurbished?

Any special tools needed to split/reassemble the cases? I've never done an autopsy before...much less brought one back to life!

 

[not2shabby]

Well, it was a good roll of the dice.

I hope you don't come out of this too far behind.

Thanks for the post.

So far, I've spent more drinking in a weekend!

 

[UberKul]

It might be fun digging into the cases to see just how bad things are but you still have a lot of hours yet in disassembly for part out. The missing valve face is down in there and new valves are going to set you back another $160.00 plus head work. I'd call it, time of death, whenever you pulled that head.

The DR650 guys like to swap out their 17" rear wheels with the DR350 18" if that helps at all.

I enjoyed reading about your attempt. Had a '90 DR350S and rode the piss out of that great little bike. :yahoo:

 

[not2shabby]

Well, the project might still be on, a guy on the Suzuki forum just posted asking what a 92 motor is worth. His bike was rearended and totaled. I offered him $300. Now the waiting begins...watch somebody else offer him 4-500 for it.

 

[not2shabby]

Well crap, he found a frame to transplant his motor into. But...I got the motor to free up! I took the clutch springs off to check the plates and the gear to the oil pump and now it turns over easy. I sprayed 3 big cans of WD40 into every nook and crany I could and fished out enough debris to account for the hole in the piston and most of the valve. Could part of it be in the exhaust? When I shake it, there's something rattling around. I also took the 3 bolts off the cover of the oil pump, but it won't come off. It'll rotate and slide out about half an inch then stop.

There's a refurbished head on Ebay right now...hmmmm, then I need a piston, rings, gaskets and a throttle cable. It's not dead yet...

 

[ionbeam]

Well crap, he found a frame to transplant his motor into. But...I got the motor to free up! I took the clutch springs off to check the plates and the gear to the oil pump and now it turns over easy. I sprayed 3 big cans of WD40 into every nook and crany I could and fished out enough debris to account for the hole in the piston and most of the valve. Could part of it be in the exhaust? When I shake it, there's something rattling around. I also took the 3 bolts off the cover of the oil pump, but it won't come off. It'll rotate and slide out about half an inch then stop.

There's a refurbished head on Ebay right now...hmmmm, then I need a piston, rings, gaskets and a throttle cable. It's not dead yet...

The crank and rod plain bearings should be replaced or at the very least inspect them for bottoming. The crank should go on V blocks and have a run-out gauge measure for bending. The con rod needs to be checked to see if it is true. I got to do this with the guts of my FJR engine. What fun!

 

[not2shabby]

Well crap, he found a frame to transplant his motor into. But...I got the motor to free up! I took the clutch springs off to check the plates and the gear to the oil pump and now it turns over easy. I sprayed 3 big cans of WD40 into every nook and crany I could and fished out enough debris to account for the hole in the piston and most of the valve. Could part of it be in the exhaust? When I shake it, there's something rattling around. I also took the 3 bolts off the cover of the oil pump, but it won't come off. It'll rotate and slide out about half an inch then stop.

There's a refurbished head on Ebay right now...hmmmm, then I need a piston, rings, gaskets and a throttle cable. It's not dead yet...

The crank and rod plain bearings should be replaced or at the very least inspect them for bottoming. The crank should go on V blocks and have a run-out gauge measure for bending. The con rod needs to be checked to see if it is true. I got to do this with the guts of my FJR engine. What fun!

You're a braver man than I! I think I'm gonna look for a running motor to stick in it. If one doesn't come up soon, it's part out time. Might as well start tearing the bottom end apart. The clutch and tranny and cases should be good, if not the crank. It does spin real easily now.

 

[not2shabby]

I don't believe it! Monday I gave up looking for a head/motor at a reasonable price and decided to proceed with the partout. I removed the remainder of the motor from the frame and wheeled the carcass out to the driveway and degreased it(it looks pretty decent now, should have done that before working on it!) Then I snapped some pics, put them on Craigslist and went to bed. In the morning I checked messages and there's a guy asking if I'd be interested in a motor he has...Hell yeah! Try several times to contact him yesterday and he finally calls he about 6 pm. We chat a while and he tells me he's got a bunch of DR parts he wants to get rid as a package deal; motor included. At this point I'm thinking this is gonna be way too $$$, but WTH, I get his addy and drive out to see what he's got. First he shows me the motor, it's out of a 98 dirt model and it looks pretty good and kicks over and feels like decent compression. Next he shows me 2 big boxes full of DR parts, some still in their original Suzi wrappers. He's got the pumper carb from the dirtbike(worth about $300), a gas tank, 2 speedo cables, a clutch cable, a few sprockets, a whole set of spokes, 2 coils with plug leads, brake pads, 3 extra exhaust systems, one with a stainless header pipe, 2 or 3 front fenders, 3 back fenders, etc. etc. I can't even rememeber everything right now. But...we're not done, we walk out to his barn and he has the 98 dirtbike rolling chassis(with a Baja kit and street title!) At this point I'm starting to feel bummed cause I figure he's gonna want at least 1K for the whole package. I try and explain I really just need the motor and then he tells me I can have all it for ...$300. I kindly asked where the closest ATM was and paid the man as fast as humanly possible! I have to go back tonight and get the dirtbike chassis, didn't have my trailer last night.

Now I have to figure out which frame to put the motor in. The dirtbike has the better suspension and is newer, but the S frame is wired for the speedo/tach and has the ignition switch/key. I still can't believe it...my luck isn't this good! Maybe I should go buy some lotto tics!

Stay tuned...more to come! I'll post some pics of the stuff later.

 

[Niehart]

k:

 

[HotRodZilla]

It's all stolen and you're gonna go to the big house...

Haha...I'm just kidding. Nice find!!