Richard Simpson Mark II wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2018 8:55 am Well, as a former owner, I can confirm that the kick-start DR350S was rubbish.
But I'm a kind-heated guy, so if you've got one in good condition you want rid of, there's £100 waiting for you here if you'd like to deliver it. Honestly, they aren't worth any more than that
Re the big-bore kit....they shouldn't need rejetting as the fuel/air ratio will remain the same. But I recall an article in Dirt Bike saying that 'every time we ride a hopped up DR it blows up five minutes later.'
A number of reasons for this, I suspect: insufficient crankcase volume to cope with the increased pumping from a bigger piston being one, but most critical of all being that the Suzukis of the time (including the DR) were air/oil cooled. There was a jet pumping oil directly onto the underside of the piston crown, not to lubricate it, but to cool it.
Add a bigger piston, and the peak heat of the piston crown will increase, the volume of the piston crown will increase but the volume of oil reaching it will be the same. So the piston overheats. Bear in mind that people were increasing the capacity to as much as 441 cc in the USA.
Richard, you surprise me, I can't accept that just because it doesn't have an electric boot its a rubbish bike ? for me the things peole on here clearly deem as must haves for a bike to be good are superflous to me. In fact the things they lack are what appeals to me most. I know I can walk into my garage in France in a months time, (having been i the uk for 3 months) and after a couple of kicks it will fire imto life, I am never looking for the damn keys, never worried about a discharged battery and know it will perform as well if not beter than its heavier and over sophisticated brothe. Mine has has the better TM33 pumper carb which gives it a sharper performance than that CV carb. But thats only my opinion having had one now for 2 years and DRZ before that plus 2 DR650's and an XF650 a CCM 644 ...................................
Sarge