Hi Joe,
No, for me the GIVI E41's shown are a bit too heavy. But they are pretty strong. I crashed the bike a couple times with them on and they held up well.
Scratched up not no cracks and didn't get torn off the mounting racks. Perhaps metal panniers would hold up better over the long haul?
Probably so, but even heavier I think.

On my DR650, which is a pretty light bike for a 650 single, gets a bit hefty with the combination of the GIVI mounting racks/hardware
(about 7 kgs. for both sides) and the GIVI bags themselves, (maybe 8 kgs. for both bags). Adds up to nearly the weight of all my clothes
and stuff, minus tools.

The GIVI's held up well on several off road rides, the ride shown in pics above was a two week ride in Baja. But bike handling was not great and
the bike became a bit of a handful for me (I am old, weak, overweight, and only 5'6") .

A younger, stronger rider will do better I'm sure. The DR unladen handles off road really well but in Baja I was carrying 100 lbs. on the bike.
(two tires for a while as well!) With 100 lbs. (about 45 kgs. ) the bike was tough for me in sand, more technical rocks and cross country could
be a challenge to.

Since then I've gone back to soft bags. These shown below I used on a ride out to Colorado and back, about 3500 miles. The bags are cheapo
Technic bags. I now limit my load to 60 lbs. or so. The bike still is OK in the dirt with that weight. Like I said, a good strong rider won't be
affected as much as me. I used to be a decent dirt rider but I'm losing it!



The Technic bags are BIG but not so well made, probably won't last too long but only cost $60 US. Here you see the bags with a big top bag
for my camping gear. All up weight is about 60 lbs. including tools. I still had room in panniers as the trip was only two weeks.


Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I have our XR250 bashplates I want to retro-fit to our DR650's. Can someone email me or post pictures of the mounting system for the bashplate for the DR650. The way that Honda did it on the XR will not work on the DR so need some inspiration :-)

thanks

__________________
If there's a will there's a way so I will anyway!
http://www.buyaikhaya.blogspot.com

I think you'll find each bashplate manufacture uses a slightly different way to mount it ..

To the rear there are two mount points already on the frame .. on the bottom behind the footpeg mounts and towards teh centre of the bike.

Whipps (OZ) use a braket made up to clamp just under the front frame down tube.

--------------- It may just be easier to buy a new one intended for the DR...

__________________
---
Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

Just a couple tire updates on the DR650.
Some of your may have seen my thread here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...rous+Baja+Tips

Here you see me crying like a girl, bitching about deep sand and my lack of ability to ride it on my lightweight XR250. A nightmare of a ride.

Well, I've just had a bit of a revelation on my last Baja trip .... just returned a couple days ago. This time I was on my DR650 and guess what? I got roped into deep sand again by my "Friends".


But low and behold, the DR (and me) performed really really well ... and in conditions equal to what I went through on the last Baja ride aboard the XR250. So what happened?

I am now convinced my XR (now sold) was bent! A year before I had hit a rock in the Mojave .... actually a really big BOULDER ... which stopped me dead and threw me over the bars .... unhurt. But I did notice after that the bike didn't seem to get along too well in sand. I changed the steering head bearings but to no avail. In Baja the little XR was a nightmare for me. So my thinking is that either the fork tubes were tweaked or triple clamps.
On earlier rides in the Mojave sand didn't present any problems .... but in Baja sand really made for hard work. Why?

I figured the 80 lbs. heavier DR650 would murder me in sand. Not so. It tracked fine and did not require you going flat out to keep going straight. A delight actually and I didn't fall all day! NOTE: no steering damper! (still wish I had one!)

As for tires, I am now a fan of the TKC 80 Continental front tire. On an earlier Baja ride I was not wild about this tire but I've changed my tune.

The TKC was the perfect sand tire and generally good off road. Best of all, it's pretty good on the road as well once it wears down a bit. From new I found a bit of a weave on the DR650. Also, these things seem to last really really well. I'd guess in the area of 10K miles. (16,000 kms.)

On the rear I'm still using a Dunlop D606 knobby that also is a good match for the DR650. Corners safely on tarmac and digs in hard in sand and other off road terrain. But best of all about the D606 is that it seems to last fairly well also when ridden on lots of tarmac miles. The Conti TKC rear would probably go further but is more money.

I am delighted to say the DR650 is very sand capable. A steering damper would certainly help .... as it would any bike .... but I really got along fine without it.

The DR ran like a clock in 100f temps for hours pulling hard through deep sand. No bad sounds, no issues.

Patrick
No Longer Sand-Phobic

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I've never liked the look of my blue IMS tank and have also grown tired of the standard and boring DR650 body work. The bike is so common, I wanted to change things up a bit.

Some of panels were scratched already and I have several spare plastic pieces .... so this is what I came up with. This is a work in progress and will need some fine tuning, touching up as time goes on.

I am not a military guy AT ALL but I just liked the look. I ran into a guy with
a X-Challenge BMW who had done this and I loved it. Now I just need a "Bring The Troops Home NOW!" Sticky and I'll be good.
Just so the Red Neck BUSH nuts know where I stand!

I use the new Emgo (China) top box shown only for commuting or short rides. Got in on sale at New Enough for $60 complete with all hardware. It's working out OK, holds my helmet too.

No other changes lately.

Coming up:
grinding extra weld from inside header pipe where it joins to head.
backing off front pre-load just a hair. (shorten spacer)
Drilling shock links to raise height slightly.
Looking for better soft bags. GIVI? Dirt Bagz? Other?
Pipe .... saving for new Two Brothers or new FMF Q4
I need to change out tires on my "road set" of wheels. (I have two sets)


Enjoy!

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

MD,
First off...Happy Holidays...hope all is well with you out West.

BUT to the point...I think you must have mistakenly posted these pics of your bike painted up and on your sidewalk...you realize this is the HUBB and not ADVRider.com right?!?!

I wanna see more pics of your wrecks in the Baja et elsewhere...and scratches on you and the bike!

__________________
edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

Believe it or not Edde, I don't fall off all that much!

I did crash a lot in deep sand on my "Dangerous Baja" ride last May, but I finally figured out it wasn't all me .... as my friggin XR250 front end was bent! I should have known this as a switch to another bike showed no problems riding Sand. At the time I didn't put this together.

I did a fun dual sport ride up in the Lost Coast area of far north/west California last Summer. I did fall once in mud. Stupid crash. (most are)
But over all, no long rides since my ride out to Colorado/Utah last Summer for the HU Colorado travelers meeting.




In November my local riding group did a street/dual sport ride down through Hollister (home of the "Wild One" ) across the Los Padres and the San Andreas fault to the Big Sur coast via some fantastic dirt and paved roads.


Carrizo Plain, Central California




We have such incredible local rides here it's hard to muster enthusiasm to conquer 3rd World destinations.

On last brief Baja visit I didn't ride much as the "women folk" came along and wanted all the Sun, Sea Surf and Fishing program. We got to ride two two days out of 9.

Another ALL DIRT Baja ride is coming up in Spring. This time my WR250F gets the call. Hopefully the bike will have a bigger fuel tank by then (Acerbis) and some sort of chase truck to carry our gear! Riding this weekend, temps are cold, in the 40's and 50's () but sunny weather means a good ride.

Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Has anyone on this list had any experance with "those" cleanable oil filters? I see Dual-star have one listed to suit a DR650.

I've been busy sorting out my DR, and was thinking about these filters. Might be easy when on the road to do a service. Ie no chasing folters or carry them. Still for the price you can buy alot of the cheap paper ones...

I'm not to savy with how to upload images and content to this tool. But I'ev chucked photos and note on my face book site. If you interested check it out, I guess you'll have to cut'in paste the link below. Also is their a help page to learn how to 'drive' this tool. I conside put some travle photos up too but I can't work it out.

Login | Facebook

Cheers,
Stephen.

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Cheers,
Stephen Ashley,
Alice Springs,
Outback Oz.

Posting pics is much easier if you use a photohosting site like Smugmug.
Smugmug is not free but some other ones are. You simply upload all your pics into your photo hosting galleries, then from there it's easy to put pics up here.

Travel Tales is the best place to post your ride report with pics. See link below. This is not a list. It's a travel web site.

Good luck .... you need spell check.

Travel Tales
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ride-tales/

Website help
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/website-feedback/

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

For hosting the pictures for free I use photobucket and am very happy with it. Tons more space and bandwidth than I could ever use.

Regarding the stainless steel oil filters, it depends on who you ask. Do a search on ADVrider as there were some interesting discussions on them. Regardless of all the theory, there was also a guy who has actually been using them on his KTM 520 EXC. He sold it with 50K miles on it without any problems. Given how high-strung this engine is quite a testament.

By the way, I am pretty sure that this is a rebranded product from Scotts Performance who is known for their high quality steering dampers. So if you do end up buying one, I would go directly to them and forget Dual Star and their shitty customer service.

Lukas

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Currently on a RTW ride:
https://www.facebook.com/AroundTheWorldWithLukasM

It's true, Dual Star are pathetic in terms of customer service.

I've seen the Scot's re-useable and K&N make one as well. There may be others under different brands. Look around some, my guess is they are all made in the same factory in China

Re-usable oil filter is not a bad idea ... but as Lukas says, depends who you talk to. For a very, very long trip I can see using one. I change filters only every two oil changes. I change oil every 3000 in hot weather, 4000 in cool weather.

I would try it!


Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I've finally got around to measuring the horn volume ... see post (currently last on page, weithgs are on page 1)
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...r-horn-30492-2

__________________
---
Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

Low tone horns may give a high dba reading but frequency is also critical if a horn will be heard or not by typical car drivers. Modern cars are very well insulated against sound.

A super loud low tone horn will scare the crap out of you if you are standing next to the bike. But the real test is how well this sound penetrates.

Human hearing likes a sharp, upper register in the upper mid range, like
5K to 8K hertz. The little stock Jap horns aren't really LOUD .... but that mid to high frequency tends to cut through car windows, traffic noise, et al.

I have a Fiam horn on my DR650. It's just OK, a bit louder than stock, no relay required ... but a relay is always better. I heard a horn on a guys R1 Yam on Sunday. I was 20 meters away and it made me JUMP! LOUD and a very sharp tone. Never did find out what it was. Loudest bike horn I've heard. I'm still looking.

It would be nice to not only measure dbA but also frequency spread and to see what frequency the the peak dbA falls at. Without a relay I don't think the DR would power a good horn very well. What 'ya think Frank?

Patrick

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

There are volumes (books .. not sound level ) writen on human hearing and perception of 'loudness'. I'm not going into it here - no expert so I'd get it wrong.. but two tones sound louder if they are close togther frequency wise.

The stebel takes something like 20 Amps .. there is no way I'd rely on the DR650 original wiring/switches to take that current.

__________________
---
Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

20 amps!! Wow! Now that is going to be a serious horn!
But will it fit where the stocker does?
Yes, the two tone euro style horns are the most effective. I think the Germans figured this out back in WWll. Those Klaxon ones were
brutally loud!

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!