Very fortunate to live where I'm at, tons of variety within 100 miles of any direction. Also my DR has a front end swap with an RM250 for upgraded forks. Nothing done to the rear suspension as far as I'm aware

I say go for it. Money comes and goes but fun memories last a lifetime

From my understanding the DR350S was kickstart only and the DR350SE was electric start only, though you could add the kickstart if you wanted to the SE from the S model

Oh yeah from Redtop to Red Butte, cross over Little River Rd up towards Grotto Falls then connect to Panther Creek rd. DId a group ride out there two summers ago

@@mtnmotoadv thanks! I’ll see if I can map that route😀

I was browsing FB every other day till I came across this barn find, got lucky to get one for free

On a loong straight stretch, with a slight downhill bias and tail wind.. maybe 80ish mph. With a 15/39t you can cruise 60-65mph with decent comfort but wouldn't want to do it for more than a couple hours. No power mods but once I rebuild the top end I'm going to throw a 385 big bore at it. If you like doing long stretches of pavement I'd stick to the 650, but if you prefer trails or long trips on dirt and gravel I'd go with the 350.

@@mtnmotoadv yeah, stock form does not sound good for the highway. Spoke with built motors (formerly thumper racing) and they still do the 440 big bore kit at stock compression ratio. Was thinking this might be the way to get it going with an adv setup, along with optional factory oil cooler.

@Weltbummler23 go onto ADVForums in the DR350 thread, the people on there are DR350 gurus and can tell you everything you need to know. 440 kits have their pros and cons, you do get more power but you also lose some revving ability. The 350 has enough power to cruise 70mph it's just more of a gearing thing, you can swap out sprockets obviously but you can also get different clutch baskets that have different gearing ratios too to make gearing taller. But then you're going to lose the lower end torque and will be slipping the clutch a lot if you do a lot of trails. There's compromises but the 6th gear definitely helps with things

That kickstart has saved my butt more than once. Wouldn't ride without one

The DR350 design really hit the sweet spot of true dual sport imo. Had mine 4 years now and still haven't got bored of it

Close! This is in southern Oregon

The entire front end is swapped out with an RM250 which uses cartridge forks and is a big upgrade from the stock suspension, although I believe the 98-99 DR350 model has upgraded forks as well. Great bike, a little heavy but very capable

@mtnmotoadv My DR350s is a 1990 . I just got my new top end kit . We believe the prior owner overfilled the bike with oil . And probably warped the rings . It starts, but it takes about 500 kicking . It's under the required compression rate . But the bike only has 2700 original miles on it . Everything is almost new . Rebuilt carb new O ring chain ,chain guide, cush drive, new sprockets, tires, and tubes . New suspension and new top end . And a new polymer tank cell . New fenders and hoping the bike comes out to be worth all this . Thanks for the front end info .

@@mtnmotoadv Running the original stock rear shock ?

Have you tried push starting the bike to see if it starts easier? Sometimes my bike can be a little finnicky with the kickstarter but fire right up with the electric start. Rear shock is stock as far as I'm aware

Shinko 244 goldenboys. Great tires on and off road, I can cruise on the freeway no problem and handle moderate off road terrain. Slick mud is about their limit though

@@mtnmotoadv nice, when's the next video?

These are in Southern Oregon

The 200 is definitely lacking in the power department, at least if you plan on doing pavement. Even with tall gearing I'm pushing the motor at around 50mph. If you're mostly going to be doing gravel and dirt then the 200 is adequate though. The big advantage of the 200 is just how small and light it is, takes very little effort to pick it up and throw it around. Compared to my DR350SE the XL200R feels like a toy in terms of size and weight.

​@mtnmotoadv Thanks. We have a DR350 in our trio, great bikes. Obviously, if we want more power, the bike naturally has to be bigger. I'm not so bugged about getting the most out of an engine on tarmac so long as it gets me there (eventually), I ride the xl500 at 50-55mph normally. Thinking about it, you see these guys with C90s rising the mountains, if they can do it a 200 should be an issue 😅

You really can't go wrong with any of the big 4 Japanese dual sports. As long as they were taken care of it's all about personal preference. Just know that buying a 40+ year old bike you'd be best off going through and replacing all the wear parts such as fork oil, bushings, bearings etc to get the most life out of it.

I used the roller rails for a computer desk's keyboard drawer for the mounting system then a thumb screw to keep it in place

The grand old state of Oregon

Same boat. I just got a 93. It’s hard to find some things for it but most of the DR350 things fit the DR250. They’re pretty much the same bike with a different bore and stroke, jetting, gearing and tank size.

The engines are virtually bulletproof. Even my DR was bought in rough shape with unknown miles, fixed up the basics and have put even more unknown miles on it over the last 4 years (maybe 15-20,000 miles +) and have not had a single major issue with it. I would suggest getting one with an e-start and adding a kickstart for backup but that's just personal preference. These bikes have a bit of a cult following for a reason, they're great little bikes

I really like them. They get a little buzzy at higher speeds due to the nature of thumpers but still very usable and I'm a big fan of their adjustability. On group rides I'll have one set for the sitting position and the other for standing. Little spendy but worth it imo

Was a blast, already scouting out the area for another trip next season

Not sure which route you're taking from Lemolo but if you can throw in NF 398 you won't regret it. 4x4 trail that goes from Summit Lake to Crescent lake and is part of the original ORBDR. Rode it last year with a couple buddies and it's a blast. Have fun out there

We took Windigo pass rd early July over to Cresent lake, down to the store for fuel and snacks, then back to Summit via the Jeep rd. Camped overnight, then back past Timpanogas lake to Lemolo. We enjoy watching your footage because we recognize so many trails and landmarks. Keep up the good work😀

Appreciate it

Thanks for watching!

Glad you enjoyed it

Traverse bags have been great. Small and compact but still carries enough for day trips. They carry a folding saw, tools, tire irons, air compressor, medkit, bungies, snacks and spare oil. Have dropped the bike on them plenty of times and they've held up great. Only issue I have is the lack of being waterproof but ziplock baggies can bypass that. Excursions would be better for multi-day trips but I ended up selling mine cause I wasn't a huge fan of the way they mounted (interfered with my top case) and they were overkill for the majority of riding I do. Still seemed like heavy duty quality bags though so really depends on what y ou're using them for.