My Lightweight ADV Dual Sport Build || Suzuki DR350

DR350SE
Shinko 244
Lightweight front rotor
Braided stainless steel lines
RM250 forks
RM250 front fender
DRZ400 headlight shroud
LED headlight
Aux lights
Bark Busters
Grip warmers
Grips
Custom dash
Trailtech Speedo
USB/12V
Volt meter
Bar risers
Nelson Rigg Tank bag
Clarke tank
Seat Concepts Kit
Nelson-Rigg saddlebags
Immix rack
LED taillight
15/39 sprockets
FMF exhaust

[@dmc8921]

Nice bike. Cheap is good. People don't understand the cheaper and simpler something is the more you use it. I like ruggedness of the old air cooled bikes. I got my plated off road model for $1000 and it starts first kick every time. Cheap for CT

[@mtnmotoadv]

Yep, the simplicity of this bike is one of the things that drew me to it. Carb'd, 1 cylinder, kickstart, super simple super reliable. Less to go wrong while out in the middle of nowhere

[@mazatroltipsandtricks6816]

Excellent sound quality! I subbed to your channel and want to see more. Nice video. I just bought myself a DR350 recently and love the bike.

[@scotts6611]

Nice set up. That’s dope that you have kick start and electric. I’ve looked for that kit, but haven’t ever came across one.

[@mtnmotoadv]

Thanks, the previous owner did the kickstart kit but iirc you can just use the kickstart setup from the dirt version of the DR350 for the DR350SE

[@swassige]

Tim Linza on FB is selling all the bits together, I’m finally going to do this to mine

[@drakonzebra]

Love the sound quality.

[@mtnmotoadv]

Thank you, I'm using the Akaso external mic plugged into my helmet cam for the audio

[@RyanHasPoorConection]

Great video. Don’t forget about the good ol bump start if your electric starter kicks the bucket.

[@papatorr3669]

There are places and situations where a bump start is not practical, and/or not possible for some of us. If the engine died in a ravine, or a deep rut, or got stuck off the trail, or took a nap on a steep incline and you couldn't turn it around, and so on and so on, I can think of all manner of circumstances where I for one could not bump start it! 🥺

[@bamabound2061]

Dr250/350 are great bikes. Mine is the older kickstart only and I agree with ya on that. Another great part is the 6 spd trans is more versatile than the 5 spd on the drz400. Great video.

[@mtnmotoadv]

The 6 speed and kickstart were the two main reasons I chose the older DR350 rather than the DRZ

[@spencerhall4452]

Is your 350 hard to kick start?

[@bamabound2061]

@@spencerhall4452 most of the time no, but occasionally it can be if carb gets flooded.

[@fgarsombke1]

Thanks for sharing, love the video! Great to see other folks setups!

[@mtnmotoadv]

Thanks I appreciate it!

[@petertelford4900]

Gidday from Australia . Just so you know , you have to trim off some of the front fender at the back as you are blocking air flow , you have an air cooled engine , the new front fender is longer at the back , great videos can't wait to see more

[@mtnmotoadv]

@@petertelford4900 I appreciate the tip, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for watching

[@user-cv2su8iy9d]

Прекрасный обзор. Отличный подход к мотоциклу. Сам очень жалею, что не купил именно такой байк для путешествий. Был Honda Transalp 650. Тяжёлый, и неповоротливый слон! Я его столько раз ронял! Пластик говно! Очень жалею, что не купил более лёгкий и более внедорожные байк как у Вас. Хотя была возможность. Очень нравится Ваш вариант байка. Просто супер! На таком байке можно ехать хоть на край света! Желаю интересных и красивых дорог! Greetings from Ukraine.

[@user-cv2su8iy9d]

@@_-igor-_6904 закінчилися наші подорожі. Війна в країні. Та ніхто не знає коли скінчиться. Краще не витрачай кошти. Згодяться на більш потребні речі.

[@jaydenmalcolm1053]

got a 90 dr250 recently bone stock looking to add some things like the bags and the rack thank you very helpful

[@insatiable_mind]

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.

[@mikehickman3635]

Nice bike I just scored a mint 90 dr350 it's getting ready for an adventure build. Mine is kick start only but I dont mind it has compression release so it's not bad.

[@JohannesDalen]

Awesome build man, I'm doing a very similar thing with my DRZ. My left warmer grip has also failed, I too will "fix it one day"! Hehe

[@mtnmotoadv]

Its been 9 months since I posted this video and I Still haven't fixed the grip warmer lol

[@JohannesDalen]

@@mtnmotoadv Haha 😅

[@TitusBaxter]

I'm looking into doing more adv riding this year. It's pretty neat to see and hear about different bikes and setups!

[@mtnmotoadv]

Thanks, you really open up the possibilities with an ADV/dual sport bike, being able to explore beyond the pavement is a lot of fun

[@lightninsadventures2692]

I'm looking at a 91 dr350 to buy. Thanks for the video and the info on gearing

[@mtnmotoadv]

I did a lot of research beforehand which lead me to buying the DR350. It's a great little bike that was perfect for what I was looking for.

[@bobwilson5325]

What a fantastic build. You've done almost exactly as I have planned for mine. The front end looks way better with the updated shroud and fender. How easy was it to fit the DRZ headlight shroud? Did you use the original headlight and fittings from the DR350? Great vid btw.

[@mtnmotoadv]

I had to cut a small section of the plastic on the inside to get it to work with my custom dash, and I definitely had to put some muscle into getting the bolt holes to line up but for the most part it was a pretty straight forward swap. One of my more favorite mods cause it makes the bike look So much better than the stock shroud imo. Thanks for watching!

[@Catboy-hr2qp]

Have you considered doing the dr250 6th gear swap? Apparently the 90-92 had a 0.702 ratio 5th vs the 0.826 on the dr350s so that'd really make the 6th gear into an overdrive for highway cruising

[@Pays2Win]

Been trying to find one of these for years

[@mtnmotoadv]

They're becoming harder to find, and usually when I do see one up for sale they're going for quite a bit. I was lucky to get this one for $1.3k

[@Pays2Win]

@@mtnmotoadv yep, haven’t seen one for sale in Texas yet…I’m going to have to spend another 600 shipping it.

[@Pays2Win]

@@mtnmotoadv if you ever plan on selling it let me know ; )

[@bryanlyden6797]

Nice video! I’ve had my DR350 for about 3 years now. It’s a great bike. It really proved itself when I took it on the WABDR. I used stock gearing and Kenda k270 tires ( similar to your Shinko’s) on that ride and they worked perfect for the wide variety of riding conditions. I run stock gearing most of the time and have no issues with cruising at 70+, although it’s about maxed out. Im wondering if there were other mods that went along with your FMF pipe? Like extra holes cut in the air box or maybe incomplete jetting mods in the carburetor? Maybe there’s some more dialing in needed b/c I feel like you should be getting more out of the stock set up. Should be humming along easily at 60 in 6th gear, at about 6,000 rpms. It’s strange that it works out like that, but that should be typical for that bike.

[@mtnmotoadv]

The airbox has a large hole cut out of it and I think the previous owner rejetted the main jet a little too big because I'm pretty sure the bike runs a little rich. One of these days I'm going to experiment with a smaller main jet but I'm just not looking forward to it cause taking the carb on and off can be a pain in the ass sometimes haha

[@bryanlyden6797]

@@mtnmotoadv I hear you! Probably a good winter project. I don’t know if you’ve looked into the “3x3” mod yet, but that was popular on that bike back in the day. I think there’s lots of info out there about it that should be some help.

[@mtnmotoadv]

@@bryanlyden6797 Yep the 3x3 is a pretty common mod on these bikes. Also I should note my DR will run up to about 80mph but it burns oil in the higher RPM's so if I'm running on the freeway for an extended period of time I try to cruise more around 65mph to prevent starving it of oil. Apparently the head is the weakest point of the motor and many people on ADVforums report killing their engine by starving the head via low oil. Doesn't help the oil level checking process is a bit involved as well. I've had mine for 2 years now though and it still runs like a clock

[@danielryle6821]

Not sure what carburetor your running but I see some of the Dr350's use a tm33 pumper carburetor I run a tm33/34 carburetor from b&b cycle restoration it is a tm33 bored out to 34mm will help out at high rpm!

[@mtnmotoadv]

I'm running just the stock carb on here, I've heard a lot of good things about the pumper carb though. The previous owner installed a big bore kit but said he had issues with vibrations so he put the stock head back on. I wouldn't mind trying the big bore myself since I ride this on the freeway 65-70mph pretty often and that extra juice would be nice sometimes.

[@pharettface]

Nice setup man. Picked up a DR350 as a old DS bike go compare to all the new bikes out there. Certainly isn't much out there about the DR350. I rocked a DRZ400 for a lot of years I'm rather excited to compare them so far I'm liking the DR more. Have you done anything with the suspension or engine? I'm a DS KZbinr from Colorado keep the the rubber side down man!

[@mtnmotoadv]

Thanks! The previous owner swapped out the stock forks for the RM250's, I don't know what the stock forks felt like but the RM250's are really good, and from everything I've read online the swap is well worth it since pre-98 DR350's have mediocre stock forks.

[@pharettface]

@@mtnmotoadv I have seen people recommend swaps for the RM250 forks or the 98 plus forks but personally I don't want to mess with the whole front end replacement. They are the usual damper rod forks it's okay for moderate trail riding but I have some gold valve cartridge emulators, new springs, and fork oil coming. From what I've read on the forums it should make it every bit as good as the later DR350 forks, we shall see.

[@mtnmotoadv]

Let us know how it works out! I'd be interested in hearing the difference

[@michaelfusco240]

I wish I could see all the products you were talking about on your bike like up close

[@mtnmotoadv]

I plan on doing an updated video here soon enough that'll be a little more in depth of everything done

[@MrMikepaul8]

Cool bike. I’m going through a 97 Dr350se right now. I can’t decide on the Seat concepts comfort tall or the comfort low. Question is how tall are you and why did you go with the one you got. Thanks

[@mtnmotoadv]

I'm 6' with about a 32" inseam. I went with the tall seat concepts just because if I was going to spend that much money on a custom seat I might as well go all out as far as comfort goes (stock seat was leaving my butt numb after 30 minutes of riding sometimes). The height of the bike + the tall seat can be challenging in some situations, especially on uneven trails, but all around you learn to adapt to it and it's really not that bad. When coming to a stop I just slide my butt to the left and put my leg straight down and it's fine. If you're below 5'9ish" the low seat might be a better fit though. (Sorry for the delayed response I'm just now seeing this)

[@spencerhall4452]

Why did you go with the Clark over the acerbic for the fuel tank?

[@mtnmotoadv]

Previous owner had already installed the Clark tank. I've considered replacing it with the Acerbis tank but not really sure it's worth the hassle at this point.

[@swassige]

Much appreciated vid, I’m currently working out some mods, I like the Clarke tank but it’s damn frustrating where they put that tap :( What’s the bash plate on your rig?

[@mtnmotoadv]

I'm actually not sure which bash plate this is.. and I realized I forgot to mention it in the video after posting it. It's really heavy duty though and well built, if I can find any info on it I'll let you know

[@swassige]

Heya, any results on the skid plate?

[@timwright7979]

I have an Acerbis oversized tank on my 97 DR350SE. The petcock is on bottom of tank on both sides. I just have the left side (shifter) routed to carb and keep the other side closed. I might route both sides at some point since I have to leave bike to get the last little bit from the right side but it's not too big a deal for me atm. Petcock does sit a little low in relation to carb so it gets a little air bubble in it sometimes. I haven't noticed any negative affects from this. If I can find link for the tank I'll put in another comment

[@luke0b708]

Fellow DR350 rider from Australia here. What primary sprocket do you have mate? I need mine to go a bit easier on the highway. Mine is 14/43. Subbed :)

[@mtnmotoadv]

15/39 for highway stuff then drop to a 14 for more dirt riding

[@npaidas]

nice build , what year are those RM250 forks ?

[@mtnmotoadv]

Not sure exactly, the previous-previous owner installed them. I do know they eat up rough terrain pretty well though

[@SmokinBob]

Hey man I just bought a dr350 myself. It's not running at the moment (stupid dealer that sold it to me...vid on my channel). I was wondering what do you think the best tyres are for a dual sport on light sand and road?

[@mtnmotoadv]

Shinko 244's have been really good for me. They have deep knobs for off road but also have a rounded profile making pavement riding very smooth. They're also relatively cheap at only ~$65 each. Heidenau K60 Scout is also a tire I'm considering in the future.. a little more expensive but are claimed to last over 10,000 miles. Check out ADVForums, there's a thread specifically for the DR350 with thousands of pages of info and lots of guys who can help you get your bike running.

[@SmokinBob]

@@mtnmotoadv thanks for the info. I'll look up those Shinkos and see will they fit my bike

[@bamabound2061]

Also try continental tkc80, better for more street and Dunlop 606 for more dirt. I've used both with good results.

[@utdesertghost199]

I have a similar setup on my 99 dirt model. I still need to find a rear rack and would like to do a 3.5 gal ims tank. I am curious what your dash looks like. Are you on any of the Facebook dr350 groups you could post or send a picture of it to me? Thanks.

[@mtnmotoadv]

Yeah previous owner did a custom dash because the stock DR350 dash is incompatible with the RM250 forks & stem. When I installed the handlebar risers I had to make an entirely new custom dash since the previous one didn't fit right with the risers. I'm not on any online groups but I plan on doing a 2 year video review on the DR350 soon which I will include a closer look at the dash and everything else.

[@mightymcknight]

What aux lights did you get?

[@mtnmotoadv]

Bunker Sideshooters. I've had them almost a year now with no issues

[@utdesertghost199]

In which state are you located?

[@mn-buckshot1165]

Pretty sure the kick start was standard on all of these bikes the electric was optional

[@mtnmotoadv]

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

[@spencerhall4452]

You can always bump start your bike

[@mtnmotoadv]

In ideal conditions, yes. But on rough, rocky terrain with roots and soft mud it can be a pita the push start a bike especially by yourself.

[@bryanlyden6797]

My dr350 will drag it’s back tire in 6th gear, down hill for quite a bit before it will compression start. I wouldn’t count on bump starting it.

[@jonhuntficken1424]

What battery do you have on it?

[@mtnmotoadv]

Good question haha just some $30 battery I got off Amazon, not even sure the name brand. It works though

[@Oculus729]

How much cash all in? TYIA.

[@mtnmotoadv]

I bought the bike for $1300 then put about $1,000 into it so around $2,300 all together. The previous owner probably put around $600 or so into it as well though

[@stephenhawkingMLG]

Where'd you get the stainless brake lines? Trying to get some for mine

[@mtnmotoadv]

Just off ebay. No name brand, paid about $15-20 each and haven't had any issues in the 2+ years since installing them