Suzuki DR350 Starting Troubleshooting and Valve Adjustment

If your DR350 or DR250 has trouble starting or is hard to start you may want to look into the following causes:
Spark Plug and Ignition Coil Check: 1:35
Valve Clearance Adjustment: 4:32
Decompression Adjustment: 13:07
Carburetor Cleaning: 13:48
The bike in the video is my 1990 Suzuki DR350S.
#Motorcycle #Motovlog

[@imperfectcaboose7975]

One of the best DR vids on YT. Got a busted 1993 Dr250 and have been rebuilding it all via KZbin and common sense and nothing has been as helpful as this video.

[@jasonjavelin]

Just picked up a 90 Dr250 with a jacked top end. Can’t wait to get it up and running!

[@mwilliams6259]

Thanks for this video, helped my dr350 start consistently.

[@AdvMatthew]

Great to hear!

[@jblackacre2325]

Thak you for taking the time to document this. It helped a lot.

[@TheShearwater123]

Great video, really clear and helpful. Thanks

[@AdvMatthew]

Glad it was helpful!

[@antarcticmoongiant2691]

Its all in how you hold your tongue. Thanks for the video

[@ilyaivanov2283]

Благодарю за познавательное видео!🤙

[@bastapetit]

good done, thx

[@ShaneZettelmier]

Probably a stupid question but are you using your decompression lever properly? Slowly kick the bike until you feel your at top dead center then you click your decompression lever on and just barely push down on your Kickstarter until that decompression lever pops off, then you let the kickstart up and hit it and it should start up pretty easily if your carburetor is clean and working. May be a stupid question but you’d be surprised how many people I have no idea

[@bartsimpson8117]

appreciate it

[@jopabehe]

Great Video. Thanks. So, the carburator finally was the reason?

[@goldensilverfox]

Thanks

[@justinstillwagon6982]

Anything cooler than 60 mine starts very hard, I’ll have to watch this video

[@themightycrfs5491]

Nice easy to follow video Your bike has ignition My bike is kick start only, no ignition, no battery I can only check the plug, which has spark I don't think my compression lever works as it should And Maybe my carb needs a clean But my bike was running ok Now it's dead 😭 HELP 😲

[@AdvMatthew]

Mine is kick start only. If it's getting a good spark, your most likely issue is the carb. Good luck

[@cheba4786]

🔥👍

[@Dastardly_X]

🤘🏻 🌟 🤘

[@backstreetzero2019]

Nice - just got a dr250 this week. Guy had it warm when I picked it up, had to bump it when I got it home, 3 days later and I can’t get it started, got a service planned for the Weekend 🤞

[@AdvMatthew]

Love the DR! Best of luck getting it running again! They are great bikes

[@backstreetzero2019]

Second kick. 😎 took a while to find the time to work on her, carb rebuild has made the difference 👍

[@AdvMatthew]

Sweet!!

[@backstreetzero2019]

@@AdvMatthew your video on troubleshooting really helped mate - much appreciated - ride safe 👍

[@martinlawn]

Good speaking voice. You outta be a radio jockey and talk about news. Seriously.

[@mpfamm87]

I'm tired of kicking my dr350 lol doing a restoration on it now great video

[@AdvMatthew]

Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@Octaneandadrenalineguys]

What's the name of the cover you took off with the Allen wrench? Mines stripped

[@mattgates881]

I picked up a 90 Model it’s hard to start as well now once she cranks it will run all day but when you shut her off it’s a pain to start back going to check valves tomorrow

[@AdvMatthew]

Does the kickstart lever feel like there's not much resistance?

[@MikeJovani]

@@AdvMatthew I have the same issue. Sometimes my kick will slam down with hardly any resistance...

[@AdvMatthew]

Do a compression test and check the decompression cable to make sure it is in tolerance.

[@mattgates881]

I can almost stand on the kick start it’s got tons of compression I think we found the float was sticking causing it to flood out and foul the plug thanks for responding

[@AdvMatthew]

Nice. Hope its running well now!

[@ibrazish]

Great vid! Was wondering if I needed to be prepared for a big oil spillage when opening the inspection caps. Did you have oil in your bike while doing the valve adjustment?

[@AdvMatthew]

It was full of oil. You'll get a very little bit but not much. Just have a rag handy!

[@usak8670]

Hey man, I got a DR that is pretty hard to start and has insane compression. Just wondering what your pattern is like choking and such cause once it starts it runs awesome.

[@AdvMatthew]

Cold and haven't run it in a few days: fuel to prime, choke out, about 3 kicks with the decomp lever engaged. Then 2 or 3 kicks to start with throttle closed. cold and ran it in the past couple days: fuel to on (not prime), choke out and about 2 kicks to start. throttle closed. engine warm: fuel on (not prime), no choke, about a quarter turn of throttle, and fires right up

[@usak8670]

@@AdvMatthew Thanks! I'm assuming prime setting is on the fuel petcock?

[@AdvMatthew]

Yes that is correct.

[@jonhuntficken1424]

Do you know what the stock iginition coil part number is? Mine is reading 11400 secondary resistance Thank you for the video!

[@AdvMatthew]

33410-14D00 or 33410-14D01 thanks for watching!

[@jonhuntficken1424]

AdvMatthew awesome thank you

[@CugleMe]

My bike is currently have the exact same problem so what was it the intake valve adjustment that fixed it?

[@AdvMatthew]

I believe it was actually the decompression lever being out of adjustment. It was holding the exhaust valves slightly open which will cause a loss of compression. The intake clearance was bad but not in a way that I think would cause decompression. It's hard to say exactly as I performed several things at once (carb clean, valves, and decomp cable). Could have been all three - this bike was not taken care of by its previous owner.

[@CugleMe]

AdvMatthew I will have to check my decomp adjustment, thank you for a very detailed video keep posting the good content 👍

[@AdvMatthew]

Thanks for watching! Let me know how it goes.

[@JR-qe6ro]

Thanks for the video! When you say the decompression lever was out of adjustment, was the tolerance too large or too small at the point you measured against the cylinder head cover? Mine it currently at 0 with a little slack in the cable, so wondering if I need to adjust.

[@jacobv9697]

If only he did a carb rebuild for this bike :/

[@quintonmiller9310]

Is this the same as the dr250? I got a 1992 the other day and can’t find like any vids

[@ethanruplinger9428]

I have a 1993 dr250 did you ever find any videos to help you. What are the clearances for the valves?

[@AdvMatthew]

Pretty much the same motor so procedure should be the same just check for a list of clearances

[@brendonmonson4053]

did you have to drain all the oil prior to doing this?

[@AdvMatthew]

Nope. All of this can be accomplished without draining the oil. Some residual oil may come out of the inspection port but not a ton. Just have a shop towel ready to go.

[@brendonmonson4053]

@@AdvMatthew thank you sir! I'll be adjusting my valves and putting in a new throttle cable just in time for spring.

[@AdvMatthew]

Awesome! Happy riding!