Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RIDING 'IMPRESSION 1996 Suzuki DR650S (Left) The '96 DR650Is new from the ground up. (Top) Quality forks grace the front end. (Above) The stalnles... · steel muffler Is now visually acceptable. By Kit Palmer Photos by Kinney Jones s you probably know by now, Suzuki got the dual sport revolution rolling back in 1990 when they introduced their three-bike. brigade of "barely street legal" DR-S motorcycles. But the bike that really ignited the dual sport craze was the DR350S, a machine that answered the dual sporters' cries for a dirt-worthy, middleweight, four-stroke that was street legal. However, if you were looking for something with more oomph, welJ, you pretty much had to look elsewhere for a competent open-class dual sport bike. It wasn't because Suzuki didn't have one, but compared to the more dirt-oriented A DR250 and 350, the 1990 DR650 and future DR650s were nothing more than street bikes with high-mounted fenders, semi-knobby tires and long legs. As a result, the big DRs were never a big hit among the dual sporting crowd, especially when Honda eventually came out with the very capable XR650L, and Kawasaki the KLX650 and KTM the 620R/XC. But now, you can add Suzuki to the list of quality big-bore dual sport bikes with the all-new DR650SET. Remember last year's DR650s? Well, you can pretty much forget it, because the new DR650 realJy doesn't have anything in common with the previous DR. Everything is new. The motor, frame, suspension, plastic...everything. Much emphasis was put on keeping the DR650 as compact and light as possible, and to accomplish this, Suzuki focused a lot of attention on the electricstart, SOHC, four-valve, air / oil-cooled motor, which is, in fact, now slimmer and lighter than before, as is the all-new frame which Suzuki claims is 13 percent more rigid than last year's 650. According to Suzuki figures, the '% DR650 weighs 324 pounds (dry), which is 33 pounds lighter than the '95 DR650. For comparison's sake, the new DR650 weighs almost the same as the Honda XR650L. Other changes to the motor include coating the cylinder bore with what Suzuki calls its Suzuki Composite Electrochemical Material (SCEM), a nickelsilicone-carbide plating used to improve heat transfer and to reduce friction and wear. Suzuki didn't bother trying to trim weight off the huge tailpipe, but at least they made it look nice by leaving the stainless-steel exhaust system with a shiny, chrome-like finish. Perhaps the biggest news is that Suzuki decided to fit the new DR650 with quality suspension components. Up front, the DR features large 43mrn conventional-style for.ks, which feature anodized sliders, both inside and out, to enhance performance and durability. The anodizing creates a hard surface that Suzuki claims reduces friction and wear, and provides smoother fork action. Unfortunately, Suzuki chose not to go with cartridge internals, no doubt a cost-saving move. The gas-charged shock is beefed up as welJ. It features a piggyback reservoir and is fully adjustable. Of course, the linkages are changed to go along with the new chassis and suspension components. Suzuki added some nice finishing touches to the DR650, such as installing pJ.ilstic hand guards; wrapping the seat cushion with an attractive, two-tone seat cover; and mounting two grab rails on both sides of the rear fender. Suzuki also finally got smart and eliminated the speedometer / tachometer assembly of old. Basically, the good-for-nothing tach has been ousted for a smaller and weight-saving speedometer-only unit, which includes a reset-to-zero tripmeter. Someday, though, the manufacturers will learn that tripmeters resettable by the tenth are more useful to the dualsport rider. Optional features for the DR650 include a luggage rack and an aluminum skidplate. Riding the DR650 for the first time revealed some surprises. First of all, the

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