Suzuki DR650 on gnarly enduro tracks? ︱Cross Training Adventure

When you got an australian fashion farmer on top of the bush pig you can do anything in style for miles🤘

Down Under we call it the bush pig
In the states , we call it this sage Hog...
( Well I
Do I live in nevada usa)

Just getting into the dual sport at the ripe age of 50 and picking up my 2024 DR next week. Coming from the street and cruiser bikes for over 10 years, I'm looking to expand and change things up... but still keeping my GSAX S1000GT of course.
I've researched the hell out of the DR and there is a mega cult following and excited to get started. The DR. Bush Pig is the ultimate "Jack of all Trades" and when I had my V-Strom 1000, I know that a lot of what this bike can be pushed to do is, skilsl.... there will be limitations of what a bike can do of course but the skill that some guys have can take a Harley into the woods... lol.
Gonna keep it stock for the first year, learn how to ride off-road and then enter the dark path of mods will begin....

Amazing videos and I'm a new Subscriber from Montreal, Canada.

My first off-road experience on my DR was at a trail system meant for side-by-sides and ATVs full of steep terrain covered in sharp jagged rocks. This was on stock suspension as a 290 lb man. Many lessons were learned that day.

thanks

Rain makes everything harder. Enjoyed watching from the comfort of my warm-ish home! Keep up the great work Barry!

I’m very happy that both the DR and Honda’s XR650L are still available in the US. Enjoy them while you can friends!

I'm glad you mentioned the points that need a little attention on the G.O.A.T./bush pig, and not what I keep hearing people here in the states keep saying they want done to it! Fuel injection would just ruin the reliability in my opinion! That's what most here in the states think it needs.

You just proved how good the 606 actually are.

I love it !!! Awesome as always

Where was this, Barry?

What gearing do you run on your DR?

Love it!

Happy (late) new year!

Not power make you winner but torque

I think there's something satisfying about using a tool that's not exactly designed for that purpose and getting the job done.

Man you are a bawss. I need to work on my clutch skills.

Agreed. I've been disappointed in the Japanese brands as of late. It looks like China is going to steal the pot unfortunately. I hope they get their crap together. Yamaha did great with the T7, the next frontier is the best ever dual sport bike. We will see how the new drz400 fairs but they screwed the pooch not putting a 6th gear in just from a spec sheet sales perspective. They could nail the gear ratios but the drooling "all bikes need 6 gears" crowd are many and they are legion.

Skills 😎👍

Imagine a CRF450R or a 650R...

Many wise words always spoken on this channel, Thankyou.

Exactly! The challenge is what makes it fun! If you wanted something easy just ride around in a carpark for a while. This is one of the reasons I sold my 300 2 stroke enduro bike and got a MX 450 for enduro. The 300 made everything too easy

Rider skill makes a huge difference.

The big ole black tractor lol. If only the DR had a anodized fuel cap. I imagine all your viewers would be pregnant !!

All hail the mighty Bush Pig. Press that secret Tractor Mode button and you now have a 2 wheeled version of a Unimog

In a KTM890 forum someone was asking about gearing, particularly smaller front sprockets, for tough terrain. I was trying to formulate my answer (Something like "What's the issue, I don't have any problem with slow sections or steep uphills?) when a respected forum member answered with a simple "Learn how to use the clutch". Nuff said.

Anyone calling a DR650 rider stupid for riding it on difficult trails are stupid themselves. I can get my DR almost anywhere my 250XC can go, just not as easy. And don't count Suzuki out, they introduced a new line of 800 twins two yrs ago. One being the 800DE, which is the most underrated new motorcycle to come out the last 5 years. Suzuki just introduced a DRZ4S, yet to be tested. So, could the little yellow company give us a DR7S? I'm a lifelong Suzuki hater and Honda fan boy. However, my DR650 and 800DE are everything I expect them to be....yes, they both need tweaks, but what bike doesn't. Thanks for yet another great DR650 video, Barry.

way way back in the day a guy in our crew had a Kawisaki KLR 600. It was a very basic dual sport. had a heaslite but no massive foo foo fairing. I remember it being a pretty capable off toad bike. I rode it a couple times but was always anxious to get back on my PE 250 that weighed 4 or 5 thousand pounds less

Dr 650s are absolutely capable of serious off road, harden up pussys, it’s not about the bikes boys.

I’ll say this, it would be a smart move by Suzuki to listen to your ideas for that bike, I’m 100% sure I would be marketable!

Excellent video, as always. I am with you, if only as you said, Suzuki would bring out a new model or Honda would bring back the XR650 the world would be a better place. Ride safe guys, Cheers

I could say how much I enjoyed this video and agree with almost everything you said. But this is the internet and I am compelled to focus on the one thing I disagree with. The DR does not need a 6 speed. It just needs the proper ratios in it's 5 speed. I have the wide ratio transmission from Procycle and while it is pricey the benefits are totally worth it in my opinion.

🇦🇺😎👍I took your advice years ago and got the ultimate standard suspension upgrade up the Sunshine Coast , MPE I think. It’s very nimble now. I bombed the engine , replaced the entire exhaust and put a TM 40 carburettor on the Big DRasaurass… Changed the tank , foot pegs , everything else and gave the beast a big port job and a high compression piston …..oh my gord ! That was the 2016 model 🤣👍. But wait there’s more 🤣👍🏁2 years after I brought the 2016 model I grabbed another new DRasaurass in a 2019 model and guess what ? That one got the treatment as well. . Brother I’ve spent that much money on both of them this year I recon I could have purchased a new GSX 1000R…🤣🤣🤣👍🏁. Thanks for your enthusiasm back in 2016 because you changed my life forever and I haven’t stopped smiling since. True story….My best friend Alan Cannon put me onto your videos back in 2016 but sadly he passed away on 25 March 2017 from a massive heart attack age 56. He told me he met you on a ride at least once. He said you’re a nice guy … Anyhow great to see your videos again , keep upright 🇦🇺🏁, Big Trev.

Gotta love the Mighty DR 650!

Got the first DR650 in 99 as a demo when I was guiding adventure tours. I’ve never been without one since. I’m on my 3rd one. I might not get their first, but I’ll get there. It just fits me and I’ve performed a few miracles with it. Basically the same bike for 25 years with “bold new graphics”.

Honda makes everything from generators to airplane motors, so I'm not surprised that the few thousand 650s they sell a year is not on the top of the list in R&D

What a great video showing off what that bike can do.
First time DR owner coming from decades of UJM/sport bikes, and I love my DR. I enjoy the simplicity of it. I ride in all conditions 40+C down to -20-C and might enjoy EFI. But the carb is just so easy to access. I'm glad to see Suzuki sticking with a working platform for so long; parts are literally everywhere for these things.

Link to the video of the old Honda blowing past modern bikes please

I love this video!! Yet again you're knocking it out of the park Barry!.... I hope to grow up to ride like you....

Much easier to work on technique with a lighter, appropriate bike. I bought my DR because of your video 10 years ago, still have it and love it for what it is. But my skill and confidence improved significantly after picking up a KTM 500. It felt like easy mode after so long on the DR.

The fact you can go up that is stuff is a showcase of your strength Sensei.

Pretty sure I would have picked the Beta for that day. Wrestling that thing around would be exhausting.

They are such an honest fun bike to ride at 70% pace all day. Problem is they used to be cheap and now people are listing them for Ktm 500 money.

Do you have grip on your seat ? :o how can you handle this beast !

I was a happy owner of a Brand New 2000 XR650R...for about 3 years until I moved from outback NSW to the South Coast; Suspension was crap; Technik (and $$$$) sorted that out and made the bike much better but for 'hard trail rides' at a reasonable pace it was still a heavy bike that never felt light to ride; Even moderate single track was bloody hard work; The beast missed the desert...It was thirstier than a cashed-up sailor on shore leave in Bangkok; Best I ever got out of a full tank was about 120k's and that's with a full Staintune Exhaust, opened up airbox, good air filter and sorted Carby; Cold starting was always an issue; If it didn't start on 1st or 2nd kick, find a hill or drain the carb and empty the flooded cylinder with a few hundred kicks; Hot starting after dropping it was always a hope and pray moment...and did I mention how heavy it was?
My (sorted) '95 XR630 that I traded for the 650 was a much better bike when it came to more technical terrain but couldn't hold a candle to the 650 when the terrain was more 'user friendly' like the wide open spaces of outback NSW which is the XR650's natural hunting ground;
Horses for courses so I traded the 650 for a 2003 Husaberg FE501...stiffer springs and decent tyres were the only 'mods' needed (and crank breather away from air 'box')...and despite all the 'reliability' nay sayers, the bike has never left me stranded anywhere; I still have it; Still going strong; It has an FCR Keihin on it which made starting cold and hot so much easier...and it goes much better than it ever did with the Delorto; Drag race with an injected CRF450 and WR450 saw Husaberg roost getting chucked at them both as soon as I clicked into 4th; Imagine how fast the 22 year old 'berg would be if I put an anodised fuel cap on it...

How much does your dr650 weigh?

Bravo

😂 really enjoyed this video had a good laugh

Does the DR you are using the three sponges for the suspension? One in each fork leg and one holding the swing arm to the seat?