Sold the Tiger

Ratranger

XS650 Junkie
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So with my back I'm not doing any long rides anymore, and mostly commute to and from work. So I decided the 500lb tiger was getting up there in miles and something lighter would be nice. So I put the tiger up for sale and sold it for not much less than I payed 4 years and 20k miles ago. 2 weeks ago I found a buyer and the next day I bought it's replacement. My new daily is a 2016 suzuki drz400sm. I bought it for a decent price because it needed tires bad. So I removed the non oem stickers, did an oil change, replaced the air filter while I waited on tires. Now is the process of making it mine. So far it's gotten a yoshi exhaust, asv brake lever, and I customized a key to look like a screwdriver.

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I think I’ve had about 3 DRZs in the past. AMAZING bike. Are you trying to keep it “stockish” or are you ready for the rabbit hole that is modifying this bike. You have the exhaust, not sure if it has been done or you’ve done it but do the 3x3 mod and rejet. Really makes a difference. If you end up wanting to do some motor mods and keep it reliable you can swap in drz “e” model cams or hot cams stg1 which is about the same, and you can swap in an e model base gasket and bump the compression up. The gasket and cams came stock on the old DRZ e model so reliability will stay the same while giving a solid improvement. Off the top of my head the only must do mods I did were a manual cam chain tensioner and case savers (they are easily punctured). Good luck and enjoy the bike!
 
I think I’ve had about 3 DRZs in the past. AMAZING bike. Are you trying to keep it “stockish” or are you ready for the rabbit hole that is modifying this bike. You have the exhaust, not sure if it has been done or you’ve done it but do the 3x3 mod and rejet. Really makes a difference. If you end up wanting to do some motor mods and keep it reliable you can swap in drz “e” model cams or hot cams stg1 which is about the same, and you can swap in an e model base gasket and bump the compression up. The gasket and cams came stock on the old DRZ e model so reliability will stay the same while giving a solid improvement. Off the top of my head the only must do mods I did were a manual cam chain tensioner and case savers (they are easily punctured). Good luck and enjoy the bike!

I've been looking at everything. This bike came with the 3x3, and jd jet kit already done. The 2nd hand yoshi I put on is an rs3 can on a trs header.
Unfortunately hotcams changed their grinds, so the stage 2 are almost the same as the E cams. I've also read that a fcr39 is a huge upgrade over the cvk36. It seems you can mod as much as you want to spend on these.
 
Congratulations on your new bike! I’m sure you will love it. I’ve always liked the Super Moto styled bikes, Ive never ridden one, but they look like they would be a hoot to ride. Here’s a video of a guy doing the ton on his. 100 mph on a 400cc single! And it’s quick too!
 
Yes the FCR is supposed to be great, unfortunately never got to go that route. Bob, if you think that’s nuts check out the KTM 690. It rocked my world haha
 
. . . I’ve always liked the Super Moto styled bikes, I've never ridden one, but they look like they would be a hoot to ride . . .
Oh, yes, they are. I've had a few supermotos. The most unusual was a Vertemati SM 501 (?) which was a bonkers bike and weighed next to nothing. Had a couple of KTMs including a 660SMC - that's the lighter, kick-start only competition version. Orange of course. Bought it new in a fit of madness, fitted a freer-breathing Akrapovic exhaust and fettled to suit. You could seemingly do anything on that bike. It was like the bike had a naughty attitude and as rider you were its co-conspirator. My excuse and I'm sticking to it.

@Ratranger I'm sure you will enjoy the DRZ.
 
Oh, yes, they are. I've had a few supermotos. The most unusual was a Vertemati SM 501 (?) which was a bonkers bike and weighed next to nothing. Had a couple of KTMs including a 660SMC - that's the lighter, kick-start only competition version. Orange of course. Bought it new in a fit of madness, fitted a freer-breathing Akrapovic exhaust and fettled to suit. You could seemingly do anything on that bike. It was like the bike had a naughty attitude and as rider you were its co-conspirator. My excuse and I'm sticking to it.

@Ratranger I'm sure you will enjoy the DRZ.
Yes sir officer, It was all the Bike's fault, I was just hanging on for dear life!
 
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My friend had a supermoto DRZ and let me take it for a spin. I was in a 30 MPH zone and gave it the spurs. When I looked down, I was doing 80 and it was still pulling! I gave it back before I lost my license or life. Fun bike.
 
. . . I’ve always liked the Super Moto styled bikes, I've never ridden one, but they look like they would be a hoot to ride . . .
Yes sir officer, It was all the Bike's fault, I was just hanging on for dear life!
. . . I was in a 30 MPH . . . I was doing 80 and it was still pulling! I gave it back before I lost my license or life . . .
Supermotos, light, powerful, top-drawer suspension*, grippy tyres, narrow saddle, awful for along distances, serve up a huge helping of FUN, straight over roundabouts, pass columns of cars anywhere, around the outside on bends, in the face of oncoming traffic, filter to the front at traffic lights, win the green-light drag race, wheelies, stoppies, all part of your daily riding experience.

*KTM owns WP

Not my SMC:


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Now that I've gotten used to the drz I find myself carrying a good bit more speed in some spots. The onramp I take to work I would go through it at about 35-40 on the tiger and I've noticed I'm going 50-55 now. It's so much more precise on the handling that you wouldn't even notice without glancing at the speedo.
I've made a couple changes since I got the bike. ASV shorty brake lever, RSC 2 finger clutch, yoshimura trs header with rs3 silencer, and 40mm mirror extensions that make the OEM mirrors useful for something other than checking my elbows.
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Now that I've gotten used to the drz I find myself carrying a good bit more speed in some spots. The onramp I take to work I would go through it at about 35-40 on the tiger and I've noticed I'm going 50-55 now. It's so much more precise on the handling that you wouldn't even notice without glancing at the speedo.
I've made a couple changes since I got the bike. ASV shorty brake lever, RSC 2 finger clutch, yoshimura trs header with rs3 silencer, and 40mm mirror extensions that make the OEM mirrors useful for something other than checking my elbows.View attachment 237116

I really like your bike. ❤️ It just might be the ultimate urban warrior!
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Now that I've gotten used to the drz I find myself carrying a good bit more speed in some spots. The onramp I take to work I would go through it at about 35-40 on the tiger and I've noticed I'm going 50-55 now. It's so much more precise on the handling that you wouldn't even notice without glancing at the speedo.
I've made a couple changes since I got the bike. ASV shorty brake lever, RSC 2 finger clutch, yoshimura trs header with rs3 silencer, and 40mm mirror extensions that make the OEM mirrors useful for something other than checking my elbows.View attachment 237116
Nice ride! I had the opportunity to ride one of these a couple of years ago. Very tall seat height for my short legs. Once I had mounted the bike it was ok to ride but at a stop, the tips of my toes were barely touching the ground. Nice bike, handled well and had good power at the bottom end. I did however wonder if my butt would the able to endure the skinny, hard seat. At my age I’d liike a bike seat like a Lazyboy. 😀
 
Lol, 200 miles in a car has me shifting around trying to keep my back from cramping or just hurting. Short fun rides are more what I can do now. I do have a seat concepts kit coming for the drz, they are supposed to really help compared to the stock seat that feels like sitting on a 2x4.

Unfortunately long distance is just out for now. But taking the back roads to work can be fun too.
 
Still patiently waiting for my seat concepts seat, it's only been 2 weeks and the lead time is 2-4 weeks so hopefully soon.

In the mean time I repacked and shortened the rs3 muffler. And I'm getting ready to swap a FCR39 carb on.
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Still patiently waiting for my seat concepts seat, it's only been 2 weeks and the lead time is 2-4 weeks so hopefully soon.

In the mean time I repacked and shortened the rs3 muffler. And I'm getting ready to swap a FCR39 carb on.View attachment 237838

How do you like that pipe? Is it excessively loud? When I had my 650 V-Strom , I installed a Two Brothers pipe on it. And while it was beautifully made and light as a feather, it was a straight thru , glass pack design and absolutely thunderous! I could not believe a 650 could be so loud! I used to set off car alarms riding thru the neighborhood. So I bought the accessory baffle tip, which only made it a tiny bit quieter. Even when I was wearing ear plugs it totally drowned out any surrounding traffic noise, which I felt made riding in city traffic riskier. In the end, it didn’t increase the power any, so I put the old whisper quiet exhaust back on. 😜 Oh well, what did we used to say when we were young…..” If it’s too loud , you’re too old! “. Haha! 😆
Btw, I also hated the stock seat on that V-Strom, I bought a Seargent seat and it was worth its weight in gold!
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