Pinwall cycle (US)

arrival of package from Pinwall Cycle US Via UPS



All of the items are removed from a 2008 DR650SE.

And so it begins

The DR650 is not a common bike in singapore. Hence, it not easy to come by 1 for sale. Had viewed several models over the pass few months. Finally saw this one that actually fits my budget and is in a good conditon with several accessories i liked.

The beginning of DR650SE

Its been coming to a year since i been thinking about getting another bike for tours. There are lots of factors to consider while choosing this new machine to suit my riding style, budget , practicability, commutability and tour worthiness.

Since high speed touring is out(and outta budget for these babes). Blackbird,GTR14,CBRs & GSXRs. Been thinking about trailies or dualsports for some simple off-road riding further up northern thai to make the ride less stressful in offroads(as compared to those IL4 babes), like TDM, Varaderos, transalps, Stroms & AT. Looking at all these choices, they looked good and still get the job done. I narrowed down to these choices.

F650GS is one of my choice bike. good bike, hardy and worldwide spares support(at a price of course).

The next choice which i would love to get my hands/butt on is the DL650. AKA Vstrom from Suzuki. well made japanese bike, good posture with some wind protection. less expensive parts(over the beemer).

Here's a trusty old Honda, typically bulletproof(if taken care of) reliable, hardy bike. No need for me to elaborate further for this one here.

The Transalp650 another rare beauty. practical but rare.

This yammie parallel twin is good. versitile, good FC, very durable and my initial idea choice bike. but its kinda rare over here not many TDMers would want to part with this japanese babe.

Finally, this truely beautiful thumper brings me closer to what i want. and makes me rethink about dualsport choices.

Last but not least, My final decision on this bike, DR650SE.

After seeing the Yamaha XT660 tenere, i re-think over again, over the engine types.

V-Twins vs thumpers.

To a certain extend, i believe twins can do much better(as compared with singles) on NSH. But since its a twin, it simply means 2 engine blocks with some engine synchro method, 2 fuel intake points for 2 blocks, meaning more moving parts. which leads(at least to me and how i think) to more troublesome and more parts to get worn, as in harder to work on. more steps to repairing it. And of course, more $$$$$ to repair.

Apparently, my ideal touring speed is around 100-120km/h, V-twins and thumpers both can do the job(well), and what i wanted is a simpler machine. As simple as possible, is the thumper as compared to twins. meaning less parts and ease of maintainence.

Yamaha Vs Suzuki Vs honda
Well, here it goes the usual japanese comparision. i loved the XT660 esp the newer models, but it seems like the price tag is much more than my previous 2006 black bird. Hence, choice got rejected straight by my wallet, piggy bank and my son's savings accounts.

Honda XR650, can't seem to catch my attention this time. I am a sucker for honda bikes, loved the way their bikes are made, love to ride hondas, but for no apparent reason, the XR650R/L just can't steal my heart this round.

DR650SE is the choice. i don't know which suzuki virus hit. It got very very sick over that bug, Very lovesick~ i keep digging into this bike and realised that suzuki did a major revision for the DR650 models. new oil cooler, new elect start system, new square frame/chassis. making it a total of 25KG lighter. but the engine produces less horse powers as compared to pre-96 models. Smaller steel fuel tank with vaccum switch gas petcork. With the lighter new design, comes a slightly smaller front floating disc. As this is still a production bike, parts are still available. Lots of accessorries are available for this bike too. Thus, prompting me to look even further to possible future modifications on this bike. I've always loved Stock bikes and its very very rare to even hear me talk about modification. But the DR 650SE changed me, and that's one change i can never comprehend.