2009 Suzuki DR650SE Motorcycles

This is my favorite bike, I'm 53 and I bought it new 8 years ago. I've owned about 15 motorcycles and tried several others, including sport bikes, touring bikes, dirt bikes and enduros. This bike is not high performance and is not highly dirt capable. It is very reliable, very versatile and good all around. Excellent for dirt roads, that's what DR stands for. It's good on the highway with a top speed over 100Mph. it has a good headlight and a fair size gas tank good for about 140 miles range. Suzuki hit the nail on the head with this model. Suzuki sells the skid plate separate, a rack and a gel seat as well. It also provides for a lower setting position which makes the bike more street friendly and easier to get on and off. It also allows for easier cornering by lowering the center of gravity. I never had any issues with this bike and I often choose to ride it instead of my street bike (Kawasaki Versys) or my enduro (DRZ400). It's because it's so easy to handle that I prefer it for city riding and better than my DRZ for highway riding. It's also very smooth for a single cylinder, however at over 85Mph it has some small amount of vibrations but is larger grain than most other types of single cylinder bike's vibrations thus not buzzy or a bother. The suspension is soft and plush and soaks up rocks and potholes well. It also makes it easy to go over curbs or steps. The sitting position is comfortable but the seat is not. The gel seat is better but there are some aftermarket seats available which are quite good. This bike is fun to ride all day long, not like some bikes that are more powerful and snappy but after 20 minutes you want to take a break because they vibrate or are tiring to ride.

Upgrades/Accessories

The first thing I did to the bike was to immediately get the skid plate. Then, within the first 1000 miles I took it to the dealer for service and had it lowered as provided by the manufacturer. (I only have a 30inseam) When I got it back I noticed it cornered much better. After another 1000 miles I decided to add 2 of foam to the seat. I took the seat to an upholstery place and for $200 they did that for me and it turned out super comfortable. The next modification was changing the front brake line to braided steel line; this gave me a nice crisp braking, much better than the original mushy one. After this I decided to get a jet kit with a bigger jet and a new needle. I also opened up the air box about 4x 2. This improved the performance noticeably. I decided to keep the original muffler because I find performance pipes too loud and I like the stainless steel muffler that comes with the bike. At about 15000 miles I changed the chain and sprockets and decided to gear it down to 14 fronts and 41 teeth on the rear wheel. This in conjunction with the jet kit made the bike pull a lot stronger and way more fun to ride. Other cosmetic mods. Included taking an inch off each end of the handlebars and getting a more stylish front fender. This is my favorite bike now, although I've had better bikes, such as the V-Strom, which is definitely a better bike, I sold it because I don't do many long trips and I enjoy riding on dirt roads much more than highway trips. Also, the V-Strom is big, bulky and heavy, while the DR is much lighter and versatile. So, if you like dual sports, this one is great.

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