Yea , I'm done with points and condenser if I can help it.    Them old Honda twins were great machines ... but ... keeping them going might not be easy ?

Well how you liking that DR 200 MM ?

Yea Ruttly I like it .   There are some very big differences in street tires and dual sport tires I had forgot about !

Those dual sport tires don't corner anywhere near as good as the street tires !  

This DR200SE only has 2100 miles on it and the original tires are still on it.

The story so far ... its been cold outside here in TN. :
    It gets down to 20 mph in 5th gear with no problem and still pulls off when asked to.
    It runs up to 65 mph very easy , I'll wind it out after the weather warms up a little .
    Taking off in second gear makes more sense than taking off in first .  I might change the sprockets for that , and the top speed too ?
    The 248 pounds is nice !
    I'll get a luggage rack before too long and put either a milk crate or a small soft bike trunk ?  
    I understand it should get near 90mpg , but it starts without the choke in 60 deg. weather , I might visit that latter ?
    The bike has set-up for a few years and the mid-range has a dead spot - Sea Foam is working on that now !  

So far the only disappointment has been it spins the tire on wet mud easier than I would have thought .   The last dirt bike I had was a Honda XR200 with full knobblies these dual sport tires aren't even close to what the full Knobblies were .   The rear tire is about 1/2 gone already so I'll be dealing with the traction issue soon enough .     Its a 18" so lots of options are out there !

Thanks for asking , I think we all should have one of them , Suzuki 200cc is 20 HP , don't know for sure about the other brands ?  

more torque and a happy button



I'm guessing  that would be a "Starter" button ?  

..........................

I had a Yamaha XS-650 without one ... That was the first bike I ever missed having one on.   But it usually started on the first or second kick - if ya kicked like ya meant it!  

Well - I got a dual sport....maybe even one of the "first"!

It is only 7HP - but it does have a dual range transmission, big rack, altitude compensating carb, and in it's prime got 100 mpg or so.

It does need some attention to get it back into shape to be a daily rider.  The front tire is original and 48 years old....the back tire is only 22 years old - both tires, rims and spokes are going to be replaced.  Same with the brake shoes, fork boots and seals, rear shocks....and the engine could use new gaskets and seals to be completely oil tight.  The frame and swing arm need to be painted to fix the damage done when an old battery leaked acid.

It is definitely old school..........

I used to like the IRC-110 on my DP bike.
Notice the center knobs overlap creating a more solid run down the middle of the tire.  Less cupping wear on the knobs with street use.

Yes the bike will be street legal and licensed.  It will likely become my bike for short trips to the hardware store.

The bike originally had 2.75x17 Yokohama knobbies - those are no longer available.  The only real options are a trials tread tire - or the Shinko 244 dual sport tire which was originally called the Golden Boy!  (Seems the name created by the oriental marketing team doesn't translate very well and create a rugged image).

The tire gets really good reviews from the dual sport community and offers really good road and trail performance at a budget price.

MMRanch wrote on 04/02/22 at 09:50:42:


I am going as close to original as I can.  The original was a 2.75x17 and they don't make that size in a dual sport tire....the closest I can come is a 2.50x17 front which they claim is almost the same size as the original - and the rear is a 3.00x17 which is just a bit wider.  With only 7HP there really isn't an excess of HP to drive big tires.  I really don't want trials tires as they just don't look right on the bike....it needs a more aggressive tire to look like it originally did.