1 Year Report: 2009 Suzuki DR650SE (March 30th)

The past year sure has flown by, and my Suzuki has  9600 miles on the odometer as of March 30th. I just put on my second set of tires, a set of IRC’s that look a bit more dirt aggressive than the Dunlops they replaced. The original tires lasted about 4000 miles. The second set, Dunlop D607′s, were nice for street tires, and worked okay on the trails, and they lasted about 5500 miles.

The only problem I had with the Suzuki was the day I got it. The battery went dead, only to find out the rectifier was not plugged in. Wasn’t the dealer’s fault, came that way from Suzuki. Plugged it in and no problems since. It has the Suzuki Gel seat, rear rack and skid plate. I added a digital tachometer/engine hour meter.

I have changed oil and filter 6 times, adjusted the valves twice, and replaced the spark plugs once, although I do not think it was really needed. I have cleaned the  air filter a couple times and adjusted, cleaned and lubed the chain about every 1000 miles.

Suzuki replaced the exhaust header at 1700 miles because the coating was flaking off. I thought it was normal, and they said no, and put a new header on it, which never flaked.

I have used my Suzuki to get certified to coach the MSF’s ARC-ST, I have used it for demonstrations while coaching the ERC and the ARC-ST, I have rode many trails, commuted, and just plain rode for fun all over SoCal, and the Suzuki has not failed me.

My Grandsons riding their Doodlebug

I drove to Texas last week to tend to some family matters and brought the mini bike with me to drop off for my grandsons who live out in the country. Needless to say, they rode it without any problems (like a true Henderson motorcyclenut). Here’s Ryan (age 7):

And here is Ian (Age 10):

And you know I am a very proud grandpa!