Anybody here use thier 4 banger for a ds? and if so how does it work? I dont expect a goldwing highway ride but curious how fast can they cruise before you start thinking about backing down? Back country roads to 55mph? 65? 70?? or even better?? I'm seriously thinking about a KTM 525/530 or LC4, or husky 610.. need a ds bike soon,, and have a ride in the end of May.. so its coming down to the wire.. pick a bike time..
450/515 fsr used for DS??
- Thread starter Cruiser
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SpeedyManiac
New member
515 would make a great ds bike. A few guys in bc have made 450s legal and quite like them.
ok,, if say I was going to get a new 450 or 515 and I'm not going to do any tight trails for a while.. mainly due to instructions from the DR.. and I gear up one tooth cs and put a set of sm wheels on it.. these are capable of some asphalt fun?? I ask as my Dr said ok to ride,, but street or light dirt roads.. no agressive riding maybe even this entire season.. We have lots of slower 30mph zone twisties and dirt roads near me that need exploring.. and I need to buy a new bike.. I really dont want to go orange..
GMP
Active member
Steve,
Look into what type of drive components that bike has, or can be added, like a damped clutch or cush drive. The biggest problem with heavy street use of big 4-stroke dirt bikes is broken transmissions from the shock loads. Being there is an SM version, I would think that this is addressed. Also how long can you ride it on a highway if neccesssary? Backroads should be stupid fun!
Maybe we can do some street hooliganism before I'm cleared for dirt too!
Look into what type of drive components that bike has, or can be added, like a damped clutch or cush drive. The biggest problem with heavy street use of big 4-stroke dirt bikes is broken transmissions from the shock loads. Being there is an SM version, I would think that this is addressed. Also how long can you ride it on a highway if neccesssary? Backroads should be stupid fun!
Maybe we can do some street hooliganism before I'm cleared for dirt too!
I've set my 450 up for the street with 17" SM tires. For performance on paved mountain roads it's very good. I run a 13-36 set up with a 150-60-17 rear. It will cruise without strain at 75-80mph. I've also set it up for duel sport with some combo 21" 18" tires running 13-41t.
Comparing these setups with my DRZ400, I find the GG because of its lighter weight to be more performance oriented in both categorizes and it is more sure footed and stable up to 75mph. It forgives errors and it is easy to ride. However, the downside is that my drz with it's 55-60mpg fuel efficiency and it's 4 gal tank has a cruising range double that of the GG. The DRZ with its few mods is almost as fast as the GG and with it's 30 lb weight advantage-disadvantage? it is more suited for leisure pavement riding than the GG.
For most use I normally reach for the DRZ. If I want to push hard, it's the GG.
Something else to consider for DS use, and it's something that the KTM and Husky 400-500cc series haven't given much thought to fixing is the temp that the oil operates at on continued 60-80mph use and I don't know how the newer GGs with their wet sumps would handle this oil temp. problem.
My GG is of the older version with a dry sump. My DRZ also has a dry sump. Both fill up with 2 quarts of oil. I used to constantly monitor the oil temp on both bikes. The DRZ usually maintains an oil temp of 210-240f. The GG on occasion will exceed 250f. In comparison, the wet sump KTMs and Huskys consistently run over 300f and will get to 350f. Although they used to in previous years, neither of those mfrs in their current advertising mention Duel Sporting for those models.
Oh, and in response to GMP and his comment re. Cush drives, let me say that although the DRZ in Japan is fitted with a cush drive they do not come that way in the US. DRZ SM s without a cush drive have done very well on pavement and they do last a long time without transmission problems. However, if you read my previous posts regarding my GG conversion to SM, I mentioned that to take this problem into consideration, both the DRZ and the GG can be fitted with the readily avail. KTM 640 cush hub without much effort. Right now, I'm running the 640 cush on my DRZ and the DRZ 17 on my GG.
Tony
Comparing these setups with my DRZ400, I find the GG because of its lighter weight to be more performance oriented in both categorizes and it is more sure footed and stable up to 75mph. It forgives errors and it is easy to ride. However, the downside is that my drz with it's 55-60mpg fuel efficiency and it's 4 gal tank has a cruising range double that of the GG. The DRZ with its few mods is almost as fast as the GG and with it's 30 lb weight advantage-disadvantage? it is more suited for leisure pavement riding than the GG.
For most use I normally reach for the DRZ. If I want to push hard, it's the GG.
Something else to consider for DS use, and it's something that the KTM and Husky 400-500cc series haven't given much thought to fixing is the temp that the oil operates at on continued 60-80mph use and I don't know how the newer GGs with their wet sumps would handle this oil temp. problem.
My GG is of the older version with a dry sump. My DRZ also has a dry sump. Both fill up with 2 quarts of oil. I used to constantly monitor the oil temp on both bikes. The DRZ usually maintains an oil temp of 210-240f. The GG on occasion will exceed 250f. In comparison, the wet sump KTMs and Huskys consistently run over 300f and will get to 350f. Although they used to in previous years, neither of those mfrs in their current advertising mention Duel Sporting for those models.
Oh, and in response to GMP and his comment re. Cush drives, let me say that although the DRZ in Japan is fitted with a cush drive they do not come that way in the US. DRZ SM s without a cush drive have done very well on pavement and they do last a long time without transmission problems. However, if you read my previous posts regarding my GG conversion to SM, I mentioned that to take this problem into consideration, both the DRZ and the GG can be fitted with the readily avail. KTM 640 cush hub without much effort. Right now, I'm running the 640 cush on my DRZ and the DRZ 17 on my GG.
Tony
GMP
Re. the plumbing for an oil cooler. I assume you mean for the newer wet sump models as the older dry sumps have no need for one. Firstly, the newer models might not need one. It depend on how hot the oil gets at a sustained 60-70mph. If the oil temp remains under 300f, my assumption would be that that would be okay. Secondly, there are after market oil cooler suppliers for the 400-500cc KTMs. From reading their sites, it seems like their goal is to reduce the oil temp to around 300f. I don't know that much about how the GG went from dry sump to wet sump, but again I assume that, if needed a oil cooler can be fitted to the newer GGs as well. A key to that question might be how often GG recommends changing the oil in wet sump models. Both KTM and Husky users are constantly changing their oil. If that's not the case with the newer GGs, they my be good for Duel Sport without any oil mods.
Tony
Re. the plumbing for an oil cooler. I assume you mean for the newer wet sump models as the older dry sumps have no need for one. Firstly, the newer models might not need one. It depend on how hot the oil gets at a sustained 60-70mph. If the oil temp remains under 300f, my assumption would be that that would be okay. Secondly, there are after market oil cooler suppliers for the 400-500cc KTMs. From reading their sites, it seems like their goal is to reduce the oil temp to around 300f. I don't know that much about how the GG went from dry sump to wet sump, but again I assume that, if needed a oil cooler can be fitted to the newer GGs as well. A key to that question might be how often GG recommends changing the oil in wet sump models. Both KTM and Husky users are constantly changing their oil. If that's not the case with the newer GGs, they my be good for Duel Sport without any oil mods.
Tony
GMP
Active member
Thats one of the compromises of using the bike for the road, and the immediate solution is frequent oil changes with high quality oil. FWIW, my stock (lean Euro 3 spec ECU) Ducati Hypermotard ran the oil temp up into the high 200s in summer traffic. I ran Motul racing 15-40 ester based oil and changed it often. With the racing ECU and LV exhaust the temps dropped 30 - 40 degrees.
BTW, what Mag Marelli ECU is in the new FSR ?
BTW, what Mag Marelli ECU is in the new FSR ?
