Not how I wanted to end the day...

I now appear to have in my possession a rather lowered DR650...

While riding home, I suddenly heard this ominous "sproiiiinng" and the bike felt like I had acquired a flat tire. I stopped and noticed that the flat tire turned out to be broken lower shock mounting. Great. At least that didn't happen at speed while I was riding down the pass that lies between me and work...

AAA had a bit of an issue getting someone out to me (apparently broken bikes require two people and none of the local contractors had two drivers available) but a couple of very nice people stopped, threw the bike in the back of a pickup truck and gave me a lift home. Yay for fellow riders!

I was amazed at how many people stopped to enquire if I was OK (I had to put the bike down on its side due the the broken suspension so it looked like I had crashed). Restores your faith in humanity, that.

Oh, after discussing with AAA to cancel the call, I get a call from the tow truck driver 1/2 hour later that he can't find me. Go figure...

Now I guess I better figure out if I throw even more money at this ratty cheap bike or stick it on CL and get something else...

Of course the embarrassing part that two of the people who stopped and checked if I was OK were my coworkers. Small towns and all that...

Edit: Ouch. The part that's broken is an integral part of the shock absorber. New shock according to bikebandit.com - $770. That's about 2/3rds of what I paid for the bike.

Time for some welding?

$770? Holy crap! Here in the rust belt we have motorcycle junkyards, maybe you can find something in one of those? I know DR's aren't as common as KLR's, but maybe you'll get lucky.

Plus side, that's about as un-dramatic as broken-shock-mount stories get, especially on a dual-sport, it could have been a LOT worse.

Good luck!

In reply to triumph5:

I don't think so. A cursory check by the side of the road suggests that the lower end of the shock is supposed to have some sort of locking ring that holds the rod into the U-shaped lower mount. That one's gone AWOL, the mounting hole for the shock rod is damaged and there are a couple of other small pieces missing. Oh, and all those piece are part of the shock and not available separately.

That bike's been a pain in the posterior almost since I got it; TBH a mid-70s H-D would probably have required less wrenching than this 12k-on-the clock Suzuki just to keep it going.

ShadowSix wrote: $770? Holy crap! Here in the rust belt we have motorcycle junkyards, maybe you can find something in one of those? I know DR's aren't as common as KLR's, but maybe you'll get lucky.

I've had a quick look around. The problem is that this DR is an early DR650 that didn't seem to be very popular and getting used parts for it hasn't been quite as easy as it would have been for the slightly newer ones (96 on, mine's a 95).

ShadowSix wrote: Plus side, that's about as un-dramatic as broken-shock-mount stories get, especially on a dual-sport, it could have been a *LOT* worse.

Indeed. I am counting my blessings because if that had happened about three miles further down the road, it could've ended in a rather nasty fashion at higher speed.

Too bad about the shedding parts. Maybe the junkyard or ebay may turn up something for a lot less than $770.

I'm keeping my eyes open but TBH I'm a tad fed up with that bike. Probably have to push it into a corner for a while or just rid myself of it on CL.

BoxheadTim wrote: I'm keeping my eyes open but TBH I'm a tad fed up with that bike. Probably have to push it into a corner for a while or just rid myself of it on CL.

Understandable. Used KLR 650's seem to be going for their weight in carbon fiber at the moment, I guess it's the gas prices? Maybe some of that will rub off on the DR and you can get most of your money back out of it.

Here's an ebay shock for $200 starting bid or buy-it-now for $275.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DR650-Shock-w-ProCycle-Spring-/260801151298?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cb8f5c142

Thanks for the link - unfortunately I've got the first generation DR650 which is completely different from the later models and parts aren't interchangeable.

Looks like I'll end up breaking the bike for spares to recoup some of my money back, given that the alternative seems to be to spend roughly as much for the parts to fix it as I originally paid for bike...

You try here: http://www.sportwheel.com/ They're one of the largest motorcycle salvage yards in the US.

Thanks, just contacted them. Let's see what they come back with.

BoxheadTim wrote: Thanks for the link - unfortunately I've got the first generation DR650 which is completely different from the later models and parts aren't interchangeable. Looks like I'll end up breaking the bike for spares to recoup some of my money back, given that the alternative seems to be to spend roughly as much for the parts to fix it as I originally paid for bike...

Oh, then you want this one then. Needs a rebuild, but its even cheaper.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-SUZUKI-DR-650-REAR-SHOCK-OEM-/270605658397?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f015aa91d

Tim. As this is a strange few year deal you might give a call to some of the aftermarket shock houses like "works" or "Factory Conection" or GMD Computrack Boston
11 Summer Street, Bellingham, MA 02019-2544 (508) 876-9407 ‎ computrackboston.com

I bet they've seen it before and have a work around or can help you find one.

skierd wrote:

BoxheadTim wrote: Thanks for the link - unfortunately I've got the first generation DR650 which is completely different from the later models and parts aren't interchangeable. Looks like I'll end up breaking the bike for spares to recoup some of my money back, given that the alternative seems to be to spend roughly as much for the parts to fix it as I originally paid for bike...

Oh, then you want this one then. Needs a rebuild, but its even cheaper. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-SUZUKI-DR-650-REAR-SHOCK-OEM-/270605658397?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f015aa91d

Yeah, I'd seen that. I think it's the right shock but I have to find out if they're rebuildable or not. Not much point in exchanging one broke one for another one unless I can transfer the mount over.

Hmm.

44Dwarf wrote: Tim. As this is a strange few year deal you might give a call to some of the aftermarket shock houses like "works" or "Factory Conection" or GMD Computrack Boston 11 Summer Street, Bellingham, MA 02019-2544 (508) 876-9407 ‎ computrackboston.com I bet they've seen it before and have a work around or can help you find one.

Thanks, I'll give them a shout sometime this week.

I am very happy with the Works shocks on my RD 350. I called for a quote on my IT 400 and was stunned at the $600+ price. Apparently it is not a common shock. I wish you well on your search.

Works actually lists shocks for my DR, ranging from $610 to $800. Seems to be the "cheapest" option so far.