TRAIL ZONE

TRAIL MAIL:

THE ENIGMA THAT IS DR650SE FUEL ECONOMY

Dear TRAIL ZONE crew: I have followed your magazine since day-dot and would like to say that I love every aspect of your mag. But I've been a bad trailrider and have never signed-up for a subscription, but always get copies put aside for me at the local newsagent. The reason I've decided to email you is I've been following the Suzuki DR650SE Project Bike articles for some time and have decided to put my two cents in. After years of riding my trusty DR-Z400(which I still have), I recently bought a DR650 for myself as a Christmas present to me and I, too, have made several upgrades to her, one being jetting. I did the standard thing of pulling the snorkel out, lifting the needle, adjusting the fuel screw and it went pretty well. But my only problem being was that my loving partner had mentioned that the exhaust note sound like "An ag bike that needed a slab of red bull up its backside!" So that's when I decided to make a phone call to TK Pipes and buy a muffler. Let me just stray here for a second and say that Terry's a top bloke and produces excellent product making a bike sound more manly ... anyway, I would like to share my results. Mu set-up is: 140 main, 42.5 pilot, fourth groove on the needle, 1.25 turns on the fuel screw and snorkel out -- and she pulls like a freight train. After testing fuel consumption with stock set-up when new, she has only dropped down to 18km per litre. So it just goes to show that no two DRs are the same. Keep up the great articles and the brilliant work the crew are doing and one day our bikes may cross paths to mate andcreate more awesome baby DRs.

-- Michael AKA Suzuki/DR Junky, via www.trailzone.com.au

Dear Junky: You know what I've noticed over recent months, mate? Poor old Russ has been sprouting more grey hairs and his brow has become more furrowed than ever ... and he puts it all down to the enigma that is trying to jet a modified DR650SE. Talk to any DR rider and they will all give you an ever-so-slightly different story when it comes to jetting tips and fuel economy. If your beast is giving you the performance you want and is putting the miles away at 18km per litre, you're laughing! Ride on, son. Oh, you do realise that this Friday morning I draw the winner of our latest Choose Your Ride subscriber promotion? The winner gets to take their choice of seven brand new dirt bikes. But hey, if you don't subscribe, it won't be you I call! It's not too late to get your subscription in ...

-- Clubby, www.trailzone.com.au