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Thought I would start a thread with details of my 1990 DR650RS rebuild. Should have done that at the start, but I didn't think of it at the time This is what she looked like after sitting for nearly 3 years.







Drained the old fuel from the tank and carb, threw in some fresh stuff and she fired up after 5 kicks! It would only idle, and I was already looking for an FCR carb, so I didn't bother doing anything with the BST.

While the FCR was winging it's way across the Pacific and the intake side was almost sorted, I picked up a GSXR can to sort out the exhaust side. My first impression was "that ain't gonna fit!" Holding it in the best position looks like this:



The biggest issue is the clearance between the sideplate and rear guard extension:







After numerous attempts to get it mounted with enough clearance, I decided it just wasn't going to work. A lot of net searching lead me to Marving mufflers from Italy. They were resonably priced (I'm cheap) a direct bolt on, and didn't need repacking. This is what it looks like when mounted.



Much more clearance around the sideplate and with the tyre



Comparison shot of the Marving, GSXR and the original boat anchor



The weight is about a pound and a half or so heavier than the GSXR (much the same if it had the mid-pipe I guess) It's made of steel and the aluminium is only there to make it look purty

Fitted the FCR carb with no problems. The only issue is the idle adjust screw is located close to and behind the frame down tube and is very awkward to get to with the airbox in place. The photo also shows the amount of rust that covers most of the frame!



A mate of mine owns a KX250F (which has an FCR 37) and I noticed the idle adjust screw is mounted on the left at the front of the float bowl. There is a dimple cast into the cam housing of my FCR where the screw goes, so it will be a simple job to drill and tap it to fit the Kawasaki part. I think the FCRs fitted to KTMs have the same set up.

Starting the tear down. Came apart suprisingly easy as I thought for sure there would be lots of rusty bolts.



Rusty shock, and other rusty bits.



Instruments and headlight mount, and more bloody rust!

Onto the engine tear down, to see what was stuffed inside. Don't know what condition the 3rd gear was in, so a new one was ordered to be fitted, just in case. The engine will be torn down totally to make it easier to remove the alloy cancer, so any internal stuff needed will be done while it it in pieces.

Made a frame out of scrap steel to hold the engine while working on it.



Lots of alloy cancer on the rocker cover.



Draining the oil. Hmm, doesn't look good! Obviously it was poorly maintained.



Which explains this....











That pi$$ed me off, so I shoved it into a corner while deciding what to do..

Started stripping the old paint off the plastic parts. What a fun exercise that turned into! Whoever painted it before really blathered the paint on. This is the thickness of some that flaked off when I hit it with the pressure washer.



That's inches. Metric is just under 0.4mm, and there were still a few layers intact!

After one coat of stripper and pressure washing.



And the result after blasting in a commercial bead blasting cabinet. Stripped it back to the original paint in a few minutes.



It had a tough time with the pinkish looking stuff, which I think is spray putty. It actually started to burn and blister the original paint before it slowly disintegrated. A bit of sanding should remove the rest of it.

More to come....

I found an easy way to disassemble my wheels. Attacked them with a 5" grinder and cutting disc



Started doing some clean up work and painting. Bead blasted, etch primed and painted these with 2 pack quick dry enamel.



Blasted and painted all the brake equipment with high temp caliper paint.



New master cylinder window glass from http://newrivercyclesalvage.com/sight-glass.html They also include new stainless screws for the cap.



A new wheel! Suzuki OEM spokes and a new old stock rim for a Suzuki TS250.

looking good! those parts you did in black, great!

Cut off the wimpy chain guide bracket and made a new one to support the Hessler chain guide. I thought they were made specifically for DRs, but all they are is a KTM guide and a laser cut aluminium bracket. Hope it is strong enough.







Garnet blasting the swingarm. The decals were very tough and the blasting wouldn't shift them , so I had to scrape them off with a chisel. I made an impromptu blasting booth by hanging a couple of large tarps over the tray of my ute and it recovered more than 90% of the garnet.



Swingarm, rack and suspension linkages after priming and painting. Unfortunately, the paint was from a dud batch which cured ok, but was easy to mark with a finger nail. Now they have to blasted and painted again!

I am in the process of rebuilding a 2002 that looks almost as bad....
Nah, I thought mine was in bad shape until seeing your pictures!
Keep the pics coming, we all love a good make over.

Thanks! I had a FIGJAM moment when I peeled off the masking



Well, it will be 22yo in April, so a bit of roughness around the edges is expected Don't forget to show us some before and after shots of your makeover