Suzuki DR200SE

[MrGoSlow]

I have just purchased a 2001 Suzuki DR200SE. Suzuki actually advertises this bike as being capable of 105mpg fuel economy. (your mileage may vary!)
After it stops raining, I am excited to get on the road and make some base line measurements to see what this machine can really do. It looks like a great prospect to actually record a triple digit mpg number.
There is some deferred maintenance to get done first so as to bring everything up to spec.
I am compiling a list of mods which I would like to try as well. If anyone has experience with this bike. Please let me know what you have already learned.
Thanks! RM

[greenjoe]

great bike to start with! The 105 seems optimistic as stock, but there's alot of cheap and easy mods to that bike to make it more streetable and eco.

[gil]

I was looking at that bike for ecomodding. Im interested in seen what you can do with it. Good luck.

gil

[kawboyCAFE]

good bike. i would say it will probably get between 85-90 with easy driving. 105 is pretty high, but you can hope.

[bdesj]

Whoohoo! Have fun and good luck with it, GoSlow. Is it your first motorcycle?

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by greenjoe

great bike to start with! The 105 seems optimistic as stock, but there's alot of cheap and easy mods to that bike to make it more streetable and eco.

Originally Posted by kawboyCAFE

good bike. i would say it will probably get between 85-90 with easy driving. 105 is pretty high, but you can hope.

I think 105 will be easily attainable. My Ninja 250 made 85, in short trips, in the winter.

[skyl4rk]

Does it go fast enough to use on the interstate?

[redyaris]

Originally Posted by MrGoSlow

I have just purchased a 2001 Suzuki DR200SE. Suzuki actually advertises this bike as being capable of 105mpg fuel economy. (your mileage may vary!)
After it stops raining, I am excited to get on the road and make some base line measurements to see what this machine can really do. It looks like a great prospect to actually record a triple digit mpg number.
There is some deferred maintenance to get done first so as to bring everything up to spec.
I am compiling a list of mods which I would like to try as well. If anyone has experience with this bike. Please let me know what you have already learned.
Thanks! RM

I had a 2005 DR200 that I liked a lot, but I sold it to get a WR250 Yamaha for a little more power and the ability to keep a higher average speed on 4 lane divided highways. the things i miss about the DR200 is the range of the 13L [3.4 Gal.] fuel tank, 78 mpg, 217 mile/2.78 gal. the other thing I miss is the low seat height. What I found with this bike was that on two lane roads and gravel roads this bike could keep up with anything that was keeping to the posted speed limit, 60 mph. I sometimes regret selling the bike. depending on what you expect from the bike, I would suggest that you start with some aeromods then go to a bigger front sprocket. look at Craig Vetter's web site, as well as some of the work done on this site. this bike has huge potential for very high FE.

[MrGoSlow]

Here is an update on the DR200SE project. It has been almost constant rain since I brought it home, so I have not done much. I have made a few local rides to get acquainted with it's "personality".
It has good torque from right off idle and a smooth power delivery at low rpms. My technique for hypermiling is to shift up through the gears quickly keeping the rpms to a minimum. This motor seems well suited to this task suggesting very mild cam timing. I found some (unverified) cam specs online which would verify this. Here-
stock DR200 cam
_________lobe lift______valve lift____Duration at .050"
Intake____.245"________.320"_______204
Exhaust___.230"________.290"______ 200
I also ran a compression test and was surprised to record a 185 psi reading. I repeated the test two more times with the same results. My gauge is the kind that you press in to the spark plug hole as opposed to screw in. You could feel a good strong pressure which makes me think that these readings are accurate. I am very pleased about this.
I also pumped up the tires to spec, changed the oil using 10w30 petrol based oil and lubed the chain.
When the weather clears up I hope soon to have some baseline mpg data to report.