lookin for ideas
 

this is the same thing i posted on introduction board;
hey all, wish i would of found this sight earlier. thought i would do my part so i bought a new 2009 suzuki dr200se. it advertised 105mpg. well after 200 mile breakin I'm getting 74.4mpg. now, i have done some poor driving, some agressive driving, but i am trying to kick those habits its he11 just driving at 55mph and getting passed. so with that i am going to try a few days at 45mph to see what that does. i do have a shop that is getting me a taller engine sproket we'll then see how that does. i feel maybe i should have got a ninja250 or that 230 honda. but i got what i got and i'll live with it any ideas and accessorries? (tach, flow meter non-efi,racks using milkcrate right now, windsheilds, etc) thanks

Idea 1: don't worry about how fast anyone else is going. You can laugh at them when you pass them all by at the gas stations.

Dr200! Besides a gearing change; you might consider a smallish windshield! (JC Whitney has inexpensive ones)

thanks guys, i think i will get a windsheild thats gotta help. i'm not up to the point of full flairing yet but.. i did do a 29 mile run at 47mph (at least it was on a 4lane road and drivers could go around) and it seems i only burnt 35 ounces which adds up to 105.7 mpg(approx). you could actually hear and feel that sweet spot in the engine. by chance my shop got the gear in so we're gonna change it today and then i'll do a litttle longer runs. i need to probably change these semi-knbby tires any good brands or SAFE tread patterns at 51 years old my stuff doesn't heal as quick :) my new goal (if i can sustain the advertised 105mpg) will be doing little things to reach a mile an ounce

How about a foam filled, combined backpack/aero-enhancer that you wear on your back?
(If you have a passenger, the passenger simply wears it on their back)

I just looked at a few pics of your bike here:

2009 Suzuki DR200SE

I hope you swapped out those mirrors and maybe smooth out those lights with ones that don's stick out as much. Maybe a new set of bars that fits a more streamlined riding position and lowers your riding height.

If you had a seat that was comfortable and allowed you to tuck your head down for those highway speeds that will save a lot of resistance. I flipped my Mirrors under the bars and can see not as well as the rabbit ear position but just fine when i got used to it.

looking once again that fender must catch a ton of wind see if there is another option, shortened fender or eliminator kit. I know it is needed if you were in the dirt or mud but I have no idea what your main use for the bike is on or off road.

I do not want to claim something that’s not true so with that let me explain that i have faith that my first stock 74mpg is probably pretty close but my last post of 105 COULD be flawed. now i say that cuz i just got my gear swap and tried to figure what a combined fuel consumption was and noticed how i could be off by a few ounces while filling up in the garage. even using a turkey baster trying to find that exact reference point is hard (btw combined before gear at 45mph for 1/2 trip and 55 after gear swap for 1/2 was 89mpg 33.7mile trip). SO i will post my mpg's only after a good 150 miles that way maybe 1 to 3 ounces off won't be too variable. best thing i think other than disconnecting gas tank and riding with a graduated measuring cup. i bought this bike just for going back and forth to work no offroading. the reason i favored this bike was due to its advertised mpg, but i want to keep it enjoyable, now eventually i might get more extreme but i'm still trying little steps so please don't anyone take me wrong or like i dissed ya. i think next will be a shield or see if i can find a flairing that could include lights and cover handle bars, check mpg, then see what i can do with front fender check mpg. some time do a tire swap away from these knobby ones check mpg. also put a tach on this thing as for posture, right now i travel 16miles one way to work 14 at 55mph 4 lane rural highway basically flatland, i ride with my feet on passenger pegs it feels good with just a little forward lean. i don't think i can stand too much of the "crotch rocket" ride,( School of Hard Knocks has taken its toll on my back :) ) btw I ain't downloadin no spell checker i know i need it though :)

I had a DR200 a few years ago and sold it to buy a WR250R. I doubt that a taller gear will help the DR200 in the stock aero configuration. My expereanc was that as long as you don't have to go over 60 mph the bike is happy. The bike just does not have enough power to drive itself through the air at over 60 - 70 mph without a substantial reduction in drag! The bike has great potential for high mpg numbers but major improvements to aerodynamics is the key. Take a look at creagvetter.com for some Ideas. The area I would suggest is behind the rider cargo space with aerodynamic tapered shape.

redyaris is right that going over 60 is just just too much for the 200. My 200 is happiest at just about 60 with taller gearing. For reference, my Yamaha 200 clone gearing change was from 15/46 to 15/40. My average is about 79 mpg now, consisting of 10 miles of 40-45mph and 20 miles of 60mph on the daily commute.

The DR200 has great potential. Taller gearing will help but only so much. If you can, install a O2 sensor and jet correctly. I adjusted the needle (1/4 to 1/2 throttle) lean and am still dialing in the main (1/2 to WOT) to a target of about 13.5 to 14 or so. For WOT on the freeway 14.7 (stoich) is too lean and can lead to excessive heat and engine damage.

The rest is aerodynamics, slower is better.

thanks guys, i agree if someone has a route where the speed limit was 45mph this bike would be most excellant. i got the gear change and it sounds to me that the 'sweet spot' sound increased to around 52mph, but i would have to agree that some aero work is needed to reduce the drag at 55 and above so i don't 'bog the engine down. since some one mentioned lean burning, at first a few experinced bike riders,at work, mentioned about how the exhaust pipe looked like it was burning mighty lean and my shop guy agreed so i called dealer got a run around and he said i would have to pay for an engine anylazing to determine, i told him 'bite me' my warrenty says he would have to pay for a new motor :) . so anyway with the new gearing rpms has dropped and the bike doesn't feel like its luggin on any of the slight inclines i face so i think it will be ok.

Some people like gearing so tall that they have to drop a gear to climb inclines. And why not, your arms and legs are not broken.

For my bike the taller gearing puts 60mph at about 5500 rpm. Under 60 it has enough power to pull the rather steep interstate climb in top gear, barely. Going faster it bogs down to 60 where the wind drag is less then it just stays there. A true testament that wind drag is the greatest enemy. If I had a (ahem) sleeker body, I can see where 15hp would be quite enough to pull 70mph in almost all situations, uphill or down.

What specificaly is the observation that indacate leanness? the two crude ways to tell if an engine is running lean are a spark plug color inspection, and is the exhaust pipe exit light brown or what... as long as the spark plug is tan in color it is ok. If the plug is white in color you need to enrich the feul air mix. As beatr911 has indicated the only real way to dial in the fuel air mix is with an o2 sencer, air fuel meter. Your dealer should at least do a spark plug check. anything less is neglegent on the dealers part. pulling your spark plug and looking at its color should not take 30 minutes including all the paper work! failing that do it yourself.

i don't plan on going any faster than 55mph and just back and forth to work. (harley boys at work wont let me cruise with them to the mountains:)) so hopefully i'm not taxiing this little thing too much. i do mech.mainteneance (one day i'll learn to spell that word) at a papermill so my weight varies between 194 and 204 on any given depending work load :). it is the exhaust pipe that caught the attention of everybody. and i understand about the spark plug but working some 12hr shifts have'nt had a chance to check it or fuel consumption but since i'll have 175miles since gear change it should give me a rather close average mpg when i check. i' am thinking of shopping yard sales to look for some old tach guns to rig up a tachometer for this thing does anybody have a reccomendation of maybe a aftermarket kit? gotta go midnight 7 to 7 shift, thanks

tiny tach has a digital unit for like $35 at Cabelas.

had a little misshap on testing mpg so i had to do over at 160 miles , 96% at 55mph , with my new gear change (sorry i dont know tooth count but it seemed only is one size larger due to space limitations) i am getting 80mpg yee haa. now that aint no 105 like advertised but hey it is better than my 99 f150 or 01 jeep :) on the lean thing spark plug looks like it is burning clean and now with the rpms reduced at top speed lean might be all right now.looking at some type of windscreen. and rear rack and case. milk crate i got doesn't secure my items:). oh yeah i'm gettin one of them tiny tachs thanks beatr911

Good on ya dr200!! Seems 80mpg is THE top end number for freeway speeds without aero improvements on motorcycles. That is just about what I've been getting on my 200 as well.

I'm often (about 50%) at WOT on the freeway, but the engine is not spinning anywhere near redline, so I have no worries about toasting the engine soon. I am curious just how long the engine will last though. I'm using synthetic oil, and moving to Shell Rotella T6 as I understand it's the best choice for motorcycles, you should consider using it also for this hard working engine.

I could see the 105 mpg but only at lower speeds where the aero drag is reduced.

The spark plug check is only accurate when shutting the engine off at the speed and load at which you wish to check the mixture. If you just check it when you get home or arrive a the shop, you are reading the mixture as it was just prior to when it was turned off. I strongly suggest using an o2 sensor and gauge to really get it right.

The cool thing I like about it is that you can adjust the carb for a lean area on one of the circuits where the engine load is low. Using the gauge you can adjust your throttle to take advantage of this lean condition and squeak out a few more mpg when the conditions are right, the gauge will help you see exactly where this occurs. My last tank was just over 82, 66% freeway.

i've been trying to look around for some type of glass i've come to the conclussion that i don't want a fairing i think it would make the cross wind turblance(sp?) bad. in other words you may all ready know how sometimes you have to hang on for the ride :) so what i 've been trying to look at is the possibility of having the glass come just a little under or even to the bottom of my full face helmet. so far choices are maier(sport or typhoon), givi (a601,a604),nationalcycle (deflector, street sheild, f series f15 light tint my favorite :) ). i have found some competeing designs to the tiny tach (moose, hardline,works)still trying to flip a coin on that choice also. one thing i need to find out is how this bike fires it was brought to my attention that some japenese bikes fire on top dead all the time even exhaust stroke (1rpm) while others do only top of compression stroke (2rpm) so if these gadgets are only picking up from spark plug they need to be able to adjust to which ever scenario, does that sound right?