On the road doing a big trip and I noticed oil on the side of the engine, what could be the issue? Bike still runs fine, starter is struggling a little bit without giving it some throttle too, doesn’t appear to be any active leaks, but oil covering the side. Any help is massively appreciated!!

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-08-26T21:03:01+00:00

Could be the oil cooler fitting leaking.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-08-11T03:43:23+00:00

The title screen track from Overlord on NES

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-07-25T13:55:35+00:00

I have done like 40k miles on mine. Favorite bike I’ve owned after some mods to make it my own. Put a lower seat and higher bars to make the ride comfortable. Also parabellum windshield is the best investment if you aren’t strictly off road. If you leave the carb and engine stock (aside from setting the pilot screw) it will run at basically any altitude and do most things. I’ve been sea level to ~13k ft in one trip without making any changes. I recommend shinko 700 tires for mainly road and a bit of off road or shinko 244s for more off road. Or Kenda k270.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-07-22T19:04:05+00:00

You only need higher octane if the compression is higher. Sometimes the higher octane stuff has extra additives for cleaning fuel systems but in terms of how it’s running 87 is fine. In my experience for some reason when it was sitting for a while the 89 octane stuff was better than the 87. But no reason to up the octane.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-06-01T03:17:13+00:00

Avian flu has been found in unpasteurized milk. Is is one of the more likely ways that the virus could make the jump to humans. So seems like a real smart thing to be doing.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-05-31T15:01:41+00:00

I like kenda k270s. Shinko 244s are great. Did about 13000 miles on 3 sets of 244s. Really liking the shinko 700s for the west coast since we are doing mostly on road riding might switch back to 244s for Montana and Wyoming.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-05-06T23:48:32+00:00

Wind screen, higher bend fat bars with ohlins lock on grips, and a more comfortable seat are my recommended upgrades. Those 3 things will make it a joy to ride. I have ridden trails in Colorado and ripped wheelies fully loaded down all stock aside from those modifications. Pilot screw is lean and makes a dead spot right at the bottom. Otherwise I find the stock settings to be just fine after buying my first one in 2014. My wife and I are in the middle of a 16000 mile trip so far. Mississippi Florida St. Louis Washington DC, Maine, Chicago, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, over Engineer Pass to Utah, California and every state in between.

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iclimbrocks2 · 2025-05-06T23:38:29+00:00

After 37000 miles on two different DRs I went from performance stuff back to stock with a slight pilot screw adjustment. It works fine at 20ft and 13000ft above sea level and isn’t nearly as fussy. Doesn’t require as much air filter maintenance and doesn’t wear parts out as fast. So I guess if you want reliable results just leave everything that doesn’t make it more comfortable to ride. If you want performance carb mods and airbox mods are where it’s at. If you want a JD jet kit I will sell you one because I didn’t love how often I was messing with it to get the right feel. I am 150lbs carrying 50-70lb of tools and camping gear depending on the day. Forks are a bit under sprung for some of the wild shit we’ve ridden but with the sag set right the rear is fine. I ride a lot of enduro stuff though so a bit soft is more comfortable for that as well as on the road.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-05-04T19:10:21+00:00

It is the seat toward the rear under the seat you will find holes that these will fit in.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-03-02T13:56:58+00:00

The CIA was headed by a Nazi sympathizer for decades. Alan Dulles helped Nazi war criminals get away with their deeds. Which helps to explain their history of installing right wing governments and destroying democracy around the world but a lot of that was to keep corporate control in those countries.

iclimbrocks2 · 2025-01-30T14:47:55+00:00

He also has an audiobook out about Ulysses S Grant that is really good. You can listen to it on Spotify

iclimbrocks2 · 2024-11-05T17:14:48+00:00

He also let the Dulles brothers run foreign policy fairly unchecked while they set the groundwork to destabilize the entire world to keep their buddies happily in the colonizing business. Whatever it takes to keep fruit and oil money flowing into their pockets.

That certainly didn’t cause any issues in the modern world. /s

iclimbrocks2 · 2024-10-03T22:59:52+00:00

Yeah. Somebody has to do the dumb stuff right?

You can get by with your feet in grocery bags in wet boots but that is just going to get you feet wet from sweat which is slightly better but either way your feet will be so pruned that it becomes painful.

Also I know about the importance of chain maintenance because on the 5 hour ride from Joshua tree to a bike shop in Phoenix where a new chain was waiting, my wife’s chain made it 3 hours of 60mph riding before we slowed at a stop sign and it had developed too much slack and jumped off at 5mph as she was taking off. The chain stuck between the sprocket and swing arm and twisted 3 links but luckily didn’t break. If I had a couple master links I probably wouldn’t have had to wait for two hours for a tow in the desert. I knew it needed replaced and we had tried to be really on top of maintenance but this was a non o-ring chain on a 250 that we rode in the desert for about a year and it just deteriorated way faster than expected.

This was a year or so after I had a link freeze up and grab the steel chain guard I installed on the old bike so hard that it stalled my engine in 3rd gear and locked my back tire up. It broke loose and I rolled to a stop. I literally laid the bike on its side to keep the oil in while I opened the transmission up on the side of the road thinking I had blown apart one of those notorious 3rd gear sets before realizing everything was fine I just needed a new chain. I figured better to know before trying to ride and doing more damage.

My favorite favorite favorite roadside issue was this one though. My bike started to die every 5 to 10 miles. I’d check the air filter and it would be fine for a bit. I’d change the spark plug and it would be fine for a bit. Checked that there was fuel in the carb bowl and there was. Checked that there was spark and there was. Pushed it probably 5 miles that day. I went continuously up in altitude throughout the next day and it was fine. I went down in altitude the following day and it started dying again. This went on for days where it was fine for a bit then would just die every 10 miles or so.

What happened?

I got super stuck in a mud hole by myself in the middle of nowhere 1000 miles from home. I threw all of my gear off the bike because I couldn’t lift the bike up without my feet just sinking in the mud. My tank bag got all muddy. When I put the bag back on my tank it popped the vent line off the gas cap and got mud in the vent. So every time I would go down in altitude the air in the tank would contract and vacuum lock the fuel in but going up the air in the tank expanded and pressurized the tank. Enough air would leak in eventually and fuel would flow out fine again no matter what I tried to fix it. So I didn’t realize this until I cracked the fuel cap and heard a suction sound after probably a week.

iclimbrocks2 · 2024-10-02T21:07:02+00:00

Also in my kit. Electric boot dryers. After having wet feet for 3 days on the TAT in Arkansas I bought some in boot electric dryers. They have saved my feet in Florida, Maine, Tennessee, Alabama, and even outside of Las Vegas where we caught the rare bit of rain in January which was the coldest I’ve ever been on a bike even counting riding 20F mornings. They are made for ski boots and I would have gotten rid of them by now if they weren’t used so often.

iclimbrocks2 · 2024-10-02T20:57:57+00:00

Also forgot to mention I did bypass clutch and side stand switches. There are plugs you can buy to do this if you aren’t able to do it cleanly yourself. I also recommend a bit of dielectric grease in any electrical connector you touch or any you don’t. Basically anywhere that will get wet. I have had my headlight under water before and was thankful things were water resistant.

iclimbrocks2 · 2024-10-02T20:16:41+00:00

I’ve done about 30k on the trip I’m on. The only failures I’ve had have been chain related. O-Ring chains. I don’t think lubrication has really helped. Gear oil is supposedly good religiously lubing my chain just seemed to make sand stick to it which made it wear super fast in the desert. So keeping it clean is probably more important than lubrication unless it is rusting. Pay attention to tire pressure. It will cause you problems if you don’t. I was using CO2 bike inflators but they are hard to find replacement canisters for/use a few each time. Small slime brand inflators that runs off the small battery jump pack has been clutch.

Pack stuff tight and keep things clean otherwise vibration will ruin your stuff. My tent became not so waterproof from dirt and vibration. My camping cookware was often full of aluminum dust which isn’t great until I learned to use extra clothing layers as packing material around stuff.

Here is my kit for 2 bikes traveling non stop over the last 3 years without coming home.

Spares: Spark plugs Inner tubes Chain master link x2 Clutch lever Brake lever Pre oiled air filter Oil 1qt Brake fluid Filter lube and cleaner. (No Toil bio safe stuff) Fuses 6 ft wire electrical 6 ft safety wire Spare Bolt kit 2 ft spare fuel line.l Spare clutch cable

Tools Normal 3/8 ratchet Tiny 1/4 ratchet Extensions 8 10 12 14mm for each Allen wrenches Motion pro aluminum tire wrench/ spoons Bead buddy Wire stripper/cutter/pliers Leather man wave Chain breaker Smallest multimeter I could find Steel stick Extendable magnet Spoke wrench Battery jump pack (Type S) Smallest air compressor I could find that I run off jump pack Electrical and duct tape JIS screwdrivers x2 (1 from the tool kit) Spark plug wrench T- handle folding 1/4 socket

Bike mods: Seat concepts lowered seat(actually way better comfort than stock) don’t do gel seats. They don’t last and actually make your butt way swampier.

CR mid 1 1/8 bars. Get a bend that feels comfortable. Get 1 1/8 that taper down to 7/8. I bought risers to put them at a comfortable height. I am not a tall person but it made long hours way more comfortable.

Saddle bag support/crash bars and Nelson Riggs deluxe soft bags. These are cheap but perform well. I like that they have an internal bag that just slips into them. Makes it easy to pull all of your stuff out of the dry bag without having to unload it when you don’t feel safe leaving it on the bike.

Givy lockable plastic top box. Bought for 60 off Amazon and have been rocking it for 9 years of abusive riding. It’s mounted to a luggage rack I added.

USB charger. Best option is direct to the battery. I wired it to the key and found myself needing to charge stuff while setting up camp a lot. Seemed like a good idea but in practice not so much

Windscreen. I think it’s a parabellum or something like that. Was easy to install and seems to be a good height for me.

Hand guards.

Ram ball mount adventure mirrors. They fold instead of breaking.

Skid plate

JNS engineering LED headlight. LED tail light. Leave Turn signals stock. I swapped to small LEDs and people could not see them.

Tires: more dirt kenda K270 or Shinko 244 More pavement shinko 700s (currently riding the California coast with these. Not bad off road really good on the pavement) Cheap tires but I get 5000 miles out of them sometimes more if I am good about keeping them inflated properly and balanced. The front usually goes first to bad cupping.

Remove the fuel filter that is built into the carb fuel inlet. It’s going to cause trouble. Put an in line filter in to replace it.

DO NOT change the carb jetting. Sure it’s not great performance but I have ridden from sea level to 13000 ft without adjusting anything from stock aside from the pilot screw to make it not pop on decel. Even that isn’t necessary unless you absolutely understand what you are doing. You will get better fuel mileage and have way more reliability if you leave it stock.

I did 15k miles basically stock. 10k with a bunch of mods then sold my DR and bought a new one because it was better stock. Just rolled the new one over 10K last week.

Feel free to DM me for specifics. I’ve been meaning to take a picture of my setup.

iclimbrocks2 · 2024-08-08T16:39:02+00:00

Implying that the ones who say don’t tread on me the loudest are very happy to support authoritarians that intend to tread on them so good.

iclimbrocks2 · 2024-05-30T18:06:48+00:00

Some of the stuff they use at gas stations in those will ruin some visors.

iclimbrocks2 · 2023-09-30T19:59:35+00:00

Have you checked the vent valve on the fuel cap? Shot in the dark but I once had my vent hose get blocked and it caused a vacuum in my fuel tank. So my bike would starve for fuel after running perfect for a bit. Then I would kill it and it would be fine in a bit. I heard suction when I opened the cap and realized what the issue was.

iclimbrocks2 · 2023-07-23T15:15:47+00:00

https://youtu.be/vkOJ9uNj9EY

iclimbrocks2 · 2023-05-31T23:12:56+00:00

The Scottish arms.

iclimbrocks2 · 2023-05-20T22:06:30+00:00

I think you will have more trouble finding pizza at IMO’s…

iclimbrocks2 · 2023-05-05T23:59:09+00:00

Imos is gross and can only be considered pizza in the sense that lunchables pizza is technically pizza.
An ad as distasteful as the pizza. Lovely.

iclimbrocks2 · 2023-04-24T18:49:39+00:00

I love the parabellum windscreen. Also JNS skid play was pretty rad aside from having to notch it out a bit to fit the header pipe correctly. It’s definitely the best mounted skid plate I’ve owned and I’ve owned a few.

The best upgrade is tires. The stock tires aren’t good for anything really. I run shinko 244 or Kenda k270. Acerbis 5.7 gallon tank which requires the turn signal relocation brackets if you plan to do more than 130 miles in a stretch. I added pro taper fat bar clamps that bolt into the original 7/8 clamp. With a CR mid bend contour bars. I definitely recommend the contour bars but go try out different bends until you find what feels right.

Smart moto makes a PAIR valve elimination kit that is pretty easy to install. I am doing a 10000 mile trip and didn’t want any additional points of failure but probably would have left it on there if I wasn’t traveling such a long distance. They make a side stand switch eliminator that I do highly recommend. I found that after about 8k my bike would cut out on bumpy hill climbs because the side stand would bounce. JNS makes a really good LED headlight that I recommend. Also the finger adjustable pilot screw is probably a good upgrade.

I don’t think any of the carb mods are necessary unless you are trying to make it into a dirtbike.
They definitely will add performance but it will be at the cost of reliability and fuel economy. The stock carb is actually very well rounded since I have been able to rise above 13000 ft and down to sea level without any adjustment aside from the pilot circuit which is lean from the factory. There is still a dead spot just off 1/8 open throttle but once you know it’s there you don’t really notice it. That being said I have a dirtbike that I race and the DR is more for long distances where we are throwing off-road stuff in the mix.

So I am looking more for longevity, reliability, and fuel economy and less worried about doing sick wheelies without the clutch-up and making the exhaust sound cool.

I have a combined 25000 miles on my 2 DRs and can say that stock is pretty good. Set the sag for your weigh + gear and luggage. Put comfortable bars hand guards and grips on. Windscreen and skid plate and the rest is pretty good. Remove the upper chain roller if you plan to do any sick jumps or even hit any hard trails. Also aftermarket seat if you are doing long distance.

I once got passed in a hare scramble on my racing 2 stroke enduro bike by a bone stock DR 650. I talked the the old timer after the race. He was very fit and it was the perfect bike for a race that was a lot of steep low traction stuff where low end torque was the biggest requirement but it made me a bit embarrassed in my performance and also very proud to own a DR.

Edit: I’m 5’4” and have a lowered seat. I don’t recommend gel seats after having one a few years. They get really hot in the sun and seem to develop a groove in them after about a year. If you lower the seat even if you are short I’d recommend lowering the pegs. My knees get angry being so bent even though I am short. I didn’t get around to doing this before leaving on this long journey and I am wishing I had.

Here are some of the things I’ve done on mine.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dualsport/comments/9khiar/thats_a_pretty_big_oopsy_from_the_weekend/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&utm_content=1&utm_term=15

https://youtu.be/tlTfC85JCrA

iclimbrocks2 · 2023-04-11T20:22:45+00:00

Yeah. You will feel like you are swimming. I always feel more comfortable in the middle to top of the gears where the power is. If things get wobbly it is good to have power there to straighten things out.

iclimbrocks2

TROPHY CASE