Just looking for your point of view, I came from your dr350s review BTW. I’m 16 (Almost 17 ) years old, I’ve been riding for about 2 years now on a 1973 Kawasaki f7 175 that I picked up for $500 (Might as well start on something you don’t mind crashing right?) and I will admit I think I’m getting pretty good for how long I’ve been riding, I’ve even started considering trying some sort of off-road race. As you would expect I have gotten a bit bored of it and I have the teenager mentality that makes me dead set on a full off road bike, specifically a yz250f, even though multiple family member say to get a dual sport because I can still ride trails and I might want to putt around town. Now I will admit road riding isn’t bad but it’s not my favorite, if I got a dual sport it would be to make small trips on road and be mostly trail ridden. Anyway, I’ll stop using up your time and cut to the chase... While scrolling through Facebook marketplace I noticed an ad from some guy saying “Every Bike 1700 - end of season sale! Every Sunday prices lower by another 100!” On his list is a 1991 dr350s and MAN DOES IT LOOK CLEAN... Now I’ve also heard that Suzuki’s were never that good unless you got their hit or miss models like the drz400, they obviously aren’t that popular today especially in the motocross industry. If this bike is 1600 and it’s in good condition, do you think I would regret buying it? I truly thank you if you read all of this especially a month after the video was posted, and don’t forget brownie points for responding!
Hey, thanks for watching my videos! $1600 is a little bit on the higher end of how much I would pay for 1991 DR350 (you have to also include title, registration fees - ~$300 where I live), but it also depends on the area where you live. Here in PNW great deals come up all the time. Also, I’m very cheap :D
I think DR350 will be a big step up from 1973 Kawasaki f7 and I think you will have a lot of fun on that bike, but I would probably save up a little more money and get DRZ400. Don't get me wrong, I love my DR350, but DRZ400 has better suspension, looks more modern, and most of the DRZs come with electric start. I mean, sometimes DR350 is a pain to start. I'm getting better and better at starting it nowadays and it doesn't bother me as much as it used to, but when you ride with your buddies and you stall on some technical part of the trail and then you will be kicking your bike for 3 minutes, while your buddies with newer and better bikes waiting for you. It kinda sucks sometimes, but it forces you to become a better rider. The good part about kickstart bikes is that you can buy a small lithium-ion battery that weighs nothing and doesn't take a lot of space and that's what I use. It probably saves me 3-4 lbs. Of course, you can get an electric start D350, but from what I hear they need a pretty beefy battery. The suspension on D350 is pretty mediocre, I think as you will get better at riding you will probably want a better suspension. The options are: you can use the fork and front wheel from DRZ400 on DR350 and get rear shock revalved with Race Tech Gold kit, but all of those things are pricey, so it's probably better just to get a DRZ. In terms of reliability, DR350 is very good. I hadn't had any problems with it yet. I dropped it many times, and everytime I pick it up it always starts up. All I do is change oil and ride. It makes a lot of squeaky noises when I ride on rough terrain, but nothing broke off yet :) If you're planning on riding mostly off road then I would go with XR250R or XR400R. If you can get plated XR400 that would be ideal. Once you get used to it, DR350 rides really well on the highway. It feels pretty solid and 6th gear is great. Best cruising speed is 65mph, anything over 80 mph feels sketchy. I think DRZ400 has 5 speed transmission, but from what I hear bigger displacement makes up for the 6th gear. With bikes like CRF250 or YZ250f you have to remember that these bikes are MX racing bikes and with performance, you have to do more maintenance. You have to do frequent oil changes and parts wear out faster. And parts can get pricey. With DR350 or DRZ400 or XR400, service intervals are a lot longer and parts last A LOT more. Personally, I rather change my oil every 1500 to 2000 miles instead of 300 - 500 miles like some of the MX bikes require. Also, MX bikes will need small mods to make them truly trail-ready machines. You have to take everything I said with a grain of salt. I'm not a very proficient rider, but i'm getting better with time. Also, I dont think a perfect bike exists. Just look for one that suits you the best. Best of luck on your bike search!
@@dunemaster3179 Thank you for the large amount of feedback, and so soon! Here in Michigan I think registration fees are fairly low, and the bike comes with a clean title. The only road riding I would do would be between trails on any long annual trail rides or between school and friends houses, other then that its 100% trails. Most Xr's near me are in fairly good condition, but the prices are all within 100$ of 2300. And all Drz's near me are pretty pricy. I really don't NEED a dual sport as I am not allowed to ride trails far from home by myself anyway, and any person I go with has a vehicle capable of hauling both of our bikes. About an mx'er, Ill take your advice and not look for like my "dream yz250f" or anything like that, however I may look into it if a mid 2000's one comes up for sale at the right price. Maintenance isn't something that I have an issue with either as I plan on being a mechanic in the small engine field, and I wouldn't be racing or doing any motocross so the bike wouldn't be getting hammered. However, like I said before, Ill stick to your advice especially as its coming from somebody who has been riding for longer and has probably had a relatable situation as the one I'm in right now. As for a move from a mellow old school 175 two stroke to a 350 four stroke being a big jump, I think its a jump I can handle, and am ready for. As I forgot to mention in my first comment, I am 6'2" coming in at a whopping 130 lbs. And as most of my height is in my legs, you can imagine that the f7 feels really short to me now that I am getting more experienced. As for power, I think Im far enough in that I should be able to handle it as long as I take it easy until I understand how to control it. I would prefer to have learn anyway rather than risk getting bored of a recently purchased machine. As for the dr350s itself, suspension shouldn't need to be changed to much for me since I'm so light. One thing that I do question is, will it be able to handle some semi-technical single tracks when I get experienced enough for them, and will its weight of just over 300 pounds, when gassed up, affect its tight single track capabilities compared to a newer generation enduro/DS bike of 240 lbs wet. A HUGE thanks again to your fast a detailed feedback. Ill keep your comment saying that 1600 is a bit high in mind and keep an eye on its price as it drops. Ill also keep a look out for any Xr's!!
@@elia3043 You can definitely do semi-technical or technical stuff on dr350. It just takes practice. It feels a bit heavy, but the more you ride the better you will get. It's no fun to pick it up when you drop it tho. You should watch this video th-cam.com/video/oPRwh_dUJuc/w-d-xo.html
@@dunemaster3179 thanks. Another question. I will be riding in the mountains of north Idaho. I’m looking at the 86 xr250 the xt 350 Yamaha 89. Or the 2007 wr 250f. Any thoughts.
Good video, how did it get in the rough terrain, I can see you obviously made it by did you feel like you were fighting the him the whole time or did it feel like you were fighting the bike? I'm looking at one on Craigslist now and trying to decide.
The bike is great. Its a lot of fun. I was having a hard time on that ride because I was running really high tire pressure and I was still figuring out suspension adjustments. I ridden the bike again with lowered tire pressure and changed rear shock rebound settings and it was like 75% better than when I rode it in this video. I just put on a fork from 2004 xr on this bike and I hope it will be better once I dial it in. Little info: 86 to 89 has a conventional fork and slightly different shock than the bike from 90-95, 90 to 95 has slightly better fork (cartridge but no adjustments) and rear shock, 96 to 04 has the best suspension (cartridge fork with rebound adjustments).
Thanks for taking me along on a sweet ride. I'm stuck riding my 89 XR250R in treeless Eastern El Paso county Colorado, but make it work.
Nice area, bike looks good.
Beautiful riding area!
Hi from costarica🇨🇷🍃🐜 nice video l have a xr 250 2001 love xr
Hey, thanks!
Очень красивые места
Спасибо
Probably an obvious question, but did you ever do a full carb rebuild to help with the smoking issue?
Nice bike nice vid!!
Just looking for your point of view, I came from your dr350s review BTW. I’m 16 (Almost 17 ) years old, I’ve been riding for about 2 years now on a 1973 Kawasaki f7 175 that I picked up for $500 (Might as well start on something you don’t mind crashing right?) and I will admit I think I’m getting pretty good for how long I’ve been riding, I’ve even started considering trying some sort of off-road race. As you would expect I have gotten a bit bored of it and I have the teenager mentality that makes me dead set on a full off road bike, specifically a yz250f, even though multiple family member say to get a dual sport because I can still ride trails and I might want to putt around town. Now I will admit road riding isn’t bad but it’s not my favorite, if I got a dual sport it would be to make small trips on road and be mostly trail ridden.
Anyway, I’ll stop using up your time and cut to the chase...
While scrolling through Facebook marketplace I noticed an ad from some guy saying “Every Bike 1700 - end of season sale! Every Sunday prices lower by another 100!” On his list is a 1991 dr350s and MAN DOES IT LOOK CLEAN... Now I’ve also heard that Suzuki’s were never that good unless you got their hit or miss models like the drz400, they obviously aren’t that popular today especially in the motocross industry. If this bike is 1600 and it’s in good condition, do you think I would regret buying it?
I truly thank you if you read all of this especially a month after the video was posted, and don’t forget brownie points for responding!
Hey, thanks for watching my videos!
$1600 is a little bit on the higher end of how much I would pay for 1991 DR350 (you have to also include title, registration fees - ~$300 where I live), but it also depends on the area where you live. Here in PNW great deals come up all the time. Also, I’m very cheap :D
I think DR350 will be a big step up from 1973 Kawasaki f7 and I think you will have a lot of fun on that bike, but I would probably save up a little more money and get DRZ400. Don't get me wrong, I love my DR350, but DRZ400 has better suspension, looks more modern, and most of the DRZs come with electric start. I mean, sometimes DR350 is a pain to start. I'm getting better and better at starting it nowadays and it doesn't bother me as much as it used to, but when you ride with your buddies and you stall on some technical part of the trail and then you will be kicking your bike for 3 minutes, while your buddies with newer and better bikes waiting for you. It kinda sucks sometimes, but it forces you to become a better rider. The good part about kickstart bikes is that you can buy a small lithium-ion battery that weighs nothing and doesn't take a lot of space and that's what I use. It probably saves me 3-4 lbs. Of course, you can get an electric start D350, but from what I hear they need a pretty beefy battery. The suspension on D350 is pretty mediocre, I think as you will get better at riding you will probably want a better suspension. The options are: you can use the fork and front wheel from DRZ400 on DR350 and get rear shock revalved with Race Tech Gold kit, but all of those things are pricey, so it's probably better just to get a DRZ.
In terms of reliability, DR350 is very good. I hadn't had any problems with it yet. I dropped it many times, and everytime I pick it up it always starts up. All I do is change oil and ride. It makes a lot of squeaky noises when I ride on rough terrain, but nothing broke off yet :)
If you're planning on riding mostly off road then I would go with XR250R or XR400R. If you can get plated XR400 that would be ideal.
Once you get used to it, DR350 rides really well on the highway. It feels pretty solid and 6th gear is great. Best cruising speed is 65mph, anything over 80 mph feels sketchy. I think DRZ400 has 5 speed transmission, but from what I hear bigger displacement makes up for the 6th gear.
With bikes like CRF250 or YZ250f you have to remember that these bikes are MX racing bikes and with performance, you have to do more maintenance. You have to do frequent oil changes and parts wear out faster. And parts can get pricey. With DR350 or DRZ400 or XR400, service intervals are a lot longer and parts last A LOT more. Personally, I rather change my oil every 1500 to 2000 miles instead of 300 - 500 miles like some of the MX bikes require. Also, MX bikes will need small mods to make them truly trail-ready machines.
You have to take everything I said with a grain of salt. I'm not a very proficient rider, but i'm getting better with time. Also, I dont think a perfect bike exists. Just look for one that suits you the best. Best of luck on your bike search!
@@dunemaster3179 Thank you for the large amount of feedback, and so soon! Here in Michigan I think registration fees are fairly low, and the bike comes with a clean title. The only road riding I would do would be between trails on any long annual trail rides or between school and friends houses, other then that its 100% trails. Most Xr's near me are in fairly good condition, but the prices are all within 100$ of 2300. And all Drz's near me are pretty pricy.
I really don't NEED a dual sport as I am not allowed to ride trails far from home by myself anyway, and any person I go with has a vehicle capable of hauling both of our bikes.
About an mx'er, Ill take your advice and not look for like my "dream yz250f" or anything like that, however I may look into it if a mid 2000's one comes up for sale at the right price. Maintenance isn't something that I have an issue with either as I plan on being a mechanic in the small engine field, and I wouldn't be racing or doing any motocross so the bike wouldn't be getting hammered. However, like I said before, Ill stick to your advice especially as its coming from somebody who has been riding for longer and has probably had a relatable situation as the one I'm in right now.
As for a move from a mellow old school 175 two stroke to a 350 four stroke being a big jump, I think its a jump I can handle, and am ready for. As I forgot to mention in my first comment, I am 6'2" coming in at a whopping 130 lbs. And as most of my height is in my legs, you can imagine that the f7 feels really short to me now that I am getting more experienced. As for power, I think Im far enough in that I should be able to handle it as long as I take it easy until I understand how to control it. I would prefer to have learn anyway rather than risk getting bored of a recently purchased machine.
As for the dr350s itself, suspension shouldn't need to be changed to much for me since I'm so light. One thing that I do question is, will it be able to handle some semi-technical single tracks when I get experienced enough for them, and will its weight of just over 300 pounds, when gassed up, affect its tight single track capabilities compared to a newer generation enduro/DS bike of 240 lbs wet.
A HUGE thanks again to your fast a detailed feedback. Ill keep your comment saying that 1600 is a bit high in mind and keep an eye on its price as it drops. Ill also keep a look out for any Xr's!!
@@elia3043 You can definitely do semi-technical or technical stuff on dr350. It just takes practice. It feels a bit heavy, but the more you ride the better you will get. It's no fun to pick it up when you drop it tho.
You should watch this video th-cam.com/video/oPRwh_dUJuc/w-d-xo.html
Looks like some rough country there! You mentioned your DR, which one of the two bikes has more low end grunt?
I would say DR has more low end grunt. With lower gearing, it can climb anything, but xr250 is not very far off. That's just my opinion.
How much should I expect to pay for one in decent shape?
I would say out here they usually go for $1200-$2000
@@dunemaster3179 thanks. Another question. I will be riding in the mountains of north Idaho. I’m looking at the 86 xr250 the xt 350 Yamaha 89. Or the 2007 wr 250f. Any thoughts.
Good video, how did it get in the rough terrain, I can see you obviously made it by did you feel like you were fighting the him the whole time or did it feel like you were fighting the bike? I'm looking at one on Craigslist now and trying to decide.
The bike is great. Its a lot of fun. I was having a hard time on that ride because I was running really high tire pressure and I was still figuring out suspension adjustments. I ridden the bike again with lowered tire pressure and changed rear shock rebound settings and it was like 75% better than when I rode it in this video. I just put on a fork from 2004 xr on this bike and I hope it will be better once I dial it in. Little info: 86 to 89 has a conventional fork and slightly different shock than the bike from 90-95, 90 to 95 has slightly better fork (cartridge but no adjustments) and rear shock, 96 to 04 has the best suspension (cartridge fork with rebound adjustments).
@@dunemaster3179 cool thanks for the good info bro