Dick Mann DR 370 frame

[ola_martin]

Ben, Nostalgic reasons... Aren't that why we all do this??

Actually I've heard that Eastwood prefered the Hagon Suki over his Hagon XT500, but not much stock in that engine I guess...

[ola_martin]

Great read Cloggy, thanks!

But where does this KLX come in, it's compared to a XL350 centerport that's interesting...

[SON]

The Suzuki 400 is a great engine,
TT/XT 500 cranks and pistons can be modified to fit inside the Suzuki cases, but use the DR400 not the 370.
I just wish SUZUKI was smart enough to have put that engine into the RM Frame and stroked it to 450 at the same time.

[ola_martin]

Didn't they do just that? I have seen photos of a secret factory Suzuki 4t in a full-floater frame beeing tested in the Suzuki test track in California in the early 80's. It was in MXA. Will have a look for it...

Found it:


Could mabe have found a slightly bigger testrider??

[cloggy]

 Just that the DR engine is quite a bit bigger..
 In the second Dirt Bike DR400 article they changed the cam and put a 420 WB high comp piston in. Said they couldn't go more than that due to past experience [370] . They didn't know the engine had been beefed up. I've looked high and low for that piston.
 Anyway they took it racing and ran down CCMs with it.

[flower pot racing]

Ben, Nostalgic reasons... Aren't that why we all do this??

Actually I've heard that Eastwood prefered the Hagon Suki over his Hagon XT500, but not much stock in that engine I guess...

That's an excellent reason! 

And when you ask 'Why'... ~ because you can!

Great fun and a great hobby!

[SON]

The DR400 Engine had / has so much potential, but big pistons isn't the answer it needed to be stroked.
I can't recall seeing that photo, looks good with the RN500 tank.

[mick25]

The DR400,500  have very small 3rd gear dogs they are a lot smaller than the rest of the gears (half the size)6mm square
mine was broken when i first got it :' finding the broken bit while doing a oil change.
( I then done a full bottom and top rebuild ,5 years later when draining the oil the same broken gear dog
fell out.
I had a spare gear box as well that I picked up from the wreckers so I pulled that down and that same gear was broken to
 They need a stronger gear made there was room there to make bigger dogs but I ended up selling it after lots and lots of dollars spent on the
whole bike.
they punch out plenty of power after 5 years of racing it that was the only thing that let it down.
something to thing about.....my TT500 gear dogs are twice the size as the DR ones

[GMC]

[EML]

Had some experience with DRs/SPs back then when working at Suzuki. I swung on one that Geoff Udy raced and have to say it was quicker than TT/XTs in the day . There was rumour that one of the oppositions was as big as 750cc-it was quick out the gate.
I believe that Walduck Agencies in Townsville raced a number of them in dirt track up that way and had them making very big HP and even used them in speedway midgets too with great success.
We now have a team up here that run a GR650 twin engine in an EML and they are untouchable. The motor is quicker and lighter than the XS650 std and has heaps of tricks that Yamaha never dreamed of like TSCC, dual mass fly wheel, splash cooled pistons etc...etc....
Pretty sure if one was to find its way into a dirt track solo frame it would be very hard to beat.
 

[Slakewell]

Didn't Super Hunky build one around the SP ?

[Tony T]

Yep, it was a DR370 engine in an RM frame.
Gave him no end of grief.

Interestingly, the head of Maico USA bought it when it was finished! 

[cloggy]

 If I bought a frame  I'd want the frame to accept the DR/GN/SP400 motor. That would mean mounting points for the cdi and a bigger diameter rear wheel spindle. Jean Francois-Helaine managed to bend both front and rear wheel spindles on his RM framed DR400 at Farleigh Castle. I think the spindle diameters are the same for the RM and 370. The DR400 rear wheel spindle is about a couple of mm bigger.

[SON]

Good idea,
I would want it capable of taking a 10mm taller engine, (Stroker base plate not squashed Rod),
A Suzuki RM seat base not the YZ125C as the standard Aberg is,
nor the narrow and short YZ C rear guard,
Geoff has already lost the early useless YZ splined footpeg mounts,

[ola_martin]

SON, you seem to know a lot about these engines. Please let me know more about using the XT500 crank/piston, seems like a good way to get a reliable 500cc? Also I guess one of several lightweigth modern CDI ignitions for the XT could easily be used?  Also, what do you do to the camchain when using the base spacer?