DR650SE Pannier Brackets

[Brodes]

I recently bought myself a Suzuki DR650SE and am currently busy farkling it up for long-distance touring (plan to do most of that on dirt).
One of the first priorities was to have luggage racks fitted to the bike. I had these manufactured and fitted by Martin Dudley of
OffRoad Touring & Equipment
Unit 6, Diamond Park
Jakaranda Street
Centurion
Tel:    +27 (12) 6534459
martin.dudleyGS@gmail.com

The attached photos show the brackets mounted on the bike (sorry, but I'm no professional photographer)
I used them for the first time riding to the NW bash in Zeerust and was very happy with the result - rock solid, even on the badly corrugated dirt roads in the area.
If you're interested, please feel free to contact Martin directly (or contact me if you want to have a closer look at the equipment on the bike).

[Obix]

Hi your racks looks top!!

Your top rack is this separate for sale?
Please let me now.
Making preps to come to ZA next year and bye to DR 650 SE.
Do you have a basch plate to?

Regards from Belgium.

Rudi

[Griffin]

Very interesting.  what did he charge you for them?

[pielas]

Saw these at the NW bash. Really good quality. The photos, although very nice, does not do them justice.  Will be considering the same for my DR.

[DikZol]

Ek like dit!  Laat weet bietjie wat kos hulle.

[Griffin]

Brodes -  What panniers or bags are you using on those racks?   

[Brodes]

Hi your racks looks top!!

Your top rack is this separate for sale?
Please let me now.
Making preps to come to ZA next year and bye to DR 650 SE.
Do you have a basch plate to?

Regards from Belgium.

Rudi

Hi Rudi,

The top rack and the side racks can be used separately - this was a design requirement, although I have not yet removed the side racks to only use the top rack. If you look carefully, there is also place to mount one (as shown, below the exhaust) or two of Goose' (also on the forum) Tooltubes. The plan is to use these for my puncture kit and first aid kit respectively. There is place on the left hand side bracket for my tool roll (in the space occupied by the exhaust on the right hand side, if this makes any sense).
I have ordered a bash plate from leCap (on the forum) but have not received it yet. leCap's bash plate come well recommended by other WildDogs - look up Ganjora's thread on the Ganjamobile.

[Brodes]

Very interesting.  what did he charge you for them?

Suggest you contact Martin directly for the pricing. Can't remember exactly since I bought them together with some other stuff (including the Oxford pannier bags - very impressed with these as well).
They were in the region of R3k3 for the top rack and side pannier racks together, although you should be able to buy them separately from Martin if you so chose.

[Brodes]

Brodes -  What panniers or bags are you using on those racks?  

I bought the Oxford off-road pannier bags (can't remember what they're called, but they are made for dual purpose use - waterproof, don't have zips, come with the built-in straps to secure them to the pannier frame, etc) also from Martin (Man on the Moon).
Were more cost effective than some of the competition (I considered a number of options before deciding on these) and presented the right combination of quality, price, size, functionality, etc to suit my needs. Was very impressed with their performance on the trip to and from the NW bash - didn't budge, even on the fairly long corrugated dirt sections, zero dust ingress, etc.
My apologies for the poor quality of the photo's below, but they weren't taken with the intent of advertising the Oxford pannier bags. The stuff on the top rack is my tent, tools, crocs and sleeping bag - looks a little like a Moriah bus, but it worked for the weekend trip. I still plan to buy a 40l ATG bag for the top rack to keep everything (tent, sleeping bag, etc) dry and dust free, but that will have to wait for my Xmas pressie.

[Manfred]

Brodes, something I noticed on your bike, looks like Suzuki SA is importing bikes from the US now.

Jenks' bike has the same tailight.
My tailight sits flush on the mudguard.

Did you buy brand new..?

[Brodes]

Bought second hand (approx 10 000 km) from Suzuki Toy Store in Centurion. The bike must be a grey import as the speedo is calibrated in miles per hour and not km. Not sure what the history was. Spoke to the previous owner who said that he had bought it new in order to commute to work, but then decided he didn't like the traffic on the N1. Said that he'd done all the kilo's on the bike from new and had never taken the bike off-road. The condition of the bike (total absence of scratches or scuff marks) supports this; there are no signs even that it has fallen from the stand.
I was the first to register the bike (so it is registered in 2012 - not that this counts for much), but had zero hassles registering it. All the documentation was supplied by Suzuki.
I have in the mean time bought the smaller tail light, but have not yet fitted it - may do so this weekend as I will be working on the electrics (want to fit HID head lamp, spots, auxilliary power socket, Vapor dash, etc) before I go away in December.

[Manfred]

Oh ok. Hopefully u got a good deal.
Does yours come with all the smog crap..?

[Brodes]

Not sure what 'all the smog crap' means. Looks like a bog standard bike to me (apart from the speedo being mph). Only electrics to talk of are head and tail lights and indicators. Dash has neutral indicator, main beam indicator and turning indicator - thats it. I'm planning to fit a Vapor dash which will add some indicator lamps and a speeedo and rev counter.

[Manfred]

Usually the american bikes have stuff connected to the carb and the head for emmission purposes.

Anyways, all the best with your wheels.
Its a great bike.