Dr 750 a bit dead

[Gavinnash25]

Hi

I am interested in buying a dr 750, but when I took it for a test drive it felt a bit weak and felt like I was running out of revs in first.
I am not very good mechanical wise and also not sure if I'm expecting to much.
Really like the bike and it has a beautiful sound and looks like it was well looked after with 48000km on the clock.
could this be compression problems or feul problem or just the driver nor riding the bike correctly

[BigBob]

Remember, this bike is nearly 30 years old now and was never very quick when new.
It had, allegedly, 52 bhp when new, but dyno testing shows you are unlikely to ever see over 45 at the back wheel.
Also, it doesn`t rev very high, with its usable range 3000 to 5000 with max torque at about 6000.
Those of us that love them know it is much greater than the sum of its parts or performance figures.
If you are used to bikes that rev high, then you need to recalibrate your brain if you want to ride one of these.
I`ve had loads of GSXRs, VFRs CBRs and FZRs etc over the years, but they`ve all gone, and I just now have a fleet of Bigs.
Unlike most models the Big can do just about everything, including off-road and around the world.
It`s also getting quite rare now so always attracts more attention at any bike meet than any modern 200 mph missile.
If the bike you tested had just 48k on the clock then it is barely run in and the engine will be sweet.
Where are you located?

[Gavinnash25]

Hi BigBob

Thanks for the info.
I live in cape town South Africa and yes I have seen very few of these bikes on the road.
I have basically made up my mind , but will take it for another test drive with a different mind set.
Is there any thing I should look out for on these bike.

Thanks
Gav

[BigBob]

I`ve been to Cape Town, though it was a few years before the Big came out. Showing my age now ......
We have had a few from SA on this forum so there are a few Bigs out there, mostly from the J`oburg area.
The main weakness on the Big is the starter system which can fail due to turning off the engine with the ignition key (you will have to read up why in these forums as it takes too long to explain) so any bangs or clonks from the starter clutch you are looking at about 500USD for a new one. Other than that they go for ever.

[Gavinnash25]

Hi
Age is but a number
Unfortunately the guy sold the bike out from under me, but have managed to locate a another one about 150km away from me.
Going to have a look over the weekend.
The only problem the guy has is that he says the motor is fine and the bike starts but cut out and he claims its an electrical short. I have tried to see if their is any similar posts on the site, but could not see any thing.
Any idea what it could be?
Have already downloaded the workshop manual to try and understand a bit more about the bike.(not a very good mechanic) I have really taken a fancy to this bike.
Will have more details after the weekend?

[BigBob]

Could be anything that causes it to cut out. I would start with ignition switch and fusebox as the two most obvious weak points, but probably an electrical fault somewhere.