Military Modified Suzuki DR-Z 125L

[steelsoldiers]

Hey all,
My brother and I went in together to get this dirt bike from GL in Portsmouth, VA. I went and picked it up yesterday. It looks like they took a civilian DR-Z and sprayed it with brown and tan CARC. The prep job on the plastic wasn't the best so it is peeling. I am going to strip it down and respray it with 686A tan over top of plastic primer. The stock hi/lo beam headlight was fitted with a mesh cover attached with Velcro. The stock headlight switch has a velcro piece that prevents accidental switching. Then, above the stock headlight, the military added what looks to be an IR light. There is a CUCV style black-out light switch that controls that light.

I took it to my office last night, filled the case with 4-cycle oil, put a half-tank of gas in it, choked it, and proceeded to kick it over about 10 times. It started to sputter and then it smoothed right out and idled. I let it warm up for a few and then took it for a spin around town (don't tell the city cops ). It hauled butt pretty well through all 5 gears.

I'm stoked. Looks like it it just needs a plug wire insulator, a paint job, and some PM. The tires are almost new. Cool!

 

[GunnersHusband]

That's awesome, I used to have an old DR Z 400 loved that bike, have fun....

 

[steelsoldiers]

Thanks. The last motorcycle I owned was a Honda XR500. It had a little bit more power than this one It should be a blast though. Maybe Chad and I can convince our wives to let us take it to Rausch Creek!

 

[steelsoldiers]

Has anyone seen more of these bikes in service? This is the first one I have seen. I am thinking it may have been strictly a unit modification program.

 

[roger-wilco-66]

I didn't know that Suzuki cross bikes were ever in service! Interesting. Expecially with that small displacement, but big motors can make them too heavy for real cross conditions.
I'm sure you enjoy it!
I have the big brother of that bike, the DR-650. Ride it every day to work, round the year, wind, rain, snow, no matter. It's real fun and a great cost-saver.



Cheers,
Mark

 

[steelsoldiers]

Nice bike, Mark! The 125 is very light. It would make it easy to load and unload from a plane, chopper, etc... It's also very quiet. I almost thought something was plugging the muffler when I first got it started. I am used to 2-stroke and big 4-stroke noise though. I rode a KX-80, a YZ-80, a RM-125, a XR-500 and a CR-500 when I was growing up. That CR-500 was a beast!

There are a few markings showing through the paint in places. I will try to sand down and find out what they are.

 

[steelsoldiers]

I got a little work done on the bike over the weekend. Someone had dropped it which snapped the end off of the front brake lever. It also jammed the piston in the front brake master cylinder. I was able to take it apart to get the master working again. I gravity bled the caliper and then bled all of the air out of the master.

I also took the kick-start lever off because it was half off already. Someone had jammed it on and bolted it down. I had to use a 3-jaw puller to get it off. I cleaned up the splines and put it all back together. I took it out for a test drive to check the brakes. The front brake causes the fork to dive under hard stop. It feels like a lot of the front fork oil has leaked out. Looks like I'll be putting in new seals and boots soon.

I decoded the VIN online and it turns out it is a 2004 unit. More progress reports later...

 

[rizzo]

cool

 

[DonMn]

In addition you using plastic primer, you might want to consider picking up a few things. DuPont "Plast-Stick A-2330S Plastic Adhesion Promoter" and DuPont "Plast-Stick A-2320S Plastic Surface Cleaner". These chemicals will help the paint stick much better. I had to paint my Suzuki quad when I found a replacement rear fender for it, front and back were different colors. Also techincally I didn't paint it, I primed it with PPG's DP40 expoxy primer. But it's a nice green/gray looks kinda military now.

Anyways, most paint companies like PPG, Sikkens, Sherman Williams all carry similar products. They are easy to use because they come in spray cans, I only used about a half can of the adheasion promoter and about a quarter can of the cleaner. Not bad considering how much area I had to cover.

Don

 

[steelsoldiers]

Great info! Thanks for the first hand account on painting plastic. We are working on getting the carb rebuilt next. It is a fun little bike.

 

[papabear]

Well..i know our scouts in the 101stABN(ASSLT) used little bikes similar to that.
Had a 7 man scout section per Batallion...don't remember what size the bikes were...but they were small...and I sorta remember the scout PSG for our BN saying dust caused em some probs.
But yes...bikes were used...at least in 1981...and in the 101st

 

[steelsoldiers]

Good info, PB. The bike has no identifying marks except for a faint, handwritten "MC01" on the rear fender and front frame. I like the IR light. Now, I just need some NVG's.