Make or Break? Suzuki DR600.
“That’s not your usual type of stock?”
Agreed. I am not a massive fan of off road style bikes, they are often very poorly maintained and tend to get ragged about lots, usually resulting in mechanical mayhem. Plenty come in for breaking, but very few arrive under their own steam. I am also not a fan of big single cylinder engines that lack an electric start. It’s just not for me.
“Why the fuck did you buy it then?”
If I only bought bikes that I liked my workshop would be wall to wall with bikes that I then have an emotional attachment with. This would then make me less inclined to sell them, good for me, bad for business. I often buy bikes that I don’t like much, it’s what helps to pay the bills.
“It looks decent, tell me more about it”
The previous owner bought it around 7 years ago, since then he’s fiddled about with it and kept it mechanically tip top. He even opened up the motor and gave it a rebore and had a new cam chain fitted. Cosmetically there are a few warts here and there, but for its age, the big DR hides its decades well. The seller was an old mate of mine, he was 50/50 about selling it at all to start with. We held the world’s fastest haggle session and after a brief demonstration from him on the rituals of starting a stone cold 600cc single cylinder on the kick start, a deal was done.
“They say never buy a bike from a mate”
Bullshit. I often buy bikes from mates. The twist with this Suzuki is, a week later I sold it to another friend. What are the chances of that?!
Article provided by Scottie Redmond
