Can you Save MONEY by RESTORING an old Motorcycle '99 Suzuki Dr200 

People spend money to go to schools and learn. So sometimes time spent working on a project isn't money lost, it's information and skill gained.

That’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun too. I’m glad you saved this motorcycle from the junk pile. It was worth it.

This video makes me feel GREAT about the 900 mile 2007 DR200 I just bought for $1200...1 owner, needs nothing.

Vegas....you might be missing something here.What is garbage for you maybe a treasure for others. All i know is that it drew me back to your vids...whoever gets this bike and use it only for what is intended for will be happy....Welcome back to the USA......Cheers..!

Awesome vid and build man! Really great seeing an older bike brought back to life. So cool!

The bad power comes from the bike being severly restricted with an oversized CV carb and some restrictor in the exhaust, not the engine. Stock it sucks. Put a cheap 25$ PWK in it and modify the exhaust and you will transform it completely into a fun little ripper.

I barely make money on the bikes I rescue because I want it to be ready to race for the next owner. My goal is to make $1k on each bike. I hit that goal probably 25% of the time. And if I figured labor into it, I hit that goal -75% of the time. I mostly do it for fun and sometimes get lucky. I make money doing service and repairs for others. (And my real job.lol.)

Thank you for this great video and for the 7 that go along with this build! Your videos are very helpful for a biker newbie like me and I really appreciate them!

I fully refurbished a DR200 recently, which also had a rusty tank. I did a full rust treatment using the KBS products which took ages and cost money but very happy with the results.

I have 10+ motorcycle projects, and I can say with certainty, bike flipping for profit is not worth it on a small scale. I wish it was 🤣 I am talking at least 15 bikes in a spring-summer season. Bikes are worth way more in parts, then as a whole. No enthusiast wants to be the end of the line. Best option, put just enough in to get it running, sell it. Even if something collectable is worth restoring, you still need to find that seller in a timely fashion.

A lot of viewers won't have the mechanical know-how to take on such a project (me included). But it's entertaining and informative to watch someone else do it!

Great video. Plus all the satisfaction of restoring the bike yourself. That is priceless.

Great restoration process of the bike! I really enjoyed it!! Best thoughts!

Value is in the possession of the beholder. I’d take that sweet old dual sport for a hypothetical 1500$ over a brand new 300cc for $8,000 after taxes and fees from a dealer any day!

That's pretty darn good nowadays for a running bike! Plus, it's cool to see that you restored an old bike👍 Cheers!

Old bikes aren't worth rebuilding unless you are a collector of vintage bikes.

I agree, too much time and effort for very little profit. I like breathing new life into old bikes as a hobby but it has never made me any money.

Absolutely loved this build series! & Your channel to be honest your video on the Ancheer is what brought me here. I do all my own work / minus newer electrical for computer issues / This whole series was awesome, keep 'em coming Bro!!

I totally agree you still come out on top though

Thanks for the buckets of truth, it has to be a passion project and pride for riding around in a "classic/retro" bike. Used bike market is pretty cold right now, meaning you can get 10 year old bikes for 3k-4k, it's hard to justify the cost for a restore and in my opinion you got lucky, you could have needed cylinder, piston, or even bottom end I mean ultimately all you really had to do is a carb clean and replace a few gaskets, you got out cheap

Good job Vegas and all true...

You did a great job on the bike Vegas! Those look like IRC tires.

Crikey reminds me of my teenage years in the 90s before I went two rm 125s cool bike no power but fun

yep, you deserve a like

I sure would like to find a 200cc Suzuki. I will keep looking. Let me know if you can. Thanks John

Good job. You're such a good bike daddy that you bottle feed your bikes. LOL. So what's next? Ride safe my 2 wheel friends.

This is a terrific video, super high quality & entertaining. May I ask, where did you learn so much about mechanics?

Nice work! Just curious as far as the dirty gas tank....would acetone remove some gunk and would vinegar or some acid be good for the rust?

From painful personal experience, I can say that restoring bikes is very very rarely worth it. Unless you love the machine and plan to keep it. If you're doing it to make a profit, forget about it. My most recent example was a 1998 Yamaha YZ125. I bought it for $2,000, which was wayyyyy overpriced (my bad). It needed almost everything doing to it and that cost $1300 in parts alone. Ignoring 50 hours of labour. When I was done with it and wanted to sell it, I came to realise by mistake and how bad the market was for these bikes. When I sold it, I lost more than $1400. Whoever needs to hear this: learn from another person's mistakes! ;)

My 1996 KX250 rebuild is absolutely worth it for me. Granted, the bike had a relatively easy life, aside from a smashed up pipe. It was ridden lightly for 4 years then mostly sat in a shed after that. I bought the bike for $300 and spent roughly $2200 in parts. It took me three 8 hour days. And of course many more hours of reading forums and watching yt. I ordered all the parts. Stripped the bike down to the frame. Sent my suspension off to a pro. I replaced all the bearings on the bike such as swingarm, wheel bearings, etc... New top end. I did not open the cases however, just checked horizontal play on the crankshaft. New footpegs, oversized front rotor, steel braided line, bar riser, perch, throttle cable, clutch cable, jetted the bike for my elevation. Scrubbed everything, etc... the bike felt good. The last upgrade i want to get is a forged clutch basket. I absolutely love the suspension setup, and I couldn't get that from a new bike without at least getting sprung for my weight, let alone custom shim stacks. Which just adds to that new bike cost. The bike has a very unique characteristic. The 90's kxs were known to have monster bottom and mid range powerbands(con being lack of overrev for MX) compared to any other 250 2stroke. Also the open cartridge fork lends itself to being nice and plush(when well set up) at the expense of bottoming resistance and fade for MX. The result for me is a jack of all trades bike. I can take this bike ANYWHERE and have fun with it. Single track, MX, dunes, Ive been everywhere with it. I actually owned a brand new Yz250F. It was a great track bike. Motor was a little down on torque for my weight, in certain situations. Suspension turned me into a punching bag on rocky trails. I eventually sold it and no regrets.

i bought a non running wr450 before for $500 and after spending $1500 still couldnt get it running sold for $1500 and new owner had to spend additional 1k to get it running and then he sold for 2k.. im done wrenching on shit unless its running and riding im not buying it all my life ive had shit bikes all i want to do is ride not wrench unless i have to

Well, you did a good job fixing up and reselling , I would think a simple dual sport thats running and street legal in decent shape(like that one), should pull 2200 -2400, they dont depreciate to zero (unless a basket case) which it was close, and new bikes and used have increased in value. But yeah, you could have also gotten really bit with a major failure, and end up not capturing any profit. I was surprised you sold it so quickly, I assume that was the plan.

Thanks for trying that, I always wonder if its worth it. So what are you gonna get next?

It's only worth it as a hobby for personal enjoyment.

Hi, I’m looking to change the clutch plates for my 2011 suzuki Dr200se. I’m from Nepal, but I have someone I know in the US who could bring it for me. Do you have any recommendations where I can order the clutch plates that would be a perfect fit for my 2011 model?

I like your honesty. I wonder what is your mother tongue. Btw, where did you get those rear index lights? Danke.

In our country its different, brand new suzuki dr200 costs 4800$ a used dr200 that i wanted to buy was going for 1100$ other alternatives under 1500$ brand new are probably chinese bikes. What's your take?

A postat azi si Dirt N Iron un proiect similar. Coincidență ?

You have a weird way of being inspirational and demotivational at the same time.

What jacket is that you’re wearing on the ride?

If you had found a nice bike that needed the same amount of work, then it would have been a success story. It's like the expression if you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. It was certainly nice to see your skills at work, but if you want to do this again, you'll just have to use better judgment. I'm curious how much you sold the bike for after you fixed it up?

Bummer about the 200, I know of a 2005-2008 honda xr650l for $500.. clean title oem paperwork..

It's a dr200 so no it's not worth it lol. But if you really love those bikes then do it

You are better off just buying a brand new bike. I’d rather ride than spend 50 hours fixing an old beat up dual sport.

Ill buy that 1500 rigjt now. Moreso 2k. Ppl list these for 4k . You might be able to get it for 3k

The way you take your time to explain the details is what I love the most about your videos 😍😍❤️ . Do not waste your time = "Promo sm" !