It's amazing the difference in vendors. I've gotten spoiled doing business with and similar top quality vendors. You don't realize how well they do their job until you do business with someone who doesn't seem to do it to quite the same professional level.

The order from arrived today. I could have sworn it was going to come by UPS but it arrived postal mail. I guess I cross-eyed UPS for USPS.

One box, which looked to be a re-used Home Depot box, was ripped open. The other was banged up pretty good. The contents were reasonably well packed, like someone would do shipping something from home that they had sold on Ebay, and don't seem to have been damaged. There was liberal use of packing tape and bubble wrap but many of the items really weren't packaged. Loose arrays of bolts stuffed into little baggies.

While I can't really fault anything. The order arrived as described, it just doesn't give you that "warm and fuzzy" feeling of confidence.

But regardless, it looks like I now have nearly the complete set of farkles that I'm going to get for the DR650. It's all a grand experiment.

I'm also exploring tools and patch kits. The DR650's run tubed tires so the types of kits I'm used to don't apply.

The downside to tubed tires is largely that you have to pull the damn thing out of the tire to patch it. Recommendations online suggest keeping a spare front tube along with the patch kit.

The tool kits that come with these bikes are pathetic. I did get an expanded tool tube but will need to now stock it with some decent tools and tire irons.

I did find a pretty comprehensive list of trip tools here:

Looking at the IMS tank I'm now a little concerned about puncturing it in a get-off. That could really suck.

I've not heard or read anything that was concerning about the IMS tank...they've certainly proven themselves in the field.

Clymer manual and skid plate arrived today...so ready to take it offroad more than just dirt trail Just need to get the seat recovered (hopefully done next week).

I still need to pick up the clymer/shop manual and owners manual.

I'm thinking after the upgrade and inevitable rounds of bug fixes, that I might take a break for a couple of days and get all the bike wrenching out of the way.

It's a good sign that the shop manual is about the size of a readers digest The manual for the BBird could have been mistaken for a technical version of War and Peace.

Here's the new skid plate...feeling very confident that if something manages to hurt this plate I have much worse things to worry about

Damn. That looks pretty serious.