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The first change we usually make to our dual-sport bikes is adding full knobby tires for improved grip in the dirt. This isn't even an option in our mind, as off-road traction is paramount to our enjoyment and safety when riding off-road.

Once we've handled this task, we take a look at the stock exhaust system. Most current dual-sport bikes are 4-stroke singles with heavy and/or restrictive OEM mufflers. Changing out the muffler portion with a slip on unit is usually one of the easiest and most cost effective ways of increasing a dual-sport bike's performance. The trade off here is whether or not you want to make that nice quiet bike louder, and if so, how much louder is acceptable to you, your neighbors and the law.

Aftermarket exhaust manufacturers like SuperTrapp make systems which are actually tunable by adding or removing the number of disks in the system. Add disks, and you'll pick up more power, revs and noise. Decrease the number of disks and you'll quiet the

system down, loose some top end revs yet still retain a good amount of low end grunt - much more than stock.

Aftermarket mufflers are often offered in either "trail" or "race" versions with the diameter of the race system normally being larger to flow better. For dual-sport, we always choose the trail versions, as the race systems simply put out too much noise. Dual Sport means you can go anywhere, around town or through the woods. We suggest you ask around for the quietest performance muffler you can find.

Suzuki kindly allowed us to keep are 1999 DR350 test bike around so we could add these same types of items after we concluded our test of the bike in stock trim. We added a set of Michelin Enduro Comp III DOT approved knobbies and a Malcolm Smith Motorsports nickel plated DR350 slip-on exhaust system which features a tunable SuperTrapp muffler. The DOT approved Michelin's tread pattern looked effective, but the soft rubber compound would definitely be too soft for typical So Cal riding as well as for extended street use.

Once our changes were complete, we headed to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation's Ride for Kids dual-sport ride out of Southern California's Glen Helen

Raceway. The weather forecast was just what we had been hoping for - lots of rain. In addition to making the ride more fun via increased traction (something rarely experienced in So. Cal.), this rain would mean lots of slop in the mountains - just what the Enduro Comp III tires were designed for.

On the morning of the ride none of the forecasted rain had arrived. This left us with mostly dry yet somewhat tacky ground as a result of earlier rains. Out on the fast dirt roads and trails the Michelin's worked well though they, not surprisingly, felt as if the knobs were rolling under on some of the dry surfaces. In the rocks you could also feel the knobs giving way to the hard surface of the rocks. Fortunately for us, an optional part of the course traversed a few small areas in the mountains that were wet and slimy. Rather than take it easy we gassed it in order to push the tires in the environment they were designed for - sloppy , nasty, wet conditions. Here the tires hooked up surprisingly well and never gave us any cause for concern. They worked very well in the slop, though our riding in these conditions was limited.

The addition of the Malcolm Smith slip-on exhaust did a great deal to improve the off-road capabilities of the already fun to ride DR350. The system added some welcomed low-end grunt and enabled the engine to rev out a bit more on top. This allowed us to shift less and sometimes let us pull a higher gear exiting corners. We could also rev the engine higher which sometimes meant we could reach the next corner without that one last shift. This made fast corner-to-corner fire roading a lot more fun. We had the throttle pegged most of the day on these fast fire roads and the DR never gave a whimper, though we do suggest jetting your bike after making such a change. It was also a blast riding the DR with more off-road traction and some new found power.

Michelin Enduro Comp III Tires
Front (90/90-21)	$91.41 (suggested retail)
Rear (140/90-17)	$101.64 (suggested retail)
Features: Developed through use in ISDE and other international events Open tread design with offset tread blocks for good grip Resistant to chunking DOT approved for highway use

Editors Note:
The exhaust system used for this test is no longer in production, but many similar systems are readily available.
We would like to thank Michelin for providing the tires used in our test. We asked for their "best" off-road performing DOT approved tires. We failed to mention whether it was for hard or soft terrain, so we got soft terrain tires. Next time we promise to get it right.