i heard the mr h endcap is a good thing to get for your pipe but do you have to repack it after awhile, i dunno if i should just get that or go ahead and by an hmf. They stock airfilter seems pretty good and it doesnt look like much dirt can get into the airbox so would a k&n really help that much.

 

Getting a pipe would be nice but just getting a HMF wouldnt be worth the money when an endcap on a stock muffler does the same. If your going to get a pipe, get the HPR Top Gun. These guys are custom building parts just for the DS. The other brands are more of a mass prodution of another bike. However just getting the end cap is my vote. The K&N is just been proven to be a very high quality filter and higher flowing than stock. There are some similar type to the K&N but to keep it in your air box you might have to stick with the genuine K&N brand.

Your springs in the front are the first thing you can adjust. put a jack under your frame to allow your a-arms to dangle free and hang. Then loosen your spring collars till they just come off the spring then leave them there. I am 175 lbs also and that will make a huge difference over stock. In the rear you can do the same but it will take some more work to get that spring collar to work, AND you dont want to set it up that loose! Just take it up about a half inch and ride it. Then try for more after that if you want, but most important, dont let that rear shock bottom out on ya when your comming down a hill fast or it will throw you off. You can also adjust the dampening on the rear shock, this is in the book but I went pretty far with that to let it not dampen so much (loose). I love the ride of my DS, nothing comes close to it.

With your weight, I wouldnt mess with the clutch at all. If your looking to run big tires and your going to lean over the headlight and rev it to the limiter and let the clutch fly, then that will last about 20 hours ( thats about how long I beat on my stock clutch with paddles using the launch method I mentioned). If your in the dirt and your not doing this type of beating on the clutch, I think you will be just fine with all stock clutch.

 

I run the HMF and love it. The end cap has just as much power gain but it is NOT spark arrested, (the HMF IS spark arrested). Check with your local riding area to see if that is required... you said that you ride trails so that may be a concern. I would definetly run the K&N. It is way less restrictive than stock. It will open up your DS, and it is well worth the $50 investment. Other than that search for OMR's "stock carb mods" thread... he has some really nice stuff in there. Other than that welcome to the forum, and mod the **** out of that thing... sorry its an addiction and to promote ridiculous spending on these machines to other people makes me feel better about the problem I have. Good Luck!

 

fx rider, i'm not sure where you ride but you may also want to concider an outerware for your k&n.. it does flow more air but also can flow more dirt.. i have not had a problem with this but a $20.00 investment could sure save a lot of $$ in the end. i noitced that thr RWR pipe was not mentiopned... this is what i run with a 23 disk super trap.. less restriction and still meets usfs spark arrestor.. just my 2 cents

 

I second everything BajaX04 said. Not that the other guys are wrong, but I 100% agree with everything BajaX04 said as well as his reasoning.