2012 Suzuki DR-Z400S Review

[The_AirHawk]

Originally Posted by Buzglyd

24" inseam?

What the hell is he, an orangutan?

He is 5-foot-7.....


from the waist UP......

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by pushrod

So Duke-r, how hard would it be to lower the suspension a bit for the inseam-challenged?

Not sure all the available options. The SM version has a 1.8-inch lower seat, so that might be an option. The S's seat, listed at a towering 36.8 inches, is thickly padded, so a trimmed-down aftermarket saddle could bring the height down an inch or two. Then there's option of a suspension re-do, with snipped front coils and a new link for the rear.

Or you could take Buz's suggestion and gain some weight!

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by pushrod

This dude has a 24" inseam...

A 125 or 250 is not quite adequate for highway travel, so the 400-650cc bikes are better candidates.

Hard to believe anyone 5'7" has a 24-inch inseam. I'm 5'8" and have a 32-inch inseam.

The WR250R is actually pretty good on the freeway, as it's motor is counterbalanced. But its seat is 36.6 inches. The supermotoish WR250X's seat is 35.2 inches.

[pushrod]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Duke

Hard to believe anyone 5'7" has a 24-inch inseam. I'm 5'8" and have a 32-inch inseam.

The WR250R is actually pretty good on the freeway, as it's motor is counterbalanced. But its seat is 36.6 inches. The supermotoish WR250X's seat is 35.2 inches.

That was the 'Hawk that said he was that tall.

No, he's a short guy, for sure. I think he's 5'2". He's a retired Human Factors engineer. He jokes that he was the 5th percentile tester for the stuff he worked with.

[JoelReiter]

The DRZ-400S has become sort of a tragic antique. Many, many previous owners have said they would buy another one in a minute if Suzuki ever added another gear. Even the five-speed isn't all that wide ratio, so there's no way to get a freeway gear and still be able to handle the tight stuff. Some resort to carrying around an extra countershaft sprocket and the tools necessary to change it.

It's about time for fuel injection too. It's a real shame, because the bike fills a real niche. I think the 650, with it's lack of flywheel and heavy weight, is a white-knuckle terror off road. While we wait for Suzuki to catch up to modern standards, the Yamaha WR250 is probably a better choice. As Kevin Duke says, it's a better freeway bike than the DR. It also has better suspension. And like the DR, it has proven very reliable.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by JoelReiter

The DRZ-400S has become sort of a tragic antique. Many, many previous owners have said they would buy another one in a minute if Suzuki ever added another gear. Even the five-speed isn't all that wide ratio, so there's no way to get a freeway gear and still be able to handle the tight stuff. Some resort to carrying around an extra countershaft sprocket and the tools necessary to change it.

It's about time for fuel injection too. It's a real shame, because the bike fills a real niche. I think the 650, with it's lack of flywheel and heavy weight, is a white-knuckle terror off road. While we wait for Suzuki to catch up to modern standards, the Yamaha WR250 is probably a better choice. As Kevin Duke says, it's a better freeway bike than the DR. It also has better suspension. And like the DR, it has proven very reliable.

Yep, the addition of EFI and a sixth gear would be terrific upgrades to a great bike. Freeway travel can be eased by employing a different sprocket, but taller gearing would hurt its performance in tight off-road conditions. However, if you don't ride on technical terrain, the taller gearing is a nice alternative to improving its highway manners.

[Mark_Pearson]

I had the SM version a couple years ago. It was an absolute riot - for the first 45 minutes. Then the seat got medieval on my ass.

Also, the rear sagged under my weight (~210 lbs). Swapping the shock spring only made it clear how far off the valving was.

I decided to sell it and come back to dual-sporting when I'm ready to commit to spending money on aftermarket seats, shocks, fork internals and gear (or just buy a KTM and be the hell done with it).

[Duken4evr]

I owned an '02 DRZ for almost 9 years and logged about 7,500 purely off road miles on it. The bike wore knobbies, had .48 fork springs (stock is .44) and a 5.7 rear spring (stock is 5.5) Eddie Sisneros revalved the shock with a Race Tech kit; he opened up the stock fork guts and revalved them as well. The DRZ has quality cartridge/fully adjustable suspenion of better quality than the non Euro stuff except for the WR250.

Stiffened and valved, the DRZ seemingly loses 30 pounds. My bike was heavier than stock with a 3.2 gallon IMS tank, skid plates and armor, etc. It also wore a Yosh full exhaust and a pair of hotcams. A 435cc kit really wakes the DRZ up too.

The DRZ was a stalwart bike, worth modifying. It has hooked up power and a "just ride the sh%t out of it" quality that is hard to put a finger on. You can run a decent "B" class pace on it and the DRZ craved gnarly rocky terrain. I drove a lot of guys on more "serious" bikes nuts with my DRZ

Moved on to a '10 Husaberg FE450 and of course it is a better off road mount, but a soft spot remains for the old DRZ. Rode it many miles and had many good times on it. The DRZ never let me down and I rode it hard with WR450s and the like. Never any excuses, the warmed over DRZ was always in the mix. The DRZ is an old design, but it remains a timeless, durable and inexpensive bike. Well worth tinkering with to tailor to your intended use and enjoying. Some pics of my old DRZ. Farewell "big yellow pig". I loved ya!

[Buzglyd]

Duken you are a motorcycle rock star.

[The Spaceman]

I happened to see a Dr. Z on I-75 between Gainesville and Orlando last week. The guy had it loaded to the gills with duffle bags and stuff. He was riding about 15 miles slower than the rest of the traffic, but he looked like he was getting where he was going. I couldn't see his plate for all the stuff hanging off, but it was obvious he'd been on the road for at least a few days.