2012 Suzuki DR-Z400S Review

[pushrod]

Originally Posted by The Spaceman

I happened to see a Dr. Z on I-75 between Gainesville and Orlando last week. He was riding about 15 miles slower than the rest of the traffic...

Damn! He was only going 75!?

[The_AirHawk]

Originally Posted by pushrod

Damn! He was only going 75!?

That's Eff-El-Aye.... the throttle was Pinned to the Stop....

[seruzawa]

As someone who goes riding on BLM land around the area south of I-70 between I-15 and Green River, Ut my main concern is for reliability. Your talking about being around 100 miles of more from any services and 10s of miles from any paved road. A breakdown can be a very serious problem if you are down there alone. For this reason a DRZ would get serious consideration despite the weight difference and 5 speed box. That old engine is tried and true and about bulletproof.

Another factor is the higher altitudes in the intermountain west. At good rule is that you lose about 10% of your horsepower for every 3000 feet above sea level. 250s can get very wheezy in the mountains. Despite popular belief fuel injection does not compensate for loss of air pressure. It'll keep your mixture correct better than a carbed bike, but power is lost in ratio to the loss of air pressure above sea level. A 400 won't suffer as much as a 250.