SUZUKI DRZ400

[Mattmeister]

cars up for sale as I'm going into a company car soon so thinking about getting back to bikes (after a 2 year 'break'). I work long hours and dont get much time to go out so dont want to spend a fortune on a bike like i did last time and am thinkin about getting a supermoto for something 'different'.

I had got my eye on a used KTM but saw a new DRZ400'SM' advertised in MCN with 0% and wondered if anyone here had got one, if so are they any good?

Was also considering doing some 'green-laning', can you get off-road wheels and tyres for the 400SM and if anyone has done so are they easy to swap over/how much £?

[y2blade]

go for it...i have a DRZ400S and love it,mines a 05 plate ive had it since new

very reliable, very cheap to run and service and ALOT of fun

as for the wheels/tyres question's i cant help as the DRZ400SM has differant forks so i dont know if the "S" wheels will fit so try here ,they are very helpfull

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?...

Edited by y2blade on Monday 3rd December 10:23

[m3psm]

Member "97rsr" also has a DRZ400SM that he uses everyday for commuting so may be worth PM,ing him

[Mattmeister]

awesome thanks, pics look ill check out that other website...hopefully 97rsr will be along soon...........

presumably insurance will be pretty cheap on these?

[y2blade]

Mattmeister said:

awesome thanks, pics look ill check out that other website...hopefully 97rsr will be along soon...........

presumably insurance will be pretty cheap on these?

i pay less than £200 fully comp

its a very low ins group

[Mattmeister]

thanks for the links - according to thumpertalk you can fit S/E wheels straight in as long as you fit the bigger SM discs...(apparently the speedo is affected though if youre off-road doesnt matter really?!)

would love to have confirmation from someone whos actually done it here in the uk though! not going to be cheap though for set of wheels/tyres/discs i imagine....

[AdeTuono]

Mattmeister said:

thanks for the links - according to thumpertalk you can fit S/E wheels straight in as long as you fit the bigger SM discs...(apparently the speedo is affected though if youre off-road doesnt matter really?!)

would love to have confirmation from someone whos actually done it here in the uk though! not going to be cheap though for set of wheels/tyres/discs i imagine....

I had a DRZ with two sets of wheels. The standard off-roaders and a set of Talon/Excel for supermoto/road use. The change-over could be done in around 30 minutes. I had a Braking wavy disc and caliper up front for road use, and a Braking rear disc at the back, mounted on the extra wheels, and the standard set-up for off-road. You'd probably get away with standard discs and calipers, but having to swap them between wheels every time would be a pain. Website here...

http://www.braking.com/

Brake lines, speedo drive etc remained standard. When I sold the bike, I sold the supermoto set-up on eBay. Got around £700, I think. New, you'd be looking around £1200 at a guess, but they do turn up second-hand occasionally.

It's hard to explain how much the wheel swap changed the bike. It really was like two different machines. Standard wheels showed around 95-100mph. I imagine the gearing change reduced top-end somewhat, although it showed more on the clock, but it was certainly good enough for round town. Cornering was in a different league though.

[Mattmeister]

i see you did it the other way around -there seems to be quite a few supermoto wheels on ebay for this conversion but no off road wheels to convert an SM wondering how expensive its gonna be by the time youve bought wheels/offroad tyres/discs....

eta just checked out your profile, it seems we have a shared love of BMW bikes, Big V8's, Jags ....and now DRZ's......

Edited by Mattmeister on Monday 3rd December 15:56

[97rsr]

Mattmeister said:

awesome thanks, pics look ill check out that other website...hopefully 97rsr will be along soon...........

presumably insurance will be pretty cheap on these?

Hi Mattmeister, sorry I didn't reply been rough as hell with flu last couple of day's Anyway, I got the DRZ400SM off a friend for two reasons 1- baby RSR on way so Mrs needed the car to get to station in the morning and 2- the traffic on my commute has got completly out of control!
So the bike is an 05 k5 and had only done 640 miles when I got it so had been standing alot but I've already doubled that and the engine is starting to loosen up now. Off the line it's brilliant - dump clutch, nail it and 50mph comes up in no time, it hasn't got enough power to do anything nasty in the dry or the wet but will come up in first with a little tug on bars or sitting back at the right moment no real point revving it to far being a single but it is smooth at 80 in top for the 5 miles of dual carriageway in my journey and will do 90 flat out but pretty pointless on a bike like this.Coming off roundabout's or exiting bends you can full throttle it and ride the torque in total control. Handling is stable and slow steering but with the wide bar's and fat tyres you can be quite agressive with your input's and it does everything you ask, brakes are fine, funny when the front dives about 10 inches but loads of feel so you always know what's going on. Through traffic it's brilliant, see over the car's and its very thin and the mirrors are roughly the same width as the handlebars which again help's in traffic. Overall I'm really happy with it, I look forward to riding it rain or shine and on my day's off sometimes ride it around the lane's and it's like a 40hp mountain bike. Hope this helps

Edited by 97rsr on Monday 3rd December 17:15

[Mattmeister]

thanks, sounds ideal, just want something thats a bit of fun up to the national speed limit for the narrow lanes round about where I live (i.e. not too much of a licence-loser)

still unsure about the green laning side of things- maybe ill just get one and worry about off-road wheels/tyres if i get the itch...

[Stig]

I had (until earlier this year) a DRZ400S for which I had both enduro and supermoto wheels (Talons with Avon Pro Xtreme wets - uber sticky)!

A great all rounder, which I used most weekends for green laning (until DEFRA closed them all round my way) and the odd commute (50 miles into central London).

Only gripes were the razor like seat (for longer rides) and small tank range. But this is to be expected for a trail bike.

Heartily recommend them. Here's a couple of pics of it:

[Mattmeister]

looks very 'competition ready'

what exhaust have you got there, was it any good?

[AndyMX5]

Mattmeister said:

thanks for the links - according to thumpertalk you can fit S/E wheels straight in as long as you fit the bigger SM discs...(apparently the speedo is affected though if youre off-road doesnt matter really?!)

would love to have confirmation from someone whos actually done it here in the uk though! not going to be cheap though for set of wheels/tyres/discs i imagine....

Hi Matt,

I bought a DRZ 400 SM from crescents in Charminster a week ago. Already put 500 miles on it despite the weather.

It's fantastic fun (Even though I'm still running it in so only 50% throttle allowed)

Coming from a sportsbike I can tell you
1, It handles wet/greasy conditions much better.

2a, The higher seating position means you can see over hedges to check it's clear for overtakes on previously "blind" corners (Maybe shouldn't recommend that though)
2b You can see over cars to check the path is clear, so you can maintain a high average speed with less peaks and troughs.

3, I've taken it down some muddy (But very easy) lanes and it handled them just fine on the road tyres... In summer, you'd probably have a fair about of lanes that you could handle even without changing wheels. You won't be a quick as on knobblies but you'll be having fun!

4, Saw an option in the manual that allows you to "adjust the speedo for off road" I assume they mean this is for adjusting the calibration to counter the larger wheels so that your speed is still accurate.

5, Buy one! With the finance deals on at the moment, they are a steal!

[Mattmeister]

Im getting very close to getting one of these now - what sort of deal did you get? (PM me if not comfortable telling everyone....)

[Stig]

Mattmeister said:

looks very 'competition ready'

what exhaust have you got there, was it any good?

CRD power pipe and Scorpion end can. It was a bit noisy though (wasn't road legal but my local MOT place are keen off roaders )

[97rsr]

This is a picture of my first DR350 a few years back. Its got ohlins fork springs, a modified rear shock with a CR125 spring and revalved by Vick Eastwood. A supertrapp exhaust, full motorcross tyres, renthal bars, sidewinder sprockets!! an RM mudguard (front and rear) and acerbis protectors. I never got round to fitting a white bros tuning kit but it faired really well on small tight motorcross tracks.

[bimsb6]

off road wheels are considerably cheaper to buy than supermoto rims if you want to go that route check out the specialist mags for 2nd hand sets such as tbm or supermoto.

[Mattmeister]

bimsb6 said:

off road wheels are considerably cheaper to buy than supermoto rims if you want to go that route check out the specialist mags for 2nd hand sets such as tbm or supermoto.

thanks will check them out - prob just go ahead and get the bike then look for some 2nd hand offroad wheels/tyres later...

[Mattmeister]

thanks for all the advice chaps......


pickin it up end of this week! cant wait!

[y2blade]

Mattmeister said:

thanks for all the advice chaps......


pickin it up end of this week! cant wait!

nice one...i look forward to the pics