True Dualsports getting heavier and less powerful?

Oh look, tRev hooked one!

What?

No wonder it was so unreliable.

The smart thing to do would have been to rebadge the KLX400 as the DRZ, that would have been an awesome bike then.

I suspect he was just playing along in the hope I had an awesome punch line, but he is about to be disappointed...

Forgot to mention, my buddy and I went UP Radical Hill (actual name of the trail, it is in the Red Cone area in Colorado) before going down. Going up was harder :) The DRZ was a good climber though. Had enough power to get the job done, but not too much to handle, and this area is probably at 11,000 feet, which takes a toll. Braaap!!!!



Base of Radical Hill. No more photos after this as momentum was, um, important to maintain once the hill steepened. No stopping, not for nuthin!



Rocks. The big yellow pig ate them for breakfast. Traversed this stuff at middling rpm in 2nd gear, probably 20 mph. Maybe the heavy DRZ just crushed them to dust, who knows. Starts off bumpy, smooths out, then it will spit you off if you get too aggressive. Definitely a rhythm and dance in this stuff. The BYP (big yellow pig) was good in this stuff.



The DRZ is truly a fine dual sport. It is not the best street legal bike off road and it is not the dirt capable bike on pavement but it has a unique blend of good enough in both areas, indestructible, moddable and cheap. The DRZ is the very definition of a true "dual sport" in my mind. Dunno why everyone has not owned a DRZ at one time or another

More Red Cone and other pics in this slideshow, just in case you have cabin fever like I do...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mia4C_ONKd4

man Im jelous of the ridng areas you guys have, nice and open free of dogs, chikens, pigs, drunks, moms carrying theor babies...towns, cars, whatnot...

x2 on the rythm thing on rocks...to slow you bounce everywhere, find correct speed and rpm and you can go all day...push it too much and you hit one rock just right and bam you go off to the side!


jajajajajajaja

You guys need to have another "Soccer War" ... and this time take part of Honduras for your prize! (I lived in El Salvador in the 70's ... surfing at La Libertad!

no shit! wow!

yeah la libertad, full of punks now just like any town that finds a new wave or tourists...not even local people can get into places just like they do on most awesome and highly exaggerated surf places, hawaii, south africa, australia etc...etc...

man

in any case no no soccer war pleaseI wasnt even born yet, plus it had nothing to do with soccer1 jajaja it was the tiping point though

well you guys are welcome to ride on down whenever you want!

we can still ride on the beach here! jejejeje

Actually, a significant percentage of the guys on this forum have owned a DRZ, and most of them would buy another one if Suzuki would bite the bullet and replace the transmission with a wide ratio six speed and maybe add fuel injection. The tranny change would require new engine cases, so I can see why they haven't done it, but I agree with you that it's pretty close to what people want.

Suzuki could (and should) build a successful 400cc class dual sport bike ... but a fully modernized one.

Start with the current RMZ 450 motor (as fast or faster than ANY KTM), detune it some for reliability. Use a totally new chassis ... steel tube would be best for a dual sport, IMO.
Give the thing a strong sub frame but keep it light. Stock fuel tank at least 4 gallons with 60 mpg, should be good for over 240 mile range. Use same KYB suspension used on current RMZ motocrosser ... but shorten it an inch or so and modify damping for Dual Sport use.

It's all doable ... but so far Suzuki does not seem to see the profit in it. Yet they've billions for R & D, producing an endless stream of lame cruisers. Go figure. :huh

Plenty of people have owned them and moved on. Had a plated E model and it was a decent bike. Not nearly as indestructible as some people lay claim and of course the tranny really hampers it being a true dual sport. But for the price it's hard not to like them.

+1 For a short time(maybe one year) Suzuki imported their DRZ450X. Dirtbike magazine had a short review on it. Our tough EPA standards shut down importing anymore after the first year model was brought into the USA. If I remember correctly, it was a FI model based (of course) on the RMZ machine. I did see one upclose in a dealer too. Nice looking bike. The MSRP was high, but nontheless, great looking Enduro.. Not street legal. More like the KTM rfs models. I thought eventually it would replace the well loved DRZ400, but not yet

Yes, I remember that bike. IIRC it had a few deal breaker short comings ... I believe it held something like 2 gal. of fuel. Still ... could have been a start. Also, it was not street legal (as you pointed out) which puts it out of action for a lot of dual sport riders.

Building street legal adds a lot of expense, weight and legal certification headaches. KTM/Husky/Beta et al, all get round this under EPA's OEM dispensation rules for low production manufacturers.

Suzuki can't do it ... they sell too many bikes. Certifying a bike is around
$100,000 USD per model. (this info from Husaberg distributor/big wig I spoke with 3 or 4 years ago) Much stiffer rules for the BIG companies regards building street legal.

Serious response...

I don't know how the sales figures are in America for the DRZ, but here in Australia the DRZ is usually first or second in the sales (usually the WR450 is the one it is fighting with) so I doubt Suzuki can see a need to chainge it if it as successful in other countrys.

It would cost a shitload to replace it, and even if they updated it, they would need to get it through EPA regs and shit so that would cost a shitload to.

And the sell the RMX450 here, apparently a really good bike, but not road registerable here.

Great pics and comments Duken4ever.

RMZ-450 has an even narrower 5-speed than the DR-Z400 (2.61 to 2.65). That engine would need new cases for a new transmission, too. Wrong place to start.

Honda and Yamaha both ran 450's in this year's Dakar. Perhaps detune those motors and adjust transmission ratios for a start. Unless, of course, they are also 5-speeds. A Dual Sport in the USA must handle slow single track and highways at 70 mph. A wide-ratio 6-speed (or a dual range 5-speed) are a must for me. The XT225, WR250R and TE610/630 each have one, so it can be done. Others will sacrifice with a wider ratio 5-speed that the torque of a 650cc can pull in top gear, but that is still a sacrifice to me. And I want a 450. Just like Goldilocks, the middle size is just right - for me.

Does it need to go through EPA again if you just change some gears in the transmission?

I think a 5 speed would be just fine. You may underestimate Suzuki's engineering abilities if you believe a new case is required to simply make 4th and 5th gear taller ... and perhaps 1st a hair lower. Also, much can be done with sprockets. And don't forget a healthy DRZ-S pretty much could stick with a DR650 right up to about 90 mph before running out of puff.
Been there, done it.

Yes ... it's bit busy at 75 mph ...but doable and better if geared UP. A 450 dual sport ... even the Goldilocks model ... is not going to be like your BMW on the highway.

American Suzuki have, IMO, provided flawed reports to Japan for years. They tell them what they "think" they want to hear. Problem is ... the old dead wood clogging up the cubicles in Brea are clueless, don't ride and rarely leave S. California.

The old white guys are the ones who were dead set against the Vstrom from day one. It's turned into a success. They even tried to instigate a rebellion among dealers, some refused to take the Vstrom in the first year. These are the same guys who worship at the Cruiser Alter and convinced the Japanese it's the only way forward. And sadly ... for years this has brought BIG Profits to Suzuki ... and ALL the Japanese big four. But times do change. Now, Suzuki's dual sports are doing better than ever, especially the DR650 and new DL650 Adventure.

Future?
SuzukiJapan project leaders said back in 2007 they were bringing out a "new' dual sport. Never happened. Perhaps it's simmering on a back burner somewhere?

The ONE TWO punch of 1. Bush's (world wide) depression ... and 2. Fukushima meltdown have them running scared and manning the pumps. They ALL remember the crisis of the early 80's ... which most Americans know nothing about or how close a two Japanese companies came to going totally, permanently .. UNDER. Namely Suzuki and Yamaha.

I thought your post was interesting until you lost me there at the end.

Who cares? Almost all of them are crooks.

Viola? What do musical instruments have to do with this discussion?

You DO realize, of course, that windshields and big ass-saddlebags can be removed in minutes and left at camp? That a front knobby can be swapped for that 80/20 tire pretty easily? That more lighting can be added to something like a DR, while still reducing weight AND wattage consumption? You've heard of this new technology called "LEDs", yeah?

Add some decent armor, like you would to any bike going offroad. Swap in appropriate springs and valving, like you would to any bike going offroad. Spoon on a set of appropriate DOT knobbies, like you would to any street-legal bike going offroad. Ride dirt. Ride slab. Commute with a duffel strapped to the fender/seat. Bomb 1000+ miles of slab, on a 35F day, to be at work the next morning. Run away from quads in tree-choked woods, on the same bike, 2 days later. Haul a passenger to Daytona Bike Week a few months later. It works fine. I put over 15K miles on my DR this year, and I have a full-time job, non-riding family members that I'm still on speaking terms with, a streetbike, and 2 cars. A good portion of that mileage is bottomless sugarsand and muddy quad trails. It works fine. But then...I'm not sponsored by Monster, and I'm not trying to be. I just like to ride.

I have touring pegs and a 45L topcase on my dirtbike right now, and it's better on long roadtrips than my streetbike. :huh



It still runs over 90MPH in the dirt too.