Is the drz 400 a true jack of all trades?

So basicly is the drz400 suzuki's enduro bike?

not really...at least not in the USA where you can't get real E versions new anymore. the S model (and the california-ized E model, which isn't available anymore either) is a dual sport, not an enduro bike.

suzuki doesn't make an enduro bike that is sold in the USA anymore. they do make an RMX450z which is an enduro bike, but i don't think you can get them in the USA. you could turn an RMZ450 into an enduro bike in the USA.

It would be wild if Suzuki just took the engine and made it into ADV touring mount.

I test rode the motard and like folk type, the gear ratios are fairly close.


I feel like the MIGHTY DR is the jack of all trades.


If Suzuki makes the DL650 more off road worthy, they will have a pretty nasty fleet of DS and ADV touring MC.

Once Yamaha gets a 400-500lb ADV MC, they will be insane.

Really good thread. Lots of good pics.

Sold my DRZ for a DR solely because of the 5 speed close tranny... Definitely the right move for me....

The more off road you ride the DR-Z is the choice. Tried the WR250R and the bigger Suzuki with it's "old tech", and bigger engine is so much easier to live with and ride. I even prefer the DR-Z tranny ratios over the WRR 6 speed.

That is what I like about Suzuki,

The DR200 is out of its league with the WR250, but the DRZ400's specs look really good when contrasted against the WR250, if you do not mind an extra 20lbs or so.

I have never ridden a WR250R.

It is for me.

I don't do whole lot of highway but since I added a Seat Concepts to it and a 15tooth CS sprocket it is acceptable if not great.
And I don't MX or enduro, so I'm at no disadvantage there.

For the rest of my riding though, like my commute around sealed winding coastal roads, a bit of shopping around town, gravel riding on any local road and the odd bit of two track, the DRZ400E is my ideal bike.

Off-topic comment only:

How has this thread proceeded thus far, without the egomaniacal, narcissistic, KTM-obsessed naysayers' "contributions?"



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DISCLAIMER: I consider DRZs fine machines, in agreement with the positive comments above.

I have ridden several DRZs, on all terrain - dirt roads, highway, gnarly trees and singletrack, MX jumps, etc.. One is really nicely put together - 3x3, jet kit, exhaust, custom suspension, weight lost wherever possible, etc. Even that bike is fully 30lb heavier than a WR, and it feels more like 50lb since it carries much of that weight high up in the steel frame, and some of the mass is the engine, with its gyroscopic effects slowing down the turn-in of the bike.

I've had two stock WR250R on my scales, and both were ~295 full of gas, with beefy handguards, passenger pegs, stock battery, etc. It's not hard to hit 275lb with a pipe, battery, and some trimming. The WR feels much closer to a KTM EXC than it does to a DRZ or CRF250L, in terms of weight and handling.

Now, that's the weight. It's there. It sucks. You can live with it, especially if the terrain is not awful. The DRZ has power, especially low-end grunt. The WRR must be kept spinning, the DRZ will chug or rev nicely.



Top-end power is not that different. In fact, power-to-weight is pretty close. But man, does the DRZ pull harder at normal revs!

Both bikes have good suspension (the WRR is better, but the DRZ is fine), and plenty of clearance. In whoops and sand, the DRZ might be more fun. In tight woods, the WRR is much nicer. Once you get used to one, it's hard to switch - they are very different, and it takes a while to remember how to use each bike's strengths to best advantage.

The WR is my choice on the road, but the DRZ has its advantages. Like, it'll get to 60 faster. Above that, the DRZ (when geared for the dirt) will wind out, while the WRR starts really pulling that tall 6th gear. I'd rather ride a WRR at 75mph, although both bikes can do it.

So, for most off-road use, the WRR is going to be easier and more fun, because weight is king off road. But, the DRZ can go anywhere a WRR will, even if the DRZ rider is working a little harder. On the street, it's a coin-flip. I like light weight, high revs, and EFI, so it's a no-brainer for me. If you like carbs, ride open off-road terrain, and don't mind the vibes you get from spinning that big 400 out on the highway, then by all means, DRZ away.

(But if I was going to ride a 320lb bike off-road, it would be a TE630 )

gotta buddy who was real fast on the Kawasaki version.... he just got a new 500 XCW.... he's even faster.... pretty amazed at the KTM.... don't think he wants to go back....

real world assessment.... just sayin'....

Went Suzuki went from the 6spd on the DR350 to the 5 spd trans on the DRZ400 is beyond me. I "suppose" to have wider gears but KTMs & Husky stuffed 6 gears in a small space so ???

The close ratio 5 spd trans is the Achilles heel of the DRZ. Why Suzuki had never fixed this is also beyond me. It could be so much better with the proper transmission and FI.

Somehow the Japanese don't seem very in tune with WR 6 spd gearboxes. The Europeans get it.

LoLoL

if there really is a single jack-of-all-trades (nearly-master-of-nearly-all-trades) bike, that's it.

I would have to type....

1. P. Twin.
2. Dsplacement 350-750cc
3. 19" front tyre
4. Weight 325-425lbs.

Hmmmm, I am no MC designer or nothing, but I would say the CB500X has the most potintial.

If you have a KTM and use it, as it is designed for, racing or dedicated woods/desert single track you have replaced the stock secondary sprockets. This in effect makes it work great in the tough riding, but makes it pavement use limited.
The stock DR-Z five speed comes out as good as the EXC six speeds. better than the WRR six speed and better than the old DR 350 six speed.

My 2-cent opinion. Yes the 400 is a "buzzy engine"
Art

not on the EXC or XC-W versions with their wide-ratio 6 speed trannys.

i run 13/52 gearing on mine which is great for tight, technical single track at crawl speeds and still cruises lazily at 70mph with a ton of RPM range left. (i can even downshift into 5th to pass at 70 and still have RPM range left.)

no, it does not. not even remotely close.

to gear the DRZ for tight trails requires dropping to at least 14/47 (stock E gearing). and at that gearing, the bike is screaming at 70mph. if you leave it stock (15/45), it's OK (but still not as good as the XC-W) at highway speeds, but absolutely sucks on tight technical trails.

i have both. i have ridden both on everything from tight, technical single track to slab. the DRZ tranny cannot be geared to do both well. the XC-W has zero problem doing both well. that is just the truth.

if suzuki had put a 6 speed, wide-ratio tranny in the DRZ, it would be an excellent (relatively) lightweight dual sport. would still not be a good dirt bike (the S model, at least) because of the weight, but it would be an excellent dual sport. unfortunately, though, the tranny holds it back from being an excellent dual sport.

Agree with your first statement, disagree with the second. Some of the widest ratio six-speed transmissions in the history of motorcycles were Japanese. The last of the DT175 two-strokes had a wide ratio six-speed that would put any modern dual sport to shame. The late XT225 also had a very wide ratio six speed. Kawasaki's Sherpa 250 had a very wide ratio box. Among current bikes, the new Honda CRF250L, and Yamaha's TW200, XT250, and WR250R all have a wider spread from top to bottom than the EXC KTMs.

The Husqvarna TE610 had an ever so slightly wider range than the WR250R, but it's long gone now. So it's not so much the Japanese don't get it as the Japanese are still selling some really old dual sports and haven't spent any money on updates.

On the other side, the relatively narrow six-speed of the 690 enduro is something KTM would need to change before I would spend that kind of money on one.

The 2009 KTM XC-W 450 has a stroke of 63.5 mm, The DR-Z 400 has a stroke off 62.5 mm, The KTM 2009 XC-W 450 is turning 6600 rpm at 71 mph. The DR-Z is turning 6600 rpm at 70 mph. With the 13/52 sprockets the KTM is greared nicely for single track. I would not be one to put many highway miles on it at 70 mph. I for one do not cruise my DR-Z at 70 mph. I'm fine with 55-60 mph, but it will live many miles at the reduced cruising speed. Many more than the KTM.

I will continue to hold that the KTM geared for it's design use, does not make a good dual sport that will live the long happy life of the DR-Z used for long and multi day exploring.

Art

i'd like to see your math.

i have not done the math, but i find that very hard to believe.

for the DRZ, are you still at the stock S gearing? if so, that is useless for true dual sporting (i.e., both single track and road riding). comparing stock S gearing to 13/52 gearing on the KTM is comparing apples to oranges.

there is absolutely no way that my KTM, geared 13/52, is turning anywhere near the RPMs that my DRZ geared at 14/47 does at 70. none. nada. that is simply not real. the KTM is running at lazy RPMs in 6th gear at that speed. the DRZ is screaming in 5th gear, begging to be shifted into the non-existent 6th gear.

you'd get run off the road around here if you did cruise on the slab.

anyway, regardless of what you choose to do with the bike, the simple fact of life is that one of them, the KTM, has a tranny that can be geared for both single track and highway--if you choose to ride it on both--while one of them, the DRZ, does not.

the KTM EXC tranny *objectively* blows the DRZ tranny out of the water as a dual sport tranny. you can argue for the DRZ in other areas, like oil capacity, stator output, subframe, price, etc. but you are simply in denial about the realities of the transmissions.

there are plenty of them out there that have lots of miles from being used that way. my KTM only has 8,000 miles (compared to about 20,000 miles on my DRZ), so i can't say from personal experience that it will eat 10s of thousands of miles as well as the DRZ, but others have done it. i do know that i have done multi-hundred mile road days on both my KTM and my DRZ, and my KTM is, by far, the more enjoyable bike for it...not even close.

No.