I have always bought Hondas and Yamaha's
mainly Hondas because of their dependability
sold my 85 XR350 and 89 WR250 to purchase
the DRZ. The zuk was like having them both
and then alot more. I went to the bike shop alot and also read alot about the new Honda 650.I just thought The new look still looked a little old. and sitting on it, it still felt big for the woods riding I like to do here in northern MI. The WR was another Choice really under consideration, but it had
a bigger price tag, jetting issues and still felt just a tad heavy, heard and read alot about stalling problems. My WR always
mis-shifted and stalled under pressure, from the 1st week I had it,lost some races due to
stalling.swore I would never buy another Yammie until they fixed the poor shifting and
stalling problems with some of their bikes.
Nothing against the YZ/WR400 there great at motoX and it's the bike that stareted it all.
I new Honda would soon put a new 400 motor in
the new 650 frame the bike will be out pretty soon. but
since I didn't care for the new looks and thought the forks also seemed on the small side. so I finally bought the DRZ,it had great looks, very light and nimble feel,good power,turns like nothing I've ever ridden before,great in air balance,wasn't prone to stalling,the Forks looked massive and come from the 96 RM 250 which all the magazines from 96-98 say were they best forks made in those years.and I paid $4795.hard to pass on
all of that, even though I swore I would never buy the first year model of anything and I never owned a Suzuki before.
After having the bike 3 weeks and the only mods done were new Renthal bars (yammie bend)
air lid restrictor off,exhaust baffle opened up,re-jetted to a 165 main and 2 turns out on
mixture screw. 12 turns out on fork compression and 9 rebound. 2 more clicks out
compression on shock. and 10 mm higher fork oil. Thats it. What do I think ?? yep,made the right choice. Fast sneeky fast, but controllabe,fantastic turning and cornering
very plush suspension, and very good flight
manners. Shifts well and doesn't stall when pushing it.
What didn't I like:, need good traction surfaces for this thing to hook up.Powerwise,
A little soft down low (will try a 13t front)
had some slight headshake at high speed but very controlable and nothing scary (like my old Honda).
I will race some hare scrambles then motoX it in 35+ class and enduro class at our local motoX track just like the other bikes I've owned, only my chances for FIRST just got a whole lot better this year and I hopefully won't be as sore Monday morning when I get up for work.!!!

Yep,I was a Honda man myself.I owned a xr250 and then traded it for a xr400.I really didn't like the 400 other than the low-end grunt it had.I had heard about the drz and was curious about the bike.Since it had the E-start and was water cooled and it also looked good in the pics.But what really got me interested in the bike was DR.billZ.He was talking at DRN about how great the bike was and how it handled great and how it would "rail a berm".So I got to test ride one and feel in love with it.So thanks to DR.Bill I now have 5000 less in my savings LOL.Borsy my pro's and con's are exactly the same as yours.But right now no bike IMO is any more closer to perfect than the DRZ.

i blush

i got mine because i wanted a 4-stroke. i wanted 2-stroke-like handling, but not harsh. i wanted something easy to start.

the rest is history.
i'm still glad of my decision, although i THINK the KTM400 would have suited my race needs just a little better, but i'd have had problems with it on my once a year long ride in Colorado. yeah, i could have picked up a used XR600 for that ,but............ i got tired of having to fix up a bike for that ride and then sell it because i didn't want it taking up room in the garage or having to keep up 2 bikes. this DRZ will do it all for me.

kasfsafdasdfds

Because it was the best combo dirt/street...... best bike I have ever owned :thumbsup:

I've been off a bike for 6 years now raising my kids and just got back on. When purchasing a new bike, the DRZ had the best price and best history of reliability. It's not king of the e-start hill anymore, but it's still a great bike (IMO).

I like the power delivery of a 4 stroke. I (like many in this group) am an enduro/trail rider and a four is just right.

Cheap, reliable, light (compared to its rivals, Honda FMX650 or Yamaha XT660X - i bought an SM), fun, light, light, light, availability of tune-up parts.

Edit: fun, fun, fun, fun, fun.

I bought it because really, i had no choice.

I wanted a street legal dirt bike. The only bike that really fits that description was the drz400.

There are bikes that lean one way or the other, but none that leaned all the way towards dirt without many compromises made for street....except the drz.

If honda or yammie (or kawi i guess) would have an offering i would have considered it..but for the explained reasons there was no competition.

To be honest i wouldnt consider it for dirt only compared to some competition but for what it is, its fantastic. I love my drz :D

Same here...Best STREET LEGAL dirtbike...If the CRF450X or the RMX450 (In a 5 or 6 speed) is offered then the DRZ will have a challenger...Until then
there really is only one choice for the serious off-roader who still wants to
ride legally on the streets and not have to go through the legal hurdles of
trying to license an off-road machine for the road...

I had a brand new KTM 640 for one week than I had enough, the only thing I was thinking of when I was out there driving was the VIBRATIONS :eek: , so I tested a DRZ 400S and I loved it at once and ordered a new 400SM and have never drove a funnier bike. I have allready drive 2000km and can´t get enough of it :thumbsup:

WarNerve said:

I don't think I've ever seen a five-year-old thread resurrected in quite that manner before.

DRZSM05 said:

Congratulations on your new bike and welcome to ThumperTalk!! :thumbsup:

:ride: just sold my '93 48000km Yam TTR250 bike and wanted something newer as my second bike to commute and have fun on, so bought 18 month old DRZ400s to do the job :thumbsup:

I don't think I've ever seen a five-year-old thread resurrected in quite that manner before

Borsy is still a active member, so I wonder what he thinks of the DRZ now.

Wanted a dirtbike and had the wife's 05 vulcan 800 she did not ride anymore so I traded it in on a DRZ400E ...lost a few hundred on the vulcan, but imho it was worth it! :crazy:

She now has changed her mind and we bought her a DR200SE :banghead:

In California,the DRZ S is the most off road worthy factory(except Husky;BigBob)dual-sport.Can't plate anything off-road anymore(except backdoor KTM trickerie).

WarNerve said:

Got mine to commute on, i drive an f150 that gets about 14mpg. i never realized how much fun the DR-Z would be... it's my first "street" bike. I luv the 4stroke powerband, just reach for it an you got it... I still luv my KDX grunt, that bike will go anywhere in the woods.
:ride:

LOL, i rule, i resurrected this post with style

WarNerve said:

ok warnerve... please splain yoself... wtf does kasfkapark;akjfd;lkkj mean? i've been trying to decipher it all afternoon :bonk: :banghead: :banghead:

It was half the price of the KTM525smr street leagal I was looking at and the dealer was giving a 1000$ more on my Kx in trade in

I have a DRZ400SM heading my way from New Mexico, purchased off eBay.

Back in the early 80's, I had a '78 SR500 with a Supertrapp, the airbox ripped out, and a rejetted carb. Quite a hoot to ride, but a pain if you got the start up drill wrong.

I've been riding an ST1100 for the last few years, and I love the bike, but miss the '00 KLR650 that preceded it. It had been lowered, and rejetted, but had a lousy front brake, and my hands couldn't deal w/the vibes on long rides. The ST1100 has got me in trouble a few times. It is so smooth, and powerful, w/great wind protection, that it is easy not to notice how far I had exceeded the speed limit. The reckless driving ticket 2 years ago for 25 over, was not taken lightly by the judge :-(

I was all set to get the DRZ400S, but then the SM came out, and I was fortunate to find a slightly used one on eBay.

I think the bike appeals to me because it is a thumper, is light, has a great amount of suspension travel, has great internet support with many mods available (as does the KLR and ST1100), and the black SM looks sinister :thumbsup:

--Rick
Portsmouth, VA