We raced the Sandy Lane Enduro yesterday in South New Jersey and it was a blast. This was the first race for our new DRZ400e's (three of our team members bought them) and they did very well. We wrenched on them for a week of evenings and did the following: Replaced stock bars w/Renthal CR Hi Bends (cut 1" off overall width), installed Acerbis Ralley Guard Bark-busters, cut down brake and clutch levers (2 finger clutch, 1 finger brake), installed brake snakes on both pedals, slimed both tires, installed a P3 computer on one bike, installed head-light cut-off switch to save the battery, put lock-tite on ALL bolts as they were not very tight and would definitely fall off the first good ride, Acerbis left side plastic folding mirror, license plates, tail/brake lights w/brake switch, and other assorted goodies.
The bikes did very well! Deep sugar sand, very tight woods with trees so close you had to thread you bars thru them, lots of big sand whoops...the DRZ conquered all. The bikes were better than the riders. For this first ride we entered the "dual sport" class and took 1st, 2nd and 3rd, but would have taken 5th & 6th in the 4-stroke C class if we had entered it. Not too bad for riders in their 40's on new bikes with only 30 miles on them! The magic button created a lot of comments to like "your cheating!". I went thru a water hole up to my seat and the bike never stuttered. On some of the biggest whoops I bottomed the rear suspension a couple of times and I will probably increase the damping a bit. Otherwise we ran with the factory settings. Will update this information as development continues.

Steve V...Not bad for guys in their forties.Heck thats not bad for anybody!!!How much did the renthals cost if you don't mind saying?P.S.Im glad you said something about lock-tite I have to get that done the next time I get a chance.

I have noticed a couple of things during my initial hundred miles or so. And since racing will only magnify these, I'd like to pose the following questions:

1) I noticed bottoming problems from the rear. I just don't understand the difference/advantages of increasing the compression damping vs. increasing the spring pre-load.

2) I have also noticed that the light/license plate bracket seems to overwhelm the fender. In other words, it may be too weak to support in the long term.

any thoughts?

I think around $70.00 for the CR Hi Bends by Renthal. We cut them down for an overall witch w/ralleyguards of 31" and may go narrower yet. I am looking for info on the WER Steering Damper which mounts on the bottome of the lower triple clamp and not on the bars like the Scotts unit... I need dashboard space for my P3 & GPS... Anybody think they might need a small fan on the E for road use? I am doing the Baja Designs kit and don't want to overheat in traffic... Any ideas of what older street bike has a small (3" diameter) 12v fan let me know... I hate the S's huge fan on the left radiator...

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Baja Designs was kind enough to send me the tail-light assembly immediately even though the rest of the kit is back-ordered. The unit they sent me is excellent with a plastic sub-frame that mounts fairly well below the fender. The taillight fits just under the lip of the fender which protects it and seemed stable throughout our first enduro, but I did break a bulb filament... Any super Heavy Duty bulbs out there? Also the brake light switch fits well above the rear brake pedal but the bolt they send you with it is too short...get an 8 mm that is 1/4" longer...this is an engine bolt so I used medium lock-tite on it.

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Urge...Thanks for the price on the renthals.I figured they would be more than 70.00$.Im sure glad their not more.Ive spent to much already!!!

>We raced the Sandy Lane Enduro yesterday in >South New Jersey and it was a blast. This >was the first race for our new DRZ400e's
Hey, I saw you guys out there when you went thru our section. It was the last section of the race....if you plan on racing more of the S.Jersey events, cut your bars to about 28" and install a steering dampner. Sandy Lane didn't have much in the way of tight woods but some of the others have much more. The narrow bars will make your day and the dampner will save your energy. I ride a Stroker klx331 and a wr250 but got a chance to ride the drz at SandyL. It's has great power and the Estart is the best feature. Didn't like the suspension but it was stock.....don't forget to ride the Meteor National 2day dual sport later this year and maybe see ya at Mill Hall 2day.